CALD to share their voice

By Andrew Humphries

A gathering of young culturally and linguistically diverse Uniting Church members last year has laid a strong platform for participation at this year’s Synod Meeting.

Moderator Rev David Fotheringham and Moderator-elect Rev Salesi Faupula attended the Feast of Faith intercultural gathering in September and encouraged CALD members to embrace the opportunity to have a say at Synod 2025.

During a Q and A session, David discussed the nature of his role, and the structure of the Uniting Church in general, from local congregations to the National Assembly.

During the session, David emphasised why inclusivity and listening to diverse voices was so important, and stressed the significance of young people’s involvement in the Church.

The discussion also provided an opportunity for David and Salesi to promote and give some background on Synod 2025, an opportunity in August for members to discern the big-picture matters which make us the Uniting Church.

Chaired by the Moderator, Synod Meetings are held every 18 months, offering a chance to share stories, build community, gain new perspectives, and to discover new ways of supporting one another in faithful witness.

“We come together at the Synod Meeting and we discern where God is calling us to go, and what we need to focus on across Victoria and Tasmania,” David said.

When asked about how the Synod manages people bringing different theological perspectives, David said Synod Meetings gave everyone attending an opportunity to have a say on issues of importance affecting the Uniting Church throughout Victoria and Tasmania.

“The Synod Meeting includes worship, Bible study and a kind of fellowship together of sharing stories about what God is doing, and how we’re responding to God’s call in various places,” he said.

“In that context, we are then pushing into how we deal with the harder questions.

“We recognise that part of our calling as a Church is responding to God’s word, hearing it well, trying to understand it well and trying to hear, therefore, what we’re called to do.

“Now, we recognise that there are different people and different groups of people who interpret aspects in slightly different ways.

“The Uniting Church has a dominant lens which is about understanding that this is all about God’s grace and God’s grace to us in Christ, who is inclusive and welcoming.

“As such that means being inclusive and welcoming of people who have a variety of opinions and a variety of theological starting places.

“My experience so far is that the process of hearing what’s said and trying to wrestle with that actually works really respectfully and well, and I think we’ve been able to navigate those kinds of differences really well.”

David said it was important that second generation CALD Uniting Church members realised the contribution they could make at a Synod Meeting.

“There are two main reasons why attending a Synod Meeting is worthwhile for CALD members,” he said.

“Number one is to actually hear what’s going on and to discover what it means to be a part of a much broader movement called the Uniting Church.

“Across this Synod we are following Christ, walking together as first and second people, seeking community, compassion and justice for all creation.

“If you want to see how that’s happening right across the Church, the Synod Meeting is a great place for discovering that and for meeting people, and for listening.

“The second part is that your voice is important because God speaks through you too, God puts things on your hearts and we discern together what we do with the things that God is putting on our hearts.

“Your voice, and what God is calling you to and what God is calling the Church to through you, is part of what we can discern together.”

As Moderator-elect, Salesi reflected on his own journey of faith and how he had once been in the same position as today’s second-generation CALD members.

Those members, he said, now had an opportunity to help drive the Uniting Church forward.

“I think there’s ongoing encouragement that our systems reflect our identity, and that’s part of the empowerment and encouragement of young leaders and the next generation,” Salesi said.

“I, too, sat in your very seat not very long ago, and I, too, was wondering where my place was in the Church.

“But unconscious renewal is part of our makeup as a church, and so I think that we are in interesting times as you emerge and search for identity and faith, and that’s an important part for the Church to journey with so that we can continue to remain faithful as a people.”

Synod snapshot

Synod 2025 will commence with Opening Worship at Kingswood College at 10am on Saturday, August 30, at which Rev Salesi Faupula will be installed as the new Moderator.

Morning tea will follow the service, before Synod members reconvene at Box Hill Town Hall for the remainder of the Synod meeting.

New initiatives introduced at the last Synod meeting and returning this year include commencing the meeting on Saturday morning, concluding the first day with an informal ‘welcome dinner’, and the opportunity to participate in electives as part of the meeting program.

Bible Studies this year will be led by Rev Professor John Flett from the University of Divinity, while the Synod is excited to announce that the Theological Reflector will be The Rev Tara Tautari, General Secretary of the Methodist Church of New Zealand, Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa.

Strengthening the friendship between the Methodist Church in Aotearoa and the Uniting Church, Tara will bring her world view as a Māori to Synod 2025, as well as her experience in the Methodist Church of Aotearoa, and a global outlook from her time at the World Council of Churches.

Her wisdom, intellect and capacity for thoughtful reflection are highly valued.

For the first time, as part of its 2023-26 Disability Action Plan, the Synod is encouraging all reports and proposals being written as accessible documents.

This year, the Younger Generations team will be hosting a pre-meeting orientation day for younger Synod members the day before the Synod meeting commences.

This will be held at Box Hill Town Hall, giving the opportunity to become familiar with the location, what to expect, and the chance to meet our new Moderator ahead of his installation. The day is also being planned to include a few fun surprises.