New Times - June 2015

Issue 34, No 5, 2015

The voice of Uniting Church SA

June 2015

Tradition COMMON THREADS

CREATING, CONTINUING

An army chaplain

How different congregations

values tradition

connect with traditions

p. 9

pp. 10-12

New source for news Contents FEATURES Investing in care

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Common threads through traditions

10-12

God ’s creation is running a fever

16-17

Growing Playford Uniting Church

23-24

REGULAR PAGES Moderator’s comment

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CEO/General Secretary’s comment

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Getting to know...

Have you visited Across yet?

Across is the Uniting Church SA ’s new online space for news, opinions, faith stories and more. Since its launch with the new website at the March Presbytery and Synod meeting, Across has featured articles on the Nepal earthquake, the Bali executions and Anzac Day. As Across develops it will also grow to encompass photography, video and other media elements.

Check out Across for all your Uniting Church SA news in between editions of New Times! sa.uca.org.au/across For more information, please contact Catherine Hoffman at choffman@sa.uca.org.au or on 8236 4230.

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Letters 21 Diary 21 Editor: Catherine Hoffman Editor-in-Chief: Bindy Taylor Advertising: Communications Design: Winaya Kamaputri Print: Graphic Print Group For editorial inquiries: p. (08) 8236 4249 e. newtimes@sa.uca.org.au m. The Editor,

New Times GPO Box 2145

Adelaide SA 5001 For advertising bookings: p. (08) 8236 4260 e. newtimesad@sa.uca.org.au

w: newtimes.sa.uca.org.au facebook.com/NewTimesUCA ISSN 0726-2612 New Times is the voice of Uniting Church SA. Published monthly, February through December, New Times represents the breadth, diversity and vision of Uniting Church members in SA. News policies, guides and deadlines appear online at newtimes.sa.uca.org.au. Articles and advertising do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor.

Uniting College and Adelaide College of Divinity

~ Open Night ~

Tuesday 23 June, 7pm Uniting College for Leadership & Theology (34 Lipsett Tce, Brooklyn Park) Come and find out about the exciting opportunities available when you study at Adelaide College of Divinity (ACD).

Information will also be provided about Uniting College scholarship opportunities in the areas of Mission Pioneering and Chaplaincy, and the R.H. White and Gled Hill Trust scholarships.

In partnership with the Uniting College and Flinders University, The ACD provides high quality, accessible education for all people, lay and ordained, so they may become effective leaders, empowered by the Spirit.

Uniting College and the ACD deliver courses at different study levels, providing options for people from a variety of church backgrounds to explore theology.

Print circulation: 9,750 Uniting Church SA Level 2, 212 Pirie St, Adelaide p. (08) 8236 4200 f. 8236 4201 country callers. 1300 766 956

Next issue: Discipleship “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” – John 8:31 We are called to be disciples and to disciple to others.

Acts of discipleship are important in our personal spiritual growth, our relationships with others and our communities, as we practice Christ ’s teachings both inside and outside our church buildings. In July, New Times explores how discipleship is demonstrated in the lives, work and faith of Uniting Church members and communities.

DEADLINE FOR JULY 2015 Wednesday 10 June

ADELAIDE COLLEGE OF DIVINITY INC

Cover details

Rev Beth Seaman stands outside the historic Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church building. The church was established 150 years ago with a strong Wesleyan influence, which continues to this day. A number of events have been planned to mark the 150 year anniversary, including book launches, concerts, history events and special services. For more information about Wesley Kent Town and its traditions, please see page 12.

editorial

Tradition or stuck on repeat?

Sometimes our church traditions are so ingrained in our congregation ’s culture that we can be forgiven for not questioning whether they are still relevant or continue to add value to our congregational life.

Thom Rainer, a researcher and contributor to Christian news website The Christian Post, was so surprised at how many comments the website attracted defending church traditions that he created a poll.

Below is the list he compiled of the top 10 most frequently defended traditions in churches.

1. Worship and music style 2. Order of worship service 3. Times of worship service 4. Role of the minister 5. Committee structure 6. Specific ministries and programs 7. Location of church facility 8. Use of specific rooms 9. Business meetings 10. Staff ministry descriptions The top three most defended church traditions all relate to congregational worship. Through analysing the comments further, Rainer found people often left congregations due to changes in worship style and music. Other factors which caused disharmony in congregations were changes to the traditional sequence of worship, and alterations to the traditional Sunday service times.

Following on from the first three points were comments surrounding the role of ministers and church staff. Many felt ministers should operate under a “traditional” set of standards, rather than undertaking tasks at hand. Others commented that church staff members should not change their title and position description, even when the needs of the congregation may have changed dramatically.

Other commenters believed that committees were an essential part of the church – no matter how much they were actually contributing.

Comments were also made concerning specific ministries and programmes. Many people felt changes to these areas were not required because “this was the way it had always been done.”

“Thou shalt not change any items in the order of worship.”

Church relocation also came into question, along with specific uses for rooms within the church building.

In summarising his research into church traditions, Rainer contends that “strong and unwavering policies can sometimes prove detrimental to congregations where members can feel that their input or suggestions don ’t matter, even though they are part of the Church body.”

As worshippers and congregations within the Uniting Church, perhaps we should consider whether we are placing traditions over God ’s word. Mark 7:8 states: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

It can be easy to get caught up in the traditions and trappings of our church life – the programmes, events, worship times and other small details. But by placing too much emphasis on such things, are we distracting ourselves from the bigger picture? The church exists to glorify God, make Jesus known, build disciples, and reflect on Jesus ’ love, words and deeds. There are times we may need to surrender our own preferences in order to let go and trust in God.

Bindy Taylor

Faith and fresh design The Uniting Church SA Communications team would like to formally welcome the new Uniting Church SA Graphic and Digital Designer, Winaya Kamaputri. Winaya, who commenced work in April, has a Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and a Master of Visual Art and Design (Graphic Design) from the University of South Australia (UniSA).

Winaya moved to Melbourne from Jakarta, Indonesia 10 years ago and settled in Adelaide in 2013. Coming from a non-practicing, multifaith family, Winaya rediscovered Jesus when she arrived in Australia. She is an active member of Hope Church Adelaide in Klemzig, and also of the Campus Christian Movement.

Winaya is pleased to have the opportunity to involve her faith and personal interests in her work with New Times and the Uniting Church SA. Return to Contents

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moderator

Strength in traditions As a child, and into my teenage years, my mother and I would pray the Lord ’s Prayer together in the evening. This is a tradition my husband and I have continued with our own children. We follow the Lord ’s Prayer with prayers of thanks and prayers for others. It is a simple family tradition that calls us into a place where we remember who and whose we are – children of God, upheld by grace, deeply loved, and called to serve compassionately with Christ in the world.

My oldest daughter didn ’t actually learn the Lord ’s Prayer from me or my husband, Lawrie. We discussed at what age we should teach it to her, worrying over the long words and sophisticated meaning. In the end, it was a discussion we didn ’t need to have – our local church ’s tradition nurtured our daughter beyond us. When she was three she stood next to me on the pew at Woodville Uniting Church and began reciting the Lord ’s Prayer with the congregation. She had taken that prayer to heart because as a Christian community, we practiced the tradition of “praying the prayer that Jesus taught us” most Sundays.

More recently, I have been reminded of the power of the Gospel tradition, which shapes us and calls us into God ’s world, through my visit to the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), our partner church in the region. Lawrie and I travelled with the Uniting Church SA International Mission Officer, Adrian Nipress, to visit some of the projects that we are supporting in the Philippines with the UCCP and UnitingWorld.

The UCCP has a strong tradition of walking alongside people who have been denied human rights. They have been advocates for indigenous people and the urban poor. Their tradition is shaped by the ministry of Jesus in bringing good news to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, release to the captives and sight to the blind (Luke 4). Bishop Reuel Marigza, the General Secretary of the UCCP, writes: “Ultimately our stand for Truth and Justice is a Faith Imperative, which we must pursue as a way of life, no matter what the cost.”

