February 11th, 2008 · 2 Comments
Hi, my name is Neil Barringham and I’m a member of the Waiters Union Training Team. I live in Highgate Hill with my wife Penny and our two children. As a family we are currently including Penny’s 93-year-old mother into our home and neighbourhood. This is an exciting and challenging venture, challenging me to deal with my penchant for busy-ness and to find ways to open up time and energy to welcome her to our home.
I have been involved in responding to the call to mission for some years. Currently I am particularly interested in spending time in my neighbourhood with people who don’t normally get given the time of day by others. For example, I go on a regular picnic to catch up with some isolated people. Through knowing them I get the opportunity to get involved in issues they face around housing, friendship, employment or abuse. It’s been great exploring how to include our friends into a local church community too.
In my work with Vision for Mission I am facilitating Project Hope with Neil Hockey. Project Hope is a network for nurturing hopes, for reminding us of our call and for helping us to be more genuinely engaged in our communities. I facilitate a Project Hope meeting in West End every six weeks or so on a Saturday morning. The purpose of the meetings is for camaraderie, reflection, inspiration, story-sharing and training. People travel from across Brisbane and even from around the region to these meetings. Usually there are 15-25 in attendance. Generally our meetings begin with a cup of tea and a welcome time. Then follows a presentation or story with discussion.
People say that they find the meetings a safe place and an opportunity for discussion about issues they don’t get much input on. Some who attend are active in their local congregations. Project Hope is also a support base for others who do not currently have meaningful church involvement.
[Read more →]
Tags: Training
The Queensland Synod’s Vision for Mission has identified key areas where there needs to be culture shift.
Primarily there needs to be a shift toward entrepreneurial endeavours that are not reliant on the traditional models of funding. This means closer partnerships with community needs that can attract community funding. This has been a model trialled in the past such as in church based neighbourhood centres that tend to become isolated from the life of the local congregation. The new model will need to clearly own and state that the purpose for the endeavour is rooted in the faith of the Church and expressed as such. We need to reclaim what we are on about as a church – the claims of the Gospel need to be brought to all expressions of mission.
Any mission development needs to be honest about its intention to introduce people to the saving work of Jesus Christ and authentic in the basis by which it provides its service to the community. The mission project needs to own its values and clearly portray them through the words and actions.
Secondly there needs to be a greater shift toward radical investment on behalf of congregations into their local mission. Sacrificial giving of finances and time need to elevated as a cultural norm among UCA congregations, and this needs to be rewarded and celebrated in presbyteries and Synod so that bench marks are established across the Synod.
Thirdly congregations, presbyteries and the Synod need to seek out and recruit champions to mission endeavours. A culture of self denial for the Kingdom of God needs to be promoted and celebrated. There should be incentives offered to encourage the development of this culture, incentives that clearly state the value the UCA puts on those who are willing to have a go and take some risks.
Fourthly polices and governance of the UCA have to allow for greater autonomy in mission endeavour by the congregations and faith communities. The establishments of placements needs to reflect more the culture of risky mission, allowing for more flexibility in the type of placements required. This might look like a greater investment in unpaid community ministry and the recognition of those who are doing the work but who are often invisible to the wider church. Recognition and support go along way to empowerment.
Craig Mischewski
Tags: Strategy
September 20th, 2007 · No Comments
“Be warned – doing this course may change your life,” said Christian Frost, a 23 year-old social work student from Indooroopilly (pictured right) about a new community orientation course.
The Waiters Union, a West End based small network of households committed to living out a Christ-centred approach to community development is partnering with the Uniting Church to provide the grass-roots, gentle-but-radical community development program.
“I had little knowledge of the course or its content and was surprised to find that it has revolutionised my understanding of living as a Christian with a vocation of caring for others,” said Mr Frost who attended a previous course as a prerequisite to his field placement. “The course provided discussions on community work theory and practice as well as knowledge and skills for living out Jesus in my life.”
The program will be delivered by people who are involved with Aborigines, migrants, refugees and others who are struggling with serious disadvantages and significant disabilities in inner-city Brisbane.
“The course has whetted my appetite to learn more and reinvigorated my spirit to follow Jesus.”
The Waiters Union network began in 1985 when Dave and Ange Andrews returned from India to Australia and expressed interest in doing the same kind of faith based community work in West End as they had done in New Delhi.
Together with two other couples they formed the “West End Waiters Union”, so named because they wanted to be like waiters, available to help to develop a sense of hospitality in the locality, so that all people, especially people who are usually displaced in areas like theirs, could begin to feel at home in the community.
Synod Vision for Mission Advocate Rev Duncan Macleod said the Uniting Church through the Vision for Mission project has entered into a three year partnership with the Waiters Union Training Team.
“We are resourcing seven part-time workers to share in the ongoing development of faith-based community development training in Queensland.”
Key leader with The Waiters Union Dave Andrews is the author of Compassionate Community Work, a textbook on community development being used throughout world.
The next course will be based in West End, Brisbane from 9-22 December.
To learn more about the Waiters Union and training opportunities, visit the web site, www.waitersunion.org and contact Dave Andrews, 3844 1043.
