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The October edition of Update is here, with all the latest news from the Assembly agencies and working groups.
Just a Thought
Terence Corkin, Assembly General Secretary
Over the weekend I was tripping about in my car and I heard an advertisement that went something like “Thank you Jesus for cricket” and then in a range of voices thanking Jesus for sunny days, for healing aunty, for the snooze button. It went on for a while with mostly trivial and self-serving thank you points. A voice over then said “If you are thankful to Jesus for anything then go to (website named) and put your thanks on the list and find out more about how you can be involved in (well publicised and expensive church sponsored program running at present)”. I felt sick.
Here are churches spending huge amounts of money to connect with people and encourage them to think about the Christian life and the best they can do is pander to the Santa Clause image of God that most people seem to have. I know enough about evangelism that you have to scratch where people are itching and to commence the conversation at the point where people ahve some sense of belief/understanding; but this is ridiculous!
The problem here is that we are so identifying with the predominant cultural view of self interest and consumerism and with the dominant narrow understanding (outside and inside the church) about what a relationship with Jesus means that we are at a grave risk of reinforcing that an inadequate understanding of the demands of discipleship. Being a disciple of Jesus is not about “me” at all. It is about the purposes of God and how I might find my place through joining my life to the life and purposes of God — whether that is fun for me or not. It is about finding joy in service and not in receiving. It is to be found in giving my life away — to be under the reign of God — not claiming God for my purposes.
Someone will tell me that I should not judge this project by one advertisement. I will investigate the website in the hope I find something about the folly of the cross and the call to take up a cross of self abandonment. But what message will be left with people who don’t go to the (hopefully) authentic message and are left with the cheap misrepresentative “bait” thrown out by the advertising line? I fear they will be left with the wrong impression about the life that Jesus is all about.
This misunderstanding of discipleship is rife in the church. A few years ago the Assembly put out a paper called A Church of Passionate Disciples in which it explored the nature of Church membership and how that might be expressed in terms of the changing cultural context in Australia. The report to the Assembly Standing Committee indicated that the responses showed an alarming range of views that were far from the traditional understanding of what membership required. There were people who thought no commitment was needed, i.e. “We are being too legalistic to expect people to indicate their commitment in a public way”. There were people who thought that any requirement to commitment might put people off and was unnecessary, i.e. “God loves everybody”. A large number thought of faith as a personal matter and that to call people to membership of a church was unnecessary, i.e. “No one church is the Church so we should be ecumenical and not expect people to sign on to the UCA.”
Everywhere people, including leaders in our church, seem to have forgotten the four “C’s” of discipleship — Christ, commitment, costliness and community. We do so at our peril. I am reminded of the charismatically inclined UCA Minister who lamented, “Everyone says ‘fill me Jesus, fill me’ but I do not hear enough saying ‘empty me Jesus, empty me.’” It also reminds me of a hymn that never made it into Together in Song (AHB 130) but maybe that is a story for another time.
Relations with Other Faiths
Shannon Dillon, Education/Administrative Assistant, Uniting Faith & Discipleship
and Glenda Blakefield, National Assembly Associate General Secretary
Uniting Church Representative Selected to be Ambassador for the Parliament of World Religions
A member of the Uniting Church National Assembly Relations with Other Faiths Working Group, Wilma Viswanathan, has been selected to be an Ambassador for the upcoming Parliament of World Religions, taking place in Melbourne from 3-9 December this year.
The Ambassador role is a select opportunity offered by the Parliament to individuals who possess inherent leadership qualities; commitment to the interfaith movement, excellent communication skills and connectedness to their own communities. Wilma Viswanathan has demonstrated these qualifications through her many involvements in interfaith relations over the years. She has served on the UCA National Assembly Working Group on Relations with Other Faiths from the early nineties, is a member of the Women's Interfaith Network and is the Secretary of the World Conference on Religion and Peace in NSW. Wilma worked for the National Council of Churches in Australia for fifteen years, was an elder of Paddington Uniting Church, and was one of the keynote speakers at the Women's program of the International Conference of Christians and Jews in Jerusalem in June 2008.
Wilma will be one of 200 Ambassadors at the Parliament of the World’s Religions representing over 20 countries. The Ambassadors’ role will be to document their experience in creative ways which will then serve to communicate the Parliament experience to others — live from the Parliament and post-Parliament testimony. Ambassadors will also be honoured at the special networking event on-site.
For more information and to register for the Parliament of the World's Religions go to: www.parliamentofreligions.org/
New Resources Available on Relations with Other Faiths Website
The website of the Relations with Other Faiths Working Group continues to be updated with new resources, news, and upcoming events.
To explore these resources or to sign up for monthly e-newsletters, visit: www.assembly.uca.org.au/rof/
Adult Fellowship
Allan and Denise Secomb
National Adult Fellowship Celebration
The 2010 National Adult Fellowship Celebration will be held at Greenhills Centre, Canberra between 21st and 25th April.