While in the Philippines we heard many stories of Christians whose faith tradition has them courageously advocating for justice in ways that put their own lives at risk.

In Baguio City, in the Northern Luzon District of the UCCP, we visited a project in Irisan, near the local rubbish dump. This is a project supported by the UCCP and the Uniting Church. It includes an alliance of the urban poor working with indigenous people who are moving into the city from their lands. They are moving for work and because in many cases they are being displaced. The Irisan project began with a feeding program and developed into a wider health education project, addressing malnutrition, mother ’s classes on health, issues to do with hygiene, and managing household waste.

Alongside these health and education projects, the community leaders are recovering the culture of indigenous groups in the

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Philippines, passing on traditions from adults to children and young people. The adults are sharing stories and strengthening traditional values. The children and young people are learning the dances and music of their indigenous culture. We spoke with a number of people about the issues around reclaiming their traditions and recovering their culture.

When Christianity was introduced to the Philippines, there were some interpretations of the Christian tradition that insisted indigenous people give up their culture upon becoming Christian. Now the UCCP is working together with indigenous people and their leaders to reclaim their culture and its intersection with the Gospel of Christ.

We were excited to hear about this project because we saw so many connections between the work of the Irisan project and the ministry of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress here in Australia, particularly the inspiring work and ministry of Denise Champion, Chair of the UAICC in South Australia. We gave several copies of Denise ’s book, Yartha Wandatha, to indigenous leaders in the Philippines, including Gerry (pictured) who is working with children and young people to strengthen indigenous culture and tradition.

These leaders believe that Denise ’s book will encourage and inspire their indigenous communities in their recovery and affirmation of their own culture, while also embracing their Christian faith. They would echo Denise ’s words when she notes: “No longer do we need to leave our culture at the door. We can be truly who we are.”

Dr Deidre Palmer

ce o / ge n e ral se cre ta r y

Influences of tradition The Uniting Church has a wonderfully rich tradition. It is a tradition that continues to infuse the present life of the Church and inform its future. Thus, our tradition is not a static relic from the past but a dynamic presence in the Church ’s life.

There are two elements of our tradition that are strongly influencing my life at the moment – God ’s Word (which is a constant influence) and Wesley ’s Covenant Prayer (which is a current influence).

God ’s Word I find it helpful to integrate the prayers of Jesus into my own prayer life. Given the current conversations and decisions concerning the Church ’s direction, my prayers are continually focused on unity and purpose. In thinking on these areas, I keep coming back to these words from John 17:21-23: I ’m praying not only for them But also for those who will believe in me Because of them and their witness about me.

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us.

Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.

The same glory you gave me, I gave them, So they ’ll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me.

Then they ’ll be mature in this oneness, And give the godless world evidence That you ’ve sent me and loved them In the same way you ’ve loved me.

My prayer is that we would continue to be refreshed in our unity and purpose so that we might be “in it together” in making Christ known.

Wesley ’s Covenant Prayer This is an incredible prayer, which I often pray when trying not to hold my role and responsibility too tightly. It is a prayer of freedom.

I am no longer my own, but yours.

Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing: I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

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you are mine and I am yours. So be it.

And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen I would invite you to pray this with me as we continue to seek God ’s way forward in being the church we are today and are called to be tomorrow.

Rev Nigel Rogers

Placements News Placements finalised since the May edition of New Times: Rev Albert Patrizi to Woodside Uniting Church (0.2) from 1 June 2015 Rev Coral Smith (Deacon) to Willunga Uniting Church (0.5) from 1 September 2015 There are no upcoming inductions at the time of printing.

Vacant placements: The following is the current list of vacant (or soon to be vacant) approved placements: Profiles available – Ascot Community Church; Adare (from 1 February 2016); Brighton (from 1 November 2015); County Jervois (Arno, Cleve, Coolanie, Cowell, Driver River); Goolwa; Kadina Wallaroo Parish (0.8); Keith “One Church” (Uniting Church and Church of Christ together); Walkerville (from 1 February 2016); Whyalla.

Profiles not yet available – Berri Barmera (from 1 February 2016); Malvern and Unley (from March 2016); Moonta and Districts (from 1 April 2016); South West Fleurieu Linked Congregations (0.6); Tumby Bay & Districts (0.5); Windsor Gardens UC (0.5); Covenanting Officer (0.5) (to be advertised).

For more information on any of these placements, or to view national placements, please visit sa.uca.org.au/pastoral-relations/placements-vacant

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news

Dear New Times readers Our 2015 New Times Intern introduces herself.

My name is Suzanne Leong-Scott, but you can call me Suz. I ’m 20 years old, and am currently in my third and final year of a Bachelor of Media, majoring in journalism at the University of Adelaide. Over the last few years, I have taken photographs for the University of Adelaide, started my own blog, itconsumesme.com, and produced and presented news on Radio Adelaide. Most recently I have been conducting interviews and writing articles for The Adelaide Set, a youth-centred website detailing Adelaide ’s events, lifestyle and culture.

I enjoy long walks on the beach with the love of my life – my dog, Archie. In my spare time (if I have any) I like to cook and bake, read magazines, trawl through blogs, online shop, watch Friends re-runs, and spend time with the people I love. I grew up surrounded by the positive influence of Rosefield Uniting Church, which has in part shaped me into the person that I am now.

I am a strong willed and determined person who plans on building

a career around my passions: writing and the magazine industry. For as Confucius said: “If you choose a job you love, you ’ll never work a day in your life.”

I ’m very excited about being this year ’s New Times Intern, and I hope to inject a youthful influence during my time here. I would like to thank the Uniting Church community for being the lovely people that they are, and for making me feel welcome!

Applications open for mission funding Launched in April 2004, Uniting Foundation was created to provide funding for projects that significantly enhance missional opportunities for the Uniting Church in South Australia. Through grants given to individuals, congregations and faith communities across the state, Uniting Foundation has been key in supporting the development and mission of the Uniting Church.

Uniting Foundation receives income from property sale proceeds, donations and bequests. Recently, the Corpus Fund, which is managed by the Resources Board, has, to some degree, recovered from the Global Financial Crisis. This has resulted in a modest increase in total funds available for distribution by Uniting Foundation.

This year, Uniting Foundation has already allocated funds to assist with the Playford Uniting Church development (more information on pages 23-24), but there is a further $350,000 available to assist with other projects.

Uniting Foundation is inviting applications from congregations, faith communities and individuals with projects that demonstrate a capacity to extend God ’s mission. Applicants can seek funding for projects which are short term or extend over a period of several years. Projects that have an alignment with the Presbytery and Synod Strategic Plan, and the potential to influence the wider Uniting Church SA will be looked upon favourably.

Uniting Foundation currently has oversight of 18 active grants, which total $1.5 million. Approximately $700,000 remains committed to these projects, including several where the employment of children's and youth workers in congregations and regions are supported.

Some projects connected to the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress are receiving financial assistance. Stipended

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ministry at the Adelaide Korean Congregation and the Northern Suburbs Dinka-Speaking Faith Community are also supported by the Uniting Foundation. Limited financial assistance has been given to some congregations for improvements to facilities and equipment, which will enable them to be more effective in their mission to the wider community.

The Uniting Foundation Grants Committee views applications and determines which projects will be given funding. Over the past 12 months, the committee has welcomed Rev Nigel Rogers and Rev Dr Amelia Koh Butler. The restructuring of the Pastoral Relations and Mission Resourcing ministry centres also resulted in changes to membership.

At present, the committee is composed of Rev David Hoffman (Foundation Chairperson), Rev Nigel Rogers (CEO/General Secretary), Malcolm Wilson (Associate General Secretary and Foundation Manager), Rev Dr Amelia Koh Butler (Executive Officer, Mission Resourcing), Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning Officers (Rev David Buxton, Rev Ashley Davis, Rev Diane Bury, Rev Beth Seaman and Wendy Perkins), and co-opted members, Margaret Brown and Rev Robyn Caldicott. Chris Jaensch, Secretariat Administration Assistant, also provides invaluable support in the daily tasks associated with the foundation.

