News, Notices & Prayer points - 15 May, 2019

Posted May 15, 2019 in News

News & notices – 8 May 2019
Below are the news and notices from congregations, the SA Synod and the wider Uniting Church submitted for the Wednesday 8 May edition of UC e-News.
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Prayer points for the week

• We pray for the induction service of the incoming General Secretary, Felicity Amery. May it be a time of celebration and honour as she is inducted into her placement within the Uniting Church in South Australia.
• We pray for respectful dialogue and God’s graceful guidance for those seeking to reform South Australia’s abortion laws, as well as for those providing input into the consultation process.
• We pray for every congregation and faith community within the Uniting Church to discern wisely on their future Presbytery needs. That they follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and be open to what God is doing in and through the Presbytery restructure.

New Presbytery Funding Model Proposal
All congregations are encouraged to read the new Presbytery Funding Model Proposal here. It explains how the new structure of multiple presbyteries will be funded.
On this page you will also find newly uploaded information regarding Generate Presbytery (published on Thursday, 9 May).

You are invited
The Commissioning Service of Ms Shelley Alexander as Coordinating Chaplain for Resthaven Murray Bridge will be held on Friday, 7 June, 2019 at 1:30pm. Venue: Resthaven Murray Bridge, 53 Swanport Road, Murray Bridge SA 5253. For enquiries please phone 8532 1969.

Where will we farewell Rob?
Last week’s UC e-News included an invitation to the farewell morning tea and Conclusion of Placement Liturgy of Rob Brown. Please note that the farewell event will be held at the Presbytery
& Synod office at Level 2, 212 Pirie Street, Adelaide. The farewell event will happen on Thursday, 13 June 2019, at 10:00am. If you would like to attend, please RSVP (for catering purposes) to Turn on Javascript! or 8236 4200 by 31 May.

Code of Ethics Training
Rosefield Uniting Church will be hosting a Code of Ethics training course on Thursday, 27 June from 1:00pm to 4:30pm. Cost: $10.00; afternoon tea is included. Please register your Intention to attend by sending an email to Turn on Javascript!.

Transforming Theology for Intercultural Ministry
An Intercultural Theology Forum will explore questions around:

• Why are most churches still segregated by culture and language?
• Is it possible to build culturally and linguistically diverse and intercultural ministries today?

On Monday, 17 June, the Uniting College for Leadership and Theology will host Rev Dr Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Associate Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana. She is an internationally renowned scholar, writer and passionate speaker and will deliver a Keynote Lecture on the topic “Transforming Theology for Intercultural Ministry”.

Participants of the Intercultural Theology Forum will discover what opportunities and challenges our churches are facing today and explore new ways of theologising and practicing to participate in the transforming mission of God.

All Christian ministers/leaders/students across SA are invited. Held from 7:00pm - 9:00pm with a light supper. Cost: $20/$15 concession. Online bookings will be available soon. For more information about Multicultural, Cross-cultural Ministry in the Uniting Church, please contact Paul Goh on 08 8236 4244 or Turn on Javascript!.

Engage in interfaith dialogue with a home Iftar dinner

In an effort to contribute towards the growth of a harmonious and inclusive community, Uniting Church members have been invited to register their interest in attending an Iftar Dinner in the home of a local Muslim family. An iftar is a fast-breaking dinner that takes place every night during the Islamic month of Ramadan (5 May to 4 June 2019).

The dinners are organised by the Dialogue Institute of Australia (DIA) & Pinnacle College. To register your interest please follow this link and complete the form.

If you are interested in attending the Ramadan Carnival at Marion mosque, you can do so on Saturday, 25 May from 8:00pm to 12:00am. This gesture of interfaith goodwill and peace, comprises a night of festivities, feasts and entertainment, hosted by the Marion mosque each year, to help the wider community understand what the month of Ramadan is about. A special invitation has been extended to the Uniting Church community and it is a terrific opportunity to celebrate unity and diversity.

Expression of Interest: Musician

Enfield Uniting Church is seeking the contribution of a musician (piano, organ, other instrument) to participate in their 9:30am worship service on two Sundays of each month e.g. 3rd and 4th. Remuneration negotiable. Congregation members are familiar with TIS, All Together and several other sources and are open to new music that enhances worship.
If you are interested contact Rev Dianne Holden on 8354 2789 or Secretary of Church Council, Margaret Gunn, on Turn on Javascript!.

Do you have extra TiS hymn books?

Midlands Uniting Churches, which consists of the congregations of Auburn, Saddleworth and Riverton), are in need of more hymn books – specifically the Together in Song (TiS) hymn books. They need about 30 of these hymn books to complement their existing collection, which have gone out of print and are not available for purchase any longer. If you happen to have surplus TiS hymn books, please contact Rev Peter Lane on 0417 814 393 or Turn on Javascript!.

