JourneyOnline
Deciphering the 60+ Assembly proposals and reports before the meeting is a challenge even for the Assembly’s members. Check out some of the highlights and get the jump on the meeting.
Anglican–Uniting Church dialogue
Assembly Standing Committee commends the adoption of the Weaving a New Cloth document, which advocates local cooperation between Anglican and Uniting churches throughout Australia.
The chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Justice Peter McClellan AM will address the Assembly on 15 July. Later, Assembly Standing Committee will ask for authority to make any changes to Uniting Church Regulations required to respond to the Royal Commission without having to wait for the next full Assembly meeting.
In response to the Discussion Paper on Marriage submissions, Assembly Standing Committee proposes further exploration on how multicultural groups can engage in further discussions on same-sex sexuality in culturally appropriate ways and establish a task group investigating the implications of changing the church’s current relationship with the government regarding marriage. Another proposal by two Queensland ministers is asking the Assembly to reject public covenants for same-gender unions.
Annual week of prayer and fasting
The Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) would like the week of prayer and fasting observed during the Destiny Together demonstration to become an annual event.
The UAICC also proposes a higher degree of scrutiny for issues affecting First Peoples, continued work on how councils of the church can give authority to Congress and support for Congress’ opposition to fracking on Aboriginal land.
The Presbytery of the Illawarra suggests the Uniting Church is over-governed and wishes to authorise Standing Committee to commence a review into Uniting Church governance, specifically with an eye to whether synods are really necessary in the life of the church.
UnitingJustice has an extensive proposal calling Uniting Church members to advocate for asylum seekers and refugees and to demand the Australian Government end offshore processing.
Andrew Dutney and Felicity Amery propose an awareness-raising campaign about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, and to determine the Uniting Church response to requests for action from the World Council of Churches and Palestinian Christians.
A full list of proposals and reports can be found on the 2015 Assembly website.
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