Applications for Uniting Foundation grants in 2015 close on Friday 31 July. Applicants will be advised of outcomes during August, and funds will be made available from September. Eligibility criteria, application forms, other associated documents and further information is now available at sa.uca.org.au/uniting-foundation-applying-for-a-grant or by contacting Malcolm Wilson on mwilson@sa.uca.org.au or 8236 4206.

news

Investing in care “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” – Matthew 25:40 How can we reconcile the complex needs of older people and the call of Christ to care for them? In Matthew 25, Jesus told parables about wise preparation and investment, and the importance of caring for “the least of these.” The church participates in preparation and investment through many associated mission-focused organisations. In South Australia, seven UnitingCare organisations provide aged care with a strong focus on serving people.

Here ’s what three of these organisations have been up to this autumn:

Resthaven Port Elliot was formally opened and dedicated by the Uniting Church SA Moderator, Dr Deidre Palmer, on Thursday 14 May this year. The state-of-the-art aged care facility provides high quality care for up to 94 older people, providing around 100 local jobs.

The heritage-listed old school house on the site was renovated, and now offers a range of wellness services for the community through Resthaven Murray Bridge, Hills and Fleurieu Community Services.

“The Fleurieu Peninsula has the highest proportion of people aged 65 and over in the state with 37% located at Victor Harbor and 35% at Goolwa/Port Elliot,” says Resthaven CEO Richard Hearn. “Resthaven understands the high level of need for an aged care facility and community services in the area.”

An artist's impression of the Wesley House redevelopment (information below).

Wesley House, opened in 1950 and currently home to a community of 122 people, is an established aged care facility in Semaphore Park.

In 2014, UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide invested more than $40 million to redevelop Wesley House. The first of three stages is complete; the final two stages will be completed by August 2016.

At present, 70 residents have moved into their new accommodation and are enjoying the modern and eco-friendly facilities. All rooms feature private ensuites, air conditioning and smart TVs. New services and warm, homey communal areas welcome residents, their friends and family.

“We want to ensure people have choices and quality options around their future lifestyle and care needs, and we want our residents to receive the best level of care from our staff. The Wesley House re-build is a great example of how we continue to do this,” says Libby Craft, CEO of UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide.

An artist's impression of the Eldercare Allambi redevelopment (information to the right).

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Photos from the opening of Resthaven Port Elliot (information above).

Eldercare has commenced an exciting expansion phase with major redevelopments underway at The Lodge at Wayville and Allambi at Glengowrie (pictured bottom left). Eldercare is investing $11 million at The Lodge and $24.5 million at Allambi to create innovative and environmentally sustainable aged care facilities.

“These projects demonstrate our commitment to the care of older South Australians. Our plans comprise new buildings as well as renovations,” says Eldercare Chief Executive Jane Pickering.

“The Allambi redevelopment includes 106 extra beds as well as resident lounges, outside spaces and a kiosk, whilst The Lodge upgrade will complement the site ’s heritage feel, incorporating a cafe and more communal areas.

“Enhanced dementia support facilities are a key priority, and these redevelopments feature purpose built environments enabling the best person-centred care possible.”

Sod-turning ceremonies were recently held with local, state and federal government politicians present in addition to Rev Rob Brown, the Executive Officer of UnitingCare South Australia. Both Eldercare projects are scheduled for completion in 2016.

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t ra d i t i o n

This edition of New Times focusses on the history and traditions of the Uniting Church and its South Australian communities.

While some traditions we keep are empowering and strengthen faith, others are kept up out of habit or a desire to recapture the past. The June edition explores the role of traditions, including how they are sustained and created by Uniting Church SA individuals and congregations.

Common threads through traditions Rev Matthew Stuart (left) with Rev Sue Page at the March 2015 Presbytery and Synod meeting.

Catherine Hoffman

“A part of me wants to be cheeky and quote Winston Churchill: ‘Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep. Without innovation, it is a corpse ’. ” When asked to speak on the topic of tradition within the Uniting Church, Rev Matthew Stuart is quick to realise its complexities – and to make a joke.

Raised in the Anglican tradition, Matthew left church for a time before turning to the Uniting Church. Now 35, he has been attending the Uniting Church for approximately the last 15 years, and has been ordained for five of those. His first placement as a Minister of the Word was at Newland Memorial Church, a Uniting congregation that traces its roots back to 1839.

During his time in the Uniting Church, Matthew has also worked in defence – this is his 18th year, with 15 years spent in the army reserves before becoming a defence chaplain.

Steeped in the practices of the Australian Defence Force, in addition to those of the Anglican and Uniting denominations, Matthew has had plenty of time to think about the role of tradition and its connection to his own faith.

“We often use the word ‘tradition ’ to refer just to worship style, with ‘contemporary ’ styles of service set up in opposition. But every church is liturgical, and every church, no matter how old, has tradition.

“For me, tradition is the language we use to tell our story.”

While Matthew recognises the appeal of more “contemporary” or charismatic styles of worship, particularly the use of everyday language, he finds a deeper personal connection with more traditional styles.

“I refer to myself as someone who prefers high liturgy – responsive prayers, services that keep to clear sections. They remind me that I Return to Contents

belong to a tradition bigger than me, to the body of Christ,” he says.

“The language might not be what we ’re used to using or hearing in our daily lives, but I see this as a positive thing – people are made to really explore the meaning of the language used, allowing them to reflect on their faith at an intellectual level as well as a spiritual one.”

A high liturgical style of service is particularly suited to Matthew ’s work as a defence chaplain. While he does not have a chapel on base, he frequently provides space for worship when travelling with a unit on deployment. These services are open to all people within the unit, meaning they are usually ecumenical and sometimes multi-faith.

“I ’ve found that a traditional style is often more inclusive in this situation,” Matthew says. “There is common language across denominations within high liturgy, allowing more people to connect with the worship being delivered and their own faith.”

Many churches have moved away from “high church” styles of worship in recent years, including within the Uniting Church. This change has often been a conscious move, arising from the belief that more conversational language and high energy music will appeal to younger generations. While this is certainly true in many cases, some young people are being drawn back to more traditional styles.

“I think we ’re seeing this shift because our world is changing so rapidly. High church styles of service have stood the test of the time and have a strong connection to the church ’s history. When participating in these services, there ’s a sense of joining a larger, longer story,” Matthew reflects.

“We are people of the book. We don ’t need to recreate the book – it has stayed true.”

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t ra d i t i o n

Creating, connecting and continuing traditions When the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational denominations joined together to form the Uniting Church, each brought their own traditions and values. Although Uniting Church congregations and faith communities all have the Basis of Union as a founding document, each has its own way of expressing faith and joining in worship. Over the next three pages, members of different congregations share their experiences of worship and tradition, and explore why their community has chosen to engage in these ways.

A multitude of ministry traditions Rev Dean Whittaker speaks about the role traditions play in the life of the Adelaide Congress congregation, a Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress community located in Salisbury North.

I believe tradition has four key elements: • Tradition is owned by some kind of community • Traditions of various communities centre on each individual – sometimes competing, sometimes building on each other • Tradition is passed down from one generation to another within a community • Tradition includes stories, histories, practices, beliefs and understandings Adelaide Congress Ministry includes a number of intermingling traditions.

We have people who come from a variety of backgrounds. Some come from Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Land communities, which were based in culture and influenced by the establishment of the Ernabella mission. These members have their own church history and background. They have a strong connection to their language and cultural traditions, and to the struggle to establish and develop the church in their country. Their ties to language and culture were strongly encouraged by the original missionaries who visited the area. While many of these folk really treasure their cultural traditions, others would say they have nailed that tradition to the cross and received a new tradition from Jesus through the church.

Other members of Adelaide Congress come from Aboriginal missions closer to cities, and have been more strongly affected

by European invasion. Many of these folk feel a loss of cultural connections, but a strong connection to the history and effects of missions they have been involved with. These attendees often know some words in language, but do not have the ability to speak their language fully. Often their knowledge of cultural stories is also less than full. In a number of cases both language and cultural stories are being revitalised through personal or organised projects, which seek to renew knowledge through historical documents and old peoples ’ stories. Often there is a mix of embracing and rejecting different aspects of mission life and mission traditions. There is often a stronger, more profound sense of the injustice and oppression of invasion.

