Insights Summer 2019

insights

a faith for the dissatisfied

L ve summer 2019

REACHING BEYOND OUR SHORES

UNITING

for

a way Christmas

forward

W E L C O M E F R O M T H E G E N E R A L S E C R E TA R Y

Singing the Lord's song in a strange land A

REV. JANE FRY GENERAL SECRETARY The General Secretary is appointed by the Synod to provide leadership to the Church by actively engaging in strategic thinking about the life, direction, vision and mission of the Church.

countries like Australia are climate policy in Australia, the still largely oblivious to the Pacific and beyond to help us existential threats faced, for navigate the unknown and example, by Pacific island unimaginable? communities. Reports in the This experience of formation, media sometimes refer to deformation and reformation ‘climate refugees’ - people is actually familiar to the displaced across borders in people of God. Throughout the context of climate change scripture there are stories and disasters who may in of the people of God some circumstances, experiencing existential be in need of disruption – think international of Noah, the flight protection.

WE TOO HAVE from Egypt, the Some Pacific THE PECULIAR upheaval of island RESPONSIBILITY invasion, exile communities OF LEARNING – cataclysmic are already TO ‘SING THE events that facing the LORD’S SONG’ provoked likelihood of community displacement reflection about and anticipating what it means to – already grieving – the be the people of God in loss of home, the loss of (hi) There have always been these circumstances.

Their story, the loss of meaning. bushfires and responding collective reflections appear The realisation that members to those fires and keeping in scripture in narrative, humans and their homes safe of my family are in real danger poetry, law; they give voice of annihilation has been has always been extremely to their grief, anger, fear – an enormous and horrible dangerous. The extent and the whole range of human personal shock and given ferocity of fires in recent experience; they testify to the me a tiny glimpse of the times and their convergence abiding presence of God with growing desolation of those with other complex realities them and, most importantly, confronting existential threats. to their repeated discovery – like drought takes us not It throws up questions about only beyond our capacity to a discovery that only comes the responsibility of the respond practically to these through life and death church in times like these ‘unprecedented’ disasters but struggle - that the realm of also beyond the language and and circumstances like these.

God is always infinitely larger the frameworks through which Beyond the obvious pastoral than human imagining. responses and the provision of they have been understood immediate disaster relief (UCA As we take our own place in until now. the story of God’s people, as Disaster Recovery chaplains Under these circumstances, we witness and are at times are fully engaged in bushfire the public debate about areas), lies a deeper question. caught up in cataclysmic climate science is simply disruptions in our own time, It’s a version of, ‘how can peculiar. One way or another, we too have the peculiar we sing the Lord’s song in a all over the world, human responsibility of learning to strange land?’ – how does communities are dealing with ‘sing the Lord’s song’ in the the church participate as environmental conditions reality that is unfolding on communities begin to shape and circumstances which earth, God’s good creation, new stories of identity to carry present real threats to among God’s creatures. This them into the future? How does their existence. While the the church – locally, regionally is the work, let’s do it with immediate bushfire crisis in all our heart, soul, mind and and nationally – participate NSW reminds us all of our strength. in the public conversation vulnerability, it remains the about climate action and P.S. They are safe. case that wealthy developed s I write this column, the north coast of NSW is on fire. The newspapers are screaming headlines like ‘all gone to hell’, ’17 infernos ravaging state’, ‘hell on earth’ and resorting to words like ‘unprecedented emergency’ and ‘apocalyptic’ to describe the indescribable. There have already been fatalities and injuries and, so far, 100 homes have been destroyed.

Staff in Uniting facilities are on high alert to care for residents with emergency plans at the ready in case there’s a need for evacuation.

Like so many people, I have family in harm’s way and their safety will be front of mind until I know that they’re all safe.

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Growing Together

The Basis of Union expresses the more modest commitment of three denominations which united to serve God’s purposes of reconciliation and renewal. The even more modest Synod plan – Living Church – in mission together - seeks to make explicit the ways in which the energy and resources of the church in NSW and ACT are deliberately focused to contribute to God’s grand mission plan for the whole creation for this time and place.

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CULTURE WATCH

The Uniting Church in Australia is one of the country’s largest denominations.

Our vision is that it will be a fellowship of reconciliation, living God’s love, following Jesus Christ and acting for the common good to build a just and compassionate community of faith.

MANAGING EDITOR Adrian Drayton EDITOR Jonathan Foye PRODUCTION/DESIGN Rana Moawad

EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING/ DISTRIBUTION INQUIRIES PHONE 02 8267 4304 FAX 02 9264 4487 ADDRESS Insights, PO Box A2178, Sydney South, NSW, 1235 EMAIL insights@nsw.uca.org.au WEB www.insights.uca.org.au Insights is published by the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of New South Wales and the ACT. Articles and advertising content do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or of the Uniting Church. Contents copyright. No material from this publication may be copied, photocopied or transmitted by any means without the permission of the Managing Editor.

CIRCULATION: 15,000. ISSN: 1036-7322 Commonwealth of Australia 2019.

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M O D E R AT O R ’ S R E F L E C T I O N

God at Risk

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he most engaging stories draw us in. In the telling, we find ourselves no longer listening on the sidelines, or holding the book in our hands, but standing within the tale itself. The fear, the excitement, the confusion, entice us so that, without notice, the story becomes our own.

REV. SIMON HANSFORD MODERATOR The Moderator is elected to give prophetic and pastoral leadership to the Synod, assisting and encouraging expression and fulfilment of faith, and the witness of the Church.

We know that the story of a child at risk catches our eyes and hinders our heartbeat, because it is one of the deepest fears we have as a human being. A child at risk of harm.

The Christmas story holds incredible risk, but we can miss it amidst the wonder and celebration.

In Luke’s Gospel, a young, unmarried, perplexed woman becomes pregnant; an angel comforts Mary, but in Matthew’s gospel, we hear the uncertainty, even fear, of her fiancé. An angel reassures Joseph in a dream, but the shadow of social risk, accusation, and W H AT R I S K S , blame have already M I G H T W E TA K E fallen across the story AS A REFLECTION of God. OF GOD’S RISK FOR ALL C R E AT I O N ?

Keep up with the Moderator by following these hashtags on Facebook and Instagram. #moderatorinsession #AllOfThisIsUs

The gospels are clear: God has chosen this path. Our reaction is equally clear: God is at risk in the world. Consider the possible cost to Mary and Joseph and her parents, while understanding what people will think (and say) about her, all of them, as the story unfolds.

A long journey, an unstable birthing room, and all the hazard of giving birth with only each other in the vicinity.

Angels announce Jesus’ birth to a mob of stock workers, and the sign of God breaking to the world is proclaimed - a

baby, wrapped, and lying in a feed trough.

The shadow and danger in Matthew’s story are cast into sharp relief by an effulgent star, disconcerting the local monarch and enticing foreign astronomers. But the shadows do not entirely depart, as the infant Jesus’ family flees into the night, and the refuge of Egypt. When dictators are threatened, people die. Even children.

Let me remind you: God has chosen this path; this is no accident.

The shadows and risk are seeking to impede Jesus throughout the gospels; they find their completion, then defeat, decades later with a cross and empty tomb.

We find ourselves caught up in this message, because it hints at something of our own. God, deciding to be born, just like us. God deciding that the most common event in human history, childbirth, would be the mark of God’s engaging in our world.

And like the best of stories, whether told by Milne, or Dostoevsky, or Rowling, we ask ourselves what we would have done, what we might do. The gospel never simply allows us to be spectators, but having invited us in, asks us the question.

What risks, what challenges might we take as a reflection of God’s risk for all creation?

In a world constrained by compliance, control and calculations of risk, we consider what it means to love our neighbour, to love our enemy, and even to love ourselves.

We place ourselves squarely in the midst of our community,

seeking to serve them at our own cost, because that is discipleship.

We will be offering Christmas meals to those who are hungry for food and friendship in towns and suburbs across Australia. We will have compiled hampers and gathered gifts, so that people’s celebrations have an added dimension of hope.

We risk ourselves in debates about human worth, about addiction and marriage, about refugees and human life, seeking to live out the message of a God who gives life, offers forgiveness and embodies hope.

We place ourselves at the forefront of disasters offering care and hope when all else seems fragile or lost.

When human beings are measured as political pawns in offshore camps, or as collateral in war, or as throwaway lines in the speeches of political leaders, we assert that even those who hate us have value in the eyes of God. We speak – and act - for our earth, even as it cries out in suffering.

It is not always popular; we are always imperfect; we learn from God and each other as we go, as disciples on the way.

We do all this because God has risked life with – and for - us.

A baby, born. God, for us, for creation. Wonder, beyond wonder. Peril. And life.

And this is the God of history, of creation, revealed in Jesus Christ.

Emmanuel, God with Us.

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COMMENTS

your say ONLINE

WE’VE ROUNDED UP THE BEST COMMENTS THAT YOU’VE LEFT ONLINE. If you would like to leave a comment

OPINION A MAN OF LETTERS At a time when freedom of speech (expression) is at the fore, Australians enjoy a freedom not always afforded people of other nations. Of late freedom of the press has had the light shone upon it and the debate about journalist norms continues, yet unresolved. Traditionally newspapers and journals have been the medium whereby ordinary people can express views and opinion across the broad landscape of politics, religion, human rights, equality and it seems the list is endless.

The faithful Letters to the Editor section continues to reflect the view of the very broad church that is Australia.

The art of epistolography is something to be treasured and some within our community who are members of the Uniting Church have gained notoriety for their prolific contributions, not just to secular media, but equally their denominational journal.

One such correspondent was Dr Kevin Orr of Blakehurst.

He regularly featured on the Letters page of The Sydney Morning Herald, and at times his opinions and commentary graced the pages of Insights.

Sadly, Dr Orr passed away on 9 October, 2019.

The death notice of the husband of Shirley, father of five children with 15 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren, published in the good Doctor’s SMH read ‘Prolific writer in “Letters to the Editor”’. Such is a fitting epitaph to a Man of Letters.

Allan Gibson OAM

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on an article or have a viewpoint to share - just go online to www.insights.uca.org.au and leave your comments.

INSIGHTS ONLINE LOOKING AT BIBLICAL INSPIRATION INSIGHTS ONLINE #DONTBERUBBISH We need to understand that putting rubbish into the household recycling bin doesn’t transform it, its rubbish – when in doubt put it in the rubbish bin, DON’T expect someone at the recycling centre to take handle it and put into the rubbish.

The recycling bin is not an op shop, clothes, shoes no matter how good will go to landfill.

Follow closely what items can be recycled by your service, failure to comply adds to the problems & the expense, there is no winner.

If you are not certain what items can be recycled, that is are you certain what can be recycled by your Council, just ask them for a pamphlet.

Paul Boxsell

` tinyurl.com/dontberubbish

There is more that could be said positively about the inspired nature of Scripture than what we have in this piece. It’s fine to point out the complexities, and catalogue the ‘denials’ (what inspiration doesn’t or might not mean), but what of the affirmations the church has always made regarding inspiration?

To use the word ‘Scripture’ at all already assumes certain things about authority, community, inspiration, even ‘functionality’ and priority for instance. More needs to be said.

Michael Earl

` tinyurl.com/bibleinspo

INSIGHTS ONLINE WHY IS THE UNITING CHURCH BACKING PILL TESTING? People involved with pill testing also inform users of the possible side effects of what they want to take, & quite a few dump the drugs.

You can never save everyone from their own poor choices & stupidity, but you can save quite a few. So you should do it.

I often feel exasperated with the stupidity of people overdosing on drugs, & think “Well, what did they expect?”

But THEN I think that if the dead person was one of my grandchildren instead of an unknown “idiot”, would I have wanted someone on the spot to try and save them?

Obviously, yes.

That’s what “love thy neighbour” is about; treat a complete stranger the same way you would treat someone you do love. If this was your grandchild, what would you do? OK, now do the same for someone elses’ grandchild.

Judith Helen Snelson

` tinyurl.com/ucapilltesting

PULSE TEAM

news

adds two new members

Two new Pulse team members have “New leadership allow us to see different started with the Pulse team Ofa ‘Milise’ ways to navigate through this journey Foiakau and Steve ‘Molk’ Molkentin. together.

Ms Foiakau and Mr Molkentin will be working across the Synod, supporting and growing emerging generation networks, helping run events, creating resources and developing Pulse’s online presence. The team will be working with the rest of the Uniting Mission and Education team, Presbytery leadership and the Uniting Church Engagement Team to build up and support a new generation of leaders in the Church.

“This is what God is calling us to, and I feel blessed to be a part of it with the Pulse team.”

Steve Molkentin previously worked with the Queensland Synod for three years, exploring online communities and growing online ministry. He has worked on the ground with congregations and Presbyteries, growing disciples and leadership across the Synod.

New leadership allow us to see different ways to navigate through this journey together

Free CHRISTMAS

BOOK AVAILABLE The celebrated author of a number of children’s books, Susannah McFarlane, has announced that her book about the story of Christmas will be available free.

The Who, What, Why, How of Christmas asks some key questions about the Christmas story and explores Jesus’ birth through the eyes of four fictional characters.

The book follows the story of Josh, Tom, Grace and Abby as they ask tricky questions familiar to all parents about the meaning of Christmas. McFarlane takes an unconventional approach, by re-telling the story of Creation and The Fall before introducing Mary, the angels and shepherds.

The book aims to provide children with a deeper understanding of the reason why Jesus came to earth and what it means for their lives.

“Having only become a Christian three and a half years ago, I am realising in our postChristian society, children of Gen X and Gen Y families may never have heard or asked why there was such excitement about the birth of Jesus,” Ms McFarlane said.

“This book has been a tremendous privilege to work on. I hope that it inspires young readers to ask questions and explore the Christmas story in a way that will harness their curiosity and create lots of interaction.”

Ms McFarlane works on both sides of the industry having also been a publisher of children’s fiction. The Who, What, Why, How of Christmas draws on her own faith journey as inspiration.

Molk is very excited to join the Pulse team.

“Opportunities abound,” he said.

