UCA delegation active at global Methodist gathering in El Salvador

A Uniting Church in Australia delegation has joined Methodists and Wesleyans from around the world in El Salvador, for the World Methodist Council gathering, held from 13–17 August.

Gathering under the theme “The Kingdom of God is Justice, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17), the meeting in the capital city of San Salvador has provided an opportunity for global fellowship, theological reflection, worship and engagement with the challenges facing the worldwide Church.

The UCA delegation includes Joyce Siosiana Tangi, Rev Lyn Burden, Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler and Isabel Thomas Dobson, with Rev Kevin Dobson also accompanying them.

The Assembly has supported the delegation in the lead-up to the gathering through the President’s Office and the General Secretary, and their participation reflects the UCA’s longstanding commitment to the global Methodist and ecumenical movement.

The delegation has been making a significant contribution throughout the gathering.

Sharing Australian and Pasifika perspectives

Joyce Siosiana Tangi has brought a strong young adult and intercultural perspective to the gathering, drawing on her experience of the World Methodist Council’s Young Adult Pilgrimage of Peace.

As a panellist, Joyce was among the first to offer a respectful acknowledgement of place and people before weaving together Pasifika and Australian perspectives on learning from young adult pilgrimages and exploring global peace.

Her contribution builds on her participation in the inaugural Young Adult Pilgrimage of Peace in South Korea in 2025, where young leaders from Methodist, Wesleyan, United and Uniting Churches explored peacebuilding through justice, reconciliation and non-violent action.

Finding unity in diversity

Isabel Thomas Dobson has served as Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, participated in the Steering Committee and chaired a panel exploring the theme “Keeping it together – Unity and Diversity”.

The panel considered what it means for churches to live faithfully with contradictory convictions and different experiences. Contributions explored questions including sexuality and marriage within the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the legacy of apartheid in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and political differences within the Methodist Church in Hong Kong.

For the UCA, these conversations speak directly to the Church’s experience of seeking to remain united amid difference.

Joy, worship and hospitality

Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler delivered a keynote address on “The Kingdom of God is Joy”, bringing her distinctive gift for connecting theology, culture, music and embodied worship.

Her contribution even had the gathered communion learning how to make a kookaburra imitation! On cultural night, Amelia also joined local Indigenous musicians in dancing the Deer Dance.

Amelia’s longstanding contribution to the World Methodist Council reflects the UCA’s active participation in global Methodism. She has previously served as a member of the Council’s Steering Committee and as Convenor of its Worship and Liturgy Committee.

Rev Lyn Burden has also carried the UCA’s witness beyond the gathering itself, preaching in a remote hill village congregation. Her sermon was pitched to a congregation that included local Spanish-speaking villagers as well as several global bishops.

Lyn and Amelia then accompanied local young pastoral leaders as they visited communities and delivered food packages provided through the World Methodist Council. The experience was marked by prayer, hospitality and warm smiles, offering a powerful reminder that global ecumenical relationships are ultimately lived out through people and communities.

Justice, peace and joy

The gathering has also welcomed contributions from leaders across the global ecumenical movement.

World Council of Churches General Secretary Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay spoke on “The Kingdom of God is Justice” and the WCC’s Decade on Climate Justice, while Peace Award Laureate Dr Humberto Martin Shikiya presented the second thematic session, “The Kingdom of God is Peace”. Other sessions have included contributions from Rev Philip Peacock, General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and Kim Riesman of World Methodist Evangelism.

Sunday worship has also taken place in local churches, further grounding the global gathering in the life and witness of local communities in El Salvador.

Living the UCA identity

The delegation’s participation has been an expression of the UCA’s identity as a Church shaped by relationships – across cultures, denominations and nations.

Reflecting on the gathering, Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler said the UCA representatives had been “actively contributing in this global ecumenical work”.

“We seem to be more active per capita than many other churches,” she said. “Perhaps this is where we live into our DNA to be truly uniting... accompanying and encouraging others to find unity in their diversity.”

“It has been a joy for us to be here and to live out our UCA identity by sharing who we are and what it means to live as UCA people in the world.”

The gathering in El Salvador has offered the UCA delegation an opportunity not only to represent the Church, but to listen, learn and build relationships with Christian communities from around the world.

In a global Church marked by profound differences of culture, context and conviction, the delegation’s experience is a reminder that unity does not require uniformity. It can instead be discovered in the patient work of listening to one another, sharing our stories, accompanying one another in mission and finding ways to live faithfully together.

That is a deeply Uniting witness – and one that continues to connect the Uniting Church with its worldwide Methodist and ecumenical family.