Synod 2010

Further work on the theology embedded in the controversial new Preamble will soon be underway.

The Synod meeting resolved on Wednesday afternoon to “request the Assembly standing committee to invite the Assembly working group on doctrine to convene a conversation with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress to unfold the theological implications of the Preamble to the Constitution, and particularly paragraph 3, and to provide a report to the Church”. Read the rest of this entry »

Future directions for the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania will now be guided by four priorities endorsed by the Synod meeting today.

These are seen to be keys to the church’s ability to make decisions enabling it to be faithful to God’s call to mission.

The meeting resolved to adopt the following four priorities for the life of the church over the next five years, 2011 – 2015: Read the rest of this entry »

Ornamental crosses, religious statues and plastic balls with ‘Jesus loves you’ printed on them came under scrutiny at the UCA Synod meeting this week.

Antony McMullen of the Synod’s justice and international mission unit proposed that the meeting urge Australian and multinational enterprises dealing in Christian goods to commit to sourcing or producing only items made in ways that are consistent with a Christian understanding of human dignity.

The proposal was approved by consensus. Read the rest of this entry »

People trafficking for the purposes of exploitation is a growing industry internationally, the UCA Synod meeting was told today.

Tess Keam of the Synod’s justice and international mission unit said that every country was involved, including Australia.

“Australia is a destination country, especially for women from South East Asia,” she said. “There is trafficking here both for sexual exploitation and for other forms of labour.

“This is a widespread issue requiring action from all levels of society, from governments, the grass roots, including the churches.” Read the rest of this entry »

UnitingCare reported to the UCA Synod meeting on Sunday evening on the incorporation of a new entity to provide public housing.

“The church in Victoria and Tasmania is already in the business of providing housing for people in poverty,” UnitingCare Housing’s chair Sue Norman told the meeting.

“But it is important that those groups doing this are associated with a registered housing provider so they can continue this service. And so they can access government funding to expand further.” Read the rest of this entry »

An experienced figure in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria has offered his personal apology to the Uniting Church for the pain and suffering experienced in the debates and procedures during the formation of the Basis of Union.

“I want to apologise for selfishness, for quick judgement and for the less than generous attitudes that I, as a Presbyterian minister, have harboured and engendered,” Rev John Wilson told the 2010 Synod meeting. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most challenging issues to come under scrutiny at Synod and Assembly meetings in recent years was resolved today by the Synod meeting of the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania at Latrobe University.

The meeting accepted that a balance needs to be struck between freedom to practise religious beliefs and the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of certain characteristics.

But it resolved to record its opposition to specific forms of harmful discrimination. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod of the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania has taken a step towards addressing an urgent social issue seldom publicly acknowledged.

It has resolved to raise with state governments the situation of prison inmates suffering from mental illnesses.

Antony McMullen told the Synod meeting on Tuesday evening that the Synod’s justice and international mission (JIM) unit has decided to focus on this as little was being done in this area. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod meeting resolved by consensus on Tuesday evening to call on the Government of Israel to make torture a crime under Israeli law in compliance with the UN convention against torture and inhuman punishment.

It also called on Israel to investigate all allegations of torture by security forces.

It resolved to ask Israel to repeal the 2002 incarceration of unlawful combatants law which allows detention without charge or trial.

This follows the 2002 Synod resolution “to call on the State of Israel and the Palestinian authorities to end the cycle of violence and to use every possible measure to prevent their civilian populations and armed forces from engaging in acts of brutality and breaches of basic human rights”. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod meeting resolved by consensus on Tuesday evening to become a member of the community alcohol action network (CAAN) which seeks to reduce cultural pressures on Australians to drink unsafely.

These pressures include the alcohol industry’s marketing strategies, popular culture’s celebration of binge drinking and social tolerance of alcohol problems.

The community alcohol action network is the key community network campaigning on alcohol, with the Australian Drug Foundation forming the secretariat for CAAN. Read the rest of this entry »