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”.

This follows intense discussion and debate earlier in the Synod meeting this week and on other occasions relating to questions arising from the new Preamble.

Wes Campbell told the Synod meeting that he believed the theology of the Preamble stands in the orthodox tradition of the Christian faith, though he was aware of some who didn’t.

He thanked Congress for “permission and encouragement to continue exploration of the relationship and discussion on matters relating to the Christian faith”.

Rev John Rickard supported the resolution on behalf of Congress members from Victoria and Tasmania present.

“I support this because of its tone – it is reconciliatory. And secondly, we have always thought we must continue the conversations regarding renewing the covenant,” Mr Rickard said. “This is an excellent way for that to continue.”

The proposal was passed by consensus.

Reported by Alan Austin.

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:

1. Discipleship – to give sustained attention to growing disciples.

Living Jesus’ Way, is a free and loving response to personal experience of God’s love and grace. Disciples, formed in the character of Christ, adopt Jesus’ disposition to the world. Being disciples and living as grace-filled communities of faith means attending to prayer, reading and studying the scriptures, discernment and other spiritual disciplines.

2. Leadership – to cultivate and free spiritually formed, visionary leaders.

The UCA is a missional Church, called and sent into the world to bear witness to Christ. The Holy Spirit calls and equips leaders to build up the Church in response to its vocation.

3. Partnership – to seek and respond to opportunities for friend-making partnership.

Jesus’ tradition called people into friendship. More than relationship, greater than partnership, Christ-like friendship is grounded in shared convictions, values and commitments. Joining with others to participate in God’s mission requires us to befriend partners and to recognise the Christ in those with whom we travel.

4. Risk-taking – to develop a culture of inspired innovation.

Continuing to follow Jesus in a constantly changing world requires the Church to be an inspired, innovative community, embracing risk-taking initiatives in worship, witness and service.

The Synod meeting also resolved to direct  Synod boards, committees and other bodies:

•    To ensure that these priorities are incorporated in strategic and operational plans during the period 2011 – 2015; and

•    To indicate clearly in reports to the Synod, the Standing Committee and other governance bodies how these priorities are incorporated.

These resolutions follow the 2007 meeting of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania which authorised the general secretary to pursue the process of strategic planning, now known as On the Way Together.

The 2008 Synod meeting adopted five themes that formed the basis of that process: encountering Christ in community, living God’s transforming story, spirited listening, engaging diversity and liberating stewardship.

Since that time many resources have been developed and the On the Way Together consultant Rev John Emmett has worked with presbyteries, congregations and other groups to help them explore those themes and to draw out directions for the future.

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.

Mr McMullen referred to a 2007 report by the US National Labor Committee which found crosses were being manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop where conditions were appalling.

The factory employed girls as young as 15. Workers worked more than 100 hours a week, received no paid sick leave, no paid maternity leave, no paid holidays and no health insurance, all of which are required under Chinese labour laws. Workers were paid as little as thirty cents an hour, just over half China’s legal minimum wage.

The Australian market in Christian goods is linked to the US market.

The Synod meeting also resolved to urge support for the World Fair Trade Organisation and encourage purchase of products made by Fair Trader members of the WFTO; and to support and encourage the purchase of products that comply with the Fairtrade certification and labelling system.

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.”

Ms Keam was supporting a set of detailed resolutions which were all passed by consensus.

These include support for a three-pronged approach of:
(i) preventing trafficking,
(ii) prosecuting the traffickers, and
(iii) protecting the victims of trafficking.

The Synod meeting called on the Australian Government to fulfil its obligations under international protocols and United Nations conventions, including ensuring that the survivors of human trafficking in Australia have ready access to adequate crimes compensation.

The meeting resolved to write to the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Leader of the Opposition, the Shadow Attorney General and the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs to inform them of these resolutions.

Reported by Alan Austin

“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.”

UnitingCare Housing Victoria Limited was registered as a Housing Provider in November 2009.

“The most significant impact of registration is that UnitingCare agencies which currently provide housing services will continue to be eligible to receive government funding. As a result of changes to the Housing Act, UnitingCare Ballarat, UnitingCare Harrison and Wimmera UnitingCare would not have been able to continue to receive government funding for their housing programs without UnitingCare Housing
Victoria Limited,” Ms Norman explained.

“UnitingCare Housing was established to promote the relief of poverty or the needs of people who have a disability or are aged, or both, by the provision of affordable housing to persons in housing need

“The government will provide 75 per cent of the cost provided the organisation can fund 25 per cent,” Ms Norman said. “To be eligible, 50 per cent of tenants must come from the public housing list, and we cannot charge more than 35 per cent of the client’s income.”

The report to the Synod meeting stated that the focus of the new entity is threefold:

(1) To ensure that there is appropriate governance to comply with applicable government regulations for existing housing services being delivered by UnitingCare
Ballarat, UnitingCare Harrison and Wimmera UnitingCare.

(2) To provide additional affordable housing to persons in housing need and simultaneously build a sustainable business through the development of building projects.

(3) To develop excellent relationships with UnitingCare agencies, the Synod,
presbyteries and congregations of the Uniting Church in Victoria

At the request of the Commission for Mission UnitingCare Housing Victoria Limited will trade under the business name “Uniting Housing Victoria”. This will eliminate any confusion arising from the fact that the company is not a UnitingCare agency, although its brief is to serve UnitingCare agencies.

“We are not out to take over properties owned by congregations,” Ms Norman advised. “If we asked to help, we will endeavour to do so. But we will not be going out to seek to take over properties.”

The report was received by the Synod meeting by consensus.

Reported by Alan Austin.

“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.

Mr Wilson, responding to an invitation to attend Synod from Moderator, Isabel Thomas Dobson, made the impassioned and surprising apology on the last morning.