Funeral arrangements for Jean Vanier

A live broadcast of L’Arche founder Jean Vanier's funeral will be held on Thursday, 16 March, on the French TV channel KTO (with English translation available). The broadcast will begin at 9:30pm South Australian time. Information on how to connect to the live broadcast is available on the L'Arche website.

There will also be a celebration of Jean’s life held at 2pm on Saturday, 25 May 2019, at St John the Evangelist Church, East Melbourne. Archbishop Peter Comensoli will preside. An invitation is extended to all members of the communities of L’Arche and Faith and Light in Australia, as well as members of the wider public who wish to honour the life of Jean and all that he gave to the church and the world.

To RSVP to the celebration please email Shelley Cochrane, L’Arche Adelaide Board on Turn on Javascript! or phone (03) 6238 4341 by Friday May 17.
For those wanting to find out more about the life and work of Jean Vanier, a special screening of the film “Summer in the Forest” will be held on 27 May, 2019 at 6:30pm at Capri Theatre in Goodwood. Proceeds of the ticket sales will go towards establishing Adelaide's first L'Arche house. Buy your tickets here.

Free filing cabinets

The Synod and Presbytery Office has a number of surplus filing cabinets (large and small) that are free for any congregation or faith community who might need them. If you are interested in picking up a cabinet (one or more), please contact Beverly Ong by 3 June at Turn on Javascript! or 8236 4224. We regret no deliveries – pickup only.

Loving your neighbourhood

Port Adelaide Uniting Church is hosting a Wellspring Inc event at their church (cnr Commercial Rd and Charlotten Str, Port Adelaide), on Saturday, 25 May 2019, from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Wellspring Inc is a distinctly Australian community inspired by the Iona Community ‘where spirituality and justice meet’.

SA Dialogue group has a new website

The South Australian dialogue group of the Roman Catholic and Uniting Churches meet together as six Roman Catholic and six Uniting Church representatives. They are part of an ongoing discussion group which seeks to gain a deeper appreciation of one another’s traditions. There has been discussion of many topics of mutual interest.
Information and resources can be found on their new website located here.

UnitingCare Australia has a new Board

The first meeting of the new UnitingCare Australia Board was held last week Wednesday. The new UnitingCare Australia Board is as follows:

• Hon Bronwyn Pike – Chair
• Colleen Geyer – Assembly General Secretary, Uniting Church in Australia
• Paul Linossier – CEO Uniting Vic.Tas
• Tim Hodgson – Executive Officer, UnitingCare South Australia
• Craig Barke – CEO, UnitingCare QLD
• Tracy Burton – Executive Director, Uniting NSW.ACT
• Lawson Broad – CEO, Somerville Community Services
• Amanda Hunt – CEO, UnitingCare West
• Geoff Batkin – CEO, Wesley Mission QLD

Newsletter from the Australian Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches currently has two positions available that would both be stationed in Geneva, Switzerland. To view information on these positions and other news from the Australian Council of Churches, please view their newsletter online here.

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Didn’t read the last “News & notices”? The items below are ones you might want to catch up on.

Presbytery Restructure
Looking for more information about the Presbytery restructure? There are two more information sessions being held in May to assist congregations understand the restructuring process.
You are invited to attend one of the following information sessions (supper provided):

21 May 2019 Balaklava Uniting Church 7pm – 9pm 29 Edith Tce, Balaklava

Please RSVP to Sue Page, Associate General Secretary on Turn on Javascript! or Ph: (08) 8236 4217.
A list of Frequently Asked Questions is also available here.

Special Standing Committee meeting – 3 May, 2019
Last Friday, 3 May, a special Standing Committee meeting was called to approve structural changes to the Presbytery and Synod in preparation for the June Presbytery Synod meeting and the formation of multiple presbyteries. The next Standing Committee meeting will be held on Friday 14 June, 2019.

Requesting Prayer for the Korean Peninsula
On 27 April, 2019 over 500,000 people joined hands to form a “human peace chain” along the Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea. Those gathered expressed a strong desire for permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula, gathering to celebrate the first anniversary of Panmunjom Declaration and commemorate the centennial of the 1 March Independence Movement. In Christian fellowship, and in honour of our partnership with the PROK church in Iksan Presbytery, we stand with our brothers and sisters in Korea and pray for the Korean peninsula and that God’s will, for justice and peace, be done.

Godly Play Resources
Does your church/small group/college class/school/home use Godly Play? Are materials too difficult to
store or purchase? The Godly Play room at the Adelaide College of Divinity is set up as an almost complete Godly Play space, used for training and other events. The room houses duplicate of some of the story materials that you can borrow from the college free of charge. To find out more check out the borrowing process here.

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