Presbytery of North Queensland

PRESBYTERY PROMPTS

29 Wentworth Ave Mundingburra 4812

07 4779 5818 presbnq@bigpond.net.au

Website: www.presbyterynq.net

ISSUE TWO  2007                                                                                       JANUARY 23RD 2007

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On the Grapevine…

 

Hello everyone, I am now officially back in the office after the Christmas/New Year break. I must say that it is great to be back in North Queensland. Townsville is certainly getting some good wet season rain at present. From the impression given by the weather maps, much of North and North West Queensland is also.

I hope and pray that the festive season and the start of the year has been an encouraging one for you and that you are rested and ready for another encouraging year serving the Lord.

If you had some holidays I pray they were rejuvenating ones and if you were continuing to work I pray that the traditionally ‘quiet’ time of the year has been that for you.

 

As you will be aware this year starts fairly quickly with an early Presbytery Leadership Team meeting on Friday 2nd Feb and the Presbytery Meeting in Cairns on 23rd to 25th Feb.  The year also has the Qld Synod meeting in May as well as our usual Zone meetings and of course all the exciting events and plans in all the congregations across the Presbytery including the plans for Youth, Children and Families ministry coordinated by Steve.

 

Blessings to you all

 

Bruce C.

 

Pastoral Notes and prayer points:

• Pray for Michelle Cook and James and their new baby Zane as they settle in to routines. Michelle remains in Brisbane at her parent’s home for the time being.

• Tamara Hardingham as she continues treatment in Brisbane for an eating disorder. So far Tamara has been able to stay out of hospital and attend the clinic as a day patient. The Hardingham’s had a family holiday at Tannum Sands courtesy of Central Queensland Presbytery. Garry is now heading back to Cloncurry with Mark & Vicki and Teresa & Tamara return to Brisbane for a time.

• Please pray for Stephen and Tracie Kersnovske as they continue to work through some issues with the Department of Child Safety surrounding foster care.

• Can you please pray for Rev Mawunydjil Garawirrtja who will be undergoing surgery in Adelaide on the 4th of February 2007.   
 
 

Presbytery Meeting (Cairns) – 23rd to 25th February: Just a reminder to everyone that our first Presbytery Meeting for this year will be held in Cairns at YAL Tropicana Lodge from Friday 23rd February through to 25th February. The information sheets and forms to return notifying the office as to who is attending from your congregation or agency are being sent today by email and post. Please reply ASAP as the time lines are short.

 

Synod delegates – if you have not already done this PLEASE send to Jane by mid next week the names of those who are attending the Synod meeting in May from your congregation. The synod role has to be finalised by 31st January.

 

Hughenden/Flinders Patrol - The induction/commissioning of Peter Harvey will take place at Hughenden on 5th March. Peter will be present in Hughenden from about the 5th February as part of his settling in process.

 

New Army Chaplain: We welcome the new Uniting Church Army Chaplain to 1st Battalion RAR in Townsville Charles Vesely, and his wife Yvonne and children Kari(13), Damaris (10), Shem (9), Andraya (7). They come to us from Central West Presbytery in NSW and among other things are enjoying rain for the first time in ages. Welcome to the north.

 

Johan Loots - a minister from South Africa who made application through our Presbytery to be a minister in the Uniting Church has accepted a call to the congregation of Aspley in Brisbane. He will be inducted on 11th February. For the time being Lisa will continue to work in Townsville but that will be a short term arrangement. Please pray for Johan as he commences in Aspley, his first congregation in Australia.

 

Steve’s Stuff…

Greetings in the name of Christ!

Wow!  We are well and truly into the new year.  I was blessed to see the last sunset of 2006 take place over the Indian Ocean in Perth leading up to the National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC).  What an amazing sight.  

 

On Friday the 29th of December, nine excited and energetic young people gathered at my place to meet each other and share in a meal before we flew to Perth for our 12 day NCYC experience.  On Wednesday the 10th of January, nine exhausted young people (and myself) arrived at the Cairns airport.  Time to catch-up on sleep….

 

It was a privilege to journey with the nine young people from Nth Qld.  They took exceptional care of each other and formed a great temporary Christian community.  When we arrived in Perth we joined two other groups from Qld and became a group of twenty one and  had fun exploring Perth.

 

After our pre-tour it was time to join the other 600 young people for NCYC.  Over the week we explored what it means to be ‘Agents of Change’.  My NCYC highlight was listening to the evening speakers, including Tim Costello, Dave Andrews, Pete Rollins (from Southern Ireland) and Joyleen Koolmatrie.  

