All of us are learning to live, in our new normal, with greater levels of uncertainty....

…we need each other and the strength we have together in the ‘whole household of God’.

Help a child go back to school

As schools here in Australia prepare to open once again for a new year, we can’t help but think about the many children in Gaza who have been impacted by trauma.

-  Spotlight on immigration detention

-  Afghan refugee announcement falls short

Back to work in 2022

• NCCA Safe Church Program – Safe Church Awareness Workshops are starting again and we welcome Naomi to our team.
• Resources and events - As the new year unfolds and our work begins anew, we share our networks' news 

What is it? 

The aim of the project is “to recognise and increase awareness of family and domestic violence in church parishes and to develop skills for clergy and lay leaders to respond when instances of family and domestic violence become known.” 

Background

Assistance was given to the NSW Ecumenical Council (NSWEC), through the NCCA's Glenburnie Program, to conduct workshops in local parishes for clergy, Sunday school teachers and lay persons in leadership positions on how to identify and respond to parishioners who are living with family or domestic violence.

Oliver Slewa was appointed to the position of Family and Domestic Violence project officer and started on 28 September 2020. Oliver is a Deacon in the Assyrian Church of the East, a lawyer with extensive experience working at Legal Aid as well as, on a voluntary basis, conducting groups for men who are newly arrived refugees and that focus on family relationships in a new country. 

About the Project

• The project conducted 8 workshops and forums for clergy and lay leaders in Christian faith organisations attended by nearly 200 people. The evaluations have been very positive.
• The project officer was invited to present at a domestic violence conference and was invited as a guest speaker to 11 family and domestic violence meetings and events, some for faith leaders. In the annexure are the details of the meetings, events and other information pertaining to the project. 
• The work that the Glenburnie Fund grant enabled, resulted in a successful grant application to another funding grant to continue the work in 2022. The same project officer will continue the work.

Visit the NSWEC website for more information about the NSWEC Domestic Violence Project  

Project outcomes:

1. Development of suitable resources with information about referral agencies for clergy and lay persons in churches:

• A support services poster designed and finalised with 80+ contact details for domestic and family violence services. Poster translated and printed into 22 languages.
• Support Services pamphlet, DL size also translated and printed in 21 community languages. 
• Resource booklet for clergy and lay leaders addressing family and domestic violence in the context of the Christian faith.

2. Data from the NSW Police about family and domestic violence reports by LGA has been used to compile a database with about 1300 church contacts in these LGAs. This is used to target churches in these LGAs with invitations to workshops and forums. Church and lay leaders from other LGAs are also welcome to attend.

3. “Declaration of Unity”  Church leaders are asked to declare to stand up against family and domestic violence in their church communities and display the poster. Attendees at the workshops and forums are also provided with the Declaration and asked to sign and promote it. Declaration of Unity - Google doc form

4. Workshops and forums: These events have several guest speakers such as a community liaison officer, often the multicultural liaison officer of a local police command, a representative from the NSW victims support service and a solicitor who specialises in AVOs. There was a high number of attendees from migrant communities. Several pastors asked for ongoing contact to be supported in managing family and domestic violence situations in their community.  

Resources

The printed resources can be downloaded from the NSW Ecumenical Council website. If you would like to receive a printed copy of the Support Services, please email the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line: ‘order for Support Services poster’. Images below are samples only.

Large poster - English

Tri fold pamphlet - English

The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Development Fund 

• Fund applications closing soon  - Applications for 2021-2022 due by Friday 11 February 2022.
  
  
• Faith and culture - Catholic First Nation Voices -  NATSICC offers a look into the relationship between Christian faith and ancient culture from a Catholic perspective. 

Dialogue, discernment and action on climate change

A series of ecumenical Climate Conversations were held In 2019 and 2020. The conversations brought together a wide range of Christians interested in environmental sustainability and climate activism from various denominations including Anglicans, Uniting Church, Catholics, Baptists, Salvation Army, Presbyterian and Lutheran. The agreed aim for the group was “To gather a broad range of Christians to discern a common voice for common action serving the healing and flourishing of God’s climate-challenged creation.”

Background

St John's Cathedral, Anglican Church Southern Queensland (ACSQ), received a grant from the NCCA's Glenburnie Program in 2019/20 to ‘develop and curate resources for Churches to enable them to better enter into dialogue, discernment and action on climate change.’  (With the interruption of COVID-19 the timeline for the project was stretched out considerably)

 - Jason MacLeod was contracted to host the series of Ecumenical Climate Conversations which began as face-to-face meetings in 2019 and ended up as Zoom meetings in 2020. 

