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We are very keen to receive stories about local ecumenical activity and pass them on to others. 

They’re the kinds of stories we are interested in.  And we know that there are many more out there like them.

The place where ecumenism must count most is at the local level where people are called together for worship, witness and service.

We thank the Catholic Commission for agreeing to our using some stories from their Newsletter.

There are more on their website at  

www.bne.catholic.net.au/ecum   

So…let’s have some of your local stories.

E-mail them to Don Whebell: donwheb@dovenetq.net.au

STORIES OF LOCAL ECUMENICAL ACTIVITY IN THE PRESBYTERY OF MARY BURNETT    On June 16 2009, the Synod Ecumenical Relationships Committee had an Extended Meeting with Presbytery Ministers and other Leaders of the UCA in Queensland. Presbyteries brought stories of local ecumenical activity. Here is a group of stories that came from the Presbytery of Mary Burnett. As we gather stories from other places, they will be placed on this website.  Read the Mary Burnett stories here....

LUTHERAN AND UNITING CHURCHES' CO-OPERATION IN WANDOAN, QUEENSLAND. A remarkable and encouraging story of ecumenical co-operation in faith-formation in a rural community. Scroll down to Wudinna, South Australia  for another story from South Australia Download file

TOWNSVILLE’S STABLE ON THE STRAND is an annual ecumenical event attracting thousands of people.

 

 

Churches in the Mount Gravatt, Upper Mount Gravatt, Wishart and Eight Mile Plains area have been running a Christians in Dialogue program annually for at least the: past fifteen years. Consequently they were delighted to know that a new resource was available in 2006. .

Approximately sixty people in nine groups took part in this: year's study. The Opening Service took place at St John Lutheran Church, Eight Mile Plains on 19 July and the program concluded with a service at St Bernard Roman Catholic Church, Upper Mount Gravatt on 30 August.

In between, the groups met weekly over four weeks in homes or parish facilities. Participants also came from the Anglican communities of St Bartholomew (Mt Gravatt) and St John (Wishart), the Uniting Churches of St Mark, Mt Gravatt and Broadwater Road and St Catherine's Roman Catholic Parish, Wishart.

­Those involved were enthusiastic about the study and are not only looking forward to next year, but have devised other ways in which church members can work and pray together in the meantime.

Rockhampton

Study of the program in this area has led to a request for Rockhampton Churches Together to investigate the possibility of initiating further steps towards establishing a local covenant.

Toowoomba

A group of up to twenty-five people from the Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Uniting Churches in the west Toowoomba area enjoyed the opportunity to come together for informal but very meaningful talks with members of other traditions.

Interfaith Initiative in Maryborough

Students and staff of St Mary's Primary School, Marybor­ough took part in a workshop entitled Muslims Building Better Communities on Friday, 24 November.

The workshop was led by Mr Halim Rane, a Muslim scholar and member of the local community, and was aimed at breaking down stereotypes and building links between the Muslim and Christian communities.

Fr Paul Kelly, Parish Priest of Maryborough, warmly welcomed Mr Rane and stressed the Catholic Church's esteem for the Muslim faith. Quoting from both the Vatican Council's document Nostra Aetate and recent statements by Pope Benedict XVI, he highlighted the many things shared by Christians and Muslims and : emphasised that dialogue was vital and not just an optional extra.

Five Year 6 students then led the gathering in prayer for the breaking down of the walls of selfishness and for communities to work together and learn to respect the opinions of others.

Mr Rane expressed the concern that in small communities such as Maryborough people rarely had the opportunity to meet Muslims and so learn first hand about beliefs and practices and discover that Muslims were just like anyone else. A reliance on media reporting only provided a very narrow view. The workshops were an attempt to rectify this imbalance. They were repeated in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay over that weekend.

 

Wudinna, South Australia  received at the December 2006 meeting of the Synod Ecumenical Relatiosn Committee

Uniting and Lutheran Churches sign Unique Covenant of Cooperation

The Uniting and Lutheran Churches in Wudinna have signed an historic covenant of cooperation under which the two congregations will share a pastor and join together for Sunday worship.

The Uniting and Lutheran Churches in Wudinna have signed an historic covenant of cooperation under which the two congregations will share a pastor and join together for Sunday worship.

In a special service held in Christ Lutheran Church in Wudinna at the end of June, the two congregations joined together to celebrate and sign the covenant of cooperation.

Uniting Church SA Moderator, Rev Graham Vawser and SA/NT Lutheran Church President, Pastor Robert Voigt travelled to Wudinna sign the covenant between the two churches.

Graham Vawser said he felt great joy in being there to recognize the unity of the congregations.

"We won't be doing this for us, but with and for the whole Church," he said. "God is doing a new thing."

"By entering into this covenant, we're here to show the whole world that when Christ touches us, we need to go out and share that experience with others."

Pastor Robert Voigt said he was thrilled to be present at the signing and he believes the arrangement could spread to many other rural communities where resources need to be shared.

The service was led by Pastor Stephen Schumacher, who is pastor of Wudinna Lutheran Church.

He will become the pastor of the Wudinna and Minnipa Uniting congregations and is also pastor to the Yaninee and Kimba congregations.

The Lutheran and Uniting Church congregations entered into the Covenant by a unanimous vote. Under the agreement Sunday worship services will alternate between the Lutheran and Uniting Churches in Wudinna, decisions will be made jointly and the joint congregation is responsible for the material and spiritual support of the pastor.