 

Our group plus the group from Central Queensland stayed an extra night to take advantage of cheap flights.  It was great to have a worship service, share in communion, hear how each young persons’ life was changed and look at photos.  NCYC was a life-changing event for all of us.  Thank you for your prayers and support.

 

Celebration of Youth & Children’s Ministry Service

Your congregation should have received in late December a letter and a disc containing ideas/resources for this service.   I encourage your congregation to put one Sunday aside in February to celebrate youth and children’s ministry.  Please adapt the resources to meet your congregations particular needs.

 

The Presbytery Leadership Team is encouraging congregations to have a retiring offering at this service to help support young people in the future to attend events such as NCYC.  In addition for leaders to attend training events throughout the year.

 

Next week I will include in Presbytery Prompts bank account details for you to publish in your weekly newsletter.  Some congregation members may prefer to transfer money directly into the Presbytery account.

 

Congregation members often do not know how they can contribute to youth and children’s ministry.  The giving of money is a great way they can support this exciting ministry across our Presbytery.  Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the service.

 

Yours in Christ’s service, Steve.

 

What’s New…

SYNOD JUSTICE AND INTERNATIONAL MISSION ADVOCATE (JIMA)

Members of the Synod will be sad to learn that in February Heather den Houting will be leaving the position of Social Responsibility Advocate and International Mission Consultant which she job shared in a part-time capacity with Andrew Johnson. Heather leaves to take up full-time study as a Candidate for the Ministry of Deacon and we wish her God's blessing as she pursues the call of God and the Church on her life. Following recommendations arising from a review undertaken in relation to the position, the role was re-designated and advertised as a full-time position to be filled by one person. We are delighted to advise that Andrew Johnson has been appointed to this significant position within the Synod. Congratulations Andrew! Although the role will remain substantially the same, the position will now be known as the Synod's "Justice and International Mission Advocate (JIMA) in line with the language becoming more widely adopted across the church.

Jenny Tymms, General Secretary

 

EIGHT RURAL AND INDIGENOUS MINISTRIES WIN UC FOUNDATION GRANTS

Wide geographic spread through five presbyteries has again been a feature of the successful applicants for the second round of Foundation grants in 2006. The Foundation received 19 applications, totaling over $90,000. After deliberation by the Foundation’s Board, ten applications for $35,249 were successful. This brings the total number of general grants to over 180, amounting to nearly $845,000. The successful applicants in this round were:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mainly, it is thanks to the dedicated people whose Will has resulted in an unrestricted bequest being received by the Church, that the Foundation has been able to disburse its tax-free interest earnings on such funds, in the form of these general grants. Their special gift to future generations, from their accumulation of a lifetime of God’s blessings, is a true reflection of the values and principles they treasured. The closing date for the next round of general grants is 31 March, for disbursement during June. For more information about bequests to the Church and for grant application forms, why not visit the Foundation right now at www.foundation.ucaqld.com.au or phone the Development Manager on ph: (07) 3377 9777.

Ken Edwards, UC Foundation

NO MORE VICTIMS

No more victims? Who are the victims? The crime affects not just the victims, but in other ways the society, the families, the community as a whole, and even the perpetrators. In many ways it’s our responsibility as God’s people to pray for God’s intervention. Shared responsibility and collaborative approaches – community safety and crime prevention are the responsibility of everyone in the community. Prison Ministry wants to share the love of Christ and serve the special needs of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, including the children. We know that prison is a tough time both for those who are confined and for their loved ones left at home to deal with loneliness, social rejection, financial strains, and other pressures. We hope to provide a better service, serving our God in serving inmates, ex-inmates and their families. I believe we need to equip the family with support, not only with groceries, but also some form of training, anger management, budgeting, cooking lessons, parenting skills, marriage counselling etc. If somehow we can support the families this will be a way of breaking the cycle of crime. Many of the inmates, ex-inmates and families face the time alone. Crime is a problem of the whole community. Incarceration is necessary in some cases, but re-offending in part shows us something we are doing is not right. We are missing the target somehow. Our focus should be in crime prevention, equipping families and transition programs. If you wish to support the work of prison ministry you can send your donation to “Lifeline Community Care Prison Ministry Gift Fund Account” BSB: 084-009 & A/C No: 50-841-5792. All donations are tax deductible. Thanks for your support and prayers. We need you! Let us count the blessings together.

