Synod Meeting 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”. (more…)

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: (more…)

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. (more…)

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.” (more…)

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.” (more…)

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. (more…)

“Think about our church youth” is the message organisers of National Christian Youth Convention 2011 (ncyc11) presented to Uniting Church members attending Synod.

Next year’s ncyc11 runs for a week from 29 December at Southport in Queensland.

Its theme ‘Turn it up’ is based on encouraging the youth of the church to attend, said ncyc11 organiser Drew Hanna.

“Consider the 16 to 25 year olds – I want you to think about those young people. ncyc11 is not just a week long event that you are sending people off to. (more…)

The Uniting Church’s Bioethics Committee report presented to Synod aroused a number of questions from delegates, highlighting the complexity of its work.

At Synod, Rev Ross Carter elaborated on the work of the committee throughout the last year.

Its remit investigates the ethical implications regarding what is appropriate and inappropriate to do to human beings at the beginning and end of life, guided by God’s teaching.

This focuses particularly on the ethics of euthanasia, genetic engineering and abortion. (more…)

Although ministry vacancies are continuing to grow, the Synod’s associate general secretary Rev Dr Peter Blackwood remains optimistic about the future.

“While we can come up with some numbers, some are hard to predict,” he told the Synod meeting on Monday morning. “For example, how many ministers will retire in the next few years? When will they retire? At 65 or before? It is difficult to say. But we know the number of ministers is decreasing. (more…)

Rev Rob Brown told the Synod meeting today that it had been a long time since he had experienced a ‘dull’ moment. He said his role is pastoral, administrative, strategic and so much more, and likened it to constantly walking through a revolving door not knowing where he would exit.

“The church is going through a major redefinition, and ‘turning the ship’ is an enormous task,” Mr Brown said.

“It would appear to many that the primary issue to confront the synod since the last meeting in September 2008 has been the implications of the Global Financial Crisis.” (more…)