Late in 2021 almost 70 people from across the national UCA gathered online for a day conference hosted by Pilgrim Theological College in the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania to reflect and engage with the Uniting Church in Australia’s Basis of Union. The event coincided with the 50^th anniversary of the final form of the Basis of Union being published and put forward for consideration and decision by Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches. You can read more about the day here.

Several of the conference papers are being compiled into an edited volume, but the day also included exciting panel discussions in which members of the Uniting Church offered thoughts on connections and provocations found between the Basis and their ministry practice. Some members of those panels have agreed to share their edited reflections as a gift for the church through the Assembly’s Growing in Faith circle.

The intention in sharing these reflections is not only to preserve their longevity and increase their audience. We in the circle do so out of a desire to continue and expand the conversation. To that end, after the initial posting of the conference reflections, several responses will be rolled out. These responses are looking for threads, themes, questions, and possibilities weaving between, hiding amidst, and hoping across several of the initial reflections.

Yet, they too are offered without the intention of providing a full stop. Rather they look to provide further openings for future responses and creative engagements with the initial reflections (if you feel so inclined as to develop a response to what begins to develop on this site, please do reach out!).

The first reflection to be published comes from Rev Dr Sally Douglas. In the weeks to come, four more shorter reflections from the conference will be published together, with the responses to follow after that.

We hope you enjoy these thoughtful engagements with the Uniting Church in Australia’s Basis of Union in the context of various ministry practices and contexts. 

Our thanks to Rev Dr Geoff Thompson for his assistance and encouragement in developing these responses into this series.

The Growing in Faith Panel.