Synod Meeting 2008

The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania voted today to request St Michael’s Uniting Church to remove freeway signs and other media related to its “new faith” advertising campaign because it causes “deep offence to many Christians, Jews and Muslims”.

The proposal also called on the moderator and general secretary of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania to express its concern to St Michael’s congregation.

The proposal asked St Michael’s to apologise for any offence that the signs may have caused.

The proposal said the Synod should communicate the substance of this resolution to the Victorian and Tasmanian Council of Churches and the equivalent statewide bodies of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.

Lively discussion and debate followed the presentation of the proposal, but it was passed by an overwhelming majority of the delegates. Read the rest of this entry »

A proposal by the justice and international mission (JIM) unit to change the present Uniting Church policy on the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1984 was defeated.

As reported yesterday (‘Discrimination debate deferred’), JIM moved to amend the Synod’s position established in 1993.

JIM director Mark Zirnsak argued that, following amendments to the Victorian legislation, the recommended changes would make the Uniting Church position more consistent. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod considered going offshore in the quest for ministers.

This follows a blunt assessment of the dire situation presented to the Synod meeting on Monday. Allan Thompson reported that the shortage of Uniting Church ministers is now a “crisis”. Read the rest of this entry »

Ms Robyn Batten introduced the new chair of aged care, Mr Alan Wilkinson, who discussed the past year in aged care and revealed plans for the future.

The Uniting Church’s aged care services represent 12 per cent of all aged care throughout Australia. Mr Wilkinson was proud of the fact that all of its facilities passed government inspections, including 45 unannounced visits. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod has decided to meet for one day on Sunday 20 September 2009 for the installation of the new moderator.

This follows the historic decision to move from annual gatherings to meetings 18 months apart.

The next full Synod meeting will be at a suitable venue in April or May 2010. The dates and venue remain uncertain. These will be confirmed by the standing committee.

This decision followed impassioned pleas from several Synod members. Read the rest of this entry »

After much discussion and debate, some quite emotional, the Synod has adopted the plan for the future known as On The Way Together.

The final decision on Wednesday morning – taken by consensus – was greeted with warm applause.

Alistair Macrae spoke just before the vote was taken. He affirmed that he fully supported the final wording of the resolution with the changes suggested by the Synod meeting. These included involving schools in the OTWT process.

Many Synod members had asked questions, raised concerns and expressed their anxieties with the debate.

The final outcome ends the deliberations. But it begins a process towards the future.

Reported by Alan Austin

Synod members have been challenged to consider investing in their church to help the bottom line.

BOMAR’s Chris Begg asked the Synod to accept that the church budget will be in deficit probably until at least the end of 2011.

While the church will continue to look at ways to cut costs, the Uniting Church, like all institutions, is realistic about the challenge it will face for the next few years. Read the rest of this entry »

The Synod moved to support the introduction of container deposit legislation similar to that currently operating in South Australia.

In the fastest debate of the four-day Synod, it was agreed that the Uniting Church will write to the Premiers and Ministers for the Environment of the State Governments of Victoria and Tasmania, advising them of this resolution and urging them to introduce container deposit legislation similar to that which operates in South Australia.

The resolution was passed unanimously.

Reported by Alan Austin.

The Synod has decided to decrease the frequency of Synod meetings from annually to twice every three years.

This means that in 2009 (an Assembly year) there will be no meeting. In 2010 the meeting will be in the first half of the year, and in 2011 a meeting will be held in the second half of the year. Read the rest of this entry »

After morning tea on Wednesday, members of Synod had the chance to address the meeting.

The young and the not-so-young, those born in Australia and some of our newest citizens took to the microphone to speak on a variety of issues. Read the rest of this entry »