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Formation, Education
and Discipleship
d)
“The hallmark of a „congregation of learners‟ is
a culture of learning, in which learning
⁠
permeates every aspect of the congregation.”
John Roberto
e)
“The church does not have an educational
program; it is an educational program.”
Maria Harris
Formation and education are core dimensions
of Christian community, discipleship and
mission. The new Assembly Formation,
Education and Discipleship (FED) unit and
Working Group seek to provide vision and
collaborative leadership for the Assembly in
growing disciples for the sake of the mission of
God. This report is based on the first 18
months of operation.
1.
f)
g)
CE RESEARCH PROJECT &
RESOLUTIONS OF ASC
h)
In March 2013 the Assembly Standing
Committee received the Report of the
Christian Education Research Project
conducted in 2011 and 2012 and made
several resolutions, including the
following:
13.11.02 note Assembly minute
th
00.28.03 (9 Assembly) “to
name the teaching ministry as
a core function of each council
of the church” and to affirm
that the Assembly has a role in
Christian Education;
13.11.03 affirm that the role of the
Assembly in Christian
Education is to provide for the
Uniting Church nationally a
cohesive vision of Christian
education which sees
a)
congregations as
lifelong learning
communities of
discipleship for the sake
of the mission of God;
b)
church leaders as
effective educational
leaders, capable of
guiding a community in
forming disciples;
c)
congregations
developing a culture of
learning for and from
engagement in mission
- mission-shaping
discipleship;
promoting Christian
education as a
distinctive ministry yet
also integral to worship,
teaching, doctrine,
formation, community
life and mission;
developing and
promoting Christian
education and formation
as vital, interrelated
contributors to growth in
discipleship in Christian
community;
developing Christian
identity within the
theology and ethos of
the Uniting Church;
developing Christian
education and formation
for the shaping of
Christian identity in our
globalised, pluralistic,
multi-faith world;
calling the church to
ways of learning
together that reflect our
ethos as a Uniting
Church – our
commitments to the first
peoples, to being a
multicultural church, a
priesthood of all
believers, a multigenerational community
of faith, and a
community of women
and men.
13.11.11 establish a Working Group in
the area of Christian education
within the mandate of Uniting
Faith and Discipleship from
July 2013;
13.11.14 thank and discharge the
Christian Education Research
Project Steering Committee
The resolutions also affirmed the need
for clearer attention to the educational
approaches used in Assembly
resources designed to assist
congregations [13.11.05 (e)] and a more
intentional approach to the ways in
which Assembly programs, projects and
resources assist congregations to be
life-long learning communities of
discipleship, and how these are then
communicated. [13.11.05 (c)]
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2.
3. Discipleship as learning from and
for mission
APPOINTMENT OF NATIONAL
DIRECTOR AND WORKING
GROUP
The initial strategies for fostering shared
vision have centred on establishing or
expanding communication networks.
The ASC approved the appointment of a
senior staff position in Christian
Education. Following advertisement and
a selection process, Mr Craig Mitchell
was appointed as National Director –
Formation, Education and Discipleship
for a five-year term commencing in
January 2014.
Social Media
 Facebook pages for FED,
Childrens ministry and Youth
ministry
 FED on Twitter @UCAFED
 Facebook Groups for “Forming
Faith, Growing Disciples” and
“Multimedia in Ministry”, NYALC
and About FACE
The Formation, Education and
Discipleship working Group was
established in July 2013 and has met on
three occasions - December 2013,
June 2014 and December 2014 – and
will meet in November 2015.
WWW
 A FED Newsletter has developed
from being print-based to being an
online „curated‟ resource at
www.fednews.org
 Blogs – growing-disciples.org and
raidingthefridge.wordpress.com
 Events – ncyc.com.au,
aboutface.org.au, nyalc.org.au
The FED Working Group has consisted
of Rev Dr Ian Price (Convenor), Rev
Lindsay Cullen NSW/ACT, Rev Sue
Ellis SA, Mr Drew Hanna VICTAS, Ms
Elaine Rae QLD, Rev Robin Yang
VICTAS. Mr Neil Thorpe QLD. Dr
Deidre Palmer SA, Mr Rohan Pryor
VICTAS, Rev Duncan MacLeod
NSW/ACT, Rev Swee-Ann Koh
VICTAS, Rev Fie Marino VICTAS, Ms
Susan Burt SA, Rev Dr Adam McIntosh
VICTAS, Mr Rick Morrell WA, Rev Tom
Kerr (staff), Mr Craig Mitchell
(staff), Rev Glenda Blakefield (staff exofficio).
