30 April 2013

Dear Friends of the Glen Waverley Uniting Church,

We are writing on behalf of the recently formed Steering Committee.

We have been charged with the challenge of responding to the calls for change being heard from members of our GWUC community. We are looking for a God centred way forward for our Church. We are listening to many who are sharing their current pain and hopes for the future with us. We are reading the Kitto Report. We grieve over the Ministry team breaking up. We are hoping to provide a life-giving vision of our community which values our present and future members, and our diverse gifts and needs.

We see our key mandate as helping the congregation to become a ‘Community of Love’ and to focus on our Spirituality.

We intend to:

We will soon be providing a draft structure as the basis for further discussion and decision making. Please take the opportunity to talk with us about what you think God is saying to you about our desire to move forward spiritually and harmoniously as a congregation.

At our last meeting, the Steering Committee members each contributed our response to “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt22:37). It is a good starting point for any forward planning.

The vision we have should strengthen our commitment to the ‘On The Way Together” program already supported by the congregation, and for the Glen Waverley Uniting Church to be stronger tomorrow than it is today. We are looking for ways to honour the work that so many of you have put into this Church over its life, and to ensure its future strength and support for members and the world.

We hope no one will feel displaced. The talents, gifts and interests each one of us have are important to our Church. While the Church Council may reduce in size there are many opportunities for everyone to participate in the life and mission activities and groups of GWUC. We will be writing and talking to you about them very soon.

We plan to provide further explanation of the roles and duties of the new smaller Church Council and to conduct a “gifts and talents” workshop open to all. There will be opportunities for more people, not less, to lead and participate in the life and mission activities of GWUC. We anticipate that if the proposed structure is approved, an election for all Church Council positions will be held soon.

We thank you for your connection with this your Church. This is a wonderfully exciting time for us all. Change is scary at times but we hope it will lead to big strides ahead, if we are clearly seeking to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

We thank you for your prayers and support, your ideas and your willingness to consider the proposal that we will bring to you for your consideration. If you would like to discuss any of these matters, please contact any of us.

GWUC Future Directions Steering Committee

ChurchFutureScCongLetter1 (last edited 2013-04-30 05:53:40 by JohnHurst)