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Rev Ben Gilmour
Charisms and Theological Culture within the Uniting Church in Australia: An Assembly Act2 Reflection
‘Charisms’ refer to distinct gifts or missions that Christian communities embrace and organise their life around. Could we, as a church, identify and embrace our unique charisms in this Act2 project? The origin of Charism is God, as God’s animating gifting in and through us. Ideally, the Uniting Church’s theological culture should represent these charisms.…
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Meredith Yabsley
To what extent is there continuity and discontinuity within our Church of the traditions of those churches that came into Union?
Background The observations referred to in this reflective paper come from a current PhD thesis research project; “Interconciliarity in the Uniting Church in Australia: perceptions, expectations and implications for leadership, governance and sustainability in the rural church”. The project is qualitative research using ethnographic methodology. It is both inductive and interpretive, listening to the stories…
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The Uniting Church in Australia was born the year I moved from England to Australia. As a child, I absorbed a lot of language about theology, and read intriguing books from our shelves, and let them form meanings for me. I listened to conversations between my parents and their friends who were studying theology at…
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I aspire to offer a provocation focusing on our understanding of lay people and their capacity for mission; and more briefly on the question of interculturality. Lay people Texts Our texts affirm the centrality of lay people qua people called to Christ’s ministry and mission in the world: Practices Despite this, I believe we have…
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A thread runs through the Church, through the theological culture of the Uniting Church, that is assumed but rarely discussed. We assume the Uniting Church in Australia will have ordained Ministers of the Word and Deacons, but how many members of our Church can articulate why we have ordained Ministers of the Word and Deacons?…
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Why talk about the gospel in context of Act2 and the Uniting Church in Australia? The Gospel or Good News is foundational to all we’ve done, are doing and will do. The Uniting Church’s foundational documents all align to build a comprehensive argument that any future directions regarding the polity and renewal of the organisation…
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I wrote this piece before I read Rev Prof Glen O’Brien’s paper for the Act2 Theological Culture discussion. I now offer this paper as a response to the Professor’s argument. I think he is correct in noting that we lack resources for initiating people into the faith. But I propose that this arises from a…
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What is the theological culture of the Uniting Church in Australia? The Uniting Church is a wonderful institution, with rich community networks that are profoundly informed by the saving wisdom of Jesus Christ expressed in the Gospels. The theological culture of the Uniting Church supports gospel values of truth, love and justice that are often…
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The Uniting Church needs an Earth-focussed theology which accepts that the Earth is our home within a vast evolving Universe. This theology must take account of modern discoveries in astrophysics, quantum physics and evolution sciences. Science tells us we are part of a dynamic, evolving Universe, filled with potential. To be authentic, our theology must…
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A Theology of Being Church To be the living church is not to be an institution in search of its ideal structure. The living church is already here. It is where Christ is now in the world. Christ in all the movement, suffering, and joy of life. The call of the church movement is to…
Bethany Broadstock
Shaping the future Uniting Church.
We acknowledge the sovereign First Peoples of the lands and waters where we live and work across the country, and pay our respects to Elders past and present who have cared for these lands for millennia. We are committed to walking together seeking justice and reconciliation.