Proposal for New Structures at Glen Waverley Uniting Church

A proposal to be put to the congregational meeting on 1 Jul 2013.

Preamble

Recognizing that

there have been difficulties within the Ministry Team for some years, culminating in the early resignation of Rev Rosemary Carter in Jan 2013;
a Church Life and Witness consultation was conducted by Rev Carolyn Kitto on behalf of the Port Phillip East Presbytery in late Feb 2013;
at a congregational gathering on 3 Mar 2013 to hear the report on the Life and Witness consultation, it was announced that Rev Greg Fry would be concluding his placement at a date to be determined (subsequently established as 30 Sep 2013, with a Cutting of the Ties service on 30 Jun 2013).
at that congregational gathering, Rev Carolyn Kitto identified a significant "dissonance" in the affairs of the congregation;
a meeting of the Congregation on 17 Mar 2013 decided to adopt in principle the recommendations of Rev Carolyn Kitto, as codified by Presbytery Chair of Pastoral Relations Committee Rev Greg Crowe; and
a Future Directions Steering Committee was established by that congregational meeting to propose a detailed implementation plan of the "in principle" recommendations;

the Future Directions Steering Committee now having concluded its deliberations, proposes that Glen Waverley Uniting Church adopt the following resolutions:

Guiding Philosophy

Dissonance, Community of Love, Journeying forward in Acceptance and Affirmation.

The Steering Committee took as its primary brief the restoration of a harmonious congregation. This was in response to both CarolynKitto and GregCrowe identifying that many issues of "dissonance" within the congregation have caused the congregation to lose its way, and along with them, the Ministry Team. While restructure of church governance has been the formal injunction, the committee felt that to address just that would be futile unless the dissonance issues were also addressed.

We have chosen to name this process of restoration as "Building a Community of Love". While we recognize that many groups already reach a deep level of fellowship, what is required is more than fellowship. We need to establish deeper and greater levels of trust in each other, such as is exemplified in 1 Cor 13:4-7. That cannot happen without a deeper sharing of the human hurts and hopes that we all experience. We need to be honest with each other about what really bugs us, and what we truly seek. Without sharing that vulnerability of each, we cannot possibly know or harmonise with each other. Most of all we hope to develop empathy with others points of view so we can learn to support those who have different points of view than us and to participate in God's mission in this place rather than be concerned about our personal preferences.

What the SC therefore proposes is that

Recommendation 1: All church groups, recognizing the importance of intentional worship, set aside 10-15 minutes of group meeting time to participate in a) deep personal reflection and sharing of concerns; b) interactive and reflective group bible study, such as is used in lectio divina. (Need reference, link here).

Comment: I would like to see a recommendation around increasing the number of people participating in faith sharing or learning groups. Personally I don't care whether it is Alpha, discussing a Borg-Crossin book or considering the lectionary, or a personal life sharing group or how often it meets. I think that everyone should be personally offered to be a part of such a group. This would be a fantastic objective for the Faith Development missional group to take on. A target could be to have 30% of the congregation actively involved.

The Church Council

The key concept: a smaller council focussing upon spiritual leadership and governance; deal with regulations and constitutional issues here.

What happens to existing councillors.

Eldership

The responsibilities of Elders and Councillors. The opportunity for all to share in worship and pastoral tasks. The new worship rosters.

What happens to existing Elders.

The Mission Groups

Focus for day-to-day running of the church; tasks are delegated from the Council; at least one councillor per group.

Each group is free to find their own administrative structure.

Each group will have a designated budget.