“I’m excited to help young people connected to the Uniting Church in Ofa Foiakau has been a leader with Leigh Fijian Congregation for years and is NSW/ACT Synod to share their stories and engage in the work of God in our involved with Sydney Alliance and Youth community, as much as I’m looking Powr. She is involved in Pacific Warriors, forward to working with congregations and an advocate for Climate justice. Ofa and Presbyteries to connect with ways will be responsible for our Central and to gather young people to learn more Western region this includes, Sydney about God and themselves.”

Parramatta Nepean and Macquarie Darling Presbytery. She will also be Molk will be responsible for our Northern Pulse’s liaison with Congress. region, including Sydney Central Coast, Hunter, New England and mid and Far “I’m so excited be a part of this journey North Coast Presbyteries. A significant that reaches out to and walks with all part of his work will be developing online these diverse and vibrant communities,” communities to support Pulse’s ministry. she said.

Ms McFarlane’s previous works include EJ12 Girl Hero and EJ Spy School series and Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls and Bold Tales for Brave-Hearted Boys.

Bible Society Australia is offering The Who, What, Why, How of Christmas free to individuals and churches who register online. The church offer went live on 1 October and the individual offer began on 1 November.

Jonathan Foye To get your free copy, Register at biblesociety.org.au/whychristmas

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TARGET

Christmas Appeal The devastating effects of the recent bush-fires and the ongoing battle of our droughtstricken communities could mean many of our fellow Aussies will not celebrate Christmas this year. UnitingCare Australia has partnered with Target for the 29th time to give back to the community through the Target Christmas Appeal.

The Appeal asks us to ‘be there for someone this Christmas’; a simple yet heart-warming message to Target customers in support of helping those Australians facing the greatest hardship.

Through the Appeal, customers are encouraged to purchase a $1 bauble found at cash registers in all Target Stores or to make an online contribution via the website. unitingcarechristmasappeal.com.au/donation-page.

It is often in times of great need and hardship, that we see the very best of the human spirit.

100 percent of all contributions made in NSW and the ACT are distributed to Uniting Church congregations and Uniting services across the State and territories where it’s needed most.

We’re appreciative when we hear from those in the community who’ve received help from the Appeal in the past; just some of which include the 103 families in Tamworth, where had it not been for the money raised in the 2018 Appeal, the struggling farming community would have been faced with the added anguish of seeing their families heartbroken at what is usually a time of celebration.

Our local coordinators, many of whom are members of the Uniting Church, played an integral role in the success of 2018, and are once again playing a key role in empowering Target staff to inspire customers and embrace the joy of giving.

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There is no greater way to show God’s love than giving to the Appeal and supporting thousands of people doing it tough this Christmas. The Appeal runs from the 31 of October to the 24 December.

We want to tell

your stories

YOUR STORY MATTERS TO US AT INSIGHTS!

Let us be part of it so we can let the We want to tell your stories so God’s whole Church know about the great mission in the world is visible to all. mission and community activities Simply email us photos, a brief that are happening across the Synod. description, contact details, dates, Do you have a great community or anything you think might be activity or event that your church relevant for others to know about engages in? Do you run a yearly fete what you’re doing. We’ll make contact or market? Do you have a community and interview the relevant people food pantry? involved in your congregation.

SHARE YOUR NEWS AND EVENTS WITH US BY: EMAILING INSIGHTS@NSWACT.UCA.ORG.AU OR PHONE ANGELA CADENA ON 02 8267 4305

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Uniting for

Christmas

WARREN BIRD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNITING FINANCIAL SERVICES I once read an interesting little book titled “All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Watching Star Trek”.

In the book it discusses the importance for a business to have a good Mission Statement. In the case of “Star Trek”, theirs’ ticks all the boxes.

For one thing it’s memorable.

The mission of the star ship Enterprise finishes with ……

“To boldly go where no one has gone before.” Anyone on the Enterprise who ends up on a “strange new world” knows exactly what to do – explore. They know what they’re looking for, because their mission includes this: “to seek out new life and new civilisations”.

The returns we generate provide income that helps our investors to be the Church in their corner of the world.

(It’s getting harder with low interest rates, but our goal is to provide competitive returns and financial products across the risk spectrum to suit the diverse range of needs among our partners.)

our investments become an expression of the Christian values of the Uniting Church

UFS doesn’t have a mission quite as out there as that of Star Trek, but I think it’s also a great summary of what we’re on about. Our mission is: “Disciplined ethical investment with a heart for the Church’s mission.”

All that we do is done with a clear focus on supporting our church partners to play their part in the mission of reaching our communities for Christ.

The financial surplus from our activities enables UFS to pay a distribution to the Synod, so that mission can be resourced, through funding ministry formation and theological training.

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We do this in a committed ethical framework, which means that our investments become an expression of the Christian values of the Uniting Church. From the beginning, the Church has sought to holistically integrate beliefs and investment decisionmaking. It’s not just about excluding unethical activities, but investing in businesses that have a positive impact on people’s lives or the environment.

Our Mission Statement means that UFS is in mission together with all of you, our Church partners.

Wishing you every blessing this Christmas and for a New Year full of fruitful mission and many lives reached in the name of Christ.

We seem to have sped through 2019 and now need to take a breath and remember to celebrate Christ’s birth. Let’s not allow this to lost in the rush to finish project deliverables, get the last round of approvals from committees before they shut down for two months and try to fit parties and shopping around ever fuller diaries.

This time last year I was very new in the role of Synod Chief Operating Officer. Whilst, I had a range of different congregation experiences and historical participation in country presbyteries, my understanding of the role of Synod, plus the depth of activities and life occurring across the Synod was limited.

What a difference 12 months makes and how quickly the perspective of the future can change!

We have achieved a lot, but there is still more to do.

Wow, what a year 2019 has been: y Synod 2019 was a landmark and hope filled event. Turning our view toward being a Living Church where we are all in mission together; deliberately choosing to focus on growth through discipleship, impact and numbers; enhancing our formation processes to develop leaders across the Church; and taking the voice of the Church to the world through our advocacy activities – just to name a few,

y The Synod debt was cleared thanks to the work of several congregations, presbyteries and Uniting and established the foundations of an

ALBERT OLLEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNITING RESOURCES investment fund to support growing ministry across the church, y Strong relationships are building across the Synod team and presbyteries as we work together to support and enable mission and ministry in congregations.

This has provided me the opportunity to develop working relationships with leaders in all the presbyteries and visit a range of presbytery meetings and congregations across the state.

Looking ahead to 2020: y During 2020 communication and change programs will start rolling out to support all of us in more effective use of our resources, this will include more robust governance and a focus on how we equip congregations and communities to develop disciples. y Our focus is to support all areas of the church with property, insurance and other services. Our specific focus will be to provide support to Presbyteries.

So, what does 2020 look like?

Even busier and more fulfilling in Christ as we prioritise all we do as a Synod that is in mission together.

May you have a blessed and holy Christmas and New Year, speak boldly and courageously of the saving and renewing love of the Lord Jesus.

TRACEY BURTON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NSW ACT UNITING

Christmas is a time of celebrating unconditional love

What does it mean to celebrate Christmas?

The Uniting Early Learning team, under the guidance of Dr Cathie Harrison, have been exploring the importance of celebrations in how we form learning communities. One of the centre Directors remarked on the wisdom found in Dr Seuss. She flicked to the following passage: “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas... perhaps...means a little bit more!”

This got the group discussing the different ways Christmas is and could be celebrated within our Early Learning communities.

One Congregation hosted a Christmas BBQ for the Early Learning Centre where the Minister dressed up as Santa.

Another took a group of kids to a Uniting Aged Care Centre to perform for the residents and share in afternoon tea.

Another centre collected and made gifts to be given to the Parramatta, Exodus, and Wayside Parish Missions.

Hearing these inspiring stories got me thinking about how we as the Uniting Church celebrate the spirit of Christmas - in thousands of ways small and large, obvious and obscure.

For many, Christmas is a time of celebrating unconditional love, the importance of families, and the embodiment of a promise made through the birth of a baby born in a cave over two thousand years ago. However, for many others, Christmas is not a time of celebration but of grief; not a time of family but of isolation; not a time of promises fulfilled but of disappointment. Ultimately, the ministry of the unlikely Christ-child demonstrates who we are called to be in solidarity with –the dispossessed and the lost.

This is the purpose of Uniting every day of the year: to love parents as they work to be reunited with their children, to provide a high quality of life for those in retirement, and to develop the next generation of Australians.

As we approach the end of this year, I hope that the story of Jesus’ birth will remind us in our belief in renewal and the importance of living out a mission where Christmas is so much more than a store.

Best wishes from all of us at Uniting.

At this time of year we remind ourselves that God puts on human flesh and moves into the neighbourhood.

Christmas races towards us and our attention turns to the amazing story of incarnation. It is understandable that we might focus on what the story means for us and use the holiday season to invest in family and friends, to worship and to relax.

Uniting Mission and Education (UME) is charged with using strategy, research, education and theological insight to resource mission, leadership and discipleship in this Synod.

While we celebrate Christmas and commemorate the arrival of Jesus – or perhaps indulge in some consumerism and time with loved ones – let’s not forget the people that Jesus came to save. At Christmas time, many people are feeling a bit lost.

Christmas is not just for us and our families. People are looking for connection at Christmas time. They are looking for meaning, purpose, and community.

GLEN POWELL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNITING MISSION AND EDUCATION In the busy-ness and commercial hype, we can create moments of hospitality and respite. A free cuppa, an invitation to dinner, or promote a Parish Mission’s Christmas dinner for those in need of God’s hospitality?

Our Moderator, our advocacy agendas, and our active young people have made the Uniting Church visible in 2019. People are noticing the Uniting Church at work.

Let me encourage you to look for ways to include the outsider as we choose songs or hymns and decide whether to bother with morning tea. Use Christmas as an opportunity to invite friends, family and neighbours to a special event.

From all of us at Uniting Mission and Education, have a happy and holy Christmas.

In the busy-ness and commercial hype, we can create moments of hospitality and respite

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Love

REACHING BEYOND OUR SHORES Ten years ago, a young African man began to worship with us at Campbelltown Uniting Church. His presence opened up new opportunities for broadening our experiences, establishing new relationships, presenting new challenges and for making a difference.

H

e had lost many family members in the conflict that has existed over decades in Burundi, an African country that has carried the burden of consistently being rated the least happy country in the world.

(World happiness Report, Sustainable Development Solutions Network) Arriving in Australia on a humanitarian visa he learned that he had siblings who had survived the fighting, and who were living as refugees in Uganda.

He subsequently became aware that many more Burundian refugees were struggling to survive in Kampala, and the responsibility he felt broadened to include all members of that refugee community. Uganda generously welcomes refugees (even though many Ugandans are themselves struggling), but those Burundians who choose to live outside the UNHCR refugee camps and to exist as urban refugees learn that securing accommodation, food and employment is very difficult, sometimes impossible.

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The young man was given accommodation by one of our church families, and this allowed him to support refugees in that community from his allowance as he pursued his university studies here. Then began a grassroots activity within our congregation as members, learning of the plight of these refugees in Uganda, spontaneously began to give donations towards their wellbeing. What began as an informal support movement is now a formal activity of Campbelltown UnitingCare, our body that has oversight of our congregation’s outreach activities, within Australia and beyond.

We are very fortunate to have had financial resources that, strengthened by generous donations from within our congregation, allow us to support 38 children at school in 2019, to fund a medical centre staffed by Burundian doctors who are themselves refugees, to establish a micro-loan scheme to enable refugees to start their own small businesses, and to assist some widows with rent payments for themselves and their children.

That simple summary is incomplete if we do not qualify it.

y We are grateful that we have enabled children to obtain their school education, but they are very few compared to the estimated 2,000 refugee children who are members of this Burundian community in Uganda, most of whom do not go to school. y The medical centre is possible due to the generosity of the Bethesda Medical Centre in Kampala, that provides a consultation room and reception facilities without charge.

We appreciate their generous support. y An essential benefit of this medical service is that refugee patients can speak to doctors in their own language. Burundians speak Kirundi and French. Ugandans speak English and their own regional language. y Burundian refugees are given medical consultations at no charge, but the additional amount we provide each month for tests, scans, further therapies and medications is simply not enough. It is distressing for doctors when they are able

to diagnose but do not have the resources to offer treatment. y Our financial reserves will run down to the point where, in a few years, we will have to greatly reduce the level of support we can offer. The funding for micro-loans that we can provide, and that will give individual refugees financial independence through running their own businesses, assumes a greater importance.

Supported and inspired by the young man who has become a valued member of our congregation, an organisation has been established by the Burundian community in Kampala. The Refugee Life Support Network (RLSN) exists to further the welfare of that community, and is a registered organisation within Uganda. It focuses on health, education, employment and other areas of life that are critical for their welfare.

While we describe these people as a community, this means only that they have a common heritage and common difficulties. They live wherever they can around the large city of Kampala.

Offering help

wherever we can

A young Burundian woman, after the birth of her fourth child, was found to have cervical cancer.

Her husband subsequently abandoned the family. For her own safety, threatened by those who should have been helping her, she fled with her children from the Nakivale Refugee Camp and they became urban refugees in Kampala. The doctor at our medical centre approached Hospice International, but they are running short of money for palliative care. The Uganda Cancer Institute, seeing that her condition is terminal, suggested she go home and die peacefully.

The children are traumatised by their mother’s suffering, and their situation when she has gone will be an issue. Someone in Uganda is paying for some drugs. We have just sent $600 to assist this family with rent, dressings for her cancer, and to pay someone to stay with her and provide basic care. It will cover expenses other than food for two months.

We do what we can, but often it seems so little in the face of so much need.

We are grateful that we are able to transfer all funds directly to the refugees’ own organisation without any administration costs, other than the expenses necessarily involved in transferring funds internationally.

All work, in Australia and Uganda, is performed by volunteers. The effectiveness of our donations is maximised. We are now working towards becoming a Designated Gift Recipient (DGR) for our overseas support activities, which will allow our donors to obtain taxdeductibility.

home in a third country, such as Australia, say that the greatest feeling in their new, permanent homeland is of relief and security – they and their children are now safe.

Some of us have visited Kampala, and have been warmly welcomed. We are reminded that financial gifts are only a part of our relationship. The RLSN coordinator wrote a couple of years ago to acknowledge that we can never resolve all their problems -

Our objective is to put in place an ongoing and expanding level of lifechanging assistance. Even though our cash reserves will run out, we want to develop a continuation strategy, not an exit strategy. Our faith requires no less of us.