The Covenant was formally signed by the two church leaders, Graham Vawser, Robert Voigt, and the two chairpersons, Kerry Jercho (Lutheran) and Clarrie Sampson (Uniting).

The Covenant was drawn up with the help of the mission consultants of the two denominations, Rev Deane Meatheringham and Pastor Dennis Obst with input from the Moderator and the President.

For the past 18 months the Uniting Church congregation in Wudinna has been supported by an intentional interim ministry team consisting of Rev's Rodger Bassham, Peter Stephens, Ros Bond and Geoff Graetz.

A DOXOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION[i]

THE HOLY TRINITY

· Blessing and honour, glory and power be to you, our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always.

· Father, by word and Spirit you are the maker of all things; and all creation, in its beauty and variety, praises you and reflects your beauty and power. And you have created humankind in your own image to praise and love you.

· In Christ your Son, you came to be one of us, to share our human life, and in dying for us to share our death. Because Jesus called you ‘Abba’, Father, we too, in him, are bold to call you our Father, and to rejoice that we are members of your family.

· Through the Holy Spirit, you continue to come to us in the risen Christ, through your word and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper. Let the same Spirit also unite us with Christ so that in him we become a new creation.

Response: Blessing and honour, glory and power be to you, our God, for ever and ever! (Rev 5:13)

THE CHURCH

· We thank you, our God, that you called Abraham and sent him out into an unknown future, trusting that you would keep your promise to bless all peoples in him.

· We thank you that Jesus called ordinary people to be his followers, and that today we belong to that community.

· We thank you that all those who met the Lord found in him forgiveness, new life, salvation, and a new relationship[ii] with him, and with one another in him.

· We thank you that Jesus formed them into a community[iii] of his friends, walking in

the way of discipleship.

· We thank you that the risen Lord sent his followers, and sends us, into all the world, to share the good news of that new life which springs from his incarnation, life, death and resurrection – a life which begins now and never ends.

* We thank you that the Holy Spirit empowered the early followers of Jesus to be his witnesses and the same Spirit enables us to continue the ministry and mission of Jesus in our time.

· And so we praise and thank you for that glorious company, the one, holy, catholic[iv] and apostolic Church which you sustain and to which you call us to be faithful members.

Response: Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! (Rev 7:12)

OUR REFORMATION HERITAGE

· We thank you, our God, for the great tradition which the church of ancient and medieval days preserved and handed on to the churches of the Reformation, especially the authoritative statements on the person of Christ.

· We thank you too for the common heritage which we share in the Reformation and the Methodist Revival:

· for Martin Luther's passionate advocacy of justification by grace, through faith in the all-sufficient saving work of Christ; for his insistence on the centrality of Scripture, and for his gift to people of the Scriptures in their own language;

· for John Calvin's single-minded proclamation of your sovereign grace in Christ; and for the clarity of his teaching that all things needed for our salvation have been completed in him.

· for the warm-hearted witness of John and Charles Wesley to the love of the Triune God for the whole world, ‘immense, unfathomed, unconfined’.[v]

· We thank you that you have brought us to this land of Australia, from among whose first inhabitants you have raised up followers of Christ to join with us as brothers and sisters in Christ living to your glory.

Response: Salvation and glory and power to our God! (Rev 19:1)

MISSION AND UNITY

· You have sent us into a world which rejects Christ's way, and which has turned to false gods of selfishness, power and violence; of greed and the exploitation of the vulnerable; of blind trust in human ability and fitness to control the created world. We share in this sin, and yet –

· You have given us the task of witnessing to the good news of Jesus Christ. You call us to be one, as you and Christ are one, so that the world may believe that you have sent him.

· You have given us your word to guide us on our journey. We affirm that Christ, the living Word, is present for us in his word and sacraments.

· You have given us baptism, as a means of grace – the grace of the presence of Christ – and as a sign and seal that Christ died and rose from the dead for us, and that we are made members of his body.

· You have given us the eucharist, in which Christ comes to us; Christ who died for our sin and lives for our salvation: Christ who gives himself to us as the bread of life to nourish us for his mission into the world.

· We are Called by you, our God, to love and serve you through worship and witness, through showing your compassion to all people, and by seeking your peace and justice in the world.

· Bind us together, loving God, as you will and when you will, so that the gospel of Jesus Christ may be proclaimed everywhere as a witness to all people; and that your goal for creation may be fulfilled.

· As we now rejoice in our union with Christ our crucified, risen Brother, give us grace to know that in him we are sisters and brothers in one family.

Response: Blessing and honour, glory and power be to you our God, for ever and ever! (Rev 5:13)

CONFESSION[vi]

· Loving God, in your mercy, your glory and your love is our delight. As we joyfully praise and adore you we recall our own sinfulness. Without you we can do nothing, and our greatest need is for your forgiveness.

· Have mercy upon us, O God;

· forgive our sins;

· fill us with your Holy Spirit.

Leader: Kyrie eleison.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Leader: Christe eleison.

People: Christ, have mercy.

Leader-. Kyrie eleison.

People: Lord, have mercy.

ABSOLUTION

Leader: If we confess our sins,

God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins,

and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Hear then Christ's word of grace to us:

Your sins are forgiven.

People: Thanks be to God.

COMMISSIONING

· Triune God, send us out together to praise your name, to proclaim the good news, to work for justice and peace, and to love and serve all those whom you have made.

Response: For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22: 20).

Weipa: From Revd Michelle Cook, Deacon in Placement in the Cape York Patrol. Sent 30 August 2006

 

In Mt Mee-Dayboro

Dr Paul Inglis is a Uniting Church Community Minister in the Dayboro-Mt Mee area inland from the Sunshine Coast in South-East Queensland.