Beatriz Skippen, Senior Prison Chaplain

Please don’t forget these…

EASTER POSTCARDS PLEASE ORDER NOW

Similar to the recent Christmas promotion campaigns in 2005 and 2006 congregations are invited to express their interest in the provision of similar resources for the Easter season 2007. The Communication Services Unit is willing to partner again with congregations to produce high-quality, low-cost resources for Easter outreach in local communities.

This campaign will present the local Uniting Church as a great place to consider life’s important questions during the Easter season: “Which came first? – Explore life’s bigger questions”. As usual some additional materials will be provided including copies of the publicity materials artwork for local congregational use. Starter pack: 3000 postcards and 30 A3 full colour posters – $165 (Includes packing and postage to your congregation). Additional postcards are available at $130 for 3000 (minimum lot) and posters at $10 for a packs of 10. Samples can be viewed HERE. Please indicate as soon as possible if your congregation is interested in registering for the project by filling in the form on the Synod website HERE.

Enquiries to Bruce Mullan, Manager Communication Services Unit at ph: (07) 3377 9801 or email HERE.

Bruce Mullan, Manager, Communications Services Unit

LENT APPEAL 2007 – PLANTING A FUTURE

Each Sunday during the season of Lent 2007 Uniting Church people in Queensland will have the opportunity to contribute to worthwhile projects submitted by congregations or agencies. In the spirit of the season people are invited to go a 'second mile' to offer gifts to the work of God for justice and mission. In 2006 the Lent Appeal raised over $75,000 and on behalf of the project recipients the Synod would like to say thank you to all who contribute to the Appeal. A different project is selected for each week of Lent and envelopes for contributions, posters and other materials will be posted to secretaries of church council next week. The theme for the 2007 Lent Appeal is "Planting a future". Posters, Appeal envelopes and more detailed information about the individual projects will be posted to Church Council secretaries this month and will soon be available online on the Synod website www.ucaqld.com.au. For more information contact Kristine Bromiley on ph: (07) 3377 9825, email HERE or Bruce Mullan on ph: (07) 3377 9801, email HERE.

Bruce Mullan, Lent Appeal 2007 Coordinator

 

 

NATIONAL CHURCH LIFE SURVEY RESULTS NOW AVAILABLE

The results are now available for those congregations that participated in the 2006 NCLS. Congregations may obtain their results from Kristine Bromiley (email, phone and address) who can also provide an invoice. Although the Synod subsidised the Survey congregations are requested to contribute $100 towards costs. On payment of that sum a copy of your congregation's results together with a resource pack will be forwarded. NCLS is the most comprehensive congregational survey undertaken in Australia. The results and accompanying planning resources are valuable tools to equip your congregation for its on-going life and mission.

Graham Beattie, Mission Consultant

 

CONVOCATION OF MINISTRY (ADVANCE NOTICE)

The Synod meeting in May next year will once again be preceded by a Convocation of Ministry. All people in specified ministry are invited to attend. The Convocation will commence on Thursday evening, the 17 May at 7:30pm, with a party, and will continue on the Friday morning. The Synod itself commences with worship after lunch on the 18th. We encourage folk to plan to travel on the Thursday in order to be able to share in the whole of the Convocation. The theme of the Convocation will be the same as for the Synod: “Dare to discover, dream, design and deliver!” Further information will be provided in due course. The last Convocation was a special time and we look forward to being together again next year!

David Pitman, Moderator

 

ALERT REGARDING KEY SYNOD MINISTRY POSITIONS

(Information from the Moderator)

I want to bring to your attention the fact that during 2007 a number of key Synod appointments will be made. These include:

(1)   appointments to fill current vacancies (Mission Consultant: Spirituality & Discipleship and Director of Mission: Uniting Care); and

(2)   the appointment by the Synod in May of a new General Secretary, as Jenny Tymms has given notice of her intention to resign from that position.

These positions will be advertised in February and the selection process will commence shortly thereafter.

Both Bruce Binnie, Director of FAPS, and Graeme Adsett, Synod Chaplaincy Coordinator, have indicated their intention to retire. As the Synod will receive major reports that bear upon these areas of our work, no action will be taken in relation to filling these positions until after that.

Reports to the Synod may well include recommendations for some additional appointments, including an Associate General Secretary and persons to resource the work of the Schools Commission, Multi-Cross Cultural Ministry, and Lay and Continuing Education. Such appointments, however, will require the consent of the Synod.

