Respecting the Polity of the Uniting Church

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The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Dr Deidre Palmer, distributed a pastoral letter to all members last week, expressing concern over public comments alluding to the creation of alternative conciliar and related structures within and outside the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA).

The letter was not directly related to the New Times article, “A non-geographic Presbytery for SA?” but rather a reaction to conversations occurring outside the polity umbrella of the UCA. Many of these conversations have been occurring interstate.

Deidre wrote: “I am concerned that members and those in specified ministry who adopt and/or subscribe to these statements, inadvertently or otherwise, will place themselves outside the Church’s formal governance structures”.

What she is referring to are statements that had been made around “a ‘replacement’ Assembly, a separate College for the training of ministers, and the creation of alternative Presbyteries.”

The Uniting Church SA interim CEO/General Secretary, Rev Rob Brown, has confirmed that the meetings being held regarding a non-geographical Presbytery are to find a way within the UCA regulations and polity. “My involvement in conversations with the group leading these meetings has been to ensure that the polity framework is maintained,” he says.

Following Deidre’s letter the South Australian non-geographic steering team distributed a notification to its members reassuring recipients that they are working within the polity of the UCA. It stated that “we do not believe the letter of concern from the President was directed to those of us seeking such a presbytery structure.”

The letter continued: “We want to continue to work with the Synod and Assembly to find a way forward. We wish to do so in a way that honours and uplifts the body of Christ and the evangelical faith. We do not believe responding to rhetoric on social media and engaging in aggressive comments is helpful. We ask those who share our concerns to be patient as the process is as important as the convictions we hold.”

Rev Rob Brown has encouraged all Presbytery and Synod members to attend the meeting in November (15 to 17 November) where there will be several proposals related to the outcomes of the Assembly meeting last July.

“It is important that the full diversity of our Presbytery and Synod is present to ensure broad discernment of God’s leading related to these important issues,” he comments.

 Proposals for the upcoming 15-17 November Presbytery and Synod meeting are due at 5pm on 31 October, 2018. For further information about this contact Turn on Javascript!. If you intend on attending the Presbytery and Synod meeting but have not received an ‘Intention to Attend’ email or letter, please contact Secretariat.


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