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The Uniting Church in Australia SPECIAL: Will the UCA National Assembly Accept Any Marriage Proposals?

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The Uniting Church in Australia SPECIAL: Will the UCA National Assembly Accept Any Marriage Proposals? VOLUME 9 NUMBER 2 | JUNE 2015 atalyst ASSACCEMBLY OF CONFESSING CONGREGATIONS WITHIN THE UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA SPECIAL: Will the UCA National Assembly accept any Marriage proposals? Anglicans launch Post-moderns and Vale Gordon confessing group the Basis of Union Moyes NEWS • 6 PETER BANNEY • 8 TRIBUTE • 17 1 EDITORIAL Taking a long view I write this as the Assembly of and US Presbyterians faced with a Confessing Congregations waits for church that has accepted gay mar- material about the UCA National riage. It seems to me that this could Assembly, which is in a four-page be a very longterm debate in the special section in this magazine. wider church. How well the ACC fits into the Unit- Athanasius contra mundum ing Church may well be determined (Athanasius against the world) by the UCA assembly this July. comes to mind. Five times exiled, In the Confessing Movement part Athanasius, won the battle for ortho- of this ACCatalyst we carry news doxy. Eventually. Cover photo Clarkandcomany/istockphoto.com of Anglicans building a lifeboat, John Sandeman ACCatalyst is published by the Assembly of Executive Editor: Max Champion Email for ACCatalyst: Confessing Congregations Inc. Managing Editor: Peter Bentley [email protected] ABN 73 794 518 715 ARBN 128 001 785. Editor: John Sandeman ACCatalyst is available as a subscription only Incorporated in NSW. INC 9887628. Office: 2 Erskineville Rd, Newtown NSW ($35pa) or by becoming an ACC Supporting Liability of members is limited. Opinions 02 9550 5358 Member ($35pa concession or $60pa full) expressed in ACCatalyst do not necessarily Website: confessingcongregations.com Printed by Brougham Press, Scoresby Rd, Bay- reflect the official views of the assembly. [email protected] swater Vic. ISSN 1835 2073 Tanglewood and Internet friends Last night I was on the internet and got onto a favourite website of mine from a few years ago. Back then I was into internet Tangleword. Tan- gleword is a word game. It’s like Bog- Hilary Sandeman gle and you play against people from all over the world. In between games you chat with the other players. There was a group of us who often used to be on at the same time, so we got to chat fairly often. We would discuss each other’s personal prob- lems and we became friends - sort of. Of course when you are chatting to people on the internet, they can’t without having to pretend to be us despite all of our weaknesses and see you, you can remain anonymous. something we are not, and without shortcomings. You can lie about who you are and no having to hide our faults. The reason He wants to be a part of our most one will find out. It’s a very safe way we desire friendships like that is painful memories, and our great- to make friends, because you don’t because that is how God made us - to est shame. He wants to be a part of have to open up and make yourself relate to one another and to him. the good times as well. That’s true vulnerable. But we can treat God as if he’s on friendship, and God’s friendship is But it does not really compare a distant computer at the other end the best there is. Whether we know to true friendship, because in true of a long phone line. We tell him him from a distance or know him up friendship, people know all of your what we think he wants to hear and close is our choice to make. weaknesses and the things you we only let him into the parts of our But once we know God as a close would prefer to hide, and they love lives that we think he will approve and intimate friend, we will never you anyway. With internet friend- of. But that kind of relationship want to go back to knowing him at ships, people only find out what you will never quite satisfy us. That’s a distance, because that will only want them to find out. not a true relationship with God. ever be a poor substitute for the real As humans, what we desire are God wants to be a part of all of our thing. real friendships, where we can be lives. He wants us to make ourselves Robyn Painter is the Pastor of ourselves and feel safe and loved vulnerable to him. He wants to love Peterborough Uniting Church 2 ACC NEWS Dr Dan: from Islam to Jesus It was my third experience of the to those who do not know Jesus. His Lin and I had the privilege of again ministry of Dr Daniel Shayesteh. By call to all is that they begin to “search having Daniel stay with us. These chance( ?), I had walked into the for truth together”. When we learned days he resides in the USA and has a Adelaide Crusade Centre in 1996. In of his intention to return to Australia large satellite TV ministry. 