While our church is on Kaurna land, Kaurna people rarely attend. In this sense, our church itself is a refugee or exile church: our members are mostly people of this country who are in exile from their own land, who are now on land that is not their own, but which is connected with

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Members of Adelaide Congress are looking forward to the completion of their new church building.

their own land. Amongst many of our folk there is a sense of being the First People and being invaded, while also being exiled and occupying other people ’s land. There are significant complexities in this.

In terms of our own church life, we seek to value singing and prayer highly. We encourage people to sing in language and to sing old mission songs, in addition to newer music and original songs written by members. We have prayer before the service, on each Tuesday night, and once a month on a Friday night. Prayer is also encouraged in language in every service.

We have a significant number of First and other people in our congregation who have strong connections and involvement with Pentecostal traditions. We have people who blow the shofar, wave flags, pray in tongues, emphasise the importance of honouring and praying for Israel, pray prophetically, pray for healing, make declarations, and expect miracles. These things are significant and important in the life of our congregation.

Rev Dean Whittaker has written extensive responses to a series of questions relating to tradition and the life of the Adelaide Congress faith community. Excerpts from these responses will be made available on Across over the coming months. To find out more, please visit sa.uca.org. au/across or contact Catherine Hoffman on 8236 4230.

t ra d i t i o n

The old and the new Rosalie Upton talks to New Times about A Thin Place – an innovative worship service held at The Corner Uniting Church.

A Thin Place is a multimedia, multisensory contemplative worship service held several times a year at The Corner Uniting Church.

Central to the service are images pertinent to the theme of the day, which are projected on three large screens. Scripture or prayers are also used to aid reflection. As many senses as possible are used to experience worship in fresh ways at the various stations – taste, touch, smell and sight.

The name “A Thin Place” comes from the Celtic concept that there are places where the gap between heaven and earth is thin, and communion with God is special and unique.

This sort of worship has been around as long as there has been a church, but it is not so prevalent in the modern church. Just as there are different personality types, there are different spiritual types – some people do not thrive in exuberant public worship, but grow and connect in quietness or where creative personal reflection is enabled.

All through the history of the church, there

has been a monastic stream existing side-byside with the more conventional way of being church. Contemplative worship sits most comfortably with this stream. While joining a monastic community is not generally part of the modern Protestant tradition, more and more people are becoming interested in engaging in this sort of worship.

A Thin Place also borrows and adapts elements from the Orthodox tradition, and from the Irish and Scottish Celtic traditions – both ancient and modern. Their prayers, poetry and music feature prominently.

However, operating in the 21st century enables the use of convenient modern technology. Three screens can be viewed from all parts of the worship space, making participants feel as though they are enveloped in beauty. Gentle music plays in the background and helps to create a welcoming, reflective atmosphere.

Many people who attend these worship services haven ’t experienced contemplative worship before coming to A Thin Place.

They say the reason they keep coming back is that it has become the place where they can

A worship station established for A Thin Place earlier this year. Photo courtesy of thecorner.org.au

encounter God in the most real and personal way. It has opened their minds and spirits to the beauty of silence, enabling them to look creatively at their faith and at God, the author of creativity.

To find out more about A Thin Place, please read a longer version of this article at sa.uca. org.au/across or contact The Corner Uniting Church on administration@thecorner.org.au or 8350 5400.

Recognising common ground Founded in France in 1940, the Taizé Community is an ecumenical monastic order composed of over 100 brothers, largely from Catholic and Protestant traditions. For the past several years, Brougham Place Uniting Church in North Adelaide has been drawing on the unique style of worship used by the Taizé Community.

“We ’ve been exploring the ideas, music and chants used in Taizé worship,” says Rev John Hughes, a minister at Brougham Place.

“Revolving around a format of prayer, the chants are almost always taken from Scripture. Their short, repetitive style allows people to move beyond the words and into experience.”

Many young people in the congregation have been drawn to this mode of worship, with some taking part in pilgrimages to the Taizé Community, individually and as part of a group. A few years ago, Brougham Place organised a Uniting Church SA group visit. Apart from John and fellow Brougham Place minister Rev Jenni Hughes, all of the attendees were under the age of 30.

“After this visit, a number of people in the group reflected on how noisy and constant life is, and what it would mean to have more silence in our lives,” John recalls.

“We found that we really valued the time to sit in silence before the Return to Contents

A stained-glass window at the Taizé Community located in Saôneet-Loire, Burgundy, France.

grace of God; to start to come to grips with the profound love God has for us – and what that means for living our lives.”

It was also a reminder about what connects us as Christians – whatever tradition we come from or identify with.

“No matter how we worship, or how we communicate and talk about the deep love of God, we are all part of the same journey. We have so much more in common than it often appears.”

Brougham Place Uniting Church was established more than 150 years ago. To find out more about the congregation ’s involvement with the Taizé Community, or their other worship services and events, please visit bpuc.org or call 8267 2657.

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t ra d i t i o n

A long history Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church is currently celebrating 150 years, holding a series of events and services to explore the past and present work of the congregation. New Times spoke to Rev Beth Seaman about the church ’s rich history and tradition.

“When you enter the church building, there ’s a real sense of entering a spiritual space,” says Rev Beth Seaman. “You can really sense a connection with those who have worshipped there in the past.”

Beth has been the minister at Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church for just under a year now, and she quickly realised the important role of tradition and history to this congregation.

“There ’s a strong background in Wesleyan theology and spirituality, particularly in the preference for evangelical, Biblical

teaching and particular orders of service,” she says. “The role of music as a way to connect to spirituality and as an expression of the movement of the Spirit is also very important.”

Wesley Kent Town often has visitors on Sunday mornings, many of whom have expressed appreciation for the traditional style of both the building and the congregation ’s worship services “One visitor told me that he felt ‘an overwhelming sense of the mystery of God ’ while worshipping with us,” Beth recalls.

“It ’s hard to explain, but I believe that the traditional architecture speaks to the soul somehow, and assists in the experience of God ’s holiness.”

Wesley Kent Town will continue in their strong traditions this year as they celebrate the

The historic Wesley Kent Town Uniting Church building.

past 150 years of faith, music and ministry.

“Through the traditions of John Wesley, we will continue to provide space for people to come into a deeper relationship with God.”

Element of worship The Journey Uniting Church is a large congregation in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide. Rev Andy Hogarth talks about some of the traditions and worship style the community engages with through their 10am and 6pm Sunday services.

The Journey ’s main focus is for people to have every opportunity to experience Jesus ’ grace and power, and connect with a local church in a relevant, contemporary way.

The morning service is attended by people of all ages – babies, children, teens, young adults, and adults up to about 70-ish years of age.

Kids under the age of 15 are all in a space together for about 20 minutes before moving to age specific ministry time. We have a lot of single mums and dads who really appreciate the space and time to hear from the Lord while their children are engaged elsewhere.

The evening service tends to cater to young people from 14 to 25 years of age. At the conclusion of this service, various groups usually go to houses or eateries, inviting new people to come along for food and a chat.

At each service, we try to have at least three opportunities for someone to be welcomed as they walk from the car park to the main auditorium.

The opening worship is loud and contemporary, calling people to worship with songs of hope and welcome. It is also visual, using a big screen with words and images to help people worship.

Preaching is really important to us and we rotate through various passages of the Bible to get a balance, often following a theme that aligns with the prayer, conversation and reflections on Scripture that

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Young people worshipping at The Journey Uniting Church.

take place in small groups.

The Journey also values community – through prayer, chats over coffee, connections with the wider community and offerings for international relief efforts.

We are a Uniting Church congregation that honours all Christian traditions, and respectfully seeks to follow the Lord ’s leading to be contemporary, spirit led, biblical and relevant to our communities in the 21st century.