Download the Live-In Registration and Information form (1 mb pdf)
Tags: Seminars · Training
Southport Uniting Church recently used a ‘Go Grant’ to kick start Sunday@10, a new, alternative gathering for young adults, young families, and anyone interested in an alternative to traditional worship, meeting twice a month for coffee/ conversation around life and faith.
This is a new mission focus group, where the team (of mainly young adults) are seeking to connect their non church friends. Southport Uniting Church has also invited their baptismal and thanksgiving families from the last 10 years to be part of this new group.
Sunday@10 started on 10 June, beginning with good coffee and biscuits, and a reflection on a ‘nooma’ dvd. Here’s Sue Page’s report on progress so far…
“At our gathering on 24 June, we talked about symbols and their meanings, and painted personal symbols on mugs, so that we can be environmentally responsible in our coffee drinking.
At our last gathering on 8 July, we talked about salvation and what it means to belong, reflecting on the movie, ’Lilo and Stitch’.
Our next gathering is on this Sunday, where we will share in ‘Holy Communion’, exploring the different parts of the liturgy in a non traditional way, and sharing good food and drink together.
[Read more →]
Tags: Go Grants · Projects
Vision for Mission is sponsoring a number of ambitious long term projects. However we are aware that the majority of mission communities are more low key in nature. For this reason Vision for Mission is providing up to $500 per participating group or individual to encourage and assist with resources for low-budget simple mission projects.
Examples so far are:
Equipment for a playgroup
Equipment for a youth band
Resources for training in friendship evangelism
Establishing a book club
Applications will need to show some form of affiliation with the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod.
Submit your Go Grant application to us by fax, email or post to get a speedy response. We hope to have a quick response, transferring the funds into the congregation or faith community’s bank account within 10 days.
Tags: Documents · Information
Vision for Mission, Queensland Synod, is joining with the Board of Mission, NSW Synod, to invest in the development of small groups that connect with people from beyond the church.
For some time our Uniting Church has been struggling. Getting older, getting smaller, arguing internally rather than focusing on ‘Moving With God and Transforming Communities’. It doesn’t have to be that way – we can help our church make a ‘U Turn’ !
Even the smallest of congregations can aim to start a new group – while larger congregations could start several. Of course, if our aim is to recruit new people to save our church, it simply won’t work. The best way to fix our church is to ignore it and instead focus firmly on following Jesus into our communities to help people find hope, fulfillment and a more meaningful life.
By ‘small group’ we do NOT just mean a Bible Study or fellowship group. Neither do we expect they will meet every week. The groups can look like anything, so long as they work for the three invitees from beyond the church. Eat together, go to a café or pub, exercise or play sport, read together, watch movies, just talk, knit, sing together, etc. Or study the Bible, do Alpha or Living the Questions. Visit hospitals, prisons or detention centres together. Plant trees, go on demonstrations, or write letters together.
Vision for Mission is offering $100 per group per year for resources and encouragement. To qualify, participating groups must commit to explore/share faith if the opportunity arises or is requested, be open and upfront about their connection to the church, be willing to briefly share their experience with the wider church, meet at least 8 times a year.
By simply starting groups for people beyond our church, our Uniting Church can change direction: from a shrinking, aging church to the fastest growing church in Australia, from growing irrelevance to actively transforming our community. That’s why we’re calling this project ‘U Turn’. We hope you get involved!
Duncan Macleod, Vision for Mission Advocate, Queensland Synod
Glen Powell, New Congregations Consultant, NSW Board of Mission
To participate in UTURN:
Read the UTurn introduction paper, fill out and submit the application form. To find out more visit www.uturn.uca.org.au, email uturn at visionformission.org.au or call Duncan on 07 3377 9809.
Tags: Documents · Information
The Vision for Mission Facilitation Team has recently clarified the roles of its members and is calling for expressions of interest for these positions:
For an explanation of the Vision For Mission process and how each role contributes to that process, download VFM Process and VFM Process Diagrams.
Team meetings are currently held in Brisbane once a month, with the capacity for participation through telephone conferencing for people outside of Brisbane.
Internet conferencing will be a key component for consultation between VFM team members. VFM team members are offered a subsidy on broadband internet usage and reimbursement of travel and telephone costs associated with project work. A leased laptop is provided for team members.
The work loads of Team Leader and Process Manager are expected to be demanding and may be negotiated as paid part-time positions.
For more information call Duncan Macleod, 0439 828 718 or (07) 3377 9809
Expressions of Interest due by 1 June 2007
Tags: Process · Team
Wesley Mission Brisbane ‘Servants on the Margins Training Faith Community’ is offering a Certificate IV in Community Development for laity, pastors and ministers. The course is accredited through CALAM Training and will be taught by Dave Andrews (Waiters Union) and Tim Hodgson.
The course is on Tuesday nights, starting 24th April, 2007, running over 28 weeks. Cost is $450 for credit and $275 for audit. Normally the cost would be $2,600.
WMB ‘Servants on the Margins Training Faith Community.’ is working in partnership with Waiters Union, Vision for Mission, West End Uniting Church, South Moreton and Bremer Brisbane Presbyteries.
Contact Tim Hodgson for more information: 0407 035 443 or email
Tags: Seminars
