Your faith, your voice, your vote

Posted May 11, 2016 in News

Australia is off to the polls once again with a double dissolution election to be held on Saturday 2 July.

Stuart McMillan, the President of the Uniting Church in Australia, encourages Uniting Church congregations around the country to make their voices heard during the 2016 Federal Election campaign.

“Every election is an important period of national discernment,” says Stuart. “We have many passionate advocates in our Church who will be active during this election campaign, talking to their local candidates and speaking out on a range of issues.

The Assembly’s 2016 Federal Election resource, “A Flourishing Society: Your Faith, Your Voice, Your Vote”, will be made available on the UnitingJustice Australia website in mid-May.

Rev Elenie Poulos, National Director of UnitingJustice Australia and editor of the resource, says it will bring together the work of Uniting Church agencies.

“The future of offshore detention, climate justice for the Pacific region, valuing cultural and interfaith diversity are just a few of the issues to be highlighted in ‘A Flourishing Society’,” said Rev. Poulos.

The election resource, made up of a booklet and a series of “hot issues” briefs, is a collection of contributions from UnitingWorld, the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, Frontier Services and others from across the Uniting Church.

“I encourage congregations to use the material as a resource for small group discussions and pre-election events of all kinds,” says Elenie. “An election toolkit includes a number of helpful tips on how to hold your own election forum and engage with your local candidates.”

Stuart encourages individuals and congregations to pray – over their own decision-aming and for Australia’s leaders.

“Let us also keep our political leaders in our prayers between now and the second of July. They are asking us to entrust them with the responsibility of national leadership and we will be looking to them to set the tone for open, honest and respectful conversations about the future of our nation,” says Stuart.

“May God grant wisdom to us all as we consider and discuss issues that will shape the kind of society our children and grandchildren will inherit.”

Congregations planning on holding candidates’ forums during the election campaign are encouraged to alert the Uniting Church SA Turn on Javascript! and Turn on Javascript! to maximise opportunities for community and church coverage.

Pilgrim Uniting Church will be holding a forum hosted by Uniting Church SA Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer on the evening of Tuesday 31 May. More information is available here and will be shared via UC e-News as the event approaches.

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