“All that is possible is all that can be. We know that you love us.”

The knowledge that the people of Campbelltown Uniting Church, half a world away, care about them is a powerful motivator and a reassurance that Christ’s love reaches even them.

These people in Kampala obviously represent only part of a wider need.

The Nakivale Refugee Camp, 300 km from Kampala, is the only home that many refugees of Burundian and other nationalities know. How do we choose which causes we will support?

You may have wondered why no names have been used in this article. This is because refugees, even outside the country from which they fled, are sometimes still fearful. Those asylum seekers who eventually find a secure

In our case, we believe it was not our choice. We are privileged to be able to assist people who are disadvantaged, as a response of the People of God to the gifts and tasks God has laid upon us. We feel blessed and are grateful to have

been led to that opportunity. We hope that others will walk alongside us, and increase the difference we can make.

With our ability to provide financial support likely to diminish in two to three years, we must immediately advise the refugee community that no more children can be added to our scholarship program. This will take away any reason for the hope that many refugee families continue to hold that at some point their children will be given a basic education.

However, once we are able to offer tax-deductibility to donors, we will look towards creating a sponsorship program. The opportunity to support a refugee child at school might be seen as an avenue for people to contribute in a small way to a solution to the world’s overwhelming refugee problem.

In the face of an impending reduction in the scale of our support, is this a cause in which you as an individual, or your church community, would like to walk alongside us?

Colin Elliott, Chairperson, Campbelltown UnitingCare

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Growing Together

A way forward SYNOD MISSION STRATEGY

To borrow a well-known line from an old movie, ‘That’s not a mission plan…THIS is a mission plan’. Consider the very first mission plan – breath-taking in its vision, cosmic in its scale and infinitely creative in its unfolding through time. The first mission plan was born out of God’s vision for the whole creation, a project culminating in a world renewed, reconciled and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The Basis of Union expresses the more modest commitment of three denominations which united to serve God’s purposes of reconciliation and renewal. The even more modest Synod plan – Living Church – in mission together - seeks to make explicit the ways in which the energy and resources of the church in NSW and ACT are deliberately focused to contribute to God’s grand mission plan for the whole creation for this time and place.

Our own times and circumstances call for a new imagining in the church

We inherit a vast tradition of witness – the testimony of people to God’s creative purposes and transformative ways for their own times and circumstances. Our own times and circumstances call for a new imagining in the church and demand new responses from disciples, leaders and communities seeking to give expression to God’s vision.

Jane Fry 14

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GENERAL SECRETARY | UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA, SYNOD OF NSW AND THE ACT

P / 16 FOCUS ON GROWTH P / 19 COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS P / 20 A PLACE TO CALL HOME P / 22

BY THE NUMBERS

The three pillars of our renewed mission give direction to the way we journey together in mission:

Growing healthy congregations

Bringing God’s vision to life in community, vibrant ‘fellowships of reconciliation’ through which Christ may work and witness in the world

Developing vital ministry

Forming and equipping disciples for missional leadership; so that the church may continue to engage with the world in transformative ways as part of God’s grand plan for a world reconciled and made new in Jesus Christ.

Transformative Community Engagement

A renewed focus on clarifying the Gospel we articulate in our communities, renewing internal connections so resources can flow directly to mission opportunities and forge new community relationships so that God’s love and grace can flow to our communities.

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FOCUS ON GROW TH

Focus on

growh

In July this year, the NSW and ACT Synod adopted a proposal to prioritise growth in churches.

While it is early days, the Synod is turning its' focus toward growth across the Synod – in discipleship, relationship, number and impact.

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he Synod proposal does not just focus on numerical growth (new people coming to church).

It emphasises growth in four key areas: discipleship, relationship, number, and impact.

Rev. Kent Crawford was one of the group who introduced the proposal to Synod. He told Insights that it was important that the Uniting Church prioritise growth.

is used and prioritised in a market economy and in much of our political discourse.

Uniting Justice’s ‘An Economy of Life: Re-Imagining Human Progress for a Flourishing World’ is a good document for us to keep wrestling with as it asks: “How could the dominant cultural values of acquisitiveness and greed, materialism, competition, consumerism and individualism be challenged

by Christian values such as justice, peace, compassion, community, hospitality, generosity, truth and grace?”

“The first point I’d make is that prioritising growth gives us an orientation,” Rev. Crawford said.

“When Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and “Some of our Presbytery have it abundantly” he was leaders, myself included, put together the Growth Proposal expressing an understanding of God and God’s goal for life in order to help orient our life and work together as a Synod as wholeness, fullness, the flourishing of all Creation. and across our Presbyteries towards enabling flourishing “Growing in discipleship, within and through our relationship, number and Congregations. Another way impact is a priority for us as to say this might be, that if we we need to urge and support do our work faithfully and well one another to further and in the Synod and Presbyteries, deepen our walk with Christ that our Congregations towards that wholeness, that will be known, loved, fed, fullness, that flourishing, for nourished and built up; our the sake of all Creation.” congregations will be growing.

Through the Synod decision, “The Synod and Presbyteries the NSW and ACT Synod has can’t grow the Church; only decided to prioritise growth, local communities of faith but what now? How will the like Congregations, Faith church go about bringing Communities and Parish about this growth?

Missions can be the locations “It’s still early days…but the of the growth that God Synod Leadership Team continues to bring. and all of the Synod boards “The second, and more have been asked to give important point, is that some thought to how they growth is something God might - individually and is about, so the Church collectively - respond to the prioritising it should have Synod 2019 resolution,” Rev. always been a no-brainer, as Fry explained. they say.

“In addition, one of the “It’s important to acknowledge priorities will be the that often God’s dreams and creation of a Synod Mission promises around growth Resourcing strategy in stand in contrast to the way response to the proposal.” in which growth, as a concept,

​“The Focus on Growth resolution was framed to reflect the shared responsibilities of all the Councils of the church (Congregation, Church Council, Presbytery, and Synod) in being church creatively and hopefully into the future. This effectively means that all the councils of the church in this Synod are being asked to orientate themselves towards the future and prioritise growth initiatives.”

REV. KENT CRAWFORD BELIEVES THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT THE UNITING CHURCH PRIORITISE GROWTH

“The Synod Standing Committee has (re)instituted a process to meet with representatives of each Presbytery at its meetings over the next 12 months,” Rev. Crawford said.

“One of the topics in those conversations will be asking how Presbyteries are currently set up in their context to resource and support Congregational growth and to identify opportunities and gaps in our capacity to support growth across the Synod.

What help do Presbyteries and Congregations need in order to grow in discipleship, to grow in relationship, to grow in number and grow in impact? This is crucial and contextually-relevant information that the Synod Standing Committee needs to know.”

Rev. Crawford is the presbytery minister for Sydney Presbytery. He nominated tertiary ministry across UNSW, UTS and Sydney University as one particular avenue through which Sydney would be working to prioritise growth.

Growing in discipleship, relationship, number and impact is a priority for us as we need to urge and support one another to further and deepen our walk with Christ

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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FGOR COUWST O H NF E G ARTOUWRTEH “When we engage students on campus around questions of vocation, and values and the compelling story of discipleship, and when we connect them with worshipping communities nearby and provide them affordable housing, we see young people make a commitment to live their lives within and through the Church as the Body of Christ in and for the world,” he said.

“This strategy promotes growth in discipleship, relationship, number and impact – all the areas upon which we as a Synod committed to focus ourselves.”

HOW CAN CHURCH CONGREGATIONS GET INVOLVED?

​“In my view it would be constructive for all congregations and church councils to consider the Focus on Growth report to Synod 2019 and the resolution and to respond in ways that are relevant to the community in which they are called to witness,” Rev. Fry said.

THE CONGREGATIONS THAT GROW

Congregations that are wanting to experience growth can take note of a few key observations, notes Rev. Crawford.

“The Congregations that are growing in our Presbytery exhibit a few different traits." he said.

“Some congregations have clarified their part in God’s mission in such a clear way that it attracts people looking to express their faith within and through their life and activity. Wayside attracts 800 volunteers to their local activities in Kings Cross and Bondi who want to participate in ‘creating community with no Us and Them’. Newtown Mission’s passion for following Jesus, walking alongside the vulnerable and living God’s good news story with creativity and love sees people connecting with their Jordan Café as well as their Creative Arts Centre. Wesley Mission’s Word and Deed ministries continue to flourish as they disciple people in the Wesleyan way: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

“Some congregations exhibit a strong capacity to include newcomers. Beyond welcoming, which is always the best start, is to make people feel included by connecting them relationally and organisationally into the Congregation. Some of our smaller Congregations like Balmain and Mustard Seed, for example, do this really well. “Congregations that grow The NCLS data shows that have, in some small or large 24 percent of congregants way, figured out how to make in our Presbytery want to be disciples who make disciples. more involved; our growing Making disciples is one churches make opportunities thing, but it can too easily for this to happen.

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become making consumers of our discipleship-flavoured offerings. Making disciples who make disciples is the whole game.”

The National Church Life Survey has developed a model of church vitality associated with growing churches (www.ncls.org.au/ measuring-church-vitality) According to the NCLS, congregations that grow have a number of similar traits.

These include: Internal Core Qualities (Alive and growing faith, Vital and nurturing worship, Strong and growing belonging), Inspirational Core Qualities (Clear and owned vision, Inspiring and empowering leadership culture, Imaginative and flexible innovation.) and Outward Core Qualities (Practical and diverse service, Willing and effective faith sharing, Intentional and welcoming inclusion.)

Everyone God sends is a gift helping us to change to become the church God is calling us to be David Cornford, Head of Mission Strategy at Uniting Mission and Education, was one of the Synod members who introduced the growth proposal.

“It’s easy to imagine that churches … that are doing well across these dimensions are more likely to grow,” he said.

“One thing I’d add - churches that grow are willing to change. Everyone God sends is a gift, helping us to change to become the church God is calling us to be. A church that has grown in discipleship, relationship, number and impact will be different to how it was before.”

Jonathan Foye

FOCUS ON GROW TH

Community connections

In 2018, Rev. Phil Newton finished up as Chaplain at the University of Wollongong to take on a highly experimental new role. Working in South West Sydney, he now helps Parramatta Nepean Presbytery find new spaces where the church can grow.

God, he says, has gone on ahead of him.

“It has been a positive year, establishing some roots, meeting the community, building trust and relationships, and starting to experiment with community and grace,” Rev. Newton said.

Rev. Newton’s job title is Community Animator. The role sees him working to establish new worship communities in Sydney’s Southwest Growth Corridor.

“It has been a little surreal as in one sense we are in the suburbs (albeit brand new suburbs), but these aren’t like the typical Australian suburbs we grew up in,” Rev. Newton said.

MORTGAGE PRESSURE, TIME P O V E R T Y, L A C K O F N AT U R A L S PA C E S ALL CONTRIBUTE TO I S O L AT I O N A N D A LONGING FOR COMMUNITIES OF CARE AND SUPPORT

REV. NEWTON'S ROLE SEES HIM ESTABLISHING NEW WORSHIP COMMUNITIES IN SYDNEY

To begin with, Rev. Newton has helped establish a small ‘house church’ consisting of, “a few households that meets weekly for communion, food, laughter, sharing, prayer and study.”

“Mortgage pressure, time poverty, lack of natural spaces to connect with other families, all contribute to isolation and a “It is truly intergenerational, with the kids longing for communities of care and support.” participating in communion and the reflective elements as we all explore what it means to The role involves church planting, but Rev. be the people of God in this place together.”

Newton told Insights that this term might be misleading.

“We ask the church to pray for us and to pray for the community in the place. We believe “While ‘church plant’ has some use in God’s love extends to all and goes before describing what we are doing, it is not the us, and we hope in the power of that love to whole picture,” he said. transform, heal, and make whole. We very “We are placed in the south west on the much feel and appreciate the prayers, wellground to build genuine and authentic wishes and support that we receive from the relationships and community. We are wider church.” wrestling with what it means to be church in Jonathan Foye these disparate and diverse communities.”

“We are looking for where God is already at mission and finding ways to name that, support that and participate in that.”

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home

FOCUS ON GROW TH

A PLACE TO CALL

W H AT DOES IT MEA N TO H AV E A ‘CHURCH HOME’ A ND W H AT DOES A GOOD ONE LOOK LIKE? W H AT KIND OF THEOLOGY UNDERPINS THIS?

A

t the most recent New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Synod of the Uniting Church, held in July 2019, a decision was made to focus on growth. The resolution stated:

‘That the Synod Commit, over the next three years, that we will organise ourselves, and request our Presbyteries to so organise themselves, to prioritise, promote and enable growth…”

It is important to note that this priority is not about numbers alone, about increasing people in the pews. This is only one part of it. It is also about growing in the understanding of one’s faith, of deepening relationships with God and one another, and having a growing and positive impact on those not just in our congregations, but in our communities as well.

With this in mind, it is timely to consider what this might mean to one’s local congregation. What indeed does it mean to have a ‘church home’ and what does a good one look like? What kind of theology underpins this?

Rev. Dr John Squires (Presbytery Minister— Wellbeing, Canberra Region Presbytery) reminds us that we no longer live in a time where people walked to their lifelong ‘brand’ of church. With easier modes of transport and a rise in competing obligations on Sundays, individuals now go church shopping to find a congregation that suits their needs. The ‘flipside’ of choice is hospitality.

"Places that held people and grew in numbers were those places where a single person, a dedicated team, or even a whole congregation, was committed to generous hospitality, warm welcome, genuine care for one another," notes Rev. Squries. "Creating a church home which welcomes, includes, values, and affirms anyone who wishes to participate, is a critical missional strategy. Teaching and nurturing go hand in hand. Being open to change and development in spiritual understanding, in expressions of faith, in modes of worship, in theological commitment, is vital if more people are to find places they can see as their church home. Every new person who participates offers all manner of hope, possibility, creativity to the existing entity.

Being open to that is a challenge for the longterm members!"

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Rev. Lynne Aird, Intentional Interim Minister at Adelaide West Uniting Church (AWUC) agrees. A good church home, she says, is one that is welcoming, inclusive and values its members. It is a place where ‘people love God and love others’, where ‘forgiveness is given and care extended.’

