JourneyOnline
The real work
Assembly has come to a close for another triennium, but really the work has just begun.
Click here to read August Journey
The meeting resolved to undertake all kinds of tasks that will keep us well and truly busy over the next three years. Committees, working groups and task groups have been formed; regulations have been changed and now need enacting; awareness-raising campaigns have been planned and some people need to finish up in old roles and settle into new ones. (You can find an Assembly overview on page nine.)
In the flurry of post-Assembly activity it’s important we remember that Jesus is the reason for the work. Our new president Stuart McMillan sent Assembly members out into the world with the following blessing:
“Go forth from here to live out the covenant in which we the First and Second Peoples of this land have entered into with one another.
“Confront and challenge injustice wherever you see it. Act justly yourselves and insist that others do the same. Rejoice in the richness of our diverse cultures and learn from them. Celebrate and demonstrate the unity we share in Jesus our Lord. Commit to worship and witness and serve, as one people under God.”
Jesus reconciles us to God and to each other. All our work should reflect this call to reconciliation, not only between First and Second Peoples, but for strained and broken relationships everywhere.
Reconciliation calls us to listen before we speak. That’s hard. That’s when the real work begins.
Rohan Salmond
Cross-platform editor
