July 2003

Our national Assembly meets in Melbourne this month. As a church we are called to Witness the glory of God.

People from other traditions of the church in Australia, from our partnerships with overseas churches or ecumenical bodies will join with representatives of presbyteries, synods, and Assembly agencies in this gathering. With old friends and new ones we meet there we’ll sit for some days listening together in the presence of God. We will celebrate and give thanks to God for the ministry of those who serve us in various ways nationally.

Dean Drayton, a former Moderator of our synod, will be installed as President. We’ll hear from James Haire, Terence Corkin and others who provide leadership in this council of our church. And yes, there will be much discussion about our large family all of whom live and worship in various congregations and communities, in many language and cultural groupings. We may not always agree together about everything, but we are bound together through our love of God and of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Will you be praying for Dean and Sandra Drayton, for James and Mary Haire, for those people who have made themselves available for the President-elect ballot, for Terence Corkin, Wendie Wilkie and all who lead the Assembly meeting?

You know from reading the gospels that the writers did not all report Jesus’ life and work in the same way. Each of them had a different focus to the message they wanted to present. You will hear about what is happening through the media, and later from individuals who attend, but why not get the news from the Assembly web site http://nat.uca.org.au/assembly2003.

I am encouraged by the stories of people who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. People who tell others about how God is at work in their life give me hope for the future. I am heartened by people of all ages who share their faith in what they do and what they say, finding new ways of expressing their relationship with Christ.

Each Wednesday people meet (usually in Wesley Church) at lunchtime for Uniting in Prayer (the Moderator’s Prayer Gathering). Each week one congregation tells their story, sharing some of the difficulties, some of the joys. These are stories of how people are at mission in their community. Someone from another congregation prays for those difficulties, joys and the people involved in those ministries. The number of those who come together is not huge. Many more people, meeting in their own communities, pray for the life and work of the Synod.

My own experience this month:

• A gathering at Ebenezer paused to remember and recognise the Dharug peoples, original settlers and custodians of the area in a traditional “welcome to country” and the unveiling of a plaque, as they celebrated the 200th anniversary of the congregation and 200 years of European settlement. Four descendants of these latter settlers spoke briefly of the family history.
• Menai-Illawong congregation paused to remember their beginnings in the Sunday school and first service (held June 14 1903) in the Midgeley home.
• Sunday June 22 was spent with Beecroft and Cabramatta congregations. One acknowledged the fine work of a lay ministry assistant who is moving to another congregation. The other, worshipping in three languages (Cambodian, Vietnamese and English), acknowledged several people who had served as elders and guides as a multicultural congregation was birthed.
• Members of presbytery pastoral relations committees spent 24 hours together sharing their roles and encouraging one another in the tasks they have in common.

My life is enriched by people of many faiths working together so that God’s loving grace can reach people. Recently I attended the opening of the House of Welcome at Carramar, an activity of the New South Wales Ecumenical Council, marking International Refugees Day. This shopfront venture is a place of welcome providing many support services for all who come seeking to make a new home in this land. It is already seen as a crucial ministry, especially for refugees.

My prayer is that the Uniting Church is a place of welcome for all who want to be part of God’s rich tapestry of God’s people travelling on the way together.