[For those who may not know: Community Ministers in The Uniting Church are lay people who may be:

• congregational leaders with time and energy to offer their congregation
• retirees with opportunity to serve their local church and community
• people with specific experience and gifts for serving particular congregations at a particular time.

The role of a Community Minister is local and designated. Community Ministers are lay people, they are not ordained. Their ministry is established for a recognised group of people and reviewed every two years. There is no time limit on the placement, but it is understood that it should lead to something such as development of a conventional congregation with an ordained Minister of the Word , often in the congregation or community in which they live.]

Paul comments on a growing relationship between a Uniting Church congregation and a Roman Catholic priest: ” We are enjoying similar sharing with a covenant signed in the Stanley River area between the Anglican, Uniting, Catholic, Lutheran churches where there is a great deal of cooperation, shared worship and socialising. It has led to wonderful tolerances and understandings.”

In the Dayboro area, the five churches have formed a committee called the Dayboro Christians and have been sustained for five years in very close cooperation worshipping regularly together, having a combined choir, and organising three or more major public events together. They have managed to give the community a good image of solidarity. We even encourage people to worship in each other's churches if the timing suits them. The 2005 Combined Churches Carols in the Park brought 300 people together to experience contemporary Christmas worship and singing. There is a great deal of discussion such as shared Alpha program, etc and now are working together to make 2006 a focus on youth through music/band concerts targeting all the young people of the district together.

Paul also sent us some news about ecumenical developments in Mt Mee, where he has been working to develop a close relationship between the Uniting and Anglican congregations. The two congregations have been using a building that was built by the Methodist Church 84 years ago and gifted to the community. Currently, the mixed congregation made up of Uniting, Anglican, Catholic, and Lutheran people are exploring ways in which they might share ministry in the area.

Paul writes:

 

“We are seeing many hundreds of people in our church because of frequent weddings and baptisms. There are 26 Anglican Eucharist services a year and I am conducting 30 services of worship (other than weddings) a year. My services are communion on fifth Sundays and "Prayer, Praise, and Peace" services of meditation on 1st and 2nd Wednesdays. These have begun and have attracted much interest and an ecumenical audience. The latter commenced in September [ie., 2005] and are meditation and reflection moments open to the wider church, especially our presbytery and neighbouring congregations of all churches.

We are wanting to share our wonderful setting and peaceful place with others and

provide an "escape" from the busy urban life that many experience.

I have no official role in the Anglican Eucharist but frequently read the Scriptures in the Service.

We don't have a formal agreement on the worship usage of our church by the Anglicans but there are minuted decisions in the records which have been kept for 83 years and are available.

At one stage the Catholics were saying mass every Sunday here. It depends on the priest at the time. It apparently doesn't depend on the "rules" of the church always! Once we formalise anything we come up against the problem of the statutes of the churches.

There is a formal agreement on use of the building for special services: based on the original decision that users would be part of the Queensland Churches Together. It is not available for non-Christian ceremonies.

The people are unanimous about us working together as one congregation. We are small and close. We aren't in a position to support our Synods but the offerings go to the costs of ministry for each of the two ministers. They are deposited in either church’s funds. For me that is Dayboro accounts. It probably forms an important component of the income of the Kilcoy/Woodford Anglican Parish. No part of the latter income is paid to the Uniting Church and I don't feel it would be wise to ask for it.

Wedding rentals are paying for insurance, cleaning, mowing and building maintenance. The place is kept very well.

Our greatest physical need is for a toilet. The last one (an outhouse!) was lost to the prevailing winds several decades ago. We are obliged to cross the road and use the public ones.

We dream and do drawings of a kitchen, toilet, covered area which would make the place an excellent resource for the church. It is currently used as a day retreat centre by a couple of large congregations each year. Two of our homes complement this usage and it is a wonderful place to retreat to.

I want to increase our witness and usage before negotiating for physical improvements:

Mt Mee is part of the Stanley River Pastoral Council. This has always been the case as a facility, but now, since I have been formally joined to the Council as representing the "Uniting Church at Mt Mee", I have a role to play on that Council and attend meetings and vote etc.

I think the shared pastoral role needs to be clarified in our Council, but there is no doubt that I am working pastorally with the whole congregation at Mt Mee. I would like to develop some clearer guidelines on this with the priests and ministers in the area.”

 In Toowoomba Region

Rockhampton Churches Together hosted a group recently to discuss the ‘Christians in Dialogue’ program It's Time to Move Together. The group of fourteen, representing Anglican, Lutheran, Uniting and Catholic communities met at the North Rockhampton Uniting Church over four weeks.

The response from the group was that the sessions were very lively and stimulating.

Key elements in the success of the sessions were the enthusiasm and openness of the participants, and their willingness to share of themselves. There was a high level of mutual acceptance and a positive atmosphere of fun and joy.

There was a good interchange of views and life experience emanating from the various traditions represented, and a willingness to be challenged by current circumstances.

Participants indicated that they had enjoyed the sessions, and would like to be part of a similar group in the future.
John Browning

 

Family Matters

AN ECUMENICAL VENTURE OF CHURCHES IN CAPALABA, ALEXANDRA HILLS AND BIRKDALE

Origins

 

Family Matters grew out of the ecumenical Pentecost Sunday evening service held at St Luke's Catholic Church in May 2005. That service included discussion about possible ecumenical outreach initiatives in this area.

Those who expressed an interest in developing ideas met for a planning meeting. It was subsequently decided to trial an outreach to families through a series of community breakfasts. These breakfasts would have authoritative guest speakers present a range of important family- oriented topics.

Speakers would not necessarily be Christian (though they would be consistent with a broadly Christian view on family and pastoral issues). The involvement of local churches would be expressed clearly and links made between the topics, those who attended, and local congregations.

These breakfasts, if held quarterly, would, over time, gain a positive reputation across the community, provide practical assistance to families, and foster constructive' links between churches and the community.

Working Group

With the concept agreed, each church was invited to appoint up to two representatives to constitute a Family Matters Working Group. This group met several times and carried the proposal through to its current stage. Churches represented were St Luke and St Anthony Catholic (Noreen Owens, Margaret Kostwoski) , Church of the Resurrection Anglican (Rev. Jonathan Bright), Alexandra Hills Church of Christ (Bevan Burnes, Dave Godby), Birkdale Baptist (Rev. Greg Peckman) and Capalaba Uniting (Jenny Busch, Richard Tetley).

Getting started

An inaugural event was proposed for October, giving plenty of time for organising and offering an opportunity to trial the idea before committing to a yearly schedule. Given the timing in relation to Schoolies' Week and Year 11-12 exams, the working group felt a timely topic would be teenage stress and depression.

After exploring several contacts, the Beyond Blue depression group recommended Dr Jeanie Sheffield, a clinical psychologist specialising in adolescent mental health, an academic and state coordinator of Beyond Blue's schools depression research.

It was felt that a non-church venue was preferred to minimise people's perception that the event would be "too churchy". No Council-owned properties were suitable, and Redland Sporting Club seemed the best prospect, with the club's chairman, Mayor Don Seccombe, offering his personal support. October 15 was the date set.

Publicity

One -hundred and twenty colour A4 posters and 3000 black-and-white A5 leaflets were printed and delivered through churches, schools, pharmacies, doctors' surgeries, shopping centres and the Redland Community Centre.

Covering letters explaining the background to the event accompanied this material.

Three stories appeared in the Bayside Bulletin in weeks leading up to the event, and one in the Bayside Weekly.

The promotion invited people to book a place by phone.

By October 14, 110 people had booked.

Finances

A charge of $10 was set for the breakfast, payable at the door. Each church was asked to contribute $200 to establish a Family Matters working fund. This was administered through St Luke-St Anthony Parishes.

The Event

The inaugural breakfast was a great success - 92 people attended, there was a warm atmosphere, and Dr Sheffield's presentation was engaging, practical and informative. The quality of questions in the discussion segment indicated the value of her input. The 68 Response Slips which were returned indicated unanimous appreciation for the event and enthusiasm for future breakfasts. The logistics - sound, projection, table layout, food serving, resources table, money collection, etc ­overall worked very well.

A journalist from the Redland Times attended and wrote a positive report.

The Future

The success of this first community breakfast, and the positive working relationships that have developed within the working group, suggests that this initiative should continue into 2006 as an expression of the ongoing ecumenical commitment in this region.

Wider issues - a new Ecumenical Network?

The development of Family Matters has run parallel to the instigation of monthly ecumenical prayer services which also followed the Pentecost Sunday gathering. Because the same six churches have participated, the Family Matters working group has also served as the organising group for these services. (Regrettably, the Salvation Army was unable to continue after the closure of the Capalaba corps, but have said they may be able to rejoin for 2006.)

The working group feels it would be best if Family Matters and the monthly prayer services were recognised as two ventures of the one ecumenical network, with the possibility that more initiatives might develop over time.

However, we are also mindful of the Shire-wide inter-church body, the Redlands Ministers' Fellowship, and its major project, the Redlands Easter Family Festival. We want to ensure that our new network would work in harmony with those ventures and not fragment the larger ecumenical picture across the Redlands.

Hence we are seeking conversations with the executive of both bodies to discuss our plans with them.

In the Inner Western Suburbs

The 'Church as Communion' ecumenical discussion: program, organised through the Inner Western Suburbs Interchurch Council and held over three Wednesdays in : August and September, was a great success. There were 14 participants: four from the Uniting Church, six Anglicans and four Roman Catholics, a good mixture.

Leadership of the sessions was shared between Fr Owen Strong (Anglican), Rev. Yvonne McRostie (UCA) and myself.

The venue (the recently restored rectory) and hospitality provided by Christ Church were first class. The study material offered a good mixture of prayer, quotes from the 'Church as Communion' document, stories and discussion : questions. It was the best ecumenical discussion resource I have used. This, plus the willingness of all members of the group to contribute to the discussions, meant that we always ran out of time before completing all : the material provided for each topic.

Copies of ‘The Church as Communion’ study book are available from the Catholic Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations: ecum@bne.catholic.net.au Elizabeth Harrington

In Stanley River

The Stanley River Ecumenical Pastoral Council has once again had a busy year. This group represents the four churches, Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Uniting, which are in covenant in the Kilcoy/Woodford area.

World Day of Prayer services were held in both towns and were well attended despite the heavy rain. The church at Kilcoy was decorated with butterflies and fish as a reminder of Panama, and an international Pot Luck Supper was enjoyed at Woodford following a presentation by Stacey Kennedy. With the help of a James Warner Memorial Trust grant from QCT, materials for a Pastoral Care training program were purchased and members of the Anglican, Catholic and Uniting communities worked through the course.

There was a high degree of satisfaction with the material and the intention is to do a follow up program in 2005. Participants are involved in visitation within the local community, especially of families and young mothers in need of support. It is hoped that the experience may encourage others to take the course in future years.

The church communities continue to support a Brekky Program at Woodford State School where 90 children are provided with a meal of a sausage on bread, fruit juice and/or fruit. Members are always looking for ways to raise funds for this ministry. The Pastoral Council also funds resources for the RE teachers in the State Schools, the latest being a guided meditation CD for use in class.

The Covenant was renewed once again at a special service in June and Rev. Don Whebell, Acting General Secretary of Queensland Churches Together was guest preacher.

Several members of the community attended the workshop on ecumenism given by Dr Paul McPartlan in July and were very positive in their comments. A group also participated in the ecumenical study program "Church as Communion" in late September/early October.

A busy time is planned just before Christmas with Carol Services in both towns. In Kilcoy this will take place on Sunday, 19 December and Woodford will commence with a sausage sizzle at 6:00pm Monday, 20 December, followed by a service.

Special guest at an Advent Service on Friday, 26 November was Jeff Lawrence, The Storycatcher, delivering the Nativity Narrative from Luke's Gospel as well as the story of John the Baptist. It was an outdoor setting with braziers instead of campfire (because of the fire bans) so an atmosphere of telling stories around a campfire was created.

In Brookfield

Two stories from Brookfield – a small congregation in the western suburbs of Brisbane with an average congregation of 30:

The first: an idea that arose from a family who joined us from South Africa – in September 04 - a bring and braai (translated in Australian BBQ) was arranged. This was a Saturday afternoon programme including billy tea, damper and Australian quizzes as an outreach to and welcoming of families who had come to our area with a particular focus - from South Africa.

This idea grew and this year at the end of July, in a partnership with the Brookfield Anglicans became “How do I call Australia home” – a broadening of nationalities as we share with people from China, Ireland, Holland, Samoa as well as South Africa.

The hall was decked out with wattle and bottlebrush flowers, tea towels of Australian flora & fauna, towns and places of interest. We were entertained by the Apollo Male Voice Choir who sang Australian songs eg, ‘Click go the Shears’ and the song written for the Queensland centenary in 1959. The guest speaker shared his family’s story of moving to Australia – their ‘how do I call Australia home’. He spoke of the loss and grief of leaving family, home, church, community, culture and nation and moving to the unknown. He used an analogy of a bridge: the end piers being firmly anchored in what was and what was to be, and yet standing in the middle with a sense of not belonging to either – and how they were cared for, supported and settled in to their new home through the church and its people.

The second: also in a partnership with the Anglicans – the 2004 Carols by Candlelight in the grounds of the Uniting Church with about 200 attending with the theme “Christmas – the world’s biggest festival” and included items from a number of community groups including the choir of the QCWA Brookfield branch who use both our halls for their meetings and craft days. Planning is well advanced for this year’s carols to be held in the grounds of the Anglicans - the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Both our buildings are positioned on high ground, looking toward each other across the community hub, the Brookfield Reserve that includes the showground. These joint activities/outreach build on earlier connections, when prior to union, a joint Sunday school operated alternatively at each site. These joint functions, while primarily focused to outreach, have renewed and made new friendships, strengthened relationships and offered and promoted a renewed sense of mission.

Ian Scorgie

Anglican and Uniting Churches cooperate in Boggabri

A story of local churches working together in Rural NSW taken from the Local Ecumenism Information Kit of the New South Wales Ecumenical Council

 

From a rural community in north­western NSW comes a good news story about churches working together. The Reverend Simon Waller, who ministers to both congregations, says that the feeling is that it's a great thing. He writes:

We are pleased that we have the opportunity to help each other out. Even better, that Christian ministry has a chance to remain active in town.

Worshipping Together

Since June last year we've been holding service in the one building, which has made life a lot easier for all concerned but mostly for me (as the Vicar). We continued to use the format we'd adopted at that time and run two services a month of UCA style and two of Anglican.

It has taken the Anglicans a bit of time to appreciate the benefits of the less traditional style (and no book in their hand) and the UCA's a bit of time to appreciate the values of the Prayer Book. Comments from both sides are on how it has made our community gatherings richer. I think it has certainly given me a lot more scope and freedom when we meet together. I can try new things and the people seem to appreciate it.

A New Identity

One of the added benefits of the process of change was that we could try a few different things. We have tried things that either or both past groups weren't particularly used to, but I believe express why we meet better. We now have a lot more lay participation in the services and a greater cross-section of the community attending the meetings.

It's a hard thing to get used to but we try not to talk about Uniting and Anglican any more. There are times when it's necessary, but we are now St Barnabas Community Church and it just so happens that some of us were Anglican and some Uniting. It's one of those things that we hope will slowly move into the background as we go forward. Everything we do and have done has been consolidated under that name, - a Parish Camp, Bible studies, market days, annual dinner, fair, etc.

Better Use of Buildings

We have a few ideas as to how we can use the UCA facilities that are just up the road from us. A lot of time and money has gone into the building there and we don't want to see them go to ruin. We have a Community op) Shop and sometime in the future we plan to move it up there. The UCA church building will provide a cleaner, safer cooler (very important out here), more practical environment than our current shop (which was always going to be temporary). There are a few hurdles, such as council approval and potential issues within the Uniting Church Presbytery.

Confirming Commitment

Boggabri has been blessed with an informal co-operation between the churches for many years before my time. In one sense what has happened has been a natural process. It makes sense to consolidate our resources because we are committed to this town.

Where other Christian groups have come and gone, the Christians of these two congregations have stuck it out time and time again. They love their town and its people. It's a great place to live and we want to see God's Kingdom grow here.

We recommend that you visit the New South Wales Ecumenical Coumcil's website at:

www.nswec.org.au

                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burrum Heads: A local story about Anglican Catholic and Uniting Church people sharing the same church building shows ecumenism at work in a small community.

 

 

WESLEY MISSION Brisbane

SERVANT COMMUNITY

 

offers a

 

 

Mission Training Partnership with Churches

 

What is it about?

 

At Wesley Mission Brisbane our call from God is to create servant-evangelists. Men and women who can confidently put their faith into action and become doers of God’s Word in the community. To achieve this we give young or mature adults the opportunity to have a challenging faith experience in the Mission’s urban ministry environment. Here they will be challenged:

· to seriously consider how they articulate their testimony of faith.

· to discern what style of evangelism is appropriate for them.

· to practice how they put gospel principles into action.

· to build healthy and empowering relationships.

· to build community where there is brokenness.

· to understand and live out the social aspects of the Gospel.

· to create new, on the edge, outside the box, ministries that engage and are relevant to the local community.

So in essence we work in partnership with churches in Brisbane to help give them and their members a radical new discipleship experience. To not only share the Gospel but to be in being with the Gospel. Also, most importantly, to develop servant-evangelists who can return to their churches and develop new and life-giving ministries to their local communities.

What is involved?

 

The experience is part-time and is for six months. We make it as flexible as possible so those working or studying full-time can participate. Essentially there are five requirements.

1. A participant would do one, but no more than two ministries whilst at Wesley Mission.

The range of ministries and time commitments are:

Ministry	Hours committed	How Often
Food Van - at night time or early morning serving food/coffee to the poor and sharing faith.	3 hours	Once a month
Emergency Relief Service - during business hours and the working week assessing an individuals needs accordingly and providing food parcels.	3 hours	Once a week
Homeless – street work in the morning or at night to homeless youth and adults	1.5 hours	Once a week
Punk Rock Ministry - holistic evangelism to punk rockers and gothics at band nights in the Lion’s Den	4 hours	Either once a fortnight or month
Pastoral Care in Aged Care -visiting isolated elderly people in aged care facilities	2 hours	Once a week
The Big Issue Magazine -helping and empowering vendors	2 hours	Once a week
Homeless Soccer Team - building confidence and skills in homeless people	2 hours	Once a week
Homeless Choir - helping homeless people express themselves through rap, chorus and other types of music	1 hour	Once a week
Work Solutions - helping people with disabilities empower themselves through work	2 hours	Once a week
Marginalised Social Justice Group - is a think-tank involving marginalised people who seek to change unjust structures	1 hour	Once a week
Ministry to Prostitutes - providing support and coffee to vulnerable women	1 hour	Once a week
Crash Bed - providing a presence for homeless guests who are sleeping in church halls	12 hours – overnight stay	Once a month

2. The participant would participate in a training day where they will be introduced to:

· Diaconal Theology and Practice;

· Mission to the marginalised

· Holistic Evangelism,

· Self-defence

· Community Building

· Pastoral Care

· Diaconal Worship.

· Development of a learning covenant.

3. Being committed to a weekly reflection group on a Tuesday night which will include worship, theological reflection and accountability.

4. Going away for a weekend on a Powerchange camp (involves faith development and community building with further mission training).

5. Once a month on a Saturday night attend the Powerchange Mission Network Worship at Albert St Uniting Church (worship with other adults focused on mission).

 

 

Commitment from your church for each participant

For each participant from your church a covenant will be signed between your church and the mission. It will state the following:

· The participant will be released to the supervision of the mission’s ministers for the six months duration.

· The participant will continue to worship in their own church, but have no heavy responsibilities.

· A person or group is to be appointed by the home congregation/church that is to help support the participant.

· Bi-monthly, the participant is to share their mission faith experience with their own congregation/church at a worship service.

· In the last two months of the placement the participant, their support person and minister will meet together to discern if they are called to create a new ministry that connects into their local community.

Commitment from the Mission

 

The Mission is committed to building up servant-evangelists who can go beyond the church to build community in your local areas. Servant-evangelists who can effectively:

• Evangelise
• Empower
• Enable
• Pioneer
• Build Community
• And be Prophetic

 

Partnership between your church and Wesley Mission Brisbane

 

 

Currently we have participants from the Assemblies of God, Independent Churches, the Baptist Church, the Anglican Church and the Uniting Church. As this is an ecumenical community, the Mission wishes to see new participants from a broad range of denominations.

What does joining the partnership program involve?

Joining in a partnership with WMB would involve sending one person (young or mature adult) from your regional church every six months. The Minister in team work with the Elders would identity a person who they think would be appropriate for this faith experience or challenge. Potential volunteers would be identified in February and July of each year.

Interested?

Contact Rev. Tim Hodgson, Outreach Minister, Wesley Mission Brisbane at t.hodgson@wmb.org.au or (w) 3031 3032 or (m) 0407 035 443.

 

Weipa and Cape York Patrol is still an Anglican and Uniting Co-operating Parish. However most of the congregation is neither – Baptist, AOG, etc with only a couple of Anglicans and sporadic UC people around.

The agreement is that we switch about every 5 years – I don’t think this is the best way to go. I get mail from both the Anglican and UC churches and there is the expectation that the congregation fills in returns (financial etc) for both Anglican and UC – which both have different ways of doing things. Needless to say we don’t do that and just send in what we think is the relevant financials.

Other than that I have very little contact with the Anglican diocese. So from what I can understand for five years the church is Anglican and for the next five years it is Uniting. This is not the best as the new minister usually makes everyone conform to their denominations way of doing things. I am trying to encourage the congregation to set up their own way of doing things like church council etc which makes sense to them rather than to the Anglican or UC. To that end we don’t have elders; the whole congregation is the church council, we don’t have a property committee – we have a chair, secretary and treasurer of church council.

One of the funniest things that happened when I got here was that I rearranged the pews. I decided (since there is a congregation of around 30) that I would put the pews in a semi-circle. Some of the long timers walked in and went “oh we’ve gone back to semi-circles. When the last Anglican minister was here they decided we had to be set up like a ’proper church ’, in pew rows, rather than the semi-circle that the last UC minister had done”. So obviously semi-circles in worship is a doctrinal thing in the UC!!

Given the mix of the congregation they are low church. I like high church worship but don’t feel the need for it to look like high church! So sometimes we have responses, sometimes we do symbolic things but if I explain what we are doing people usually get into it. We also try to do services with the local Catholic Church – Stations of the Cross at Easter and Carols by Candlelight at Christmas.

My next steps are to send an annual report to the Anglican diocese office and ask if there are any diocese newsletters that go out to keep me and the congregation in the Anglican loop.

Added to this mixture of Anglican and UC is Frontier Services. So with the patrol I visit all and sundry on the Cape. This is non-denominational and really people up here don’t care what you are as long as you will listen to them.

It is certainly fun being part of an ecumenical congregation that is nominally UC/Anglican. We can have many discussions on issues like infant baptism etc without it threatening our unity in Christ – because we all come from different backgrounds and these are acknowledged. People try to listen to one another even if they disagree in the end.

 

LOCAL NEWS

 

Printed with permission from 

The Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations,

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

For more information and articles on Ecumenism, visit their website at

http://www.bne.catholic.net.au/ecum/newsletter

 

Project Abraham This article is also in the 'Interfaith' page.

On Sunday 10 September approximately 200 people attended the Project Abraham seminar at the Gold Coast Arts Centre at Bundall. Project Abraham is a conversation between Jews, Christians and Muslims, exploring the commonalties that they share as the three Abrahamic religions. Project Abraham is a federally funded Living in Harmony initiative through the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

The Project has been travelling around Australia and the Gold Coast forum is the first Queensland event. Chief Justice Paul de Jersey opened the forum and the topic of conversation was "Eating at Abraham's Table". Participants in the forum were Rabbi Uri Themal, OAM, of Temple Shalom representing the Jewish faith; Bishop Ron Williams, representing the Christian faith; and Imam Imraan Hussain of the Gold Coast Mosque, representing the Muslim faith.

Question time followed the talks. Because of the large number of questions that were not able to be answered in the time allowed, it is anticipated that further dialogue sessions will be held around specific topics in the near future.

After the forum, an educational display was opened at the Gold Coast Civic Centre. Over the following two weeks schools were invited to attend educational seminars where representatives of each of the three Abrahamic traditions were on hand to answer questions.

The Gold Coast City Council and the steering committee worked very hard for months before, leading up to the forum and display. Steering committee members were Deb Cox and Anne Dowse from the Gold Coast City Council, Rabbi Uri Themal, Imam Imraan Hussain, Athar Shah (head of the Gold Coast Islamic Council), Rev. Gerry Hefferan (St Mary's Catholic Community, Oxenford), Rev. Duncan Macleod (Pacific Parks Uniting Church) and Rev. Lyn Dunn (Deacon at Gold Coast North Anglican Church).

As part of Project Abraham the steering committee are to undertake a project, to take the dialogue between the three traditions out into the community. As their project, they have decided upon Tourism with one component being hospitality. Increasing number of overseas visitors have difficulty in finding out about appropriate food, times and places of religious services, access to prayer rooms, etc. The Chamber of Commerce and other appropriate stakeholders will be invited to join the project. 

                              -  Rev. Lyn Dunn Gold Coast North Anglican Church

A follow-up to the first very successful Project Abraham Forum was held on Sunday, 12 November at the Nerang Bicentennial Community Centre. This time the topic was Peacemaking ...perspectives.

The audience was addressed by Rabbi Uri Themal, Imam Imraan Hussain and Mr Tony Kitchen of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission, who spoke on Peace Studies in an educational context.

The Steering Committee is planning three further activities next year, so mark your calendars for Sundays 18 March, 22 July and 28 October 2007. Details will be available closer to the dates (Editor)

Saturday, 2 September 2006

MORE LOCAL NEWS - from the Newsletter of the Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations:

New Christians in Dialogue Studies a great success

After a break of approximately five years, a new Christians in Dialogue program was published to coincide with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year. The program, entitled Churches in Covenant with: One Another aims to highlight the Covenant signed by the member churches of the National Council of Churches: in Australia at its last Forum in Adelaide in July 2004.

The churches involved in the Covenant are the Anglican Church of Australia, Antiochian Orthodox Church,' Armenian Apostolic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Churches of Christ in Australia, Congregational Federation of Australia, Coptic Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Lutheran Church of Australia, Religious Society of Friends, Roman Catholic Church in Australia, Romanian Orthodox Church, The Salvation Army, Syrian Orthodox Church and the Uniting Church in Australia.

The new program was written by an ecumenical team from Rockhampton Churches Together. It looks at the Biblical background to covenanting, explores the National Covenant in detail and provides examples of covenants operating in local communities.

It has proved an extremely popular resource with over 500 copies sold to groups from all over Australia in the five months since publication. The program sells for $3 per copy (plus postage and handling, GST not applicable) and is available from Christians in Dialogue, cI- Faith & Life, G.P.O. Box 282, Brisbane QLD 4001. P: 07-3336 9354, F: 07-3336 9177, E: ecum@bne.catholic.net.au.

 

For further details see the website:

http://www.bne.catholic.net.au/ecum/ChristiansinDialogue.php

The following are some of the stories from focal groups which have operated the program this year...

Milton/Paddington

A group of about ten (Anglican, Roman Catholic and Uniting Church) from the Inner Western Suburbs Church Council met at Christ Church, Milton. They valued the opportunity to be informed about the National Covenant: and even learnt something about their own Church's position on some issues. They appreciated the clear outline of the program and the ease of use. .

Mt Gravatt/Wishart

 

 

 

 

 

 

2005 activity

Ecumenism in the south west of the State comes under the banners of Toowoomba Churches Together and Downs Churches Together.

The second annual Ecumenical Retreat was held in February 2005 at the James Byrne Retreat Centre, Toowoomba. Bishop Richard Appleby (Anglican and, at that time President of Queensland Churches Together) and Glenine Hamlyn (General Secretary of QCT) were guest presenters.

The annual Toowoomba Heads of Churches meeting took place on 4 June. Margaret Naylon, of the Brisbane Roman Catholic Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations spoke on the most recent ecumenical advances, in particular the NCCA Covenant. Two members of the Buddhist Pure Land Learning College, Toowoomba attended and shared something of their story. Also, representatives of the local Christian Family Radio Station explained their philosophy and aims.

Saturday 4 June was also the date for the "Glennie Memorial Dinner", another annual event honouring the late Rev Benjamin Glennie, a pioneer ecumenist in Toowoomba. This is both a social and fund-raising event. Della Lopez of Stanley River was the very entertaining guest speaker who told the story of the development of their local covenant, which brings together into one Pastoral Council people from the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Uniting Churches.

Services continue to be held at the James Byrne Centre in Toowoomba on the first Sunday of the month to pray for Christian Unity. The various denominations are on roster to prepare and lead this prayer.

A Heads of Church (Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Uniting) meeting took place at Charleville on 9 July. These gatherings had been held in the past but had lapsed in recent years. Over thirty people from Charleville and Cunnamulla were present. The Charleville people moved to form a local ecumenical pastoral council; and the Cunnamulla representatives indicated a willingness to host a similar Heads of Church day next year.

More recently, Bishops Morris (Catholic) and Nolan (Anglican), together with Rev Peter Hall (representing UCA) met in Injune on 11 November. This was to discuss an initiative of the local community regarding church property. It was felt that three church buildings in the town were too many so the Uniting Church has been sold, the Catholic Church is on the market and the three communities will use the Anglican Church building. Church authorities have been asked to look at the legal and other implications of joint ownership of the property. There is a feeling in the area that it is time to grapple with some of the more difficult questions of ecumenical co-operation.

The following day the heads of Churches met in Roma with representatives from Mitchell, St George, Surat, Wallumbilla. This is an annual gathering to provide opportunity to discuss local ecumenical issues.

 

In December 1991, the Uniting Church (Hervey Bay) purchased a second-hand timber church and had it transported to Burrum Heads. Being a small community, people of all religious denominations assisted in the trans­fer and named it the "Burrum Heads Christian Community Church" - solely owned by the Uniting Church but avail­able on request for other denominational use.

The Notice Board has the logos and information relating to each of the churches using the building: Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches

For a few years Fr Harry Bliss (Maryborough) would cele­brate a Christmas and Easter Mass for the local Catholics. No other Catholic Church service was available here.

Later in the 90's Burrum Heads became part of Hervey Bay City Catholic Parish and Fr Bernie Nolan and Fr Dave Batey negotiated with Rev. Clive George (Uniting Church) for our local Catholic Community to have regular Mass celebrations in this community church.

Our congregation totalled about 20 and after discussion we were allocated a time slot for our Masses. We now have 2 Masses and 2 Liturgies of the Word with Holy Communion each month. From the very first Mass (we didn't have an organist) the Uniting Church organist volunteered her services to us. Seven years on, this wonderful woman still plays for us at every service conducted by the Catholic Church. Ecumenism at its best.

Our Community was named "St Peter the Fisherman Community Burrum Heads by Archbishop J. Bathersby in August 2004. We could only name our Community as we don’t own the church.

No money changes hands for our use of the church. The Catholic commitment is to take our turn to clean the church and assist with the regular fundraising to maintain and improve the church building and surrounds.

Every two months the "Community Church Commit­tee” (representatives and interested persons) of each denomination meet and we are continually being invited to participate In the executive committee.

We could not wish for a more Christian, friendly and welcoming community. We use their Church, their organ­ist, we have our Patron Saint’s holy picture hanging near the altar and have our own section on the Community Church notice board (financed by the Uniting Church).

Many friendships have been formed and I pray the various religious celebrations will continue to unite this Community.

Di London

You can view this article – with photographs – by visiting the website of the Catholic Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations.

The Brisbane Roman Catholic Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations has been producing a newsletter since 1990.They cover a wide range of local, national and international stories. In 2005 the Newsletter began to include an electronic copy on their website. You will find the latest issue at:

http://www.bne.catholic.net.au/ecum/newsletter2.php

The Brisbane Roman Catholic Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations website address is

www.bne.catholic.net.au/ecum