A church is a place where ‘people feel they belong, a place they can believe and a place where they come together to bless others.’ It is a space where ‘people are encouraged and inspired to participate in the mission of God.’

other because we are the body of Christ together (1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12). Loving others includes blessing others. This can include caring for the poor, praying for others, valuing the worth of all people because we care for each other (Galatians 6:2). The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 are the final words of Jesus on earth in that gospel, but there actually needs to be a sense of ‘home’ for this to be effective.

A good home church will have elements of being a chosen family where members have their faith in common and God as the focus

The five people of the AWUC congregation that were interviewed for this paper all had similar sentiments.

Every one of them said that a good church home was one of friendly welcome, a place of belonging, had a sense of community and was genuinely accepting.

Any social group, however, can be welcoming. The church needs something more than this to be ‘Christian’. A good home church, according to Rev. Aird, will also have elements of being a chosen family, where members have their faith in common and God as the focus, even though they don’t agree on everything. She sees a church home is a place to belong, believe and to bless others. It is a place to learn, grow in faith and maturity, pray, worship, ask the big questions about life and faith, care for others and show they are valued. It is also vital that a church home is a place to be encouraged, nurtured and inspired to be the people of God, participating in the mission, or work, of God in the world.

This concept of a welcoming church is considered by some theologians as attractional, that is, non-Christians need to come to us, the church. Another way of thinking is the missional church – one that goes out into the world. In a recent Facebook post in the Assembly’s Growing in Faith Circle Group, Rev. Jon

Humphries posed the question of having church outside a building and incorporating activities that people are already interested in – for example, bushwalking church, dog walking church, etc. Rev. Aird understands church as a community of people rather than a building. If a church does have a building, she likes to think of it as a sport change room – ‘the place where we are inspired to go out and play the game of life. The building is not the game itself.’

Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, in their book The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church, argue precisely that the Christendom model of church is no longer tenable. The early church may actually be a better model for the contemporary Western church if it wants to grow.

What kind of Biblical theology might underpin concepts of church growth and having a church home? For Lynne there are a number of factors. Firstly, our very purpose is to love God and love others (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:3031, Luke 10:27) because every human is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). God welcomes us and so we welcome all others, including outcasts and those whom society rejects. As we belong to God, so we belong to each

Rev. Squires highlights that: "there are many elements in the letters of Paul that instruct us as to how we are to be pastoral, inclusive, caring… in the midst of his passion there sits a compassion born of his relationship with a living Lord and his commitment to his fellow workers and new converts.

1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and the greetings at the end of Romans and 1 Corinthians, all indicate this to me."

"Theology is a shifting thing. In the UCA, we have made a commitment to fresh words and deeds. We recognise that we encounter the living Lord in and through the (inevitable) changes taking place in history. We set out to shape a new church and to be open to reforming and reworking traditional, received patterns of ministry and faith. That’s still a central call, in my mind, for the UCA today."

His final point is important to reflect on in different contexts. Many programmes and initiatives are ‘easy’ for city congregations where there are the people and resources to implement them. It may be far more difficult to see numerical growth, at least, in country towns.

Karl Barth, in The Church and the Churches, might have some insight into this. For him, there is only one Church. Its task is the proclamation of Jesus Christ. The myriad of denominations really doesn’t matter in the big scheme of Christianity (Barth actually views it as a sin to repent of).

As long as the ‘one holy, Catholic and apostolic Church’ is being as obedient as it can, the grace of God is present.

The growth of discipleship, relationship, numbers, and impact that the NSW and ACT Synod is promoting, is the same sort of growth that the universal Church benefits from.

Dr Katherine Grocott

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Capital Territory (9600), Wollongong (7000) and Sutherland Shire (6900).

One in Uniting Church affiliates in NSW live in these LGAs. Thee of the other top LGAs are in the Sydney Central Coast Presbytery; Northern Beaches (6900), Hornsby (5600) and Ku-ring-gai (5600).

FOCUS ON GROW TH

The areas where there is the highest proportion of people identifying as part of the Uniting Church when compared with the total population are in and around the Riverina Presbytery and south and west of the Macquarie Darling Presbytery. The 1400 or so Uniting Church affiliates in the Lockhart, Edward River, and Carrathool LGAs are nearly one in ten of the total combined population.

In the LGAs of Fairfield, Waverly, and Liverpool, only one in 100 people identify as being part of the Uniting Church.

By the numbers

STORIES OF CHANGE IN THE NSW SYNOD

F

or many of us our experiences of church are of dwindling numbers in the pews on Sunday mornings. But this isn’t true for everybody. There are too many people in the Uniting Church to know everyone, so our community is an imagined one. One way to better understand the difference between our experience of the church and broader trends in church life is through data.

One of the best sources of evidence we have about Australians is the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census. In the Census, we have the opportunity to give our ‘Religious Affiliation’. In 2016 almost three percent of people in NSW and ACT chose ‘Uniting Church’.

So beyond the countless different experiences and understandings of our church, what does the evidence tell us?

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE CHURCH?

There were about 227,000 people identifying as being part of the Uniting Church in NSW and ACT in 2016, down 27 percent from 312,000 in 2006. The Uniting Church remains the Christian denomination with third highest number of people, behind the Catholics (1,935,000) and the Anglicans (1,205,000).

Against the broad trend, the category ‘Christian, not further defined’ grew 88 percent to 174,000. There may be more

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Australians who identify as Christians not having a ‘home’ denomination.

WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO?

On average, other Protestant denominations retained nearly 10 percent more than our Church. The Census can’t tell us why this is, but we can dig a little deeper. Using the Census longitudinal dataset, we can see how people’s responses to the Census have changed between Census events.

Just over a half of people who identified as part of the Uniting Church in 2006 did so again in 2016. By 2016 they made up more than two thirds of Uniting Church affiliates. Of those that no longer identified as part of the Uniting Church by 2016, nearly one in four identified as No Religion, ‘secular beliefs’, or did not state an affiliation in 2016.

The story of the NSW and ACT Synod by the numbers is complicated. Numerical trends are made up of everyday people with messy lives making decisions about what they believe and what they are going to do about it.

As people’s experiences of our church have changed over time, they also differ depending on where you are.

The top five Local Government Areas (LGAs) with the most people identifying as being part of the Uniting Church in 2016 are Lake Macquarie (11,700), Central Coast (10,500), the Australian

Our history is part of why this is so. With continued migration into Sydney post war and notably over the last 20 or so years, population growth has been greatest in Sydney of people from diverse backgrounds, meaning the proportion of people who identify as part of the Uniting Church is lower.

While the Uniting Church is less represented within recent migrant communities, year on year an increasing number of migrants identify as part of the Uniting Church. Overall, about one in 10 people who identify as part of the Uniting Church in NSW and ACT are from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Looking at the age profile of people who identify as part of the Uniting Church and seeing how we have changed over the decade to 2016, recent trends are cause for concern.

There are slightly more recent retirees, but declines in young people have been significant. There are substantially fewer parents and consequently fewer young children who identified in the Census as being part of the Uniting Church.

At the last meeting of the Synod, the church adopted a proposal “to prioritise, promote, and enable growth in discipleship, in relationship, in number, and in impact.” The status quo is not an option.

There are two great opportunities. The first is to work for growth beyond our experience. This change is structural: It is in what we teach our ministers, our institutions, and in our communities. The other opportunity is to take a page out of Jesus’ book at disrupt things.

Andrew Goodwin

United Theological College

Based at North Parramatta on the accessible and tranquil education hub at the Centre for Ministry, United Theological College offers a range of theological degrees and subjects to explore as part of your life long journey of learning.

9 Bachelor of Theology 9 Graduate Certificate in Ministry 9 Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies 9 Graduate Diploma of Theological Studies 9 Master of Arts (Theological Studies) 9 Master of Theology 9 Master of Theology (Research) 9 Master of Ministry 9 Doctor of Ministry 9 Doctor of Philosophy Your journey of theological learning can start with ONE single subject.

Study a subject for enjoyment, faith exploration, career pathway, to support lay or ordained ministry, academic credit or simply 2020 an area of interest.

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• Mission Evangelism and Apologetics • Children and Family in Theological Perspective • Judaism and Early Christianity • Hebrews and the General Epistles • Pentateuch • Sacramental Theology • Theological Ethics • Biblical Hebrew • New Testament Greek • Reconciliation • Reflective Practice in Ministry • Guided Research in Ministry • Contemporary Issues in Practical Theology • Theological Hermeneutics

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• Classic Texts in Christian Theology • Contemporary Theology in a Global Context • Studies in Liturgy and Worship • Contemporary Approaches to Biblical Studies • Seminar in Biblical and Theological Interpretation • Public Theology for Ministry • Contemporary Mission and Evangelism • Applied Principles of Church Leadership

UTC is the Sydney campus of Charles Sturt University, School of Theology

Call (02) 8838 8900 | email utc@nswact.uca.org.au

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Uniting Mission and Education

Events for 2020 Education Calendar January 18 20-24

April Pulse Commissioning Event | CFM

3

UTC Research Colloquium

Discipleship and Suffering Intensive – CSU Port Macquarie

4 –5

Pulse | Kids Camp Out | Riverina, Narrandera Racecourse

10–13

Easter

February 8

Saltbush | Scattered Community Gathering | Yass UCA

13–26

UTC/CSU Session One | Mid-Session Break

19–20

Ethical Ministry Foundations | CFM

18-19

21

Ethical Ministry | Train the Facilitator Session | CFM

Living Our Faith | Train the Trainer on Learning Management System | CFM

20-23

Understanding the Sacraments | CFM

21–22

Phase 3 of Ministry | Early Stage Retreat | CFM

30

Ethical Ministry Half-day Refresher | Topic 2020A | CFM

22–23

Understanding the Sacraments | Part 2 of 2 | Riverina, Wagga Pilgrim UCA (Part 1 of 2 was held 30 Nov to 1 Dec 2019)

25–28

Formation | Intensive 1

28

UTC Opening Service, Inaugural Lecture

March

May 1

UTC Research Colloquium

2

UTC/CSU Session One | Classes Commence

6–7

Living Our Faith | Train the Trainer on Learning Management System | CFM

6

UTC Research Colloquium

13

6

May Macleod Lecture | UTC

Living Our Values | via Learning Management System

7

Living Our Faith | Introduction to UCA Worship | CFM

17–20

Women in Ministry Retreat | St Joseph’s, Kincumber South

7-8

Living Our Values | CFM

23

7–8

Pulse | Kids Camp Out | Sydney, Wedderburn Christian Campsite

Saltbush | Scattered Community Gathering | Hillston UCA

26–28

Pulse | National Youth Children’s Coalition | CFM

13–15

UME Road Trip to Illawarra Presbytery

18–20

Things That Make for Peace Conference | CFM

20–22

Mission Shaped Ministry Course | Facilitated Weekend Residential | CFM

25

Ministry of Pastor Assessor Training | CFM

26–29

National Pioneers Gathering | Perth

June 5

UTC Research Colloquium

5

UTC/CSU Session One | Classes Conclude

8 Jun–12 Jul

UTC/CSU Session Break

16–19

Formation | Intensive 2

17–19

Pulse | Intergenerate Resourcing Gathering | CFM

21–30

Spirit Journey | Broken Hill to Innamincka

United Theological College

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July 3–5

Pulse | School of Discipleship | UV Naamaroo

9–12 13

UnitingWomen 2020 Conference |

September Darwin 2-5

UTC/CSU Session Phase 3 Debrief RetreatTwo | Classes

7

Mission Shaped Ministry 4

Commence

15–17 18

F L

21-22

Fundamentals of Transitional Ministry | The WorktoofSacraments the Leader CFM Introduction 1, |Riverina

27

UTC Research Colloquium

M C

Saltbush | Scattered Community Gathering | Dubbo UCA

8–9

U

● Ethical Ministry UTC/CSU RefreshersSession Two | 16 Classes Conclude ● Living Our Values

Introduction to Sacraments 2, Riverina UTC Research Colloquium

L

18

| YouLead | Youth Leadership UTCPulse Session 2 Last Day of Classes Program UTC Research Colloquium

U

Living Our Values via Learning November Management System

September 11-13 4 4

M

Gospel Yarning Conference

25-29

Mission Evangelism Worship | CFM & Apologetics Intensive

Living Our Faith | Introduction to UCA

21-23 Presiding at Weddings | CFM ● Presiding at Weddings 27– 30 Formation | Intensive 3 ● Presiding at Funerals ● And more…

November

3–5 Phase 3 Intensive | Commencement to We welcome enquiries: Ministry for Exiting Candidates | CFM 6

UTC Research Colloquium

P: (02) 8838 8940

December 3–15

UTC Research Colloquium

18-20

17 Saltbush | Scattered Community ● You Lead Conference Gathering | Inverell UCA ● Understanding the Sacraments

● Healthy Churches Expo 28-30 Presiding at Funerals | CFM

U of Year Service & Celebrations 1 Sep EndUTC/CSU 24 Aug–6 Session One | Mid-Session Break L M C Mission Shaped Ministry 5 2 31 Aug–3 Sept Phase 3 of Ministry Retreat | St Joseph's, U UTCKincumber Come & Explore 8 SouthOpen Night

Fundamentals of Transition Ministry – Work of Leader

Keep an eye out for these popular theological events and

2courses in 2019: UTC Research Colloquium

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October

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October August 7

We have are more great educational short courses, intensives, functions, events and activities being scheduled for 2019, and we invite you to visit our website to explore our latest events as our 2019 Calendar evolves. www.ume.nswact.uca.org.au/event-calendar/

E: utc@nswact.uca.org.au

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December 9

Key

CSU Graduation

W: ume.nswact.uca.org.au

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L Ideal education or event opportunity for current or future lay preachers KEY Ideal or event opportunity for current M LIdeal foreducation further Ministerial professional development or future lay preachers

U M United College professional related content and study Ideal Theological for further Ministerial development United Theological content and study pathwaysCollege study related or learning F UFormation

Holy Land Study Tour

C Learning opportunities for church and congregation F community For Formation pathways study or learning members Learning opportunities for church and congregation Y Youth program or Pulse program events C

community members

S Y Saltbush – Uniting theprogram Scattered Community Youth program or Pulse events

Sign up to our UME newsletter to ensure that you receive all of the latest event, course and tertiary information visit; ume.nswact.uca.org.au

CFM – The Centre for Ministry.

