Further details have been announced for Synod 2025, which will take place over four days in August.
Synod 2025 will commence on Saturday, August 30 with an Opening Worship service, which this year will include the installation of a new Moderator, Rev Salesi Faupula.
Opening Worship will be held at Kingswood College commencing at 10am and will be followed by morning tea. The Synod Meeting will commence at 1.30pm at nearby Box Hill Town Hall on August 30 and conclude by 4pm on Tuesday, September 2. Both venues are disability-friendly with easy access by car or public transport. Transport will also be provided between Kingswood College and Box Hill Town Hall for those Synod Members who require transport. A variety of accommodation options are available near Box Hill Town Hall for regional or interstate attendees, and details of these options will be provided to Synod members upon registration.
Special guest theological reflections
Synod 2025 will be privileged to have Rev Tara Tautari, General Secretary of Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa (the Methodist Church of New Zealand) to provide our daily theological reflections. As an esteemed theologian, and proud Māori, Tara will bring a unique perspective to each day’s discussions both as someone from outside our Uniting Church and as a First Nations person.
Daily Bible studies
Among his many titles, Rev Prof John Flett is Professor of Missiology and Intercultural Theology at Pilgrim Theological College, and außerplanmäßiger Professor at the Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal, Germany.
Specialising in constructive theologies and methodologies developed in conversation with intercultural and ecumenical approaches, John will be leading morning Bible studies at this year’s Synod Meeting.
A very popular new initiative at our last Synod meeting, an informal opening BBQ dinner will again be held at the end of the first day.
Members will also have the opportunity to attend one of six elective sessions, an educative opportunity providing knowledge and learnings to resource members for their role(s) within congregations, presbyteries and wider Church engagement. Members will also be able to connect more deeply with the Synod reports by attending two deep dive reporting sessions which provide space to engage, explore and ask questions of reporting body achievements, future challenges and opportunities, in a creative and interactive environment.
For younger members attending, Synod’s Younger Generations team will be holding an in-person orientation session the day before Synod commences. This will be an opportunity to get to know each other, to meet our new Moderator, and to familiarise themselves with Box Hill Town Hall, with a few fun surprises thrown in.
