UC National News 29 June - 5 July NAIDOC Week reflection, Innovation in a Coffee Cup, and more

Takamuna Rrala: NAIDOC Week 2022 As we enter NAIDOC Week this Sunday, the Uniting Church joins with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) in celebrating Australia’s First Peoples and their place at the heart of our nation and our church. This year's theme is Get Up! Stand up! Show Up! Thanks to Palawa women Alison Overeem and Grace Williams from Leprena UAICC Tasmania for sharing this NAIDOC Week reflection - The Strength Within - To Takamuna Rrala (to stand, to rise up strong). Alison writes, "For those brave warriors of the past, our legacy to continue to get up, stand up and show up, runs deep within us. We are custodians of the warrior-ship, the custodians of a voice for change, accompanied by our ancestors, elders and leaders. So our call to all is to lean into the resilience, spirituality and faith that sits at the heart of the takila of who we are as church, who we are as a nation." The reflection is available in written form or as a video with graphics and production by Grace. Feel welcome to use these reflections in your worship throughout NAIDOC Week.  Keep on eye on the Assembly's Facebook page and website as we will be sharing links to resources that are part of the Living the Covenant Locally initiative, and a number of other stories and reflections affirming our commitment to walk together as First and Second Peoples.  #GetUpStandUpShowUp Read more Innovation in a Coffee Cup For many of us, having a ‘cuppa’ is one of the small but simple pleasures of our day but for Barry Schofield, and St Leonard's Uniting Church in Brighton, the humble cup of coffee gave birth to an innovative idea that has led to thousands of dollars being raised to support people in crisis. In seven years, St Leonard's has raised $62,538 and the Coffee Cup Challenge is now a major fundraiser for Uniting (Vic.Tas). Read more in this week's innovation story. Highlights: the UCA celebrates 45 years Uniting Church communities across the country have celebrated the 45th anniversary of the UCA with joyful gatherings, special worship services and cake! Check out the photo highlights on our Facebook page. NCCA Assembly with Rev Dr Casely Essamuah The upcoming online Assembly for the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) will feature Rev Dr Casely Essamuah, Secretary of the Global Christian Forum, in conversation with NCCA President Rev John Gilmore. The Uniting Church is a member of the Global Christian Forum which brings together the World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, Pentecostal World Fellowship and the Roman Catholic Church. Join on Thursday 6 July from 11am-12.30pm AEST via Zoom. Register here. Landmark meeting on nuclear Treaty The Uniting Church has welcomed Australia’s attendance at the first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which took place in Vienna last week. The meeting also heard a Joint Interfaith Statement endorsed by 144 religious organisations around the world. The Uniting Church has called for Australia to sign on and ratify the Treaty and looks forward to working with Government towards becoming a signatory. Image: Pacific Conference of Churches representative Olivia Baro reads the Joint Interfaith Statement to the meeting. Last chance to support our partners this financial year! Global poverty and hunger are rising because of the widespread impacts of conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Your tax-deductible donation will help UnitingWorld and our overseas church partners fight poverty and build hope across the Pacific, Asia and Africa. Instilling new pride in Cockburn There are places in remote Australia that are lost and forgotten to many. But they are home to real, hard working people. Right now, Frontier Services' volunteers are in Cockburn, SA. Along with Bush Chaplain Sunny Kadaparambil (pictured) they are providing hands-on support and helping to instil new pride within the small community. More people need your support across the country. Register with or donate to Frontier Services' Outback Links team today. JOBS Director of Ministry - Wayside Chapel, Sydney Lead innovative ministry and mission in the urban and neighborhood context in this significant leadership role at Wayside Chapel. Minister - St Stephen's Uniting Church Toowoomba St Stephen's Toowoomba seeks a Minister to lead its historic city Church, growing its members in faith and discipleship and nurturing its passion for mission and pastoral care in the community. Join us in prayer for First Peoples in Australia. We give thanks for their achievements, their resilience, their spirituality and culture. May we all have the courage to 'Get up, stand up, show up' for genuine reconciliation. Those gathering for the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania this weekend, and Rev David Fotheringham as he takes up his role as Moderator. Rev Peter Morel, newly elected Moderator-Elect of the Synod of South Australia, as he prepares for this important role in the life of the Church. Kenya, Tanzania as part of the WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle. What you said:  As we invite you to share your stories with us each week, we hope to highlight some of what we've heard. After our UCA Anniversary edition last week, Rev. Sally Apokis from South Melbourne wrote back, "As a 15 year old from Ringwood Methodist Church, I have happy memories of proudly marching, celebrating the formation of the Uniting Church in 1977. The strong beliefs and values of the UCA, Trinitarian, missiological in equity, inclusion and diversity, embedded in Australian identity and the gospel of a radical reforming Jesus Christ, have guided me all the days of my rich life of service and ministry." How are you planning to mark NAIDOC Week? Email Us

