Update Synod ’22 was held on the 24th and 25th June at the Adelaide Hills Convention Centre in Hahndorf. This was an important coming together of Synod members to re-connect, and to also make important decisions for the Uniting Church in South Australia and its future direction. The main room of the Convention Centre offered floor to ceiling windows which overlooked a gentle undulating valley of green, featuring a small lake and it was a tranquil setting and a welcome time to step away from daily life.
The meeting commenced with a Welcome to Country delivered by Ivan Copley. Ivan acknowledged the coming together on the traditional land of the Peramangk people of the Adelaide Hills. He spoke of the first settlers in the region being of Prussian ancestry and how Prussian women befriended the Peramangk women who taught them how to survive in the landscape.
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The relationship between Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal women became a close one as they worked together for their mutual survival. Ivan commented on the view from the expansive windows towards the Mt Lofty Ranges noting that they continue to be an inspiration for some of the oldest cultural stories that currently exist in Adelaide.
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