A reorganisation of responsibilities
within Uniting Faith and Discipleship
resulted in the work of Rev Tom Kerr,
National Consultant – Youth and Young
Adult Faith Development, being brought
within the FED work area. The National
Youth Activities Reference Committee
was discharged in 2013, with its
responsibilities being assumed by the
FED Working Group.
3.
VISION AND COMMUNICATION
The FED unit has sought to promote a
vision for formation and discipleship
based around three key emphases
identified in the Christian Education
Research Report.
1. Congregations as lifelong
learning communities of
Christian discipleship
2. Effective leadership of lifelong
learning communities
“Vision for Lifelong Discipleship” –
Planning Tools
The FED unit is working in collaboration
with synods‟ staff to produce three
„overview‟ resources to assist ministers,
church councils and other
congregational leaders to plan
intentionally how they form and
education children, youth and adults for
lifelong discipleship. We expect these to
be available in mid-2015.
4.
COLLABORATION
The FED Unit is orienting its main
strategies around collaborative work
with synods and presbyteries. Hence an
initial focus has been engaging with
synods‟ staff in lay education and
ministry with children, youth and families
to build relationships and determine
shared areas of interest nationally.
Several initiatives in this report have
been developed by these means. The
National Director also visited several
rural presbyteries in various synods to
consult with presbytery staff.
Through participation in a number of
networks, the National Director has
sought to provide support,
encouragement, ideas and expertise as
well as fostering shared work. These
include the National Lay and Leadership
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Educators‟ Network, the Assembly
Mission & Evangelism Network, the
Assembly Worship Working Group, the
National Schools Consultative Group
and the Education for Ministry Working
Group. Both Tom Kerr and Craig
Mitchell participate in Chync – the
synods‟ children and youth ministry
network gathering.
The ASC resolutions in July 2013 also
provided a mandate for seeking greater
collaboration in terms of education and
communication within the Uniting Faith
& Discipleship team. This is an ongoing
work-in-progress.
5.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The National Director has offered
education and training at the request of
synods and presbyteries. In 2014 and
2015 this included the Synod and
Presbytery of Western Australia, Port
Philip West Presbytery, Synod and
Presbytery of SA, Presbytery of
Tasmania, Synod of Victoria and
Tasmania, Synod of NSW-ACT, Hunter
Presbytery, the Northern Synod and the
Presbytery Ministers National
Gathering.
FED Stories is an initiative to
encourage regional gatherings for
mutual learning about processes and
practices of forming disciples. Based on
the popular “TED Talks” (ted.com), FED
Stories invite people to tell current
stories from congregational practice and
reflect on their learning. FED Stories
gatherings have so far been held in
Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and
Newcastle.
FED Videos is an online resource
sharing short excerpts of interviews with
ministers and lay leaders talking about
their congregations‟ approached to
formation, education and mission.
www.fedvideos.org
As part of his study leave in 2014, Craig
Mitchell presented a paper titled
“Remixing and Reframing the Sacred:
the use of digital media in curating
liminal religious experience” at the
International Society of Media, Religion
and Culture meeting in Canterbury,
England.
6.
NATIONAL YOUTH EVENTS
The FED Working Group has
established a FED Events sub-group to
assist in the oversight of national events
for youth and young adults. This is also
the primary focus of Rev Tom Kerr‟s
work.
6.1
National Christian Youth Convention
2014 – 7-10 January 2014
„Yuróra seeks to mobilize young people
to experience Jesus, to act in faith, to
shake the church and beyond‟.
This was the mission statement of
Yurora (The word Yuróra comes from
the Dharug language and means
passionate.) Hosted by ParramattaNepean Presbytery with support from
Uniting Mission and Education, Yurora
was attended by 1300 young people
and adult volunteers. With a new
Festival-style program and significant
participation by Pacific Islander cultures
and indigenous people, NCYC 2014
displayed energy, diversity and richness
that was a great blessing to those who
attended. The new program style also
opened up fresh possibilities for a more
varied approach to NCYC in the future.
The practice of NCYC being hosted by
different synods on a rotational basis
has proven increasingly difficult to
sustain in times when the staff and
volunteer leadership of youth ministry
and the organizational capacity of
synods are often stretched or underresourced. The financial risks for the
host body are also significant. Those
operating an NCYC are to a large extent
doing it for the first time (with some
learning from previous NCYCs passed
on). The challenges and risks of
learning on-the-job are quite substantial.