Note: All events and dates are subject to change.

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Scholarships from UME allow students to learn and grow in mission and discipleship by providing financial support

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Speak with a UTC student support staff member today!

(02) 8838 8900

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T E L L U S YO U R STO RY

Cheap Chewsday

Jesmond Park Uniting Church is located near Newcastle University, a proximity that has seen it embark on a ministry to international students. Starting around ten years ago, the church hosts a dinner for international students on the first Tuesday of every month.

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lizabeth Oliver coordinates Cheap Chewsday. She told Insights that a tradition that started with a small group of students has since grown to include around 200.

provide some 200 hungry students with a meal. Even so, demand has grown to the point that participants now have to register.

A gold coin donation gets the students a three course meal.

"As well as a regular cooked meal, the church offers students a safe space, and “Our team is just fantastic,” Ms Oliver said.

“A very faithful and willing team, right up to the chance to talk to other university people who rare well and truly retired.” students and staff. A bus service transports students who need help getting “For those kids to see what their parents are to the building. doing is a really good model.”

“We would (cook) something we could just multiply,” Ms Oliver recalled.

This changed, over time, however, as students wanted to get involved in the process of preparing the meal.

SHOWCASING THEIR CULTURE

“Talking to the students, they wanted to showcase their country,” Ms Oliver said.

According to Ms Oliver, the act of providing a meal is in keeping with Jesmond Uniting Church’s wider mission.

“Our mission is to be an inclusive community, to have the spirit of generosity and openness for all people and this is an example of that,” she said.

“We have had chances to talk to students of their belief system and them to talk with us Students come from a variety of (in an informal setting).” backgrounds. They travel from Thailand, china, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jonathan Foye and Vietnam, among other places.

“Sometimes they present a visual of their country and sometimes they’re in national dress.”

The university has recognised Jesmond Uniting Church’s efforts, as have the NSW state government.

Cheap Chewsday takes place at Jesmond Park Uniting Church on the first Tuesday of every month, from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

The university provides funding for the monthly meal. Students’ clubs purchase the ingredients and come to the church to cook it up.

Ms Oliver said that the evenings were a blessing for the church community, who had the chance to get involved in their wider community.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

“It’s good for us (to be) working together, it builds our community as well,” Ms Oliver said.

Students now help with food preparation, a process that the university has now bought into.

With its large industrial kitchen, Jesmond Park Uniting Church has the facilities to

We want to tell your stories

Your story matters to us at Insights, let us be part of it. Do you have a great community activity or event that your church engages in? We want to tell your stories so God’s mission in the world is visible to all. Email us photos, a brief description, contact details, dates, or anything you think might be relevant for others to know about what you’re doing.

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T E L L U S YO U R STO RY

Willoughby Uniting Church

BUILD BRICK BY BRICK

Willoughby Uniting Church’s Rev. Ingrid Robertson has been actively working towards church growth and community engagement for several years now through a variety of community events such as the popular Brick Show and Spring Fair. Insights visited both these events recently to talk to Ingrid about her top tips for community engagement.

What is also evident is that Willoughby are constantly working on engaging with young people, both through community and church programs.

Every week the church (including the auditorium and the hall) hosts around 1000 people for worship, playgroup or hall concerts and events.

They have successfully created a solid presence in the surrounding area by inviting the mayor, local councillors, and everyone who can contribute to any their initiatives.

This year was the first WE NEED TO for the ngrid SHOW THE Willoughby explained WO RL D W H AT T H E Brick that CHURCH IS Show. churches R AT H ER T H A N Everyone should work to TELL THE WORLD loves their strengths W H AT T H E Lego and such as their CHURCH IS the idea to location (which is raise funds often in the centre came from of the community), a child at the look into community events Church who had done an that the church could be part assignment on the Tasmanian of and work to create interest Devil and discovered that it among the community. is threatened by a disease that could wipe it out. All Regarding her very active funds collected from the communication and social Lego exhibition will be sent media strategy (primarily on to the organisation that does Instagram, their account is research and is trying to save @willoughbyuniting), Ingrid the species in Tasmania. said: “We need to show the world what the church is, rather than tell the world what the church is.” As Ingrid explained, we all now have access to a smartphone and we can publish photos within seconds.

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If you want to find out about the activities that will take place in the Willoughby Uniting Church and Hall go to: willoughbyuniting.org.au Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @willoughbyuniting

Although it was the first time for Willoughby Uniting Church, the Lego Exhibition has been running since 2008. With the help of the Lego fan and church member, Jaqueline Berry. Robertson and Berry came up with the idea to have a Lego display where all assistants could contribute with a gold coin for a good cause at the time.

Angela Cadena

T E L L U S YO U R STO RY

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fter almost three months of organisation, preparation and anticipation, our vision of a church united against climate change came to fruition on Friday, 20 September. The beautiful spring day commenced with worship, singing and communion at Pitt St Uniting, before over 350 of us joined 80,000 others in the Domain.

Together, we then marched and drummed under our Uniting Church banners back towards Hyde Park. A particular highlight was the incredible atmosphere created by the drumming, which energised not only our Church, but the thousands of others around us.

When the opportunity arose for me to take part in the organisation of the Uniting Church contingent with Christian Students Uniting a few months ago, I knew that this was something that meant a great deal to me as an individual, but also to our wider faith community. This was for two main reasons.

WHY I MARCHED AT THE

MIA (MIDDLE) IS PICTURED ABOVE WITH HER FATHER AND FRIEND AT THE CLIMATE STRIKE MARCH ON 20 SEPTEMBER

Climate Strike The first is that action against climate change is a fundamental part of looking after God’s Creation. Irreversible damage to Creation has already been caused in the way of biodiversity extinction, pollution of land and water, and rising temperatures.

We are called to be stewards over Creation, and I believe that in our contemporary context, we can best do this by uniting with others to demand climate action and policy, and by holding our leaders - and ourselves - to account.

Participating in climate action is also about standing up for and loving our neighbours. In this case, we can see our neighbours as those in the Pacific Islands like Kiribati and Tuvalu, who are already suffering the devastating effects of Climate Change. Our neighbours need our compassion and our resources.

This was one of the focuses of the sermon we heard at Pitt St on the morning of the strike by Rev. Alimoni Taumoepeau.

However, the Uniting Church, especially The second reason my community at Balmain, is a why I felt particularly community that I am very proud to be a called to march with part of and that I hold deep in my heart. the Uniting Church is Not only because of the people to do with the in this community and the identity way my faith is nurtured of the by these people, but church in our modern THE CHURCH’S because I believe that world. Growing up in the P RE S EN C E AT T H E the Uniting Church inner west of Sydney, I and our theology haven’t always felt as STRIKE WA S A WAY embodies the true though my Christian O F S H OW I N G T H AT essence of what it faith has been nurtured WE ARE A LIVING means to be a follower by the world around AND RELEVANT of Christ. For me, the me, outside of my family, CHURCH church’s presence at close friends and church the strike was a way of community. I’ve struggled showing that we are a living with the broad societal and relevant church, and that we perception, especially amongst my have the best interests of our neighbours generation and wider circle of friends, and our world in our hearts. It was a that the values and mission of the way of showing that the mission of our church are often at odds with the values church and the social justice pursuits of contemporary society. of our world are not always mutually I’ve struggled with the actions of selfexclusive. It’s times like these that I feel proclaimed ‘Christians’ portrayed in the most connected to God and to my faith media, and how to reconcile being a part community. of this larger Christian community with Thank you to each one of you who my own Christian identity, when my faith worshiped, marched, or had us in your and the theology of our church seems to thoughts on Friday, 20 September. It was be very different to that of many other a significant day for our church and for Christians. our world.

Mia Berry

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Speaking up for our elders

UNITING’S ROLE IN ADVOCACY IN AGED CARE

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ustralians have been shocked at the stories emerging from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

The Royal Commission was established to investigate the quality of Australian aged care services and reports of substandard care and abuse.

It aims to identify the causes of failures and recommend changes to ensure better care into the future.

The Royal Commission’s interim report was released last week. Its findings were damning. The report described the current system as “cruel and harmful”. The problems identified range from poor quality care to neglect and outright abuse, to inadequate staffing and oversight of services.

Concerns about service viability and insufficient government funding have also been voiced. The overall picture is of a system needing, in the interim report’s words, a “fundamental overhaul of the design, objectives, regulation and funding”.

The Uniting Church, through Uniting, is the largest provider of aged care services in NSW and the ACT. Whilst, our services have not been the subject of the most

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serious concerns highlighted by the Commission to date, we are focused on ensuring we provide the best possible support to our elders and see the Royal Commission as an opportunity to learn what we can do better.

But with the proper care of older Australian in question, what can Uniting do apart from ensuring the quality of its own services? Well, Uniting can, and is, speaking out on this issue on behalf on the wider church.

WHY WE MUST ADVOCATE FOR BETTER CARE FOR OLDER AUSTRALIANS

As mentioned above Uniting is a major provider of aged care in NSW and the ACT. We support around 7,700 residents in aged care services and more than 6,100 home care clients each year. The church commissions Uniting to provide high quality services for all, especially for those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged. This experience in providing care, grounds our understanding of the needs of older people and shapes our speaking on their behalf.

Our advocacy for older Australians is also an explicit

part of the role delegated to us by the church. It is a sharing in the church’s wider work of social responsibility and social justice. As the Uniting Church declared at its inception:

In the Christian understanding human dignity and worth are gifts that cannot be lost

“A Christian responsibility to society has always been regarded as fundamental to the mission of the Church” Statement to the Nation, 1977 We advocate for older Australians because of our beliefs about human beings.

With the wider church, we affirm the dignity and worth of every person. Older people can feel diminished as their capacities decline. But in the Christian understanding human dignity and worth are gifts that cannot be lost. Older people remain whole beings, with a range of different needs - physical, psychological, social and spiritual. It is important that our aged care system recognises our older citizens as having the same rights to live as fully as possible as other groups.

WHAT CHANGES TO THE AGED CARE SYSTEM IS UNITING CALLING FOR?

The Royal Commission is far from the first examination of Australia’s aged care system.

In recent years there have been 20 inquiries across the country, many highlighting similar issues. Unfortunately, their suggested solutions have not been applied. While governments have responded with ad hoc reforms to parts of the system, the underlying problems remain. As the Royal Commission’s interim report notes, this lack of progress reveals an implicit undervaluing of older people in our society, treating them and their needs as a lesser priority.

In Uniting’s view, truly valuing older people would mean they receive the right mix of care and support, at the right time, in the setting they choose.

Service innovation to improve health and wellbeing: People are entering aged care with more complex health problems that previously. Yet current funding models don’t offer incentives for providers to improve the health and wellbeing of older people. Initiatives such as Uniting’s Healthy Living for Seniors programs, Senior’s Gyms, Transitional Care programs and programs that connect older people with younger generations, especially children, make a real difference to peoples’ wellbeing and help reduce health care costs in the longer term.

This requires a more sustainable aged care system characterised by the following principles: People know what they are getting and can make choices: Aged care providers must be transparent on matters like staffing levels and training and publish quality indicators for their services. These indicators can be adjusted for clients with more complex needs.

This data will help older people and their families make more informed choices about their care options.

There must be a shift to more home based care: Australia has one of the highest rates of older people in residential aged care in the

OECD (6.4% versus an OECD average of 3.6%). However, research demonstrates that the vast majority of people would prefer to age at home if they had the right support.

Currently, 120,000 people who have been approved for home care are waiting for their packages to be provided.

Higher level care packages are especially needed. The Interim Report identified the Home Care waiting list as an area requiring urgent attention. Shifting the balance of care packages to the home care model, as well as being preferred by most people, would also have economic benefits because home care is less expensive than residential care.

TRACEY BURTON SPEAKING AT THE OPENING OF THE REDEVELOPED GERRINGONG RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE FACILITY IN APRIL

A skilled and fairly paid workforce delivering high quality care: We need to see wage increases and investment in training for aged care workers consistent with valuing their work and the people they care for.

Wage rises and training opportunities can be linked to improvements in the quality of care provided.

Sustainable services through a mix of government and consumer contributions: Uniting believes that, where consumers have the means to contribute to their care, they should be able to do so. At the same time it is vital that government contributions are sufficient to secure a good quality of care for those who are unable to contribute. That is not the case now. Even though Australia has a greater proportion of older people in aged care than many other countries (see above), Australia only spends 1 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) on aged care services. This is much less than the average of 1.7 percent in OECD countries, while Sweden spends 3.2 percent to fund an aged care system of which they can be rightly proud.1

HOW WILL UNITING GO ABOUT ADVOCATING FOR THESE CHANGES?

Uniting is speaking out on behalf of older Australians in different ways.

Uniting NSW.ACT is part of a large national network of Uniting Church aged care providers. Collectively we are represented by Uniting Care Australia, who advocate to government on behalf of member organisations and the people we serve.

As a large provider in its own right, Uniting is undertaking its own campaign to influence government decision makers to support the changes we are calling for. We do this as part of the mission and advocacy responsibilities entrusted to us by the wider Uniting Church.

More and more organisations seeking social change are realising they need to speak together if they are to be effective. Uniting is contacting other large aged care providers who have common concerns and a shared vision for change, to explore the possibility of joint advocacy.

A QUESTION FOR US ALL

The issue of valuing older people and ensuring they are provided the support they need to live as fully as possible, is not just a question for aged care services and government. It is a question posed to all of us. Are we willing to call on our governments to invest in better quality care for older persons? Do we really value the dignity and care of older Australians enough to demand the fundamental changes required and be willing to pay for them? With the population of people over aged 65 years set to more than double by 2055, these are questions that must be faced.

Tracey Burton, Executive Director, Uniting 1 Health at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators; OECD

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Walking the Camino Ahead of a new trip set for September 2020, Rev. Matt Trounce recently spoke to Insights about his experience walking

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ev. Trounce said that the Camino has become, “a really big interest of mine.” He owns more than twenty books about it and its history.

The apostle James is said to have found his way to a peninsula that today is part of modern day Spain, gave up on having much of an impact in the area, and later made his way back to Jerusalem

doing something like this that is incredibly physically challenging,” Rev. Trounce said.

