NEWSLETTER – SUNDAY 23rd May 2015
Welcome to our worship service at West Hawthorn Uniting Church.
Please join us for morning tea after the service.
Our worship is led by the Rev Kili Mafaufau.
TONIGHT Pizza night 6pm in the Dunbar room. Join us for pizza and a sing-along.
Everyone welcome….just a bring something to share for dessert!
NEXT SUNDAY 31st May
10 am worship lead by the Rev Kili Mafaufau, Sunday school and morning tea.
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Presbytery Prayer Calendar
Please pray for
For Rowville and its minister Trevor Bassett 
……… For Scoresby, Bayswater and Ferntree Gully as they continue on their journey together.
……….For the congregation of Sophia’s Spring worshipping at CERES and their leaders as they plan their life
together without a minister in placement.
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UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA NATIONAL UPDATE
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you
shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of
Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)
Shelter from the Storm: A Uniting Church in Australia Statement on Asylum Seeker and Refugee Policy is on
the agenda for consideration by the 14th Assembly. It builds on our 2002 policy on refugees and asylum
seekers.
In the 13 years since the Assembly adopted its current statement on asylum seekers and refugees, we have
seen increasingly harsh and damaging policies implemented by successive governments. UnitingJustice has
prepared a revised statement to be considered by members of the 14th Assembly. It contains a theological
statement, comprehensive background information and a set of principles for good policy based on Christian
values and the international human rights system.
This Statement, and proposal, will be available soon on the 14th Assembly website.
http://assembly2015.uca.org.au/
NOTICES for this sheet should be given to Cathie or Peter Shaw; phone 9817 5270
Email whuc.org.au@gmail.com. Website www.westhawthornuniting.org
Our minister is the Rev Kili Mafaufau.
Kili can be found at 8 Power St
Tel: 9853 4521
Mobile: 0418 371532
Email: uilisonemafaufau1@dodo.com.au
Sharing and Preparing – Disaster Chaplaincy in Tonga – Stephen Robinson
Rev. Dr Stephen Robinson is the National Disaster Recovery Officer at the
Assembly.
It has been a particularly busy disaster season through these past few months.
Following up on cyclones in the Northern and Queensland Synods, it was a further blessing to support the
work of UnitingWorld in its partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu, running a support workshop
with pastors from areas deeply damaged by Cyclone Pam. Much recovery work continues in Vanuatu and the
concern of the church is that they will be forgotten, particularly in the light of more recent tragedies in places
such as Nepal.
In NSW the church has been busy in response to the flash floods in the Hunter which caused three deaths and
a great deal of property damage. The NSW Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network (which is coordinated by
the NSW and ACT Synod) was activated by the state government’s disaster welfare unit and we provided
chaplaincy to three affected communities: Raymond Terrace, Maitland and the most deeply damaged
Dungog. In total 14 chaplains gave 254 hours of face to face chaplaincy to those communities. The value
placed on the work of chaplains in disasters by government and by non-government agencies has grown
remarkably through such deployments.
Thank you to all the UCA congregations and members who have generously supported the Assembly Disaster
Relief Fund and UnitingCare’s Appeal following Tropical Cyclones Lam and Pam. These funds remain open for
the ongoing recovery work in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Vanuatu.
I attended the Australian and New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference in April and,
while there was able to connect with a number of agencies from across the country, including our own Jason
Reid, State Program Manager Community Recovery with UnitingCare in Queensland who ran one of the key
workshops at the conference.
I am currently in Tonga, again on behalf of UnitingWorld conducting a disaster recovery chaplaincy training
workshop with our partner church the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. This is a very exciting venture,
adapting Australian training to the Tongan setting, accompanied by two Tongan UCA ministers who have
worked on cultural translation and Rev. Dr. Cliff Bird a Fijian theologian with UnitingWorld in the Pacific. This
training program was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister (and Minister for Climate Change, Environment
and Disaster Response) and strongly supported by a wide group of denominations. There is already a proposal
in play to form a national ecumenical disaster recovery chaplaincy network, combining ministers from all
churches, working with the existing bodies such as National Emergency Management Office (Yes, that does
spell NEMO) and all the existing agencies including Salvation Army, Red Cross and Act for Peace. There is a
great hunger for this level of training an organisation and it has been a blessing that the combination of my
position and the resourcing and connections of UnitingWorld can make bring such a powerful and
transforming initiative to such a disaster-vulnerable nation.