October 2007
Issue 26, Number 9
PP 565 001/00190 ISSN 0726-2612
Let’s talk about faith
Jill Freear
Moderator-elect Rev Rod Dyson would like us to talk about our faith as readily as others talk about football. Engaging the wider community in Christian dialogue is one of the many things Rod hopes to encourage during his three years as Moderator which will begin next month. “I’d be very happy if I could help the church to really engage with the community - with a very down-to-earth and natural faith,” says Rod. “I’d like our people to be happy to talk about their faith and not be ashamed or embarrassed, but just put it into the conversation as something that matters. “We need to embrace the world very warmly without sacrificing what we believe in.” Rod’s theme during his term in office is ‘Serving the world for the sake of Christ’. He’s keen for the church to start focusing outward after the significant time spent on internal issues such as the leadership and sexuality debate and structural change. “This theme points us outward,” Rod says. “It picks up the fact that Christ is the reason for our existence and that he died not just for the church, but for the world. And also that he came as a servant, rather than to be served. “I want the church to serve in the local community and the world. I want church people to love those in the community without aiming to get them into church. We need to love freely and unconditionally and accept that some expressions of faith may be very different from our own.” Rod’s come a long way since his youth in Port Augusta, where he grew up attending the Methodist Church, with a passion for gardening and a strong desire to be an agricultural scientist. It wasn’t until he reached his midtwenties and was working as an agricultural economist in Melbourne, that he became a Christian. “When I moved to Melbourne I knew nobody, so I wrote to local churches looking for accommodation. “No one offered initially, but then a 93-year-old lady came forward. I lived with her for a couple of years. She was an amazing woman and gave me the freedom to explore faith while at the same time pushing me towards Jesus. She was a wonderful gift.”
Moderator-elect Rod Dyson outside Westbourne Park Uniting Church, where he will continue to serve in ministry half-time during his term as Moderator. Rod returned to South Australia to study theology. While on a rural field trip he realised that God was asking him to leave agricultural science behind and to immerse himself fully in ministry. “It was tough realising I had to give up my first passion in life.” During the course of his studies he took time out, serving a three year stint in Tonga as principal of an agricultural college run by the Free Wesleyan Church. With that overseas mission experience under his belt he returned to Parkin-Wesley College and completed his theological training. He then spent five years as minister at Blackwood Uniting Church, followed by four years in the Synod office as a consultant for Partnerships and Justice. Placements at Dernancourt and Westbourne Park Uniting Church followed. Rod is well equipped to pick up the Moderator’s mantle. He holds to social justice issues as dearly as he does to evangelism. And he is keen for the church to influence the shape of society.
“I’d like to have the opportunity to bring a hope-filled presence to the community,” Rod says. “The church has a real role to play in a world that can be pretty despondent and without hope at times.” Rod’s Installation Service will be at Maughan Church on Thursday 1 November at 7pm.
inside… Presbytery Synod preview
2
Government ‘heavy-handed’
3
Male spirituality
4
Mental Health Week
5
Reflections on Baxter
6
Christian book winners
8
Bishop Spong’s theology
10
Charles Wesley’s legacy
13
Scots’ sustainable garden
15
Christmas postcard
16
Rod’s logo and theme during his term as Moderator.
Please hand out at your church door