“There is something about the Camino that calls to people.”

Rev. Trounce said that he is not especially convinced that the route leads to the apostle’s final resting place.

“My initial response is I’m pretty sceptical that that’s the case,” he said.

simplicity…the slower pace. It just strips everything back.”

Rev. Trounce pointed to the popularity of meditation and minimalism as signs that people are searching for spiritual experiences like what the walk offers.

As someone who has run marathons and participated in trail runs, this appeal goes beyond the sheer physicality of what the trek demands.

“I’m used to physical challenges,” he said.

Instead, he points to the PHYSICAL “I didn’t expect it to impact me spiritual SIMPLICITY in the emotional and spiritual experience of BRINGS AN way that it did.” the longwalk INNER SPIRITUAL As well as the experience of through S I M P L I C I T Y. walking where one of Jesus’ an area IT STRIPS disciples is said to have laced with EVERYTHING walked, the trip offers an thousands of BACK experience of comradery. years of human and religious “You become so close,” Rev. history as to why he From the Middle Trounce said. personally finds the trek to Ages people would pilgrimage be significant to his own faith. As well as “draining one to the supposed location of another’s blisters and the apostle’s body.

“In a busy stressful world cooking for each other”, where people have so much Interest somewhat died out in Rev. Trounce recalls “deep going on…there is this the modern world, but it was conversations” about what movement back to simplicity.” rediscovered in the 1970s attracted people to the route and 80s. in the first place.

“On the Camino, everything you have…you have on your 300,000 people into 90 percent of pilgrims walk back.”

Santiago this year before along the most common September, which represents “Each day all I had to do was route, which starts on the record numbers.

French side of the border. get up and put one foot in front of the other.”

“In a modern world of The route has its own rich comforts, and cars and and inspired history. Before “I find the physical simplicity trains…people ae now becoming part of a Catholic brings an inner spiritual

“There are lots of weird and wonderful stories of his body making its way back there,” Rev. Trounce said.

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pilgrimage it was used by the ancient Kelts and the Romans.

Later, the likes of Charlemagne and Napoleon would travel along its route.

“One of the moving spots was the highest point of the route, (where)… a lot of people lay down a stone or a token,” Rev. Trounce said.

“I was carrying a stone from home, from Lithgow.”

“I called my rock ‘gracias’, as I was so thankful.”

Although technically a Catholic pilgrimage to a Catholic cathedral, it nonetheless attracts people from all faith backgrounds, including none at all.

“A lot of people might call themselves spiritual. They too were looking for that space.”

Rev. Trounce will be part of a group walking from 25 September to 13 October 2020.

“I’m more than happy to chat to people about the Camino and what it’s like,” he said.

Jonathan Foye

WORLD HUNGER RISING FOR THREE YEARS IN A ROW. $16 BILLION SPENT ON UNWANTED CHRISTMAS GIFTS THAT OFTEN END UP IN LANDFILL. GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS.

#Ca nce lChris tm a s?

IS IT TIME TO...

In light of marketing that prompts us to find the perfect present in the form of vegancertified therapy beds for our cats, is it possible that we’ve hit #peakChristmas and we should all just call it quits?

Probably not. What it takes, of course, is a refocus on the original gift of Christ among humanity – raw, close and transforming. Perhaps it’s no surprise we see those changes most readily in places where vegan-certified cat therapy beds are in shortest supply (as are most other items). These are the places where suffering is real yet faith is strong – where children die from preventable disease and women are silenced by violence and hunger stalks families day after day. And yet as Leonard Cohen would have it, it’s where things are most cracked that the light gets in.

This Christmas, UnitingWorld invites you to respond both to the pain of the world and the birth of Christ by giving gifts that matter. Things like education and pigs and training for women in places where people are eager to take in their own, creative hands the tools that build hope.

How do we know how much they matter? We’ve seen it. Among 202,305 people (yes, we had our UnitingWorld partners count them), we’ve seen the dirt-grimed palms and hydroponic crops; the newly stocked market stalls and the eager attendance at handwashing demonstrations; skilful fingers feeding cloth into sewing machines and eyes lighting up as the Scriptures are opened to Jesus’ treatment of women and girls; pigs and goats tended with care.

These gifts are evidence of Christ’s kingdom coming in and through God’s people. These gifts prevent diseases that kill. They send girls to school who might otherwise be married at fifteen, and they change the attitudes that lead to family violence. They stop hunger.

And we know these gifts matter to you too. We’ve seen your passion for a world where people live with dignity and hope.

During the year our team visited you in your congregations from the north coast

to the mountains, in inner city Sydney suburbs and out on the plains. You told us that even as you sometimes struggle to meet your own needs, you still believe you have enough to share – at home and abroad. You told us that your love for our farmers in the outback makes you even more aware of life for farmers in Zimbabwe, tackling disease and corruption on top of drought. Connecting with God’s people and God’s work around the world brings you life, here and now. It always has, and it always will.

On the coast at Corrimal we watched certificates handed out to members of Adult Fellowships who’ve hit milestones of 80 and 90 years of age – lifelong supporters who’ve prayed, cooked, gardened, knitted, stood for countless hours in the sun at BBQs, read and listened – joining their lives with people they’ve never met who are also working hard for a better life. In particular, they’ve raised thousands of dollars so that people like Lima, the first female theological lecturer in the Solomon Islands, can prepare the way for others.

In Bowral, where this year’s Everything in Common Gift Catalogue video was made, we’re seeing families start conversations with their children about why the birth of Jesus connects us to children in Vanuatu, South Sudan and Sri Lanka. We’re seeing what happens when people decide to live out the call to God’s world made new – across borders, among neighbours near and far.

TOP: THE EARL FAMILY FROM BOWRAL ENJOYING GIFTS FROM UNITINGWORLD’S EVERYTHING IN COMMON GIFT CATALOGUE. PHOTO BY ALEX BAKER. BOTTOM: REV LIMA TURA (CENTRE) WITH PASTOR DOROTHY FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN VANUATU (LEFT) AND MALISI HONOLULU, SECRETARY FOR THE WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP OF THE TUVALU CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. PHOTO BY NATASHA HOLLAND.

Thank you for another year beside us sharing what we have with God’s people.

We invite you to reclaim Christmas for good and keep giving through UnitingWorld’s Everything in Common gift catalogue – gifts that fight poverty and build hope as they honour the people you love. everythingincommon.com.au

Cath Taylor

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MAKIN MO N E YWATC M AT H TER CG U LT UR

Ethical, responsible, sustainable investing I was not expecting the keynote address to be such a moving presentation. I was at a conference of investment managers after all!

However, as the courageous young woman on the podium spoke clearly and passionately about her pain and that of her family and her village, her words had a powerful impact: “Investors, are you satisfied that your bank balance growth has been achieved with the loss of so much blood?”

The woman was Amanda Andrade. She is from the village of Brumadihno in Brazil, where she works with the orphans left when the collapse of the tailings dam at Vale’s iron ore mine swept away their parents on a tragic day in January this year. About 250 people are known to have died, most while they ate their lunch in the staff cafeteria.

Amanda lost her own sister in the disaster, but spoke of how her family at least had some closure as they found her body quickly and relatively intact. The families of many others are still looking and hoping, probably in vain, to find remains.

was addressing a session at the annual conference of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) organisation in Paris, which I had the privilege of attending in September. She was speaking to portfolio managers and strategists from global investment firms and representatives from mining giants like Anglo-American and BHP.

Amanda spoke of how the mine that had sustained their town and was a great source of pride, became an ongoing nightmare. Death and depression has followed, ranging from the extensive immediate loss of life, to the loss of a way of life. With sadness she shared how her father no longer pursues his former passion for going fishing once a week. The river was ruined as the sludge from the tailings dam swept through the valley.

That policy reflects the core Christian value of loving our neighbour and caring for the Vale has done some work on created world environmental

Tailings dams are formed from the waste that is dug out of the ground and the water used in the mining process.

Usually, the waste is toxic. Sometimes, it’s radioactive. The damage done when such a dam collapses is huge. Not only the loss of human life, but the impact on the local environment is devastating. In this case, the sludge included very fine metal particles which have gotten into the river’s soil and most likely caused irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

As well as working with the orphans, Amanda’s also been engaged in advocacy, speaking out about Vale’s inadequate response to the tragedy.

She takes every opportunity to urge the global mining industry to take seriously the issue of safety at their tailings dams. On this occasion Amanda

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restoration, but none on human restoration. Au contraire, Amanda told us that Vale often has asked locals to work beside their workers only to find the mutilated body of a relative. “This is cruelty,” observes Amanda, who has financed her own medical treatment for post-traumatic stress, as Vale has contributed nothing.

The mood of the room was definitely that investors were not satisfied with earning returns from this sort of situation. All of us know that mining is important – it provides many commodities that we rely on for so much of our daily lives.

But all of us also acknowledged that it has to be a safe industry that does not take a relaxed view of events like the Brumadihno disaster. There was discussion, led by the representative from Anglo-American, about the industry’s efforts to “re-imagine mining”, so that tailings dams are no longer part of the equation.

In the meantime, there’s the question of what to do about existing dams. No one is under any illusions that this task will be easy. For one thing, no one is exactly sure how many such dams there are in the world. It’s at least 3,500. Some are huge – the largest is in Alberta, Canada, and is 11 kilometres long and up to 88 metres high. And, more significant, no one is sure exactly what condition all the tailings dams are in. There’s a massive research project needed just to get data so that a strategy can be worked out.

A colleague and friend of ours, Adam Mathews, from the Church of England Pension Fund in the UK, is leading a group of investors to press the mining companies to make this work a priority.

UFS is a signatory to the PRI, an organisation formed by the United Nations to mobilise investment capital to support responsible investment and sustainability. For us, signing up to the PRI soon after they were launched (we signed in 2009) was a no-brainer. Our counterparts in the US church, Wespath, had a key role in drafting the Principles, which are therefore strongly aligned with the Uniting Church’s Ethical investment policy. That policy reflects the core Christian value of loving our neighbour (Matthew 22:39 among others) and caring for the created world.

Although most of the other signatories to the PRI don’t have the same faithbased motivation, the strength of this organisation demonstrates that not all capitalists are greedy and focussed only on profit at the expense of people and the environment. In total there were about 1,800 delegates at the conference, who collectively manage many trillions of dollars of investment funds or work for some large corporations.

All are committed to mobilising the capital we invest in a way that strives to achieve ethical, responsible, sustainable outcomes. All are committed, therefore, to making money matter.

Warren Bird Executive Director Uniting Financial Services

LOOKING FOR A

MINISTER OF THE WORD

JESMOND PARK UNITING CHURCH

Jesmond Park Uniting Church is a dynamic congregation in the heart of Newcastle, which is seeking a new Minister. Focused on engaging with our wider local multicultural, refugee and university communities, and empowering the young who are a large proportion of the congregation, we have a strong desire to build on more than a decade of innovative church and mission activities as a welcoming faith community of hope, love and justice.

We are looking for a full time Minister of the Word, preferably a Uniting Church Minister or an Ordained Minister who shares Uniting Church values, with strong leadership skills and a passion for faith in action. You will join our leadership team and help chart our mission focused journey, while pastorally and spiritually supporting our congregation.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST For Expressions of interest and to obtain our Congregational Profile and Mission Plan 2019 please email applications@nswact.uca.org.au Follow us on Facebook @jesmondpark.unitingchurch

MORE INFORMATION For more information contact Rev. Jennifer Burns, on minister.merewetheruca@gmail.com or 0411133679

jesmondpark.uca.org.au

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D I G I TA L M I N I ST RY

YOUNG PEOPLE, SOCIAL MEDIA

and the church

If Facebook were a human being, in 2020 it would be eligible to get its Learner Driver’s permit. It is long past its first awkward dates and is well on the way to knowing what it wants to do when it grows up. It has faced challenges and experienced more than a few of its own missteps, not least of which have led to broken relationships or tense moments with friends and loved ones, and it seems to speak an entirely different language to that which anyone over the age of 35 is used to.

Just as many in the church acknowledge their limited understanding of “young people” so too they look at the ubiquitous social media behemoth and address it in the same way with a generous mix of wonder, confusion and bewilderment.

Do not misunderstand: Social media will not “save” the church.

What these various networks offer us are a unique and intimate opportunity to connect with a vast collection of people

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In Barna’s recent report “THE CONNECTED GENERATION: How Christian Leaders Can Strengthen Faith & Well-Being Among 18-35 Year-Olds” (2019) the statistics for young Australians are damning: 67 percent of young people feel isolated and uncared for; 70 percent are dissatisfied with their life choices; and Only 30 percent feel as though someone believes in them.

THE OPPORTUNIT Y PRESENTED TO U S I S T O I N V O LV E O U R S E LV E S I N G O D ’ S DEEP WORK ALRE ADY IN PL ACE IN THE LIVES OF YOUNG PEOPLE

How can we as a church expect to connect with members of our emerging generations if we refuse to engage with them in the places they develop vibrant and life-giving relationships?

How can we grow and develop our young people if we do not seek to leverage networks like Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, and TikTok and use them as a part of their faith formation?

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under 35 and offer us additional pathways to invest in them so they know they are vital, valuable, and loved.

These numbers become even more diabolical when we filter them through a lens that is focused on LGBTIQA+ young people.

For us to live out the call of our ancestors to express our faith as a pilgrim people always on the way we must take seriously the significant rise in mental health diagnoses in our young people. Our pastoral response to care for them as much as our call for justice in support of them with regard to services and government assistance must be seen and heard within the communities we inhabit.

Whether it’s online or face to face for members of our emerging generations relationships matter. Like really matter. Especially the intergenerational relationships that often are only found within communities of faith.

These relationships can be birthed out of and continued through investment in positive and appropriate online connections that for young people are as transparent as

Saltbush – Uniting the Scattered Community seeks

to encourage and connect smaller, Uniting Christian communities, irrespective of size or location and to affirm the place and capacity of smaller Christian communities both to gather and be in mission.

facebook.com/Saltbushcommunity saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au their in real life interactions, and they flip between the digital and offline as if breathing in and out. A kind word of encouragement, a well-placed like, a video message of congratulations are all as important as turning up to a young person’s Awards Night and applauding when they are honoured for their hard work, or cheering them on from the sidelines at a key match in their chosen sport’s round of fixtures.

