Bentley Report on UCA 40th Anniversary Conference

The Bentley Report (published in the September 2017 ACCatalyst magazine)

I was able to attend one of the major events for the Uniting Church’s 40th Anniversary: the 40th Anniversary History Conference held at Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide in June. While it was not a large gathering, there were many past and present leaders of the Uniting Church, especially for the Q & A Forum ‘The Church in the Public Square’, and the launch of the National Historical Society.

It was helpful to be there for the major addresses, especially to record the mention that ACC received in the opening keynote address by historian Renate Howe.

In a wide-ranging overview, Renate referred to the ‘problem of the growth of the ACC’, and commented on the ACC being ‘aggressive’ in attack, which she then qualified as ‘criticism of the UCA’. She contrasted this with the ‘other end’- the progressive Christians: a very open and inclusive group who see more value in questioning, though there seemed to be some question about all the questioning as well. Certainly many questions were raised during this time, including concern about the quality of UCA worship today and how the gospel was seen in the church. Renate suggested that there were no prominent theological leaders now, compared to the early period (and especially the period of the union negotiations with leading scholars, Davis McCaughey, George Yule and Colin Williams, among many). There seemed to be an idea that the theological deficit today made it difficult to develop a theological vision. She also reviewed the change in the involvement of women from union to today and commented on the development of the bureaucratic nature of the UCA today and issues of governance, highlighting the 'fire sale' in Victoria that had taken place without local cooperation, and also the development of a bureaucracy base in social and community service that was focussed on administration rather than witness.

In his address, Dr Glen O'Brien reflected on ‘What John Wesley might say to the Uniting Church?’ Glen offered many thoughts including the need to ‘plunder the Egyptians’; reading and understanding the culture widely and making use of what we can. He also argued that while many have rejected the older models of evangelism (context of hellfire), they have not found a new model, and yet like Wesley we need to offer Christ anew - the words of acceptance and assurance. He also affirmed a love for the church and while there are flaws, encouraged us to continue to minister as Wesley did in his day.

Rev. Dr D’Arcy Wood provided an overview of the Basis of Union and its theological development, commenting on the difficulties with episcopal theology and opposition of some Presbyterians. It would certainly have been a different church if the Anglican connection had been developed. He also considered the different texts leading to the authority of the 1971 Basis of Union.
Historian and also a UC minister in Queensland, Rev. Dr Julia Pitman presented a tour de force critique of many aspects of the church, stating we needed to own our own mistakes. Areas highlighted including theological training, the collapse in presbytery care, lowering of standards for committees (often wrong people in positions), mishandling of the sexuality debate, the placement system and the unreality of profiles of congregations and the decreased ecumenical context.

One very apt pointer was provided by Julia as she noted that the denomination as a whole has not set aside historians to provide reflection and help with contemporary debate and suggested that the UCA had survived despite itself. She concluded by stating that we just cannot look back and say it was lovely in 1977, but also we should not simply say we are just going to die.

In another seminar, long-standing UC activist Warren Talbot provided another paper on the UC and LGBTIQ members, and in response to a question indicated his view and hope for the future that the position for LGBTIQ members will be a ‘gold standard’, just like that for women ministers.

Another Uniting time

I attended the Sydney Uniting (formerly UnitingCare) Future Horizons forum on June 24th. This is Uniting’s (NSW & the ACT) strategy project designed to “determine, in light of God’s Mission, what and where our work should be into the future”. Presbyteries, congregation members and other Uniting Church stakeholders were invited to participate through a survey, and also forums. Firstly, I want to commend Uniting for organising these times and for the effort of the Uniting staff and members. I thought they provided a helpful day for feedback, and it was disappointing that so few people attended the Sydney forum (though there were 5 other regional forums). It was very evident that a key question for Uniting is related to the current disconnection of many congregations with Uniting. This of course has arisen over the years of increased bureaucratisation and centralisation of church services, and Uniting is hoping to develop better connections again.
It was interesting to learn of another significant disconnection, namely that of the placement of resources and areas of contemporary need, especially in Sydney. A question was raised as to whether congregations in more advantaged areas (where most UC congregations presently are) might support a re-direction of resources to more disadvantaged areas? Would this create new opportunities for the Church?

One intriguing aspect in the 13 minute video introduction (note: Future Horizons is available on the Uniting website) was the inclusion of the historical example of a local UC, Gerringong, and their development of a ministry in aged care. This local service and connection is continuing in Gerringong UCA today with a wide range of activities supported by a thriving local congregation under the leadership of ACC NSW Chair, Rev. Peter Chapman.

Peter Bentley is the National Director for the ACC