 - 2 Climate Roundtables were organised with the NCCA to bring together Christians from across all traditions and around Australia during this time. By the close of the second dialogue, actions plans were beginning to emerge around

• The formation of some kind of group or taskforce who could continue to “hold the space” for these conversations, and to facilitate more shared action and Christian voice.
• The internal work of transforming our own people, structures and operations, aware of our interconnectedness with all of God’s creation. Sharing ideas and resources.
• Continuing to look at how we better communicate around climate and environment.
• Better listening and walking in solidarity with our First Nations and Pacific peoples.

 - Subsequent Conversations and Projects

1. A listening event in November 2020 featured First Nations Christian leaders from around Queensland on the topic of Creation, Country and Climate. The gathering brought together respected Aboriginal and Torres Straits Island leaders from the church and climate activism spaces.
2. Hosted an open-space style ecumenical climate conversation January 2021 where people could self-organise around similar themes, working groups, and projects.
3. Ongoing work - A document outlining the ‘Pillars of support’ for Fossil Fuel in Australia, and how Christians could be involved in dismantling them.

About the 'Reframing Climate messaging' document

This document outlines how to reframe climate and creation care messaging and conversations among Christians so that our communications can be more effective. It provides the basis for the ‘climate messaging’ online workshops. 

Developed by cross-commission staff and clergy across the ACSQ as part of the Resource Churches project, in consultation with a Christian climate scientist and other consulting Christians. The document has been specifically developed to assist ACSQ clergy, lay leaders and other staff involved in climate and creation care related communications, so that hope; agency; humanising and respectful language; solutions and shared values; and, Christian mission and identity are emphasised and encouraged.

View

St John's Cathedral has made this document available as a live published resource on the St John's Cathedral, ASCQ website. This document is a collaboration with ACSQ’s Parishes and Mission Commission who welcome other denominations, Christian organisations and faith groups to use and adapt the contents of the document for non-commercial purposes in order to tailor the messaging principles, pillars and tips for their respective audiences. 

It is published as live online resource on St John’s Cathedral

Visit: Climate and creation care communications – engaging Queensland Anglicans | St John's Cathedral 

Job openings for leadership staff

The openings include Programme Director for Unity and Mission, Programme Director for Public Witness and Diakonia, and Director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order.

Application deadline: 30 April 2022 for all applicants.

 Theological discussion and reflection

The video series, ’Lessons from Covid-19 for the Climate Emergency'  is a joint venture UCFAMS (Uniting Church Fellowships and Mission Support) and Uniting Church SA’s Environmental Action Group (EAG). It acknowledges the global crisis of the COVID pandemic and directs our thinking to the greater crisis of Climate Emergency. The global COVID crisis has arisen rapidly and is being addressed by a vaccine. The Climate crisis has been gathering momentum for some decades and will not be solved by a vaccine. We have addressed the COVID crisis from a scientific approach. Why doesn't Australia use a similarly effective approach to address the climate crisis!

Background

When COVID 19 lockdown happened in 2020, the Uniting Church SA’s EAG decided to investigate ways and means of presenting what could be learnt from the pandemic and set it in an environment of theological reflection and potential actions. A subcommittee worked on this for several months, but then collapsed, and the project was adopted by UCFAMS. 

Part One consists of five short videos which highlight and connect the two crises. It was officially launched by Dr. Diedre Palmer (then President of the Uniting Church in Australia) in May 2020.  

UCFAMS was granted assistance from the NCCA's Glenburnie Program to complete Part Two. 

About the video series

At the end of each of these five presentations there is a series of questions for group discussion. Delving into these issues can inform and empower us to become much more effective disciples of Christ in these critical times.  

Part Two of the presentation addresses Biblical principles upon which to build a new approach to responsible lifestyles for Christians. The final presentation asks the question ”What can we do?” and this looks at our potential responses in the Personal, Public and Political spheres.  

Professionally produced and highly recommended for congregational consideration. 

Part One of the series was produced by UCFAMS and EAG within the Uniting Church Synod of South Australia.   Part Two with the assistance of NCCA's Glenburnie Program

View

For all videos in the series go to the YouTube channel Lessons from Covid 19 for the Climate Emergency OR click on each image below for individual videos.

Lessons from Covid-19 for the Climate Emergency  Part 1

Lessons from Covid-19 for the Climate Emergency  Part 2

For Discussion groups 

Leader's Notes and other documents can be accessed below each video when it is playing on YOUTUBE. Click "SHOW MORE" to find the link. On mobile devices click the down-arrow below the video.   

Opportunities Available  

• Job vacancies - applications are invited for three Coordinator positions. Applications close 28 February 2022.
  
  
• Youth Internship Program - applications are invited from young people, aged 20-28 yrs. Applications close 20 February 2022.