Greenhills is a community centre of the Uniting Church Presbytery of Canberra Region providing live-in facilities for many groups including school, church and community, to enable group training, leadership development, retreats, conferences and many other activities. The centre is located on rural land, 15 minutes by car from the heart of the city, overlooks the lovely Cotter Valley towards the Brindabellas.
Detailed information on registration, speakers and post celebration tour has been distributed through Synod UCAF committees.
For more information contact:
Denise and Allan Secomb
(02) 4951 6885 (Celebration);
Judy and Geoff Hicks
(02) 4933 3703 (Post Celebration Tour)
Ron Gregory
(02) 0747 1448 (Registration)
Frontier Services
Felicita Benedikovics, Communications Officer, Frontier Services
When your colleagues are located in the most remote corners of the country, the opportunity to come together is a very special one. Frontier Services Patrol Ministers Conference takes place from October 12 to October 16 in Sydney, and for some of the 25 ministers attending it will be their first visit to Sydney. The conference is a time of sharing, training, spiritual development and theological reflection. Rev. Dr Dean Drayton (former Uniting Church President) will lead the ministers in theological reflection and the current, President Alistair Macrae, will also spend time with the ministers and share a meal with them on the evening of Thursday 15 October. The conference will culminate in the celebration of the induction of Rev. David Buxton at Pitt Street Uniting Church as the new Associate National Director of Frontier Services.
In other Patrol Ministry news, Frontier Services is delighted to announce the exciting new patrol of Croajingolong in far-east Gippsland (Victoria). The creation of this new patrol (the 24th) is the result of an agreement with the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland and the Uniting Church Presbytery of Gippsland. Rev. Rowena Harris has been appointed as Patrol Minister and she will be based at Mallacoota, Victoria.
It’s a busy time for events and fundraising with the Frontier Services Classic Outback Trial and the Royal Adelaide Show both in full swing at the same time. Both events were great successes and were fantastic opportunities to spread the word about Frontier Services work and connection to the Outback. Kicking off in Forbes, NSW on 31 August, The Frontier Services Classic Outback Trial covered over 2,000 km of outback roads and tracks over six days as 45 competitors travelled to the Repco Rally Australia World Rally Championship in Tweed Heads. Frontier Services provided breakfast to the 45 competitors each day of the trail and its fundraising activities for the volunteering program Outback Links was strongly supported. Frontier Services’ also presented its “Spirit of the Outback” Award to first time competitors Keith Hickling and Rhiannon Griffiths, a young couple from Canberra. Their sheer grit, determination and “have a go” attitude was an inspiration to the entire competition, as in the face of adversity and challenge they were still able to smile and enjoy the event.
Meanwhile, at the Royal Adelaide Show, Frontier Services’ rich history in the bush was brought to life at the Ram Shed. Founder Rev. John Flynn’s campsite, complete with his replica Dodge car was on display, along with the pedal radio invented by engineer Alf Traeger. Invented in the mid 1920’s visitors to the stand were invited to use their pedal power to see if they were able to make it work.
Theology and Discipleship
Chris Walker, National Consultant, Theology & Discipleship
Doctrine Working Group
The Doctrine working group has recently met and identified priorities for the next triennium. These include doing some work with others in relation to the new Preamble to the Constitution, developing papers on “Theological Diversity” and “Being an Apostolic Church”, putting out a list of Essential Resources for those in leadership in congregations, and producing more Doc.bytes and pamphlets. A paper prepared by Andrew Thornley on “Sexuality and Church Leadership – an International Perspective” and a paper tracing the history of the issue, “Sexuality and Leadership – an ongoing story”, which was approved at the recent meeting of the Assembly Standing Committee, will go on the Doctrine website. This concludes the work on that subject which the Doctrine working group was asked to do. In response to questions at the recent Assembly, people were reminded of the Becoming Disciples process as a valuable resource.
Worship Working Group
The Worship working group is developing a booklet that will contain orders of service for Holy Communion similar to the well used blue booklet produced in the past.
Theology and Discipleship
The National Consultant is trialling a Discipleship Training course at present in a local congregation which he intends to make available next year.
A Bible Study on peace is being prepared by a small group. It will include commentary, prayers, suggested activities and interviews on a DVD with a number of people involved in engaging in peace as part of their discipleship. The resource is planned to be ready by the end of the year.
UnitingWorld
Rob Lutton, Community Relationships Manager, UnitingWorld
UnitingWorld Asia Pacific Emergency Appeals:
UnitingWorld has launched emergency relief appeals in response to the devastating natural disasters that have struck across Asia and the Pacific. In the wake of typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines, the Pacific tsunamis and Sumatran earthquake UnitingWorld, with our partner churches, is providing assistance to address the immediate needs of these communities as well as supporting the long term rebuilding efforts. Please be in prayer for our Church Partners in these affected areas as they seek to respond to these disasters.
