Church lives on in rural Queensland

IT HAS been thirteen years since the release of the document Being Church in Rural Queensland (BCIRQ).

This document was signed by leaders of the Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran and Uniting Churches, a number of whom gathered at Highfields near Toowoomba in September.

BCIRQ was designed to provide “a framework for action” and to inform lay people in rural areas of Queensland about possibilities of ecumenical cooperation that were endorsed and encouraged by the leaders of the four denominations.

While this document is still very relevant, participants at the Highfields gathering decided to initiate a new document affirming BCIRQ and building on it.

A first draft, entitled Living Church in Rural Queensland – Bringing our Treasures to the Table was prepared at the meeting and will be refined before presentation in March 2010 at the annual ecumenical meeting of Church leaders from all over Queensland.

Photo : Members of the Being Church in Rural Queensland gathering in September. Photo by Eric Donges