Uniting Church to renew commitment to Common Good

The Hon. Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales, will attend the opening service of the Uniting Church’s Synod meeting in Wahroonga on April 13.

Approximately 400 members of the Uniting Church from New South Wales and the ACT will gather at Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga, from April 13 to 16 to consider matters affecting the church’s life and mission.

The opening service will be held in the Great Hall, Knox Grammar School, at 11 am, Saturday April 13. The President of the Uniting Church, the Rev. Professor Andrew Dutney, will preach.

A synod is the state council of the Uniting Church, responsible for overall support and resourcing of the church in its area; especially with regard to community services, mission planning, theological education and other educational services, and administration relating to ministers, property and financial services.

The Synod of New South Wales and the ACT meets every 18 months.

On the agenda of the April 2013 meeting are proposals for a new Educational Learning Network, theological education, the shape of the church’s presbyteries, rural ministry, and the election of a new Moderator to succeed the Rev. Dr Brian Brown in September 2014.

Other issues to be addressed include coal seam gas mining, fair trade, community aged care, TAFE cuts, early childhood education and care, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Hunter coal mining and ethical investment and fossil fuels.

Key speakers will include Jan Sutch Pickard, a poet, storyteller and member of the Iona Community, Scotland; Ace (Sung Kwang) Kim, team leader for OneHeart Ministry, Eastwood and West Epping; and the Moderator, Brian Brown.

Dr Brown said the theme for the meeting, “Uniting for the Common Good”, would challenge the Synod to think about how the Uniting Church, the nation and the community used its resources to ensure that people benefited widely and that the people who most needed resources received them.

He said, “I am looking forward to the opportunity for our church to express its vitality, articulate its vision of hope for the future, and renew its commitment to serve the Common Good in the spirit of Jesus Christ.”

All Uniting Church people are welcome to take part in the meeting – though they must be members of Synod to vote and to be involved in any closed sessions.

Images from Synod can be found on Insights’ Facebook page.