More information and updates about the appeals are available on our website at www.unitingworld.org.au
Zimbabwe Food Relief Appeal
UnitingWorld has launched its Food Relief Appeal for Zimbabwe. After an initial distribution of emergency food supplies to 835 families in August, UnitingWorld is now seeking to raise $100,000. This will provide another 1,765 families with emergency food supplies including grain, cooking oil and soap.
Please visit our website for more information about the appeal as well as resources and to make a donation: http://www.unitingworld.org.au.
New Appointment
UnitingWorld is excited to announce the appointment of Bronwyn Fraser as the new Development Education Officer with our Relief and Development unit. Bronwyn brings a wealth of experience in education and coordination, including teaching for 15 years and organizing overseas student trips. As Development Education Officer, she will coordinate our Schools Program and have a large role in developing partnerships between Australian church communities and our Overseas Partners.
Voices for Justice
Two partner church leaders nominated by UnitingWorld attended Pacific Leaders’ Stream of the Micah Challenge, Voices for Justice program in Canberra last week. A hand-picked group of Pacific Leaders participated in training, networking and planning and joined with the main program of Voices for Justice to make presentations at events and workshops. I also attended the event with Rev Tafue Lusama, Secretary for Peace and Justice at the Christian Church of Tuvalu and Chairperson of the Climate Action Network Tuvalu and Oiner Moa, a Pacific Conference of Churches Intern from the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa who is currently serving with UnitingWorld. Rev. Lusama and Ms Moa met with a number of Federal politicians and ministerial advisors to speak about climate change issues in the Pacific during their time in Canberra.
For more information on the event: http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/voices-justice
Addressing Pacific Issues
UnitingWorld National Director, Rev. Dr Kerry Enright and Associate Director Church Solidarity (Pacific) Mr Bruce Mullan have been and will be meeting with Uniting Church Pacific leaders in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne for conversation about Pacific issues. Topics covered include possible membership application from the Uniting Church in Australia to the Pacific Conference of Churches, trade justice issues, climate change and the Pacific, and other initiatives UnitingWorld is taking in relation to Pacific churches.
Everything in Common Gifts Catalogue
In late October UnitingWorld will release the 2009/10 Everything in Common Gifts Catalogue. The catalogue lists gifts from our Relief and Development, Experience, Church Solidarity and Peacemaking programs that you can directly support. The catalogue has some great ideas for birthday and Christmas gifts.
Look out for your copy of the Everything in Common catalogue in the mailbox soon.
Philippines Floods
With news emerging from the Philippines of 73 people dead and more than 330,000 others displaced after the heaviest rain in more than four decades, Kathy Pereira, Associate Director (Experience Programs) has spoken to Uniting Church volunteer Elizabeth Mullan. Elizabeth, who works on Smokey Mountain in the Philippines is safe but feeling helpless amidst the chaos.
UnitingWorld is in contact with our partner The United Church of Christ in the Philippines to express the solidarity of the Uniting Church in Australia at this time and to explore possible ways we can assist.
2010 Placement Mail Out
In the next few weeks UnitingWorld’s Experience Program will be mailing out postcards and posters for our 2010 placements. The materials will go out to all congregations as well as Adult Fellowship groups.
This year there are some exciting opportunities to volunteer overseas. These include:
Bali: English Teacher for hospitality tertiary training college 6 – 12 months
Bali: Minister/Pastor for English speaking congregation 3 months
Niue: Youth worker (may be two positions or suitable for a couple) 3-12 months
North India: Gap Year assistants K-12 school 3-12 months
Pacific: Theological College Lecturers – all disciplines. Several positions available across the Pacific 3-12 months
Thailand: Secondary teachers 6-12 months
Tonga: Teachers in Vocational Education 3-12 months
For the full list of placement opportunities in 2010 please visit: www.unitingworld.org.au/programs/experience
If you think you may have the skills and passion to explore these possibilities in 2010, please contact:
Kathy Pereira
Ph: (02) 8267 4250
Email:
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Peacemaking
Joy Balazo has just returned from the Solomon Islands where she conducted a peace workshop and training for local communities and leaders. She is now on route to Indonesia to conduct further workshops.
Resources
Hugh McGinlay, Books for Unitings
These books are selected by Hugh McGinlay and are available from UCA bookshops and resource centres. For further information on any title, contact:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit the website at: www.rainbowbooks.com.au.
PUBLIC PEOPLE, PRIVATE LIVES
Tackling stress in clergy families
Jean and Chris Burton
(Alban Institute)
ISBN 9780826426123 $34.95
Who cares for the carers? Is it possible for the families of public figures to have private lives? How does it feel to be a vicarage child in the 21st century?