2013 the Hope network (60 evan- Hope Network decided to invite him This time there were three meet- gelical UCA congregations across again to Adelaide. The local ACC ings. Balaklava, 90 kms North of SA, most also connected to the ACC) branch co-sponsored him. Adelaide, drew many from sur- decided to invite Daniel to Adelaide rounding Hope Net churches. Tea as a part of his Australian tour. At Tree Gully, a suburban UC featured the time I was based in Bordertown, the topic “Is it possible to deradi- and local churches hired a bus to calise”. At Coromandel Valley UC travel to Adelaide to hear Daniel. 340 gathered to hear the message Daniel (pictured) was born into a of Daniel’s personal journey. Daniel Muslim family in Northern Iran. He has, over the years had a few threats, was a radical Muslim leader in the and many warnings . Nevertheless Free Islamic Movement which he is both passionate and fearless helped the Ayatollah Khomeini’s about the faith. Islamic Fundamentalist gov- For me the most telling part of the ernment come to power. When message is the emphasis on the per- he fell out of favour with the sonal nature of our relationship with government he fled to Turkey and our God through Jesus. For Daniel began an amazing journey to faith his discovery that the Christian God in Jesus Christ.. is Father, rather than master, was a Daniel established the or- real turning point. Again and again, ganisation “Exodus From he emphasises the personal nature Darkness” in 2000. of God in Christ. His mission is to He concludes his message with a lovingly re- photo of his wife, now called Mary, spond and three daughters, Janet, Cindy, and Debbie. A before shot with all in the traditional Hijab, and an after in jeans and T-shirt. Many were blessed by his ministry, as was I for the third time!! Pastor Grant Jewell (ACC SA) More leaders emerge A highlight for SA ACC and the whole ACC was the Third Emerging Leaders Award Camp held over 4 days 29th Jan to 1st Feb. The plan- ning team for the 3rd of these events included the instigator Rev Don Pur- dey (until his death in July), Pastor Mark Schultz (picked up the admin), Jill Schunke (prayer), Anneke van de Loo (bookstall), 5 former Awardees Malcolm Purdey and Dylan Agnew (2011), Kevin Marriot, Ellen Burford and Isaac Moore (2013) with Rod James as Convenor. Coming from rural congregations Clare, Balaklava Table group at the 2015 Emerging Leaders Award camp and Minlaton and urban churches Burnside, Glenunga, Croydon Kangaroo Island, Minlaton, Port Au- and he is pleased to know that Mark United and Coro Valley they did a gusta, Prospect Hill and Waikerie in Schultz and Dylan Agnew will be wonderful job!! SA. Speakers were Derek and Jodi responsible for ELA 2017 with other The event had 14 Awardees with Schiller, Simon Dent, Rod James and 2015 team members staying on Rod one from St George (Qld), plus Mark Schultz. ACC SA is grateful to will continue to act as a resource to Glenunga, Golden Grove, Kangarilla, Rod James for his leadership of ELA the group. 3 cisale/istockphoto.com PUBLIC SQUARE BY PSEUDO-MAXIMUS Responding to makes ‘sense’ to wage war on those popular views without fear of retribu- faiths. tion is a vital part of a vibrant, open terrorism We need to examine what it means community. Sadly, Western societies, “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am ... for Muslims, Jews, Christians and too, pass laws and create conditions the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ secularists to believe in God. The that intimidate free speech. No-one “ (Ex 3:14-15) three Abrahamic religions all believe is free to ‘blaspheme’ against ‘sacred Atrocities perpetrated by Islamic in ‘One God’ who reveals himself as values’ that pander to self-indulgent extremists have shaken our confi- being unlike any other being. For life-styles or self-righteous causes. dence that disputes can be resolved Jews, the name of God, ‘I am who I Such people are ‘extremists’. The by reason. Conditioned to think that am,’ is so holy that it can scarcely be hypocrisy of shouting ‘I am Charlie’ to Australian values are universal, we said. For Christians God’s holiness is defend the right to mock Islam, and try to blame their actions on religion, embodied in Christ, who said “I am other monotheistic faiths, shouldn’t social isolation, economic hardship, the way, the truth and the life.” For be missed. Those who offend believ- Western imperialism or mental insta- Muslims Allah is the holiest name of ers in One God don’t usually extend bility.
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