Purpose

The Uniting Church, as an ethnically diverse and multicultural community, has recognised the need for the migrant-ethnic communities that are part of its life, to have opportunities to meet together for sharing and reflection and for discussion in their first language. In 1987 the first national conference was held. Since this formation of the Tongan National Conference, similar gatherings have occurred and there are now eight National Conferences: Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Indonesian, Korean, Tamil, Chinese and Vietnamese. Some of these communities are quite small in the Uniting Church (such as the Tamil and Vietnamese communities) while others are quite large. The possibility of national gatherings for smaller communities such as Cook Islanders, Filipinos and Hindi speaking Fijians is being explored.

The National Conferences establish a national networking between congregations of the same culture that co-operate in solving issues arising in the life of congregations and provide opportunities for each community to reflect on how it is developing ministry and mission within the life of the UCA. There is also the intention that the National Conferences will enable the voice of the different communities to be heard as they make their distinctive contribution to the life of the Uniting Church.

Each National Conference represents a gathering of people who offer leadership within their community and whose leadership the Uniting Church can draw on.

Guidelines

Definition of National Conferences

• National Conferences bring together representatives of congregations of the same culture within the UCA (and sometimes reaching beyond the Uniting Church) for consultation and sharing.
• National Conferences are representative bodies for each community.
• National Conferences can act as a consultative body in the UCA.

Aims

• To establish a national network of solidarity, support and fellowship between congregations of the Uniting Church of the same culture, speaking the same language.
• To share common problems, joys and concerns and offer mutual co-operation in solving difficult issues arising in the life of their congregations.
• To increase a sense of belonging and understanding about the multicultural Uniting Church.
• To review ministry and mission needs of their community and communicate concerns or issues to the appropriate councils of the church.
• To enable the voice of their community to be heard and to help their community make a distinctive contribution to the life of the Uniting Church.
• To assist other councils of the church in matters relating to congregations from their community.
  To give attention to the needs of the first and second generation. Some National Conferences organize parallel youth programs.
• To forward recommendations to the Assembly Standing Committee as appropriate in consultation with the Assembly Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry National Director and Chairperson.
• To be part of the Working Group, Uniting National Conferences to help develop Uniting Church processes, policy and polity that is responsive to the needs of our communities.
• The Conference provides nominations to the National Director for the triennial meetings of the Assembly. The Assembly Standing Committee appoints twelve people from nominations brought to it by the Assembly Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry Reference Committee through the National Director.

Frequency of meetings

• Each community decides the frequency for their meeting. For example, it may be annual, biennial or triennial.

Funding of meetings

• Funding of Meetings of National ConferencesEach congregation contributes towards the costs of the sending its representatives to meetings of the Conference.
• Each Conference can apply through the National Director to receive some financial contribution towards the meetings of the Conference.

Formation of a Working Committee or Executive

• It is recommended that the National Conference of each community elect a Chairperson, one or two Secretaries (Minutes to be provided in language and in English) and other office bearers to organise the meetings of the Conference in consultation with the National Director and follow up issues between meetings of the Conference.

Accountability

• National Conferences were initiated through Assembly Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry and each Conference is accountable to the National Director and the Assembly Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry Reference Committee (MMRC). The minutes of each conference comes to the National Director and a report is provided to the MMRC.
• Once in three years, each Conference is invited to submit two nominations (a male and a female) for membership on the Working Group, Uniting National Conferences. The Working Group regularly hears updates from each national conference and conveys key issues to the MMRC.

Membership of the meetings

• The National Director for Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry is a member of each Conference and may attend Working Committee/executive meetings of the Conference.
• As a decision-making body the National Conference will have representatives from each congregation.
• The size of each national conference may alter depending on the community and its needs. For example there may be a National Conference that has the ministers and two people nominated from each congregation. Other conferences may choose to have a larger number of voting representatives. In such cases it is suggested that there be:
  • Six representatives for the first 50 confirmed members: Two representatives for every 50 confirmed members or part thereof after the first 50 confirmed members up to 500 confirmed members: One extra representative for every 50 confirmed members if membership is over 500.(e.g. A congregation of 170 confirmed members will send 12 representatives.) At least one third of the congregation’s representatives should be women.
  • Conferences are encouraged to nominate women and men and to have younger generation representatives.
  • Ministers serving congregations are members of the Conference. English speaking ministers who have a leadership and pastoral oversight role within their community are invited. Retired ministers may be included by decision of the conference. Conferences may choose to invite ministers of their cultural background who may be serving in English speaking or other placements.

Guests and observers at meetings

• The Working Committee/Executive of each Conference will decide people to be invited to the Conference. Normally, the President of the UCA, the Chairperson and members of the Reference Committee on Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry, the Associate General Secretary, the General Secretary, staff member(s) of Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry of the Synods and Presbyteries, staff members of the UIM, and other appropriate local church leaders are invited for particular sessions.
• If the President or Office bearers of ‘Home churches’ are invited, the President of the UCA will send an invitation letter on behalf of the Conference.
• Each Conference is responsible to decide whether to invite members of the same cultural background who are not members of the UCA. (Such participants shall normally have the right to speak when invited to do so by the chairperson, but not to vote except as determined by the Conference.)

Procedure for taking forward recommendations from each Conference

• In consultation with the National Director and Chairperson of the MMRC recommendations may be sent to the Assembly Standing Committee or to the Assembly.
• Any decisions or recommendations of the Conference conveyed to councils or agencies of the church are to be copied to the National Director.
• Recommendations and key decisions are reported to the Multicultural and Cross-cultural Ministry Reference Committee and the Working Group, Uniting National Conferences.