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GA news — Committee Group Two finishes; Committee Group Three begins

Faithful readers, We're almost halfway done with GA. Committee Group Two finished its work on Saturday while Committee Group Three began its meetings on Monday. Stay up-to-date with all of this news and more with the Outlook! In Christ, The Outlook team

Pathways, a coalition of mainline Protestant church members, protests outside of Presbyterian Center by Gregg Brekke Environmental Justice Committee affirms the strategy of selective divestment; does not support call for categorical divestment from fossil fuel companies by Leslie Scanlon Sense of repentance grounds 11 resolutions passed by Race and Gender Justice Committee by Beth Waltemath The theology, ethics, and polity of the PC(USA) calls us to care about COVID-19 by Kerri Allen IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Reproductive Justice prominent in the work of Health, Safety and Benefits Committee On the day when SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, the committee voted on the PC(USA)'s stance on reproductive justice — and family leave and mental health. — Stephen Salyards. Emotions and polity details for the Heath, Safety, and Benefits Committee On its last day, the committee discussed the Survivors of Sexual Misconduct Task Force report and recommendations at length. — Stephen Salyards.  Immigration Committee asks assembly to assist asylum seekers by urging Presbyterians with legal and interpretation expertise to help  Still to come: should the PC(USA) call itself an accompaniment and sanctuary church? — Leslie Scanlon Violence in the USA Committee endorses the Guns to Gardens movement; advocates for removal of guns from domestic abusers Greg Allen Pickett reports on the Violence in the USA Committee. Ecumenical and Interfaith Committee advances Presbyterian-Episcopal dialogue The group also presses the World Council of Churches to redouble efforts to support Palestinian Christians. — Jerry Van Marter. Gun violence in the United States and how the church is called to respond The Addressing Violence in the USA Committee spent the entire day reflecting on gun violence and how Christians and the national denomination are called to respond, including potentially divesting from sporting goods stores that sell firearms. — Greg Allen-Pickett. Assembly’s Environmental Justice Committee considers potential responses to climate change — both strategic and aspirational Committee also approves, with some revisions, report on “investing in a Green Future.” — Leslie Scanlon. Standing Rules Committee moves efficiently through its business The committee discusses and votes on more than half the 31 items on its docket during its first day of meeting. — Stephen Salyards.

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WCC NEWS: New opportunities to reflect on WCC 11th Assembly theme: nine translations now available

Nine translations are now available for the publication “Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity: A reflection on the theme of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Karlsruhe 2022.” Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 29 June 2022 The result of the work of an international group drawn from different regions and confessional traditions, the text is intended as a resource for churches and Christians worldwide in advance of the WCC’s 11th Assembly, to take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. Translations now include English, French, German, Spanish, Kiswahili, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, and Indonesian. Files can be downloaded for free. The reflections depict how, in a world crying out for justice and peace, the theme of the WCC 11th Assembly speaks of hope for a future in which resources are shared, inequalities are addressed and all can enjoy dignity. The assembly, according to the text, is an opportunity to find inspiration in the love of God, the Holy Trinity; a love that has been revealed in Christ; and that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is moving in and through all humankind and all creation. Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity: A reflection on the theme of the 11th Assembly of the WCC, Karlsruhe 2022 Discover more about the Assembly theme and symbol Learn more on the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland