Assembly Standing Committee Resolutions

24.08 Act2

In response to the Act2: The Gift of the Spirit report:

to open ourselves to the gift of the Spirit, given in order that we may not lose the way. With thanksgiving for the past 47 years of our life, and after taking a long, loving look at the reality of our present, and with hope in God’s faithfulness for our future, we commit to continue our journey together. We believe now is the time to reshape our life so we
may better live into God’s call in our time and place. By centring lifegiving communities of discipleship and mission, cultivating a flourishing theological culture and deeply sharing in our common life and wealth we will treasure Christ’s gift of abundant grace, share this gift with our world and pass it to future generations.

24.08 Stream A

to adopt a vision for local communities of faith:

Communities of faith will sustain a life of worship, build one another up in love, grow disciples of Jesus and participate in God’s mission. These diverse communities of faith will shape their life in response to God’s call in their context and deepen their relationship with God, one another, the wider church and the world.

24.08.02 Stream B

to adopt the vision for a National Network for Theology, Formation and
Leadership:

A visible and accessible network of intentional communities engaged in life-long learning to equip people to courageously follow Jesus and participate in God’s mission in contemporary Australia.

24.08.03 to establish a Commission for Theology, Formation and Leadership to
progress implementation of the vision and authorise the Assembly Standing Committee to finalise the terms of reference, including if necessary assigning responsibilities to the Commission currently fulfilled by other bodies in the Church;

24.08.04 to request the Assembly Standing Committee form the membership of The Commission comprised of people with skill and diversity appropriate to the responsibilities of the Commission, ensuring that it will reflect the theological and wider diversity of the Church and its councils, of which at least one half shall have qualifications and experience in theological education and the formation of ministers and leaders; and

24.08.05 to adopt the following principles to guide the Commission for Theology, Formation and Leadership:

1. The purpose for which the Uniting Church constitutes and resources intentional theological communities is to equip the whole people of God to participate in the prophetic, disruptive, healing and reconciling reign of God in the Church and the world. 
2. These communities will manifest the cultural, geographic and theological diversity of the Church in their people, programs and processes. 
3. Christian theological education for discipleship, mission and ministry is a gift and responsibility of the Church for the whole people of God.
4. The faith and obedience of the Church is nourished and regulated by the Biblical Witnesses as described in the Basis of Union.
5. As an expression of the Covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and in response to the Preamble, Indigenous theology will be a core part of theological education and formation, which will include a continued rich relationship with Nungalinya College.
6. As an expression of our commitment to be a multicultural, crosscultural and intercultural Church, our theological education and formation will be cross-cultural, inter-cultural and multilingual.
7. As an expression of our global and ecumenical scholarly commitments, our communities of theological education will draw upon and contribute to local, global and ecumenical scholarship, research and teaching.
8. National collaboration in theological education and ministry formation will enable more effective, equitable and adaptive education of the people of God for discipleship, mission and ministry.
9. National collaboration in theological education and ministry formation will occur most effectively if structural change is made to establish a governing body for integrated national oversight, leadership and accountability.
10. National unity in the oversight of theological education and ministry formation does not mean national uniformity. Diversity and contextuality are of fundamental value to theological education and ministry formation. A new national governance body will be responsible for preserving those values.
11. The Church is committed to high quality and accessible theological education and formation in a variety of modes and locations, including in person, online and by distance. Formation for discipleship and ministry is most effective within a formation community.

24.08.06 Stream C

to adopt the vision for the ordering and resourcing of the wider Church:

A network of deeply connected councils responding to God’s call to enter more fully into mission through healthy oversight of ministry and mission, celebrating our diverse and shared identity and being faithful stewards of our common life and wealth

24.08.07 to call to the Church, in living out the vision for sharing our common life and wealth, to prioritise sharing our resources with one another for the
benefit of the whole Church;

24.08.08 to establish a Commission for Governance, Resourcing and
Administration to lead the work of implementing the Vision and
authorise the Assembly Standing Committee to finalise the terms
of reference including a reporting framework to councils of the Church;

24.08.09 to request the Assembly Standing Committee to establish a process to draw the membership of the Commission from the Congress,
Congregations, Presbyteries, Synods, Assembly and agencies;

24.08.10 to adopt the following principles to guide the Commission for
Governance, Resourcing and Administration:

1. The purpose of our ordering is in response to God’s call to enter more fully into mission and therefore we do so in a way that lives out our unity in mutual submission in service of the Gospel;
2. Christ alone is the supreme head of the Church, and we are entrusted with responsibilities to serve Christ by virtue of our gifts and graces through the councils of the Church in relation to the Church and the world;
3. The responsibilities, authorities and powers of the respective councils should be clearly defined, balanced across the respective councils and avoid confusion and ambiguity so that all councils can be accountable for the exercise of those responsibilities;
4. Councils should have the ability to establish bodies for the fulfillment of their responsibilities with limited prescription from the Regulations;
5. Resources should be allocated to the respective councils so that they can fulfil their responsibilities. There will need to be some financial redistribution between the councils of
6. Efficient and accessible shared administrative functions across the Church on the principle of ‘only doing separately what we cannot do together’ should be established to unlock more resources for ministry and mission.

24.08.11 noting that in Act 2: The Gift of the Spirit there is a preference to explore implementation of a three-council model, request the Commission for Governance, Resourcing and Administration to:

1. investigate the feasibility, consequences, risks, opportunities and possible roadmap to implement:
   1. A three-council model consistent with the vision and principles;
   2. A four-council model consistent with the existing Constitution
2. that investigation of both models include collaboration with leaders and gain insights from Congress, Church Councils, Presbyteries, Synods, the Assembly and agencies of the Church, and bring a report, proposals and any roadmap to implement to the 18th Assembly; and
3. identify ways to implement other actions to make progress towards the vision consistent with the principles between the 17th and 18th Assembly.

24.09 Act2 – Constitutional Change Process

24.09.01 if, as a result of the 17th Assembly and the decisions made,
consequential amendments to the Constitution are required to be made, then pursuant to the powers inherent in clause 47 of the Constitution, the Assembly Standing Committee undertake the following
steps:

1. produce an exposure draft of the proposed constitutional amendments;
2. receive advice from the Legal reference Committee on that exposure draft;
3. seek a response from Synods and Presbyteries on the exposure draft; and
4. receive advice from the Legal Reference Committee on the final version of the Constitutional amendments to be proposed.

24.09.02 that upon completion of these steps, the Assembly Standing Committee
follow the measures provided in clause 72 of the Constitution to adopt the Constitutional amendments; and

24.09.03 that the time prescribed by the Assembly under Article 73 of the Constitution be no longer than 12 months after clause 24.9.01(d) has been completed.

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