With this in mind, the achievements of
NCYC 2014 are to be applauded. On
behalf of the whole church, the FED
Working Group expresses sincere
appreciation to the NCYC 2014
Management team, its Co-ordinator Rev
Christine Bayliss-Kelly, ParramattaNepean Presbytery, Chairperson Mr
Bradon French and Uniting Mission and
Education, NSW-ACT Synod.
The FED unit will be undertaking work in
2015 to completely revise and update
the NCYC Operations Manual and
Policies and to produce a more
comprehensive and realistic risk
assessment approach for future
NCYCs.
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For the sake of future planning with
synods, the FED Working Group has
determined that NCYC will next be held
in 2017 and 2020. The Working Group
is currently considering proposals
regarding the hosting of NCYC in 2017
and anticipates making an
announcement at the Assembly meeting
in July 2015.
6.2
National Young Adults Leaders
Conference 2014
“amazing multicultural community”
“I got to learn heaps and make new
friends”
“embracing the love of God”
“space for deep conversations”
“challenged to think about serving”
“good teaching”
“helped young people‟s voices be
heard”
“I was touched and it was a stepping
stone”
“a kingdom of God experience”
60 young adults and adult mentors
attended NYALC in Sydney in
December 2014. Young adults came
from 10 indigenous communities across
Australia, along with Tongan, Samoan,
Fijian, South Sudanese, Korean,
Filipino, Indonesian, and Anglo cultures.
Input was provided by President Rev
Prof Andrew Dutney, Rev Elenie
Poulos, Ms Rahnee Tsetsakos, Dr
Deidre Palmer, Mr Adrian Greenwood
and NYALC co-ordinators Rev Tom
Kerr, Mr Bradon French and Rev Nicole
Fleming. President-elect Stuart
McMillan and UAICC elder Ray
Minniecon were also among the
mentors present. Feedback from
participants was overwhelmingly
positive, indicating the continuing
strength of NYALC as a significant
leadership and discipleship event in the
UCA.
6.3
About FACE 2015
“My relationship and understanding was
virtually non-existent before. I was not
actively seeking to be involved but now I
will be seeking to learn more about the
Aboriginal people in my own area.”
Halleigh Childs, QLD.
This year About FACE was an all-age
adventure, with 17 participants aged
from their late teens to their 50s. The 16
day program included people visiting
indigenous communities in Port Augusta
SA, Alice Springs and Ernabella in the
Northern Territory, Lismore in northern
NSW and Grovedale in Victoria.
Following a week in their chosen
community, participants spent a further
week engaging with more than 150
representatives at the UAICC national
conference in the northern Tasmanian
village of Poatina, as well as
participating in briefing and debriefing
sessions. The FED Working Group
expresses deep appreciation to the
Victoria and Tasmania Synod
Commission for Mission, in particular
About FACE Co-ordinator Jill Ruzbacky,
for organizing the event, to the UAICC
for its ongoing commitment to the
program, and to the communities who
hosted the participants.
6.4
National Youth Ministry Conference
In 2013 and 2015 the Assembly has
encouraged ministers, youth workers
and youth leaders to attend the National
Youth Ministry Conference, an
interdenominational training event held
on the Gold Coast. Following good
attendance in 2013, the UCA has been
invited to offer suggestions regarding
the event‟s program. By co-ordinating
accommodation for the group, the FED
unit is able to provide time and space
for UCA participants to reflect together
on the experience and engage in mutual
support and encouragement. Rev Tom
Kerr and FED Events convenor Mr Drew
Hanna co-ordinate the UCA involvement
in this event.
7.
SCHOOLS
The Uniting Church has 50 schools with
about 50,000 students. This constitutes
a major investment and opportunity
regarding the formation of children and
young people.
The National UCA Schools Consultative
Group meets twice a year. Elaine Rae
from the QLD Synod Schools
Commission has been the liaison
person between this group and the FED
Working Group. The National Director
also attended these meetings. The
group discusses a range of issues of
mutual interest including matters of
governance, relationships between
synods and schools, UCA school
chaplaincy, duty of care, religious
education, and UCA identity and ethos.
Matters related to the Royal
Commission have also been discussed.
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With the encouragement of the FED
Working Group, the Consultative Group
has been working on a national UCA
religious education curriculum
framework. The plan is to bring this to
the 2015 Assembly meeting for
endorsement.
8.
RESOURCES
8.1
Baptism and confirmation
The FED Working Group is developing
a suite of new resources relating to
preparation for baptism for children,
youth and adults and for confirmation of
youth and adults. These will be released
at various stages during 2015.