At the time of the union of the former Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches, a number of congregations of the Presbyterian Church decided not to unite with the other Churches.

These congregations continued as the Presbyterian Church, causing deep divides among church communities and even families.

“It’s past history, but history informs and teaches us much. So finally I bring you greetings from the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and commend you to be your best.”

He praised the Uniting Church for its commitment to the presence of Christ in this world.

“You demonstrate an obvious love of Christ, you are an inclusive church, there is a place for everyone, and that’s helpful. Build yourself up in your most holy faith.”

As Mr Wilson reflected on past hurts, he said he wanted to apologise for things said in the heat of battle.

“I apologise for selfishness, for quick judgements. I feel shame, when we consider how great is God’s love for us in Christ that we can’t love our brothers and sisters in the faith.”

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.”

Mr Wilson’s words led to a spontaneous standing ovation from the floor of the Synod.

Ms Thomas Dobson acknowledged Mr Wilson’s “extremely moving” personal statement, acknowledging that the journey to the Basis of Union ran at some deep costs.

“We have had many moments of regret, reconciliation and being open to God’s spirit. Thank you John for another one of those moments.”

Speaking afterwards, Mr Wilson said, “Despite disputes in the past over property, despite some projected theological differences and fundamental theological differences, we can still be Christ together.”

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.

This follows intense debate in recent years leading to the national Assembly resolution Dignity in Humanity: Recognising Christ in Every Person 2006 and Synod resolution 5.1.1-3(c) in 1993.

The Synod meeting resolved by consensus to oppose religiously motivated harmful discrimination generally and, in particular, in the following areas:

(i)    Antisemitic discrimination;

(ii)    Discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt;

(iii)    Discrimination against Christian and Muslim Dalits in India;

(iv)    Discrimination against Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories; and

(v)    Discrimination against Christians in Indonesia, especially in the construction of churches.

The meeting also resolved to support laws that would prevent these forms of discrimination.

The meeting noted that the absence of a situation of religiously motivated harmful discrimination from this list does not indicate the Synod’s support for such discrimination.

The director of the Synod’s justice and international mission (JIM) unit, Dr Mark Zirnsak, told the Synod meeting that advice has been received from government bodies, human rights academics and lawyers indicating that the right to freedom of religion enshrined within the UN human rights treaties can be argued to provide a right to carry out all forms of harmful discrimination, including racial discrimination, provided that the discrimination is religiously motivated.

Dr Zirnsak explained that the resolution, now passed, makes it clear that, despite the Uniting Church’s support for UN human rights treaties, it opposes harmful discrimination in the situations listed.

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.

He reported on research indicating that the prevalence of psychiatric illnesses is three to five times higher in the prison population than in the general community.

“Improved support, in such areas as housing, family and employment assistance, can reduce reoffending rates of many people who have previously committed offences, including those who have experience of mental illness,” Mr McMullen said.

The Synod meeting resolved by consensus:

(a)    to urge the Victorian and Tasmanian Governments to strengthen the capacity of their criminal justice systems to provide treatment and support to people with a mental illness;

(b)    to support the full implementation of the Victorian Government’s Because mental health matters: Victorian Mental Health Reform Strategy 2009 – 2019; and

(c)    to write to the Premiers, Leaders of the Opposition, and Ministers and Shadow Ministers relevant to mental health services and corrections in Victoria and Tasmania informing them of this resolution.

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”.

Mark Zirnsak of the Synod’s justice and international mission (JIM) unit told the Synod meeting that the UN committee against torture expressed concern in May 2009 that Israeli law does not comply with the UN convention against torture.

“Under Israeli law it is possible to argue that ‘necessity’ is a justification for torture,” he said. “The committee noted that not a single one of more than 600 complaints of ill-treatment at the hands of members of the Israel security agency has resulted in a prosecution.”

Dr Zirnsak reported that the JIM unit believes that there can be no lasting peace in the Israel–Palestine conflict until both sides respect the human rights of the other.

“This is especially true for those charged with upholding the law,” he said. “So this recommendation is specifically directed at the Israeli Government to address ongoing abuses by Israeli security forces against Palestinian civilians. The recommendation is not addressed at the Palestinian Authority as the vast majority of human rights abuses carried out by Palestinians are carried out by non government groups.

The Synod also resolved to urge the Israeli government to end the use of live ammunition against Palestinian protestors where the protestors do not pose a life-threatening danger; and to abolish the practice of administrative detention.

The Synod resolved to write to the Israeli President, Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Defence and the Israeli Ambassador to Australia to inform them of these resolutions.

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.

The Synod meeting also resolved to call on the federal government:

(i) to replace the industry voluntary alcoholic beverages advertising code with legislation or a mandatory industry code under the Trade Practices Act to eliminate unethical alcohol advertising;

(ii) to ban television advertising of alcohol before 9.30pm;

(iii) to change alcohol taxes so beverages are taxed on their volumetric alcohol content with an increasing rate as the alcoholic content increases; and

(iv) to implement the recommendations of the national preventative health taskforce report, which addresses alcohol misuse.

This follows many requests from Uniting Church members, especially in rural areas, to Synod’s justice and international mission (JIM) unit to pursue alcohol reform in Australia.

According to JIM’s Dr Mark Zirnsak, alcohol consumption accounts for just over three per cent of the total burden of disease and injury in Australia.

“More than 4,000 deaths each year in Australia are attributable to the misuse of alcohol,” he told the Synod meeting. “In Victoria alone, there were 2,879 alcohol-related deaths for the period 2000 to 2003.”

The Synod meeting also resolved to write to the Prime Minister, the federal Minister for Health and Ageing, the Leader of the Opposition and the federal Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing informing them of these resolutions.