For further information about The Journey Uniting Church, including youth events and church groups, please visit journeyuc.org.au or call 8251 7149.

t ra d i t i o n

Engaging with family practices Mary Jo Zwaar

“Because of our traditions, we ’ve kept our balance for many, many years… and because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is, and what God expects him to do… Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as, as… as a fiddler on the roof!”

– Fiddler on the roof (lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein) Sports clubs, businesses, neighbourhoods, service clubs, communities, churches, families, nations – every social group has its own distinctive way of doing some things. Not just habits, these practices and traditions develop intentionally and with a purpose – although sometimes the purpose is lost as the tradition is passed on.

Your family or household has its own practices. Yes, you do have them! Even “not making a big thing of it” is a practice. Your particular ways of doing things together – your family practices – knit you together as a unit, and help you understand who you are.

What are some practices in your family? (Think, for example, of what you do every day, week, year, or whenever Grandma visits.)

Do you know how these practices began or why you do them?

Do people outside your family do things the same way?

The benefits of family traditions Families can create their own unique traditions, purposely designed to reinforce family values. Family traditions can provide: • identity and connection with family history • family bonds • comfort and security • a constant in our fast-paced, changing life • lasting memories • security during times of change and grief • rhythm for days, weeks, years, lifetimes Yours, mine and ours One of the important tasks of establishing a new family or household is to work out what traditions to follow. Each person brings a host of practices and traditions from their birth family and culture. Sometimes these are shared by both sides of the family, and it ’s relatively easy to continue them in the new setting.

Sometimes the traditions relating to the same aspect of life (e.g. Christmas gifts or mealtimes) are different. Rather than unquestioningly following one person ’s way, there is an opportunity

to reshape the old into something new that works well for the current generation and the next.

Cultural traditions Indigenous Australians and people who come to Australia from other places have a wide range of traditions, customs and practices reflecting their various cultures.

It is important that families pass on these traditions to new generations. You may be able to find out more about your family ’s cultural traditions from older relatives, or from ethnic community organisations. Christians are able to enjoy participating in a wide range of cultural tradition, while continuing to place God above all else.

Christian family traditions Christians believe that faith is a gift of God. They also believe that God works in, and through, families and worshipping communities to nurture, develop and strengthen God's gift of faith. Christian families can choose to carry on traditions from their parents, or develop new practices that that reflect and strengthen their own faith.

Rituals and traditions are not the heart of Christian faith – Jesus is.

Rituals and traditions will never replace that relationship, but they can express it and strengthen it.

Family practice ideas The Uniting Young People team is developing a series of fact sheets focussing on ideas for family practices designed to help parents and grandparents think about family traditions, and the way things are done at home. The fact sheets provide ideas for incorporating faithnourishing practices into your family.

The first “Family Practice Ideas” fact sheet is now available online at sa.uca.org.au/uyp/resources For more information about resources and family practices, please contact the Uniting Young People team on 8236 4281 or children@sa.uca.org.au

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t ra d i t i o n

Clayton Wesley Uniting Church holds a prominent position at the intersection of The Parade and Portrush Road.

Questions for the future Rev Paul Turley

Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” – Jaroslav Pelikan Imagine you inherit a property. It ’s rundown but located in a part of town that is experiencing a boom. It ’s an obvious candidate for redevelopment, and now is the perfect time.

Imagine that the property has been the family homestead for generations, the place where countless joys have been celebrated and countless sorrows weathered.

What will you do? Keep everything as it is? Even the garish 70s colours? The 50s asbestos in the crumbling roof? Or do you sell up?

There is a lot of money in the old place and there are so many in the family who could use it. Who should be making these decisions?

Just you because by quirks of fate and timing, your name appears on the deed?

This is our story. All of us. We are the current inheritors of the institution of the Uniting Church. We are holding the “deeds” at a time when the shifts of history and culture are signalling the demise – or at least the radical repositioning – of our institution as we know it.

At Clayton Wesley, where I currently have the privilege of serving, the congregation ’s dilemma – and opportunity – is in full view. Located at the intersection of The Parade and Portrush Road, the Clayton Wesley property is one of the most prominent church sites in Adelaide.

At the same time, like many churches, our congregation is small and ageing.

How shall we make decisions for the future? Will we be the pilgrim people of our Basis of Union, willing to discard things on our journey towards a common goal? Or will we act as if we are a club whose purpose is to serve only its current members? A club that holds onto the vague hope that as long as we are not required to change much, we can somehow attract new members?

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Who do we listen to? I suggest we do not listen to voices that say “We ’ve always done it this way." No, we haven ’t. Perhaps we have done it this way for a couple of generations. However, during this time we have experienced a 50-70% drop in church attendance.

How do we decide what traditions to keep, and which to leave behind? We have inherited a collection of beautiful buildings and city landmarks. However, they were built for another age, are difficult to adapt, and costly to maintain. What do we do?

And who is the “we” in that sentence? Current members of Clayton Wesley? The whole Synod and Presbytery? Volunteers and participants? Many of the volunteers at Hope ’s Cafe and Goodies op shop, two of the community development projects at Clayton Wesley, spend more time on the property than many members of the congregation. Organisations we partner with? Clayton Wesley often joins with Uniting Communities, a UnitingCare organisation, in important community development and services. The wider community of the eastern suburbs of Adelaide?

And what of money? Thanks to the generosity and stewardship of those who have gone before us, Clayton Wesley is one of the wealthiest Uniting Church congregations in South Australia (although it ’s far from being the very wealthiest). Whose money is it, and who decides what happens to it?

We can only approach these difficult and exciting questions at Clayton Wesley – and across the whole Uniting Church – if we do so together. We will need courage, for I suspect our answers will give us a church that looks precious little like the comfortable church of our recent past. But if we embrace our most ancient traditions as guidance – our extravagant welcome, hospitality, and celebration of the abundance of God-given life – then surely we can be a church with a living, moving, growing tradition.

t ra d i t i o n

Building on our history Uniting College for Leadership & Theology is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Uniting Church SA Historical Society.

The Historical Society will assist Uniting College in running an annual topic on South Australian church and religious history, which will be offered at postgraduate and advanced undergraduate levels. The semester-long course will be supported by the archival and primary resources of the Historical Society, and guided by adjunct lecturer Dr Jenny Hein.

Uniting College Principal Rev Dr Steve Taylor is pleased to be able to offer students a high quality course with a knowledgeable and gifted lecturer.

“Uniting College and the Adelaide College of Divinity are excited to provide students with the opportunity to increase their awareness of our rich church history and the role the Historical Society plays in church life,” says Steve.

“We can ’t lead into the future unless we know our past.”

Over many years, members of the Historical Society have researched and published accounts of church organisations concerned with the poor and disadvantaged, stories of devout ministers, and articles detailing the impact of churches on the social and political landscape of Australia. The group also holds a wide variety of historical records relating to South Australian Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches prior to union in 1977, and on the Uniting Church after this date.

Those enrolled in the course will be provided with an avenue to gain a greater understanding of these denominations, and their long association with the wider South Australian community. Students will also be given the opportunity to conduct their own historical research through the introduction of a variety of research methods. Participants will be encouraged to investigate a topic of their own interest, drawing on the archives of the Historical Society and the expertise of its members. Students who wish to publish their findings will be given assistance in finding potential journals and submitting their work.

Left to right: Rev Dr Dean Eland and Valerie Canty of the Historical Society with Dr Jenny Hein and Rev Dr Steve Taylor.

This is a unique opportunity for people to learn more about the history and influence of the Uniting Church in South Australia.

The new history topic can be undertaken for personal interest or as part of a wider course of study. For further information, please contact the Adelaide College of Divinity on college.divinity@flinders.edu.au or 8416 8400.

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magazine

God ’s creation is running a fever The writers of this article, Graham Elford and David McKirdy, are retired scientists from the University of Adelaide, one specialising in Atmospheric Science and the other in Organic Geochemistry. This article is one in a series submitted by the Uniting Church SA Environment Action Group.