8.2
Preamble to the Constitution
In co-operation with the Doctrine
Working Group, FED is producing a
print and video resource to assist
people across the Uniting Church to
become familiar with the Preamble to
the Constitution, how it came about and
its significance for the church.
8.3
“We are the UCA” Video Series
This project involves producing a series
of short three-minute videos about the
story, beliefs, values, shape and
mission of the Uniting Church for use
with community services agencies,
schools and congregations. The
National Director is working with a
reference group based in Queensland
and has sourced initial funding from
agencies and councils of the church.
The plan involves releasing Series One
consisting of five videos in 2015 and
Series Two of up to seven additional
videos in 2016 depending on funding.
Series Two is aimed at baptism,
confirmation and discipleship formation
and will explore beliefs and practices of
discipleship in more depth.
9.
NEW INITIATIVES
The FED Working Group has endorsed
the development of two new initiatives
to be developed and launched during
2015.
9.1
National Discipleship Learning
Framework
Following the Review of the Ministry of
Lay Preacher, the Assembly Standing
Committee agreed to establish a
national competency framework for Lay
Preachers. This has prompted the FED
Working Group to work on a broader
framework of competencies and
capacities for discipleship and lay
leadership. The purpose of the
framework is to assist educators in the
Uniting Church to plan education and
training for church members at differing
levels of competency and faith maturity.
The framework is a guide: it is
descriptive, not prescriptive, in terms of
learning outcomes. The secondary
purpose is to provide a framework for a
repository of training resources that can
be accessed by educators across the
Uniting Church. The framework will be
benchmarked broadly against vocational
education levels. The FED Working
Group hopes to launch the framework at
the 2015 Assembly meeting.
9.2
National Leaders Network
The aim of the Leaders Network is to
enable people in regional (synod,
presbytery, assembly) leadership roles
to connect with one another online for
mutual learning, exchange of ideas and
resources, and shared planning and
development. While the online
environment provides anywhere,
anytime contact, it also easily allows
leaders to set up face-to-face meetings.
The Network would provide a discrete
number of interest groups, each with a
facilitator and technical support. The
FED Working Group has established a
small group to further develop the
concept and explore how it might be
hosted. The aim is to launch the
Network during 2015.
10. FUTURE PLANS
Planned work for the next triennium
includes the following:
10.1 “Vision for Lifelong Discipleship”
Working with synods and presbyteries
education and mission staff on how they
might use the resources provided by the
Assembly with ministers and
congregational leaders.
10.2 Collaboration with Synods,
Presbyteries and Assembly Agencies
The FED unit will seek to explore
collaborative ventures with other
councils and agencies as a primary
strategy within its mandate
10.3 Colloquium on Formation,
Discipleship and Mission
The FED Working Group plans to hold
its first annual Colloquium in November
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2015 in Melbourne to encourage the
sharing of both theoretical and practical
presentations.
10.4 FED Stories
We hope to foster more FED Stories
Events across Australia on a regional
basis. We hope to implement live
internet video streaming of some of
these events on a regular basis.
10.5 FED Videos
The online library of videos of
leadership interviews will be expanded
with further guidance on how they might
be used by church councils, in
theological colleges and in continuing
education.
As a new work area in the life of the
Assembly, we have worked hard to
establish a presence and to develop the
means to foster shared interest,
conversation and planning for lifelong
discipleship across the Uniting Church.
We see this as vital for the church as a
whole and integral to God‟s mission. We
encourage the Assembly to see the
intentional growing of disciples as a key
priority for all councils of the church.
Rev Dr Ian Price, Convenor,
Mr Craig Mitchell, National Director
10.6 National Youth Events
The FED Working Group and staff will
work towards the resourcing on NCYC
2017 and the next NYALC and About
FACE events.
10.7 Schools
Working with the National Schools
Consultative Group, we hope to give
attention to the preparation and
continuing education of people in school
chaplaincy roles in UCA schools.
10.8 “We are the UCA” Video Series
The series of videos will be completed
by the end of 2016
10.9 National Discipleship Learning
Framework
We aim to provide an orientation to the
Learning Framework to synods and
presbyteries‟ staff and to work with them
to populate it with available training
resources and a „live‟ diary of events.
This will then lead to identifying
resource gaps and exploring ways to
address these.
10.10 National Leaders Network
Following the establishment of the
Network in 2015, the FED unit will be
demonstrating to synods and
presbyteries‟ staff how to access it and
encourage participation by people in
regional leadership roles.
10.11 NextGens
From 2016 we will seek to collaborate
with Multi-cultural and Cross-cultural
Ministry on approaches to discipleship
with second and third generation CALD
young adults
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