The Glen Waverley Uniting Church PSALTER
GLEN WAVERLEY UNITING CHURCH
MEETING OF THE CONGREGATION
To be held in the Church at 11:30am on Sunday 28th July 2024 - following 10:00am worship.
A printable version of this agenda is attached here.
AGENDA
1. Welcome
2. Prayer
3. Confirmation of Minutes of Meeting held on 19th November 2023
The minutes of the November meeting of the congregation are at CongMeetingMinutes20231119
4. Election of Church Councilors
A report of the election of Church Councillors on March 17th is at CongMeetingReport20240317
It is planned to hold and election for the 2025 Church Council in March next year following a similar timeline to that followed this year. Details on the CongregationalPage.
5. Congregation Annual Report
Recently, it has been the practice of the Glen Waverley Uniting Church to present reports concerning its activities and operation at meetings of the congregation on a few occasions throughout the year. Knowing that not everyone can attend these meetings, a report for 2023 was published as a special edition of Kingsway. It is hoped that this approach makes information about activities within our congregation available to more people. The annual report edition of Kingsway is available attatched here.
6. Reports and Recommendations
6.1. Ministry Team Report
Some good news about some of our programmes (for information)
6.2. Church Council Report
6.3. Church Council Worship Time task group Report
6.4. Congregation Outreach Projects for 2024
Using the procedure for selection Congregation Outreach Projects (CopOverallProcedure) updated earlier this year, the Congregation Outreach Projects Selection Panel (Margaret Fraser, Annette Wojak, David Morgan) - drawn from members of the Outreach and Social Justice Mission Group - will present recommendations concerning projects to receive funding from the proceeds from this year's fete in October.
6.4.1. COP Selection Panel – Report to Congregational Meeting, 28 July 2024
Making decisions about Congregational Outreach Project (COP) recommendations on behalf of the GWUC congregation has been both exciting and daunting!
Due to a series of Covid-19 disruptions to COP selection and the annual fete during 2020-2022, this was the first time since 2019 that COP fund recommendations have been fully made on the basis of applications submitted by members of the congregation. In 2023, fete funds were disbursed based on the 2021 selections, but only 4 of the 5 projects remained eligible.
Early in 2024, the newly formed Outreach and Social Justice Mission Group (formerly the Outreach Mission Group) was asked by Church Council to oversee the 2024 COP process and to appoint three members to become the COP Selection Panel.
The COP Selection Panel needed to quickly revise and update the COP procedures and to re-educate the congregation and build enthusiasm for the process. The assessment criteria, guidelines and the application form were all advertised. A COP Sunday service was initiated in May, with support from the new ministry team. The speakers and posters provided evidence and ideas for what COP can achieve, and what benefits our annual fete proceeds can offer the recipients.
We were encouraged when we started to receive applications after this long break. We received six applications with a total request of $35,000. Following initial discussions with the applicants, one application for an overseas project was withdrawn as ineligible and another application modified the initial amount requested, bringing the total requested to $25,000.
Applications for the five remaining projects were thoroughly checked and further researched. Applicants were offered the opportunity for further discussions with the Selection Panel. All these projects were considered worthy and deserving of funding.
The COP selections required careful comparison of the assessment criteria, projected outcomes, alignment to UC mission and ethos, long- and short-term benefits, numbers of people to benefit, the needs to be met and GWUC's connection with each project.
We are pleased to present the projects recommended to receive 2024 COP funding.
Asylum Seeker Program (Uniting VICTAS), Education Support (Inclusion) Program
Congregation Applicant: Robin Pope
Asylum Seeker Program caters for the needs of asylum seekers in Melbourne, by organising specific projects and providing a safe and welcoming space for them at the Welcome Centre in Brunswick. There they can be assisted with food and essential items, housing, access to legal advice, referrals to employment, education, health and counselling services. Funds would assist families to cover the ‘additional’ costs of education in the public school system which they are unable to meet, such as uniforms, shoes, books, laptops, lunch food, school excursions, school holiday programs and out-of-school camp. The aim of the program is not just to address the financial hardship that the families experience, but also to improve their emotional and social wellbeing, and enable them and their children to make community connections.
Choir of Hope
Congregation Applicant: Noelle Gibson
The Choir of Hope is a singing group for women in the Monash community and surrounding areas. Deb Leigh conducts the choir which meets weekly at GWUC for practice and morning tea together. It is a place of connection for women who understand the experience of family violence or abuse, isolation or disadvantaged background. The choir offers a place of fellowship, healing, restoration of relationship and trust. Funds would assist in the purchase of sheet music, music folders, t-shirts for performances and hospitality costs. The choir enables members to grow in self-confidence and feelings of self-worth, through shared music and togetherness.
Kids Under Cover, Scholarship Program
Congregation Applicant: Susan Karoly
Kids Under Cover is dedicated to preventing and ending youth homelessness, through their Studio and Scholarship programs. They support vulnerable young people aged 12-25, who may be homeless or living in an overcrowded home. Studios provide medium-term accommodation, when installed in a family or carers backyard to help ease tensions in the home. The Scholarship Program encourages young people to stay engaged with education and job training by providing financial assistance for essential items. Funds would support young people with education related items such as IT equipment, books, public transport tickets, excursions and school camps. This support helps put them on the same playing field as their peers and gives them a greater connection to their education and school community.
Uniting World, Fiji - Disaster Readiness Climate Change (Pacific Region) Program
Congregation Applicant: Russell Crawford
UnitingWorld, through the Disaster Readiness Climate Change Program, is supporting partner churches to prepare vulnerable communities for, and reduce the impacts of, climate change and related natural disasters. Training is provided to support local church leaders and their community to map out disaster and climate risks and develop action plans to increase preparedness and resilience to disasters like rising water levels, floods and cyclones. Funds would assist to expand the scope of this project in Fiji and help prepare additional vulnerable communities.The project comprises community-based risk assessment and contingency planning, training networks of disaster response chaplains and resourcing partner churches with Christian theology that gives hope and inspires faith-filled action.
GWUC Welfare
Congregation Applicant: Remoun(Ray) Abdou
GWUC Welfare provides welfare assistance to people in our local community in the form of food and groceries to those facing food insecurity, supermarket and pharmacy vouchers to assist with essential items, and support with education-related expenses. Clients include people who are disadvantaged, homeless, suffering from mental and physical illness, asylum seekers and refugees. Funds would enable purchase of additional groceries and vouchers to reach more individuals in need, and to ensure ongoing support for students. Welfare aims to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those they serve and to address pressing needs in the community. 
A brochure containing information about COP 2024 Recommendations is attached here.
Proposed Resolutions
a. all profit from the 2024 Fete is to be distributed to Charity
b. the charities presented to the meeting shall participate in the distribution of 2024 Fete profits
c. the charities will receive funding as presented to the meeting
d. that the Outreach and Social Justice Mission Group is to advise the Congregation of the final allocation to all charities, in the first available Bulletin after the Fete profit is finalised
7. Other Business
Although not essential, it would help the chair manage the agenda and time if members of the congregation could let the chair know before the meeting of matters that they would like discussed.