The title of this article is taken from an interview with Professor Katharine Hayhoe, a leading climate scientist, which was published last December in Guernica magazine. A well-known and widely respected commentator on climate change in the United States, she also happens to be an evangelical Christian who uses the title phrase to describe the abnormal warming of the Earth ’s surface over the last 150 years, due to our increasing reliance on fossil fuels as convenient sources of energy.

As Katharine states, her actions are driven by her faith: “For Christians, doing something about climate change is about living out our faith – caring for those who need help, our neighbours here at home or on the other side of the world, and taking responsibility for this planet that God created and entrusted to us.”

Stressing the need for urgent action, Katharine argues that “we don ’t have a hundred years to fix climate change ... Every year that we delay has a very real cost, in terms of both dollars and human life, that will [accumulate into] the future.”

The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly obvious – glaciers around the world are retreating at unprecedented rates, the Arctic ice sheet is rapidly decreasing, and the Artic Ocean is getting warmer, an effect which is considered responsible for the recent surges in extreme weather conditions in the Northern Hemisphere.

In Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology pointed out that the changes observed over recent decades will continue into the future. Hot days will become more frequent and hotter, extreme rainfall events across

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the nation are likely to become more intense, as will tropical cyclones.

Southern and eastern Australia are projected to experience harsher fire conditions. The threats from heatwaves, floods, and storms are well recognised. Less well understood are the indirect risks to health from climate change, with impacts on food yields and nutrition, fresh water flows, bacterial and mosquito populations, and infectious diseases.

Further, a combination of high temperatures and humidity will compromise normal human activities.

The reason for this worldwide climate change is the dramatic increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. For the past 10,000 years the concentration remained relatively constant between 260 and 280 parts per million (ppm). In the middle of the 18th century it began to increase, and reached 400 ppm in 2013. The source of this additional CO2 is the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas).

Earth ’s pre-industrial atmosphere contained 590 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC) as CO2. Since the start of the industrial revolution, mankind ’s activities have released a further 560 GtC, most of it from industrial and transport emissions, the rest from land clearance.

The proportion arising from fossil fuel combustion represents about 10% of the total carbon preserved in the earth ’s crust as coal, oil and gas. These fossil fuel deposits are products of the global carbon cycle operating over the last three billion years. To have converted one-tenth of this fossil carbon reservoir back to CO2 in just 250

Innovative partnerships for the future of the Uniting Church years is geologically unprecedented. An increase of such magnitude and rapidity in the atmosphere ’s principal greenhouse gas is having inevitable consequences. The current rate of warming is the highest in 65 million years. In short, humankind has inadvertently turned up Earth ’s thermostat.

In 2008 plants, soils and the oceans took up 60% of our annual fuel emissions. The rest stayed in the atmosphere, where half of it will remain for more than 30 thousand years because the Earth ’s ability to absorb extra CO2 is now declining. The only way of slowing the resultant climate change is to cease burning fossil fuels. If this can be achieved by 2050 we will have a stable atmosphere in terms of weather events by the end of the century (2100).

The mitigation process is well known and proven. Modern society ’s energy needs can be met from solar/thermal, wind, tidal, wave, hydro, geothermal and next-generation nuclear power, accompanied by more efficient usage of energy through recent advances in lighting, fuel cell and battery technology, and in air and ground-sourced heating and cooling. All these technologies are currently developed and in use.

Our current lifestyle, so reliant on fossil fuels, threatens the future of our children and grandchildren. Business as usual is not an option.

This means that we have to hold our business and political leaders to account. How we do this, as individuals and the Uniting Church, is up to us to decide.

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Uniting Church congregations, organisations and individuals provide programmes and services to bring hope and joy to South Australians on a daily basis.

Each year, Uniting Foundation receives applications for financial support from across the state.

Successful applicants receive significant grants for projects which are considered to be at the “cutting edge” and provide services or programmes to build vibrant church communities and lead the Uniting Church into the future.

Do you have an exciting church project that requires support?

Uniting Foundation is now accepting applications for 2015!

Find out more at sa.uca.org.au/uniting-foundation or contact Malcolm Wilson on 8236 4206.

g e t t i n g t o k n o w. . .

Dowlingville Uniting Church Set in a grain-growing area and surrounded by paddocks, Dowlingville Uniting Church is very much a country church. The congregation is associated with the Hope Net mission network and operates within the Ardrossan Parish along with three other congregations. Although the Dowlingville congregation is small, its members have huge hearts for community and God. Many of the people who spent their younger years in Dowlingville – attending Sunday School and youth group, visiting various youth camps – grew very fond of camping. The Dowlingville congregation has provided support for many camps in the region. In particular, they have contributed significantly to the local Youth Easter Camp.

Founded by Rev Rod James in 1979 during his time in the Ardrossan Parish, this camp has continued to grow, supported, in part, by strong youth leadership from Dowlingville Uniting Church. The camp is held at the Accommodation Centre at Port Hughes – the only campsite on the Yorke Peninsula which can come close to accommodating the more than 120 young campers and leaders who attend each year. In its 36th year, the camp

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saw huge participation by the Eternity Chapel in Minlaton, and attracted more campers than it could accommodate.

In recent years, Dowlingville has become more laid back, often preferring informality to religious traditions. It is a place where people of all ages feel welcome to visit and consequently, the mission of the church tends to be local. This open and friendly environment where people “drop in” results in a fluctuating congregation that usually numbers between 15 and 30, but can creep higher.

During a short period without a minister, the Dowlingville congregation found most of its members were not only willing, but quite capable of contributing to the weekly Sunday morning service. Some members faithfully visit people who are house- or hospitalbound. Others find themselves more directly involved in supporting the minister, decisionmaking, working on the preaching plan, and attending prayer meetings. Four people from this congregation lead services regularly within the parish and occasionally beyond.

The Dowlingville congregation is also involved in spreading and strengthening faith

beyond Sunday services. A weekly, combined congregation Bible study is attended by some, while others support the Ardrossan craft group. Several members are also involved in running a fortnightly kids club in Ardrossan.

The Dowlingville congregation is accepting, allowing people to try new things in order to grow their faith. There is always live music on a Sunday morning, even if it is only one guitar and a vocalist on most occasions. About a decade ago the handing out of mints at the end of the service turned into a cuppa, and later to lunch. The congregation sees the time spent lingering over a meal as an opportunity for extensive conversations, providing effective caring for each other and specific prayer where required.

Dowlingville Uniting Church has experienced times of triumph and personal tragedy. With God ’s help, the congregation continues in faith, seeking the best for its members and the wider community.

g e t t i n g t o k n o w. . .

Driver River Uniting Church What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from our children, we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. – Psalm 78:3-4 Situated in the farming district of Verran on the Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Driver River Uniting Church has a rich and diverse history spanning over 100 years. The original church building was established in 1911. This wood and iron structure was built on land donated by a local farmer and served as a school and meeting place as well as a place of worship.

The church was named after Driver River Creek, which flows through the neighbouring farms, and has provided a beautiful setting for many church services and picnics. In 1961-62, the current clay-bricked, tiled-roof chapel and hall were built to accommodate the growing congregation.

Today, the Driver River congregation includes people from a wide variety of denominational backgrounds. The congregation ’s members regularly join together for worship, sharing their gifts and talents to bring glory to God. Driver River belongs to the Hope Net mission network and is a member of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations. The Return to Contents

church is part of the County Jervois Parish, which includes the Arno Bay Community Church, Cowell, Coolanie and Cleve Uniting Churches.

While Driver River does not have a minister at present, the congregation is blessed to have talented lay preachers within the congregation. These preachers also travel to other churches in the County Jervois Parish to offer encouragement and inspirational words.

The Driver River congregation is overseen by a ministry team who meet on a monthly basis to ensure that the spiritual, physical and financial needs of the church community and building are being met. Other teams within the church focus on providing physical assistance, community gift baskets for those in need, and maintenance of the church building. The community is also active in coordinating camps, family fun nights, prayer buddies, fundraising events such as the annual strawberry fête and concert, and a food stand at the biennial Cleve field days. Many of these activities are excellent forms of community outreach. Some members of the congregation also assist with religious education classes at the local area school in Cleve, and provide support for the Christian Pastoral Support Worker at the school.