The authors consider the stresses of clerical family life, with implications that range from the nature of the appointments system and the principle of tied accommodation to the way in which the Church supports its clergy and their families.
CONVERSATIONS WITH SCRIPTURE: THE GOSPEL OF MARK
Marcus Borg
(Morehouse)
ISBN 9780819223395 $27.95
For noted Jesus scholar Marcus Borg, reading Mark is like ‘meeting Jesus again for the first time’. Individual readers and parish study groups will learn about this earliest gospel from the perspective of an important contemporary theologian.
REASONABLE AND HOLY
Engaging same-sexuality
Tobias Stanislaus Haller
(Seabury)
ISBN 9781596271104 $31.95
Offers a carefully argued but accessible means of engagement with Scripture and the Jewish and Christian traditions. It also explores the use of reason in dealing with the experience and lives of fellow-Christians.
GOD WITH SKIN ON
Chris Armstrong
(Morehouse)
ISBN 9780819223111 $34.95
Based on the Great Commandment, this book examines relationships common to us all — those of intimacy, authority, rivalry and otherness — and shows how learning to love within those relationships affects our relationship with God.
HEALING RELATIONSHIPS
A preaching model
Dan Moseley
(Chalice)
ISBN 9780827214552 $35.95
Explores how preaching is more a matter of facilitating a relationship with a living spirit than it is about giving people knowledge. Offers a preaching model that parallels the way we develop relationships, and shows how the relationships we already have are what transform us.
from MediaCom
Doing December Differently
An alternative Christmas handbook
Nicola Slee, Rosie Miles
Doing December Differently explores how people of faith and goodwill might mark the Christmas festival with integrity and simplicity. How can we include others and celebrate difference without putting us all under intolerable strain, or perpetuating false and oppressive myths of the ideal family life? How might we acknowledge our connections with family members, friends and others who are significant to us, in ways that are life-giving and joyful, rather than compulsive and draining? In other words, how might we do December differently? In addressing such issues and questions, this book presents personal stories, reflections on the origins, diverse meanings and customs associated with Christmas, and liturgical and ritual resources that can be adapted and used in the home, in group gatherings and in church settings. Rosie Miles is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Wolverhampton. Nicola Slee is Research Fellow at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham. They are both poets and are widely published in Wild Goose and other anthologies.
Wild Goose Publications
Paperback
Product code WIL023
$44.95
The Uncluttered Heart
Making Room for God During Advent and Christmas
Beth A Richardson
Advent is a time to prepare our lives — hearts, minds and spirits — for the coming of the Christ child. We sweep out the corners of our hearts, cleaning up the clutter, to make space for God’s hope, peace, joy, love and presence. Great plan, poor execution. “Advent is often the busiest time of the year,” writes Richardson. “And yet, we are called to make time and space to prepare our lives for the coming of the Christ child. What a challenge . . . No matter how busy we may become, God is waiting to break through our endless tasks and distractions to remind us that we are not alone.” The Uncluttered Heart offers four weeks of guided reflection through the weeks of Advent on through Epiphany. Each day provides a quotation, scripture passage, reflection and prayer. Stop and connect with God this Christmas. Remember God as much as you can.
The Upper Room
128 pages
Product code TUR9994
$20.95
Mouse Tales
Things Hoped for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
Ruth L Boling
In these endearing stories, set in the fictional town of Hillsborough and its church, the Church of the Least of These, the characters, all church mice, live, work, and play together, in the process living out theological themes and demonstrating hope in their daily lives and actions. The stories, which take place during the Christmas season, show the community-and especially six memorable children in one Sunday school class-learning how to care for one another, welcome outsiders, disagree in love, forgive, and love as Christ loves. They reflect a community living out its faith by choosing to hope. This beautifully illustrated book can be read to or by children.
Westminster John Knox
Hardback, 80 pages
Product code WJK705
$28.95
Six Advent Plays For Children
Doris Wells Miller
Six Advent Plays For Children provides you with all the tools you need to make this ministry an enjoyable and fulfilling experience for everyone. In addition to six delightful programs designed for children of preschool age through sixth grade (including a synopsis and stage directions), this book provides comprehensive, easy-to-follow guidelines that walk you through the entire process of planning, rehearsing, and presenting your holiday production. There’s even a step-by-step worksheet to keep you organized and on top of all the details. The material is suitable for congregations of any size: props, sets, and costumes are kept simple for maximum flexibility, and most of the programs require no more than a dozen participants. With all these practical resources, your children’s Christmas program this year is bound to be successful. Six Advent Plays For Children offers all the help you need in one convenient volume. Copying privileges are included.
CSS Publishing Company
Paperback, 56 pages
Product code CSS407
$22.45
Order books from MediaCom at: www.mediacom.org.au
Email:
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Phone toll free: 1800 811 311
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