Over four days last weekend our Minister Mark attended the General Synod Meeting of the NSW & ACT Synod. In the Uniting Church all congregations belong to a regional gathering of Uniting Churches called a Presbytery, and all the Presbyteries make up the Synod which is all of NSW & ACT. Each 18 months the Synod gathers for its General Synod Meeting. At this meeting there are representatives from each Presbytery, including Ministers and lay leaders, representatives from different Synod organisations (such as Uniting[Care] & Mission and Education), representatives from the UAICC (Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress), as well as the Moderator and other leaders who help oversee the work of the Synod.
At this Synod we did some of the following and discussed some of the following…
- Worship and singing
- Elected the next Moderator of the NSW ACT Synod – Rev. Simon Hansford
- Theological presentations on “A Vision of Mission for Today” by Father Stephen Bevans
- Discussed the privatisation of prisons
- Discussed reducing the harm of illicit drugs
- Discussed affordable housing
- Heard about the Proceeds of Sale Policy for Church Property
- Heard about the Synod redress scheme for those who have been physically/sexually/emotionally abused
- Discussed proposals for Ministry in remote and rural areas of NSW
- Heard the Assembly Report (Assembly is all of the Synods in Australia)
- Recognised in worship those Ministers who have retired, celebrated ordination milestones, or died since the previous Synod Meeting
- Participated in Open Space where everyone participates in small groups around self-raised themes: eg Church beyond buildings and new initiatives for congregations.
- Met with colleagues from distant places.