Driver River is home to worship leaders and musicians of all ages, each bringing the congregation into worship in their own way.

Contemporary songs make up most of the worship music, but traditional hymns and songs also feature occasionally.

The Sunday School at Driver River is led by a number of willing parents. During school term time, children between the ages of three and 12 are involved during the early part of each Sunday service before leaving for classes in the church hall. The Sunday school currently caters to over 30 kids, many travelling long distances to take part. Driver River also holds a family service on the first Sunday of each month.

When the congregation ’s children enter high school, they may begin to attend the youth Bible study group. Held once a fortnight during term time, the group meets after school on Fridays to enjoy a meal and Bible study. At present, approximately 25 teens attend each fortnight.

Driver River Uniting Church is united by their vision to “actively grow in our faith, equipping all, for the building of God ’s Kingdom” and their mission to “humbly live a life built on God ’s word and truth, and to pass it on to the next generation through a living example.”

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General Secretary Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Western Australia The Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Western Australia, is seeking a General Secretary to commence in January 2016.

To be considered for this position, you must be a member of the Uniting Church in Australia, have a deep knowledge of the Uniting Church with a commitment to the Basis of Union, and to our calling to fulfil the mission of Christ. We would expect the successful applicant to have a passion for the gospel and gifts in visionary, prayerful and empowering leadership.

The new General Secretary must also have the ability to lead through times of change with a pastoral approach.

This position also requires managerial and executive responsibilities.

A position description will be available from 18 June 2015.

Please email your Expression of Interest to: (Morgans A.B.N. 49 010 669 726 A.F.S.L.235410) Participant of ASX Group, A Professional Partner of the Financial Planning Association of Australia.

Maureen Bourke Administrative Assistant to the Selection Committee Uniting Church in Australia WA Email: maureen.bourke@wa.uca.org.au Phone: 08 9260 9833

Children and Families Pastor Seeds Uniting Church is seeking applications from a highly proficient “people person” to join Teamseeds as a Children & Families Pastor on a negotiable fixed part-time (0.8 fte) basis.

The Seeds vision is one of “Bringing People to Jesus and transforming them into His Passionate Disciples” The successful applicant will need to demonstrate strong management skills, biblical knowledge & application with a passion to see children grow into mature disciples.

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The person will need to work closely with the Senior Pastor, staff and volunteers engaged at Seeds.

Enquiries & Position Description: Paul Frisby 0409670627 or email to paul.frisby@seedschurch.org Please forward applications addressing the selection criteria outlined in the position description to the email address above or mail marked “Confidential” to: Business Manager, Seeds Uniting Church, 42 Sunnymeade Drive, Aberfoyle Park, SA 5159 Applications close at 5 pm. on Friday the 19th of June 2015. For general information please visit Seeds at www.seedschurch.org Send your letters to: newtimes@sa.uca.org.au or PO Box 2145, Adelaide 5001.

AUSTRALIAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION

Geoff Lewis General Manager

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Be topical, be brief, be timely.

Letters over 150 words will be edited; responses to previous letters /articles will be considered within two months of the original item ’s publication only.

All letters are published at the editorial team ’s discretion.

diary MESSY CORNER. Sunday 21 June, 3.30-5.30pm. Join us for Messy Church at The Corner Uniting Church (corner Oaklands Rd and Diagonal Rd, Warradale) as we explore the theme of storms using song, drama and craft activities. Fun for the whole family, including a shared meal. Cost $5. For more information, please visit thecorner.org.au

NATIONAL AND WORLD MISSION GATHERING. The National and World Mission mid-year mission gathering will be held on Sunday 12 July, 2pm at Broadview Uniting Church (corner Galway Ave and Collingrove Ave, Broadview) with a shared afternoon tea. Contact Rev Nita West 8431 0145 or June Heath 8278 5562 for more information.

STATE MISSION FELLOWSHIP. Tuesday 23 June, 10.30am at Scots Church (North Terrace, Adelaide). Brian Phillips will talk about environmental mission. Come early for morning tea and stay for lunch, $5. All welcome.

ANNIVERSARY SERVICE. Port Broughton Uniting Church (corner Harvey St and Edmund St, Port Broughton) will hold its 130th Anniversary Service on Sunday 25 October at 10am. Uniting Church SA Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer will officiate. There will be a dedication of a commemoration stone, followed by a luncheon. All past members and ministers are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Coralie Bowley on 8635 2111 or Sandra Ireland on 8635 2217 or email pinebrae@bigpond.com

COMMUNITY DAY. On Saturday 27 June the Australian Christian Meditation Community SA will be holding a Community Day at St Francis Xavier Cathedral Hall (Wakefield Street, Adelaide) from 11am to 3pm.

The guest speaker will be Sister Cynthia Griffin, who will be presenting an interactive reflection titled “Discipleship at the Well.” Please bring lunch for sharing. Suggested donation: $15. For more information, please contact Bev on 0407 392 809.

letters to the editor

Walking down the road

Later this month (June) the Uniting Church will mark its 38th anniversary. In June 1977 the Sydney Town Hall was packed with those who witnessed the birth of the infant denomination. The world was very different then and in an Australian context church membership and attendance was relatively high. Yet as we reflect over these past 38 years, the events that have marked the mileposts on the Uniting Church ’s journey thus far have shaped the church we see today.

Those 38 years have seen many of the people who witnessed the inauguration of the Uniting Church leave us as we journeyed. Whilst new members have joined us within the various faith communities in our fellowship, our journey now brings us to a crossroads. The signposts are confusing, we are faced with decisions, some hard and difficult to accept. The surrounding topography of life is very different, even strange, certainly nothing like the location we left at the start.

The familiar landmarks we left behind have given way to the new. The shingles outside the buildings continually remind us of the new world of compliance, regulation, social change, community attitudes and more. All these raise doubts in our minds; what should we do?

Yet despite these distractions on what now may seem like a road to nowhere, we are part of a group with a clear purpose based on a faith that has seen the test of time. As I journey with fellow members of the Uniting Church, I sing the words of Robin Mann ’s “Walking down the road”: “Oh, stay by my side, Jesus, you be my guide/don ’t you know how I trust in you/Show me where I should call, pick me up when I fall/as I ’m walkin ’ down the road with you.”

A. Gibson Cherrybrook, NSW

Words of gratitude

I ’m writing to publically express my thanks to Uniting Foundation for their generous support. Over the last seven years I have undertaken doctoral studies that have been funded by the Foundation. Study at this level would not have been possible without this provision. I am Return to Contents

To have your upcoming event or message published here, email diary@sa.uca.org.au with ‘Diary ’ in the subject line.

incredibly grateful to have been the recipient of this funding. It was generous, timely and pertinent to my ministry setting. Specifically, I acknowledge the support of Malcolm Wilson, Barry Atwell and Rev Dr Tony Nancarrow. The Foundation has enabled me to pursue a life goal, which would have been unattainable without its help. I trust the results are to the glory of God and the enhancement of the Uniting Church SA. The Uniting Foundation has truly been a great blessing.

In addition there are other people who have assisted me in this season of life. I want to publicly thank Rev Dr Phil Carr for his support and belief in me, Rev Dr Benji Callen for his encouragement and wise council, Rev Dr Graham Humphris for his mentoring and “keep going” words, Dr Lee Parker for his ability to keep me on task in such a friendly manner, David and Maxine French for a refreshing quiet place to study, the members of Unley and Malvern Uniting who make the space for me, and the staff who kept boosting my energy; and lastly, with great love, Evan, Jenny, Suzanne, Morgan, Amy, Alison and Eliza!

J. Davies, Aberfoyle Park

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reviews

More than public speaking Book: Transforming Preaching Author: Ruthanna B. Hooke Recommended for: those who preach or would like to In short: Transforming indeed.

