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Council of Assembly News
The Council met in Wellington 16/17 November 2001
Tutahi Tatou
About 350 people participated in the Council's regional meetings. Participants provided feedback regarding the Council's overall goals, those of the five Policy Groups, and regarding Subordinate Standards, the Pacific Islanders Synod, and proposals for regional and sub-regional functioning. Equip5000 presented three short workshops.
Feedback encouraged Council to continue its general direction and to take account of the diversity of local situations, energy levels, and the enormous changes occurring in regions. It affirmed the "healthy congregations" focus and supported the importance given to leadership including exploration of new models, ongoing training, and recognition of a wider diversity of ministries.
Any Regional and sub-regional groups which develop will have various sizes determined by the functions which need to be performed. Communication continues to be an issue as bottle-necks prevent people from participating in wider conversations and resourcing. People noted a lack of knowledge of Pacific peoples' participation in the Church. A resource sheet regarding Pacific Island involvement in the church is available from the Assembly Office.
Participants said they would take back to their Presbyteries/UDCs a desire to develop regional strategies to give effect to visions for mission, more sharing of resources across the regions, and more imaginative resourcing meetings.
Resourcing for Mission Policy Group
Arising from its reflections on the life of the Church ReforM noted the five challenges of relating faith with everyday life, connecting with a diversity of spiritual needs and yearnings within and beyond the church, developing new ways of being church, becoming more positively multicultural, and developing better relationships with other churches. Presbyterian Support has established a new national body Presbytery Support NZ. The Policy Group wants to develop more positive relationships with Presbyterian Support to encourage greater collaboration regionally and locally. Our multicultural identity needs to be more actively worked out in the variety of chaplaincies needing more Pacific Islands, Maori, and Asian chaplains. The Policy Group has distributed a paper regarding Church Schools to Presbyteries which relate most closely to Church Schools.
Council of Asian Congregations
Following feedback from Presbyteries/UDCs a Council of Asian Congregations has been established. The Secretary of the Council is Rev Kim Yong-hwan retired minister, North Shore. The Rev. Paul Kim has been appointed Liaison Officer to the Council.
Equipping the Leadership Policy Group
The Policy Group reported its impressions of the outstanding calibre of students at the School of Ministry and their keenness to offer ministry. It has recognised the priorities of promoting lay training possibilities and of developing a professional development process for clergy which enable ministers to receive structured feedback, encouragement to grow, and support and resources to do so. It was noted that Sessions and Presbyteries could take a more active role in helping clergy develop study leave proposals.
Overseas Missions and Partnerships Policy Group
Applications have been received for the Auckland-based Global Missions Secretary position and prospective persons will be interviewed shortly. It is likely their office will be based at St David's Presbyterian Church, Khyber Pass, Auckland. The half-time Ecumenical Relations Secretary position is about to be advertised. Council also adopted more detailed proposals for the International Affairs desk associated with the Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand. Two people are to be appointed to its Board of Oversight.
Administration and Finance Policy Group
The Top 20 - not a list of top tracks, but of the debtors who owe most to the General Assembly. The total debt of these 20 debtors is $1.5 million. Many are parishes which are not paying even basic levies. The Policy Group noted that no debt of over $5000 is allowed, including debts to the General Assembly, without approval of the congregation, the Presbytery and the Church Property Trustees.
The Policy Group has also begun the process for setting the Assembly budget. It hopes to send a strategic plan for comment prior to Christmas, from which will be developed plans for spending.
Churches Agency on Social Issues
The Council considered the responses from Presbyteries/UDCs and parishes concerning the terms of reference for the Agency. It will initiate a conversation with partners to incorporate more explicit reference to the Bible, ways of recognising the multicultural nature of the Church, ways of decentralising the work of the Agency, and a longer term for the chairperson.
Moderator of Presbyterian Church of Taiwan
Council was delighted to host Rev. Yabu Syat and his wife, Rev. Ciwas So. Yabu is the second indigenous person to be Moderator and Ciwas is the 121st woman minister of the Church. Both serve rural congregations. Yabu highlighted the predicament of indigenous people in Taiwan who had all land rights taken from them when Chiang Kai Shek established his government 52 years ago. He also emphasised the importance of seeing Taiwan and China as two sovereign states because in various international and church contexts Taiwan is treated as a part of China temporarily separated. This means that Taiwan often does not have an effective voice or presence in church contexts.
Niue
The Moderator and others reported on the very successful visit to Niue and the signing of the agreement with Ekalesia Niue and the Congregational Union of New Zealand.
Contacts
For further information contact the Convener: Rev. Shirley Fergusson at 495 Puketaha Road, RD1, Hamilton (ph 07 855 2598) e-mail: ferg@wave.co.nz or the Deputy Convener Dr Helen Bichan 109 Bell St, Tawa, Wellington. (ph. 04 232 6185) e-mail: hbichan@attglobal.net or the Secretary, Kerry Enright at PO Box 9049, Wellington (ph. 04 381 8281) e-mail: aes(at)prebyterian.org.nz