The opportunity presented to us is to involve ourselves in God’s deep work already in place in the lives of young people.

We can help them understand that Jesus died that they might experience a life of community, of satisfaction, and of empowerment because people know them and love them for who they are.

That our young people might know they can experience life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

Congregations afraid of ‘ageing-out’ are faced with a real and tangible opportunity to engage in growth within their community by connecting with the Pulse team and taking part in a Growing Young consultation. This process is designed to help ministry agents, church councils and congregations connect with a new way of thinking about ministry with emerging generations and what it looks like in their explicit context right now. It’s bold, challenging, and can transform an entire congregation’s approach to connecting and communicating with people under 35.

Contact Karen, Joyce, Ofa, or myself in the Pulse team today – we’d love to connect with you and your congregation in this powerful opportunity to grow God’s church.

Steve Molkentin is a Senior Field Officer for Pulse Molk@nswact.uca.org.au.

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B E L I E F M AT T E R S

LOOKING AT

BIBLICAL

inspiration

How many times have you heard it said, “The Bible is the inspired Word of God”?

Have you ever thought about what this phrase actually means? Paul Achtemeier, in his book The Inspiration of Scripture, has indicated the problems that are inherent in using the terminology of “inspiration” loosely. He points to issues related to the use (or abuse) of this term. The matter is not quite as simple as it first appears.

The traditional answer to the question of what this statement means, is to assert (quite correctly) that the Bible uses this concept of inspiration to define itself.

However, we need to be careful in simply lifting out one word (this is all it is, even in Greek!) and making it the lynchpin of a massive argument.

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he claim that “God said it; I believe it; that settles it” is ultimately an inadequate answer if we are truly seeking understanding of our faith.

What, then, is the biblical evidence for the claim of inspiration? 2 Timothy 3:16 is generally regarded as the “proof text” for this topic, with the claim being made that all scripture is inspired. This verse appears in the passage set for reading in churches this coming Sunday, as the epistle reading in the Revised Common Lectionary.

However, even this verse must be viewed in context. It cannot readily be extracted from its context and pressed into service as an abstract definition; we cannot assume that it is the fundamental principle held by all biblical writers, as no other writers of other biblical books give any indication that it was adhered to in this way. We should note a number of aspects of this verse which caution us against making it a fundamental universal principle which applies equally in every case.

IS THIS THE LAST WORD ON THE MATTER?

Some interpreters have argued that the whole of 2 Timothy should be seen as a last testament of Paul — an attempt to set out his final thoughts in a clear, systematic, programmatic manner, as his last will and testament for his followers.

However, caution is again required at this point.

The authenticity of 2 Timothy is debated. Some scholars claim that it was not written by Paul, others say that he dictated it, while yet others argue that it contains fragments of material written by Paul, which are placed within a larger framework of a whole letter by another writer.

Whatever the origin of the letter, it is clear that it was written in a specific context; it is by no means an attempt to set out basic principles, but rather applies such principles to a given situation.

INSPIRED

First, the Greek word translated “inspired” is theopneustos, which literally means, “breathed by God”.

This was not a common term in the first century CE; many other similar terms were available prior to the New Testament to describe the activity of inspiration. So the use of this term is not in itself a clearcut way of proposing a “doctrine of inspiration” in first century terms.

Further, we should note that in 2 Timothy 3:16 the definition which is given is functional, not ontological that is to say, it identifies the effect scripture has, and does not define the essence of scripture in and of itself. The emphasis is placed on the fact that scripture is “useful” or “profitable”. Inspiration, so it seems, does not reside in the writings themselves, nor in the writer, but results from the process of using (or applying) scripture.

In his authentic writings Paul himself shows little awareness of the Gospels or of Gospel traditions; and there is no evidence for the collection of Paul’s letters until early in the second century CE. By contrast, Paul regularly cites scriptures from his own tradition, the Hebrew scriptures, and it is clear that he considers these works to be important guides for living by faith.

Romans, Galatians, and both letters to the Corinthians contain numerous such instances.

(There are explicit citations of Hebrew scriptures at two places in the Pastoral Epistles: 1 Tim 5:17-20, quoting Deut 25:4 and alluding to Deut 19:5, and 2 Tim 2:19, citing Num 16:5 and Isa 26:13.)

Thus, this statement was originally NOT about the whole of the Bible; it is only by inference that we can refer it to the whole of the Bible.

SCRIPTURE

A further issue concerns the word graphe, usually translated as “scripture”. This word literally means “writing”, and normally it applies to Old Testament books. At the time of writing 2 Timothy, it could not yet apply to the New Testament in a direct manner, since the complete New Testament was not yet formed.

The claim that “God said it; I believe it; that settles it” is an inadequate answer if we are truly seeking understanding of our faith

USEFUL FOR…

Finally, let us note the diversity of functions here attributed to inspired writings: they can be used for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Thus, a richness of meaning is perceived within scripture, indicating the diversity of ways of applying scripture. There is no single function which is foundational; nor does this verse set out all the functions of scripture (the Psalms, for example, function in a number of different ways — for praise, lament, celebration, petition, confession, remembrance, and so on).

Thus, 2 Timothy 3:16 itself does not offer a full and satisfactory answer to the question, what does it mean to say that the Bible is inspired? It offers one insight, but it needs to be balanced against others. It is not the last word on the matter.

Certainly, it is clear that this passage can refer only to the Hebrew scriptures, for the New Testament as we know it was not yet formed, even in the early decades of the second century.

And it points towards a functional understanding of scripture, providing no basis for any claims about the divinelyinspired and absolutely authoritative nature of the books of the Bible.

Rev. Dr John Squires is the Presbytery Minister (Wellbeing) at Canberra Presbytery. This reflection originally appeared on his blog, An Informed Faith.

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N E W S F RO M U N I T I N G C H U R C H A D U LT F E L LOW S H I P ( U CA F )

UCAF EVENTS

Fellowship news

Rallies and Gatherings are over for another year but already dates have been set for 2020. These events are so well received and the sharing of stories, Uniting Church activities, and the fellowship enjoyed are why they still happen.

In the Hunter, for the 84th Rally, Wesley UC East Maitland hosted people from numerous congregations. Special guest was Mardi Lumsden from Uniting World gave everyone much food for thought. It was fun and so informative. Roll playing and putting ourselves in different situations made us really think about how our overseas partners live and work. Our Theme for the day was “Women in Ministry in the Pacific”. The offering was shared with Uniting World and Lifeline. Certificates were presented to 80, 90, and 100 year olds. The UCAF Synod Committee Project “Women in Ministry in the Pacific” raised over $4000 in 2019.

Macquarie Darling Presbytery held their Rally in Orange over a weekend with Chairperson Rev. Noreen Towers and Secretary Laraine Jones from the Synod Committee attending.

Communion led by Rev. Andrew Cunningham from Orange began the day. Special Guest was Phil Worrad who gave a very informative talk on the drought. His role is to assist the Coordinators in the State and to get across how much impact this drought has on people in his Western area and have some help provided.

If you would like to share your fellowship news or have any questions, please contact: Judy Hicks on judyh_rnh@hotmail.com

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In Walgett after the IGA supermarket burned down people had to travel 80 kms for bread and milk. Lunch was provided by the Forest Reef ladies. Laraine Jones gave a Power Point presentation on the activities of the UCAF Synod Committee, the 80 and 90 year olds were presented with their certificates and the day concluded with Sharyn Robinson sharing work of Uniting World.

THINK TANK

The UCAF Synod Committee held its Annual “Think Tank” in East Maitland. It gave more time to discuss activities and the way forward with Adult Fellowships. The Cookbook, “Bring a Plate” proposed and produced after the 2018 “Think Tank” has been well received and only a small number remain. It has provided income to enable more outreach to struggling church communities. The State again enjoyed a visit from The National UCAF Chairperson Janet Woodward who attended events in Canberra Presbytery and the Gosford Rally.

We wish all groups and Church Communities a happy, safe and blessed Christmas Season.

RALLIES AND EVENTS 2020

UCAF, NSW/ACT Synod Committee Dedication Service 12 February | 222 Pitt Street Sydney with lunch at midday and the service at 1pm. RSVP Laraine Jones.

Moderator’s Retired Ministry Persons Lunch | 24 March at Turramurra Uniting Church.

Macquarie Darling Presbytery Rally | 4 April at Molong Canberra Region | Tuesday 5 May at St Ninians Lyneham.

L E C T I O NA RY R E F L E C T I O N S

DECEMBER

Advent Hope that we might see signs of this kingdom already

1 DECEMBER

8 DECEMBER

ADVENT 1

ADVENT 2

MATTHEW 24:36-44

MATTHEW 3:1-12

Hope

The Season of Advent starts with us reading of hope and warning. The contemplation of God coming into creation in a new way, starts to fill part of us with a sense of anticipation and fullness, but another part of us with the dread that we are not ready yet! Matthew 24 contains a series of sayings and stories about judgement and the kingdom that is to come. Christians have long wrestled with apocalyptic passages like this.

While we might find this challenging, it may help to engage with this week’s advent theme; Hope. Hope that we might see signs of this kingdom already breaking into unexpected and shocking places in us, in our communities, and in our world. Isaiah 2:5 invites the house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!.

So, let’s step into that journey, and walk together this Advent season.

Peace

Advent is a season of preparation. This preparation might look like trying to balance the closing off of a busy year, finding the perfect gift, or finishing off Christmas lunch. This week’s reading provides us an opportunity for a different kind of preparation.

John the Baptist asks us to examine ourselves, to bear good fruit, and to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

15 DECEMBER ADVENT 3

Joy

MATTHEW 11:2-11

and unconventional signs of God in that moment, rather than trying to find the signs and wonders of the next moment.

Joy. Our singing and our praising, and the merriment of Christmas is well upon us.

Matthew 11:2-11 describes a joy for those who are healed, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” But John is hearing this message from prison. We all come into the Christmas season with stories of years that have been good, or hard, and yet it is hard to find an advertisement that might share the complex grief some of us will hold coming into this season. This might be a good time to reach out to someone who is held captive by grief, or discomfort, with an ear to listen, rather than your voice to proclaim… and if you are grieving at this time of year, please grieve and let those around you know.

Christmas Day is here, and I can hear all of my preaching lecturers saying; “just tell the story!” Amid the chaos of life, God comes in and shines light, grace and truth into the darkest of night. That cry of joy and labour has rung out through the world, all the way into our pews and church buildings and into our homes.

In this I find Hope and Peace, Joy and Love. In this I find Emmanuel. So, read the story anew, with new eyes and new ears. God has placed this story into our hands that we might retell it, birth it into a new life, and mercy, kindness and justice.

22 DECEMBER

29 DECEMBER

ADVENT 4

Love

MATTHEW 1:18-25

Don’t read this as guilt slinging, or yet another task for you to feel bad about not achieving. Rather, we might take time to realign, listen, and find peace in our relationship with God. This looks different for everyone, but this might be a moment to question, where am I not at peace, and how can I be at peace?

Matthew’s telling of Mary and Joseph’s story, and their preparation for the first Christmas, is filled with unexpected moments. The story doesn’t provide for us security or comfort, nor does it provide a clear path for Mary and Joseph to take, only the steps that are directly ahead of them and not too many thereafter.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

As we learn the depths of God’s love, we might learn to trust the steps that are provided right in front of us, rather than worrying about that next part. We might also appreciate the unexpected

25 DECEMBER

Christmas Day

JOHN 1:1-14

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

CHRISTMAS 1 MATTHEW 2:13-23

We are told the next part of Jesus’ story through this reading, the part where the reality of dictators, of infanticide, of poverty, of a world where families flee in the middle of the night, starts to sour our silent night. Even in a perfect moment, violence and chaos can move us on.

Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t hide from this. God is still working, even when the worst is happening in our midst.

Throughout Jesus’ life we will see violence and even death, but we will also see that nothing can defeat God’s promise of Immanuel.

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L E C T I O NA RY R E F L E C T I O N S

JANUARY

Thinking about the year ahead

how might we in our very ordinary lives announce that God is among us?

5 JANUARY

CHRISTMAS 2 JOHN 1:(1-9), 10-18

John’s Gospel sets the tone of mystery from its genesis, introducing the good news as the Word which became flesh in Jesus and lived among us.

As we, celebrate a new year, our resolutions and our goals laid out, not yet forgotten, maybe we could consider how we might develop a fleshier, or fuller faith with the Word through both word and flesh. We might consider the Jesus who is with us in the sacrament of bread and wine, water and each other. We might ask how we can see all things that came into being through him, we might look to creation, each other and the worlds that we have constructed around us, with the same eyes of John, inviting mystery into our vernacular.

Mystery for me means that I don’t have to have all the answers, but I still have to think about it.

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and how are we being asked 26 JANUARY to respond? Our multi layered, EPIPHANY 3 symbolic and theologically MATTHEW 4:12-23 We remember the baptism dense reading from John, Follow me. As we enter of Jesus and contemplate our reads practically but also back into our ordinary lives, own. Maybe we remember provides for deep discussion. stepping back into work, the promises that we made, Whilst I have little doubt that or starting to think more or the scripture that was John’s Gospel is chosen here, seriously about the year that spoken. You might pull out the because it is this gospel is to come, we might find it Apostle’s or Nicene creeds. where the display of both the easy to forget the majesty and We as community might incarnation and the epiphany wonder of the celebrations ponder on what it means to is made so resolutely. You we have just committed, be a part of the people that might remember from 1:14 the wonder and waiting we we gather with each week, “and the Word became flesh journeyed, and the walk to and what we mean to each and lived among us, and we the cross that is before us. other, and what we could have seen his glory”. There It is in the ordinary though, mean to those in our local is also a very practical edge that we can get some real neighbourhood and beyond it. to this reading, when we work done! And this season We might also ask why Jesus take note of the importance of Ordinary time, layered with was baptised. What does it of John the Baptists role the season of Epiphany calls mean for God to have become here, understanding that us to work on how Jesus is a human? As we enter into he provides a testimony as revealed today. We might ask Epiphany, we might ask what to who Jesus is and then how we like Peter and Andrew is revealed in Christ’s coming, points the way so that others might follow Jesus. How in the stories of baptism, come to recognise Jesus. We might we listen to him and his and healing and living and understand our role a little commands? Where this is no teaching, and how are we clearer, and wonder what magi, no great starts, not as being asked to respond? does it mean for us today to much wonder and celebration, point the way to Jesus, what how might we in our very 19 JANUARY might we cry out so that we ordinary lives announce EPIPHANY 2 ourselves and those who that God is among us? That JOHN 1:29-42 witness take note? answer starts with the simple I waited patiently for the “follow me”… and like Mary LORD; He inclined to me and and Joseph we might commit heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1) to follow him, and worry Here we find ourselves within about what is next, when that the season of Epiphany unfolds. asking the questions; what is revealed in Christ’s coming

12 JANUARY

BAPTISM OF JESUS MATTHEW 3:13-17

L E C T I O NA RY R E F L E C T I O N S

FEBRUARY

Loving Kindness, Walking Humbly 2 FEBRUARY

EPIPHANY 4 MATTHEW 5:1-12

Barbara Brown Taylor in her book An Alter in the World describes an event where she saw a group of people act out each of the blessed statements of the Beatitudes.

She describes how some of these stir within her a new understanding, a new way of reading, especially a theatrical interpretation of those who mourn. How might your community, how might you seek to understand in a new way the beatitudes this week? How might you seek to live them out, or learn from them anew?

How do we see them coming to fulfillment among us? As we seek to find Christ in our world and signs of God with us, I wonder if we are being pointed toward those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who are pure in heart, who are peacemakers, who are persecuted for righteousness and who are reviled and persecuted. And how might we respond?

Micah 6 falls into our reading list this week… the start of an answer might start with doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly.

commonly found and is only an ordinary spice. But after you have added it to your pasta you might wonder how you ever ate pasta without it before!? In the same way, after a long night of the soul, or even too long spent inside, we come out to see at first the blinding light of day, where shadows once unreachable start to become yesterday’s fears and new possibilities start to erupt. How might we lift our eyes up from our own situation, our own naval

a continuity of it. For this text, like many others have been used in an attitude of antiJudaism and anti-Semitism and this is an especially unforgiving road to start to wonder down. For us as we read this text a more helpful paradigm to seek would be in breaking down the reading and asking what is Jesus saying to us about our relationships with others and ourselves in reconciliation (vv.21-26), adultery (vv.2730), divorce (vv.31-32) and

26 FEBRUARY

ASH WEDNESDAY MATTHEW 6:1-6, 16-21

It starts with loving and giving thanks for the ordinary and simple around us

9 FEBRUARY

EPIPHANY 5 MATTHEW 5:13-20

Each new context, generation and time should be asking how we might reveal Jesus today. At the core of our lessons, our stories, our gathering is that which preserves and that which contributes to our thriving.

For saltiness flavours and reshapes a bland meal, but is

this story of a Jesus who is metamorphosised, transfigured, made to glow!

The revelation of Jesus with us, takes on yet another paradigm when the ordinary human is transformed. I marvel and reflect on ordinary moments where somehow an ordinary moment is made extraordinary. It is made to glow in my mind, to beam or to warm me up from the cold and indifference that sometimes sets in. I am reminded, God is here!

gazing, our own pondering to share this salt and light with the world? How might we step back into the core of simple and ordinary symbols? I think that it starts with loving and giving thanks for the ordinary and simple around us, loving them, loving it, extravagantly to life.

16 FEBRUARY

EPIPHANY 6 MATTHEW 5:21-37

In many of the commentaries that I have read about this continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, I have heard and read that it is important not to see this scripture as a correction or replacement of the Hebrew Bible, but rather

swearing (vv.33-37). How might our ways of loving and learning how to love one another be shaped by these teachings? How might our way of living out in community Christ’s call to follow be influenced? There is no one answer, even in this very short account, so don’t start with the Truth, maybe start with your truths, and listen for the truth in others.

23 FEBRUARY

TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS MATTHEW 17:1-9

We move from Ordinary time, back into an extraordinary moment. I am not sure how to scientifically reflect, or how we can normalise

Today we might be marked with Ash, reminding us of our origin stories and the story of our end. We might take time to remember, the Advent and Epiphany, the ordinary and the divine which has found its way to live side by side. And now we enter back into the time of watching and waiting of being present to another layered and complex journey toward the cross. Matthew provides us with instructions to live by throughout this time, giving to the needy, praying, fasting and instruction about treasures on earth. Maybe you are the person who could put these on a post it note near your computer as you start your Lenten wondering, or maybe you have another plan to explore this season more deeply. As you are marked with Ash by simply being human it is impossible to escape the mere fact that you will live and you will die, we might remember the hope that even after the last candle is extinguished, resurrection will follow.

These reflections were prepared by Rev. James Aaron, Minister at North Ryde Community Uniting Church

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C U LT U R E WAT C H

The force from above

ADAM DRIVER MAY BE PROPELLED BY THE MIGHT OF A LIGHTSABRE IN THE UPCOMING THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, BUT AS THE AMERICAN ACTOR EXPLAINS, IT WAS MORE LIKELY A HIGHER POWER THAT HELPED HIM PURSUE MOVIE-MAKING MAGNIFICENCE.

A

dam Driver is probably the last actor one might have expected to find himself entrenched in the recent Star Wars trilogy.

The likeable star, who recently celebrated a decade in Hollywood, sauntered almost unnoticed into — literally — alien territory in 2015 when he was named as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Following that up with The Last Jedi two years later furthered what was a major diversion for an actor who made his mark in Girls, the Lena Dunham TV series about urban emotional slackers. But Star Wars director J.J. Abrams saw an element of menace in Driver needed to play the villainous Kylo Ren in the highly-anticipated return of the space saga. It proved a life-changing role for the former Marine who admitted the whole experience was surreal, and a project he was completely in awe of.

In this latest slab of fantasy adventure, Driver is joined again by Daisy Ridley, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill and others, as the surviving Resistance faces the First Order. It promises to be another epic battle that will have fanatics queuing up for midnight showings upon the movie’s global release on 19 December.

BETWEEN ELATION AND REFLECTION

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The quote reveals Driver as a deep thinker, and for a long while his faith existed prominently as a guide. A Baptist, he attended the church in Mishawaka, Indiana, at which his stepfather, Rodney G. Wright, was a minister. Life revolved around church activities and events, and he grew up singing in the choir.

I liked the idea of people being able to make up for mistakes because sure as hell I knew I would make a few

This new dawn as an actor is merely just the latest step along the line of a life that has ebbed and swayed between elation and reflection. From working in the U.S. Marine Corps following 9/11, to being deployed for duty in Iraq, Driver broke his sternum in a mountain bike accident and never had a chance to see active military duty. However, he later founded Arts in the Armed Forces, an organisation which stages theatre productions for military personnel and their families, and from there his diversion has only ever been towards dramatic accomplishment.

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As Driver says, rather fittingly, even though his reference is to Star Wars: “How great is that to get to work on something that has so much humanity in the midst of it? I feel like that's everyone's goal, to balance those two... art and humanity. In this world, we have to contribute something, and it’s not a thing to be taken lightly.”

Previously, his father, Joe, has been a Baptist youth counsellor, and although in his teenaged years, Driver rebelled somewhat against the structure the church imposed on him, it did at least give him the value of acceptance and respect, something he was taken forward into his career.

“I think the notion of forgiveness was something I always held very strong. I liked the idea of people being able to make up for mistakes, because sure as hell I knew I would make a few along the way,” he laughs.

“My interpretation of religion that grew over the years gave me a way of looking at and understanding people and humanity, and I’d like to feel that, in itself, has made me a much better actor.

“Put another way, I don’t feel that any character ever feels good or bad in absolute terms, and in interpreting them I try to show all sides to their personality,” he says. “I don't like labelling people. That also applies to heroes: the Marines, for example, are people who are facing extreme situations, sometimes they win and other times they do not.

PICTURED RIGHT: ADAM DRIVER WITH CO-STARS DAISY RIDLEY AND MARK HAMILL AND ABOVE IN A SCENE FROM THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

HOPE AND ADVENTURE

“Overall I like to think people will always be drawn back to the universal themes of hope and adventure. A lot of movies – and especially Star Wars – deal with fundamental themes of family, fatherson relationships, loss, as well as moral issues revolving around loyalty, friendship, betrayal, and trust. Those are the things that we connect to just as much as allow our imaginations to wander.”

I realised I was leading a very aimless life. I was desperate to find an outlet and although my faith helped me to believe it was there, it took me a while to apply myself to something

Driver, who lives in New York with his wife of six years, Joanne Tucker, certainly brings a very measured approach into his film-making. While you sense he is probably one of the most professional people on set, he’s arguably one of the kindest too.

A RESPONSIBILITY TO OTHERS

“I always feel I have a responsibility to others,” he says, “and whether it's the Marines or Army or any part of the military, you have to treat that responsibility as a matter of life or death.

As an actor, my job is to pretend it's a matter of life or death, even though it never is. What's more interesting is that you have to learn to work together with people you've never met before. You train to play a character to help tell a story just as you would train for a mission. You know your role and you also need to understand the importance of working as a team. I see many parallels between acting and military service.”

Certainly, the strength, discipline and self-confidence the actor shows has a base in the church and the experiences he has enjoyed so far.

“It got to a point when I was young where I realised I was leading a very aimless kind of life. I was desperate to find an outlet and although my faith helped me to believe it was there, it took me a while to really apply myself to something.

Sure enough, in an incredibly such a short space of time, Driver has risen from indie also-ran to assuming one of the highest echelons of big screen drama. “With good faith and good applications I started to think about things in a way that cleared up a lot of the garbage that just drifts around inside your head.”

IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY

In The Rise of Skywalker, directed again by J.J. Abrams, Driver once more looks perfectly polished as Kylo Ren, dominating scenes with more than an imposing nod to Darth Vader, his grandfather.

“I’ve put so much of myself into the movie and it’s something I’m very proud of. I'm probably too involved sometimes with the work and I drive myself and sometimes the people around me crazy,” he laughs. “I'm very hard on myself and I know I probably go too far wanting to make every scene better.

“Honestly, I'm trying to be more relaxed and less intense because I know it's just too exhausting otherwise!”

Despite the fact Driver’s career is exploding upwards, the actor doesn’t rule out a return to the brand of indie films that made him a sleeper hit mainstay.

“At the end of the day I don't have any plan other than to do interesting work,” he says. “It doesn't matter to me whether I work on big or small projects, I always approach each film from the perspective of what the story has to offer. Sometimes a movie with a bigger budget will be telling and very intimate, or it will give you a chance to explore a character just as intensely as a low-budget film.

“I look at every project through the eyes of the character and what kind of meaning I can bring to the role, and in life I have similar morals. What can I do to help people around me? What is my role in the grand scheme of things? I’ll work it out one day, I’m sure!”.

Danny Bowman Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in cinemas from 19 December.

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REVIEWS

A

faith for the dissatisfied is invited to share on these issues throughout the world.

Joel loves to carve wood in his spare time and, with his wife and two kids, he is a member of Eastern Hills Community Church in Melbourne, Australia.

So it goes without saying that a book project from Joel has been anticipated and so his new book Woven: A Faith for the Dissatisfied will be launched at The Justice Conference on 15-16 November.

J

oel Mckerrow is an award-winning writer, speaker, educator, creativity specialist and one of Australia’s most successful performance poets. The Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT has had the privilege of having Joel lead the Bible Studies at its Synod in 2017.

“This book is about Jesus. It is about my journey toward Jesus,” explains Joel about his latest project. “Which may sound strange to some of you, but it is true. It is a journey of losing a Jesus that was too small and looked way too much like me, to a Jesus that began to mesmerise me.”

This is not a book of cookie-cut spirituality. It is not a book of answers nor programmable spiritual growth

He is the Artist Ambassador for the aid and development organisation TEAR Australia and was the co-founder of community arts organisation The Centre for Poetics and Justice. Joel was also the third ever Australian representative at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships and is the co-host of the podcast The Deep Place: On Creativity and Spirituality.

Alongside his literary and performance work, he has spent the last 17 years within schools, youth centres, churches, and theological colleges walking alongside thousands of young people from many different religious traditions, in their quest for spiritual and identity formation.

Through this work Joel has become known worldwide for being an experienced practitioner and thinker in the space where creativity meets personal formation meets social justice.

From The Justice Conference to The Global Health Conference; from the ITEC education conference to the Greenbelt Festival; from the Sydney Opera House to the Metropolis (Montreal), Joel

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“A Jesus calling me to something much grander and more holistic and more inclusive than I had thought possible. A Jesus who was drawing me into the true and into the beautiful.”

challenging Jesus. A Jesus who calls us out the fishbowl realities of our lives. A Jesus who too likes to ask questions. A Jesus who dines with the lowly and the broken. Woven is the story of finding faith amidst the complexities. Of finding hope amidst despair. Of finding a God that calls us into something far more wide reaching and magnificent than we have realised.

The Christian world has not journeyed well alongside their young people, going through this, with statistics showing that 60-80% of young adults who grow up in the faith end up throwing it all out by the time they are 22.

Woven: A Faith for the Dissatisfied, puts forth that this time of searching and struggle and dissatisfaction does not have to lead to the discarding of ones faith, but rather, is a necessary process toward spiritual growth. Indeed it is the very movement that leads to the birthing of a young persons autonomy in their faith journey as distinct from the cultural Christianity they have grown up within.

In the book Joel works through his own life experiences, offering these reflections as a guide that we may traverse this season healthily and well.

This is a demanding and compelling account of what it means to rethink our Christian beliefs and find both a restoration and a reconstruction into the expansiveness of God’s story.

“This is not a book of cookie-cut spirituality. It is not a book of answers, nor programmable spiritual growth.

This book is a question. An invitation. A beckoning toward movement and a faith that can weather the storms of life.”

A STORY OF LETTING GO

In Woven, Joel McKerrow dares to put forth that our questions, struggles and doubts are not something to be feared, but may actually provide us with the path toward a vibrant faith. Joel takes his readers on a pilgrimage, from childhood belief to grief over a lost religion, to a richer, more sustaining faith that was previously unimaginable to him.

Woven is a story of letting go and of surrender. Of opening up to a radically

Woven can be purchased from the Koorong website: koorong.com

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