One of the issues which has been a subject of national debate in the Uniting Church in recent years is the role and status of the Basis of Union under which the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches agreed to unite in 1977. Controversy arose especially in the light of Constitutional changes made at the 1991 Assembly concerning ministry and ordination which many saw to be inconsistent with the Basis and a departure from the commitment to remain within the holy catholic church. Some errors were corrected at the 1994 Assembly and a reference to the Basis was incorporated into the Constitution at the Assembly in 1997, but the role of the Basis in the life of the Church continues to be a matter of debate. The linked document refers to papers which are some of the contributions I have made in these discussions, with a 2001 addition on the kind of diversity that is compatible with the Basis of Union in the light of the Constitutional changes.
The Reforming Alliance and Resolution 84 of the Assembly 2003 concerning ministry and membership
There is likely to be more to be added here regarding the Reforming Alliance which has been formed in response to what many see as a departure of the Uniting Church from the church catholic and apostolic. Many of the people whose understanding of the church I share are involved in the Alliance. It had been my hope that we could leave the controversy concerning homosexual partnerships and ministry behind, at least for a while, because I do not think it is the key issue; and I decided in 2002 to give less prominence to it on this site. After many years of struggle, and now in retirement wishing to leave important questions to younger men and women, I do not wish to take it up again, but it would not be honest not give some recognition to what the Assembly has done and to the hurt and confusion which has followed from it. The linked document has links leading to many others dealing with sexuality and ministry and what has happened in the Uniting Church over the past decade or so.
Foundations for a Theology of Community Service
A paper which contributed to the developing of Synod policy recombining word and deed in the social services of the Uniting Church with more than 300 agencies in Victoria. It takes up in a different way some of the issues of witness and effective service within a dominant culture that is often more hostile than is acknowledged, and where the distinctiveness of what the church offers to society needs to reconsidered.
Vocation and Alternative Employment for Ministers
I spent many years in alternative forms of employment while an ordained minister. Research was conducted and reports prepared for official bodies over a period of more than thirty years on the miniterial vocation and various forms of employment, oversight and pastoral care of ministers who were engaged in ministry beyond the normal parish structures. A linked report to the Synod of Victoria in 1996 summarized the many efforts made to introduce new structures and made recommendations which were adopted by Synod that year and introduced to the Regulations following Assembly 1997.
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