RRP: $23.95 Available from: Amazon If you ’re good at public speaking then you ’d be good at preaching, right? Wrong! I ’ve always been an upfront person, but this book reflects the tension I feel between the awesome responsibility to speak God ’s Word on one hand, and simply sharing my understanding of God on the other.

Transforming Preaching is part of the Transformation series of the Episcopal Church and so it refers to the United States, but much of the book applies to our context in Australia.

Throughout the book, the author describes the criteria of effective and faithful preaching. She also spends time on

practices such as use of voice and breath, being physically prepared, performing Scripture by heart, and using improvisation skills.

For me, the most useful sections of the book were the pages featuring profiles of eight preachers sharing the ways they approach the task of preaching. One suggested that, as with the loaves and fishes in the Bible, God multiplies what we already have. Another spoke about the importance of “practised spontaneity – rather like good stand-up.”

The last section of the book pulls the previous elements together and describes an ideal preaching situation – one that many could aspire to, at least in part. The included discussion guide, notes and resources may also prove useful to readers.

Glenys Badger

Warmth for the winter Over 100,000 people in Australia are homeless. In our state alone, 5,985 people sleep homeless every night, including 939 children. Many go without food, shelter and clothing. Thousands are living in temporary housing like caravan parks, in cars, on a friend or family member ’s couch or in overcrowded dwellings like boarding houses.

Homelessness doesn ’t have to be like this. UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide ’s annual winter campaign, Hang it up for Poverty (HIUFP), raises awareness about homelessness in South Australia and provides practical ways for people to help.

Since its launch only two years ago, over 200 individuals, schools, businesses and community groups have taken up the challenge to make a real difference. Not only have they raised $65,000 to help fund housing support services delivered by UnitingCare Wesley, they ’ve donated an amazing 17,000 items of clothing for people in need across South Australia.

Having launched on Monday 1 June, this year ’s HIUFP campaign is inviting donations of new or pre-loved clothing for people who are homeless this winter, and money to help UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide find safe and secure homes for people in need. This will help to provide people with the support they need to get back on their feet.

Last year churches from around South Australia joined in to support the cause. Woodville Uniting Church was one of the state ’s top clothing collectors – they donated 900 items of clothing and food.

Meningie Uniting Church was generous in their financial support of

UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide staff dressed in their winter woolies for the launch of Hang it up for Poverty in 2015.

the campaign, raising $2,110 to help the state ’s homeless.

This winter, UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide hopes to raise more than $50,000 and collect 10,000 items of clothing.

Fundraising events can be registered online. Churches who register will receive a free toolkit, including promotional materials and a donation box.

Join in and make a real difference at hangitupforpoverty.org.au For more information, please contact UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide on 8440 2144 or contact@hangitupforpoverty.org.au

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magazine

Playford community welcomes missional project The Uniting Church in South Australia has not undertaken a new church build for many years - and certainly not one as unique and potentially daunting as the one being constructed in the City of Playford. Bindy Taylor shares her experience visiting the site of the nearly-complete church building, and speaks to members of the community about the impact this new church is having in the local area.

Driving towards the new Playford Uniting Church, my first glimpse of the building is the large red cross, which towers above the structure. To the right of my moving car, someone plucks rubbish from amongst the native plants on the freshly landscaped median strip. To the left is a suburb buzzing with activity and newness – newly built houses, freshly excavated ground, and brand new shops surrounded by meticulous parklands and natural reserves.

Amidst the newness, the nearly complete Playford Uniting Church stands out – the church building is unlike any other I have visited. Natural light fills the space from every angle, its purpose-built layout provides pockets of bright and airy community space.

The many large windows make the building feel transparent, matching the vision for the community.

The establishment of the building has often relied on the surrounding Playford community for input and labour. This was an important choice for the church, which has a strong focus on community and mission.

The Playford Uniting Church community has already established connections with local groups, and currently operate a Kid's Club at South Downs Primary School.

Their dedication to contributing to the

life of the community has been recognised by local Mayor Glenn Docherty: “It is great to see the church progressing and be a place of worship that inspires and brings people together in our community. ” Playford Uniting Church is currently in discussions with local not-for-profit organisation Para Worklinks regarding the delivery of landscape training programmes for students to provide practical learning experience on the land surrounding Playford.

Para Worklinks assists people who are unemployed, young people and youth, and disadvantaged people to obtain and retain employment.

“The new Playford Uniting Church presents an opportunity for young people in the local community to gain first-hand experience in landscaping and horticulture, which will improve their confidence, knowledge and ultimately job prospects in the future,” comments Para Worklinks Horticulture Co-ordinator Giulio Marrone.

Others looking forward to enjoying the new space include current Playford Uniting Church members Leanne Davis and Gillian Powis. Gillian is on the Parish Mission Council for the church, and has been involved with the build project from its inception – she was a member of the original planning

support the playford dream: Community connections & partnership I ’M interested in: You can support Playford Uniting Church through community connections and partnerships or financially. Simply select the areas you are interested in, fill in your contact details and mail this page to Playford Uniting Church (PO Box 698, Davoren Park, SA, 5113) or scan and send via email to office@playforduc.org.au

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“the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ask the lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field.” - Luke 10:2

committee formed by the closed Gateway Uniting Church.

Upon visiting the site with a group of Playford Uniting Church members last month, Gillian fell silent. When questioned as to why she was so quiet, she said: “I got an awestruck feeling –the one I get when I visit old cathedrals like those in the United Kingdom. Only it wasn ’t because of all the things that had happened in the past, but because I had a strong sense of all the transformational things that will happen in the future through this new building.”

With the build moving closer to its September 13 official opening date, Gillian shares her enthusiasm about the current Playford community moving into the space.

“It will be easier to have a permanent home, but I am also excited about the people who will make up the community,” she says. “It is not ‘our ’ new home, but a new community space.”

Gillian ’s comments are echoed by Leanne Davis another member of the Playford community: “I ’m excited about what God is going to do in and through us in this space.

I drive past the site most days on my way to work, and I can ’t help but think of the endless possibilities and transformed lives that this will happen in the space.”

I ’M keen to partner:

Serving opportunities

Through receiving regular email

Community development

updates

Organising a visit to Playford Uniting

Through prayer

Church

Through giving financially (see reverse)

Having someone from Playford

Through my personal/ professional

speak to a church group

skills in

Venue or facility bookings at Playford

Through the following

the story

A people

awakened

by the spirit

moving in our communities and cultivating

hope

support the playford dream: Financial support

CONTAct details: Credit Card - online Visit sa.uca.org.au/donate

Name: Address:

Transfer funds from your bank account (i.e. Pay Anyone/Direct Deposit)

BSB Number: 704-095 Account Number: 227659 Account Name: Playford Uniting Church Donations by cheque Please forward payment to: Playford Uniting Church PO Box 698, Davoren Park SA 5113

Congregation (if applicable): Phone: Email: Keep me up to date with the story

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Your financial support of Playford will go to assist in real community projects. For example, $30 will send a welcoming gift to someone new to the area, $50 could provide a student from the local high school with healthy breakfasts for a whole year, while $100 would help families participate in day trips and overnight experiences focussed on parenting or faith development. Please consider contributing to this vital Uniting Church community.

Playford is the fastest-growing region in South Australia. Over the next 25 years, the population of Adelaide ’s northern suburbs is expected to increase by 100,000. Improved infrastructure, new housing and schools will deliver a timely boost to the local economy, providing employment opportunities and a place of welcome for those new to the area.

For many, however, the promise of new life and a brighter future has dimmed as high unemployment rates, social disadvantage and isolation have burdened families and individuals.

These pressures have left people struggling to cope – not hopeless, but devoid of hope. In an area where many believe things can ’t change, the Uniting Church has chosen not only to stay, but to build and focus on the community ’s future.

Inspired by the good news of Jesus Christ, Playford Uniting Church shares a grand vision of a transformed community. Through the generosity of the Uniting Church in South Australia, a new and thriving community of faith, hope and life will be established to express the love of God seven days a week, right in the heart of Playford.