The Council of Synod has appointed a Search Committee to give oversight to the process required. I will chair that Committee. While formal applications must wait until the positions have been advertised, people who may be interested in one or more of the above positions should feel free to contact me at this stage if they would like to do so.

David Pitman, Moderator

LIFESTYLE WATER WISE GRANTS

The Department of Finance and Property Services is now receiving applications from congregations and agencies for the Queensland Government Lifestyle Water Wise Grants Program. The $10 million dollar program is encouraging not-for-profit organisations to reduce consumption of treated drinking water. Grants up $30,000 will be considered for the following types of projects:

• Improving sports ground or park watering systems

• Replacing existing water use devices (such as single-flush toilets)

• Providing alternative water sources

• Installing swimming pool covers and rollers

Lifestyle Water Wise application kits and supporting information are available from www.nrw.qld.gov.au or by calling 1800 243 585. Applications are to be sent directly to the Property Services Division for collating and close on Friday, 16 March 2006.

Mark Lee, Manager, Mission Support Enterpr

 

INTENTIONAL INTERIM MINISTRY TRAINING - 2007

The Transitional Ministries Association of Australia is once again offering specialised training in intentional interim ministry. The following dates are scheduled for training in Queensland this year: Interim Ministry for Today's Church - 13-14 March; Intentional Interim Ministry - 4-8 June & 16-17 October. In addition to providing accreditation for people wanting to specialise in the field, IIM training offers quality continuing education for ministers in congregational placements. The Transitional Ministries Association is a cross denominational training organisation and works closely with leaders in Baptist, Churches of Christ and Uniting churches. For further info check out their website www.transmin.org.au or contact Geoff Cramb HERE.

Graham Beattie, Mission Consultant

 

RURAL MUSTER 2007

The next Rural Muster will be held on 27 April 2007 at the historical Jondaryan Woolshed on the Darling Downs, and will focus on lay ministry in congregations without fulltime Ministers. Contact: Julie Savage on ph: (07) 3870 2621 or email: HERE.

Julie Savage

CHILD SAFE CHURCH RESOURCES

Please be advised that I have established a link on the Synod Website that specifically relates to the Child Safe Church Program. You can access this link by:

 

•      Logging onto www.ucaqld.com.au

•    Select the “Synod” link

•    Select the “Financial & Property Services” link

•    Select “Child Safe Church”

 

The website includes documents such as an electronic copy of the Child Safe Church Manual, the Risk Management Strategy Template and example Risk Management Plans for child activities. Members are able to download these documents for their information. Should you have any queries or advice, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Charlotte Tyrrell – Workplace Health and Safety Resources Advisor

 

NEW ON www.journeyonline.com.au

SUPER-SIZE HOUSING HAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COST  As a building designer familiar with the Building Code of Australia (BCA) John Crossley from the Vineyard Community of Faith and Knox Moorooka Uniting Church Congregation is concerned about the “obesity” of our current suburban building practices.  HERE

NEW POLICIES TIGHTEN UP RE AND CHAPLAINCY IN STATE SCHOOLS  Changes to Education Queensland policies for both Religious Instruction and Chaplaincy in state schools will have significant consequences for schools, parents, ministers, church councils and RE volunteers.  HERE

VALE ELIZABETH CRAIGIE MCCHESNEY-CLARK (NEE WILLIAMS)  We celebrate the life of Elizabeth Craigie McChesney-Clark. We honour the memory of a good and gracious lady, who was a loving wife, a devoted mother, grand-mother and great-grandmother, a hard working missionary and minister, and a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout her lifetime.  HERE

More news at www.journeyonline.com.au

Bruce Mullan, Manager, Communications Services Unit

 

Presbytery Calendar (including Bruce’s Diary)

 

February 2nd – Presbytery Leadership Team Meeting – face to face (office)

13th – Bruce to Brisbane for Placements meeting

15th – CEM Forum – Brisbane

 16th – Moderator & Presbytery Ministers meeting – Brisbane

17th – Council of Synod meet – Brisbane

23rd – 25th – Presbytery meeting – Cairns

25th – Marcia Cowen’s Induction – Edmonton

 

March 5th – Peter Harvey Induction – Hughenden

8th – 9th – Bruce to Brisbane for Coach Net Training

11th – Bruce to Ingham – Preach and Worship

22nd – Bruce to Placements Brisbane

23rd – Moderator & Presbytery Ministers meeting – Brisbane

23rd – 25th – Leadership Training Course – Townsville

29th – Presbytery Leadership Team meeting – Teleconference