CONTENT:
North Korea appeal / Fiji / Fiji Snapshot / Intern / Experience / Relief and Development / School Trip / Peacemaking / 12th Assembly
Right Now in North Korea Appeal:
Hitting mailboxes right now is our ‘Right now in North Korea’ appeal for UnitingWorld projects in Rason, North Korea. This appeal is using a different format to what we’ve used before and folds out to display a map of all the projects you can support. Our hope is people will support the growth of these incredible projects and mark their contribution on the map.
This appeal comes after months of turmoil between the North Korean government and the rest of the world and is an important part of showing love and compassion to the North Korean people, the real victims of international tensions.
2009 is a special year for Korean/Australian relations as it marks the 120th Anniversary of Australian missionaries in Korea, which will be celebrated on October 4 of this year. September and October see celebration in both Australia and South Korea to mark the occasion.
Click here to read more about the ‘Right now in North Korea’ appeal.
Click here to make a secure donation to the North Korea appeal.
Fiji:
Tension has been growing in Fiji. Since the government decision to ban our partner church – the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma Annual Conference and Choir Festival, seven members of the Church’s Standing Committee including the Church’s President, the Rev. Ame Tugaue, and its General Secretary, the Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu have been charged with breaching the Public Order Act.
UnitingWorld is posting regular daily updates from a variety of sources on our website www.unitingworld.org.au.
Click here to read more about our partner church.
Fiji Methodist’s: a situation snapshot
In recent months the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma (MCIF) has experienced unprecedented government intervention.
Permits were refused:
1. For the 2009 Methodist Conference
2. The annual singing & choir festival which usually gather 600 – 700 choirs of all sizes.
3. When the Festival was then moved from a national event to a series of divisional gatherings
4. When the event was then moved from divisional gatherings to even more localised circuits
The choir singing was for many years part of the MCIF budget planning; contributing about 25% of the total annual budget. Other aspects of their budget have come from overseas Fijian congregations, including from the Uniting Church in Australia which contributed this year.
These events are placing the MCIF under considerable financial strain.
In terms of church administration there has also been a range of Government limitations:
- The Fiji Government has not allowed the MCIF officers to be inducted into their elected positions of President, General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary and others, the reason being that some of them were charged with offences under the Public Emergency Regulations.
- Some nine members of the Standing Committee including the President and the General Secretary are in court for a charge of breaking permit conditions. The next hearing on their case will be in November 2009.
The Fiji government has said that they will hand over power in 2014 after a general election. UnitingWorld is continuing to work closely with the MCIF in developing plans for collaboration to meet the challenges ahead. More will be said about this as soon as those are finalised. Please be in prayer for wisdom for the leadership of the MCIF and for the UnitingWorld team at this time.
UnitingWorld Intern
UnitingWorld is hosting a short-term internship from the Pacific Conference of Churches. Miss Oiner Moa, a member of the Congregational Church of Samoa, will be with UnitingWorld until the end of October. She is working specifically on Pacific Issues including trade justice and concerns relating to people who will potentially be displaced because of climate change. She is also helping UnitingWorld on matters regarding the Uniting Church’s relationship with the Pacific Conference of Churches. Oiner is attending Voices for Justice and will speak at events in Canberra 11-16th Sept.
Click here to read more about Voices for Justice.
Experience:
The full list of Experience placement opportunities for 2010 is now available. This list includes opportunities in Asia, Africa and the Pacific from time frames between 4 weeks and four years.
All placements are at the specific request of our international church partners and we develop these to place a volunteer in the host church community. Experience placements provide life changing opportunities to use your gifts in the service of communities who need them and to learn from new cultures and traditions.
Be sure to check the Experience page for the full list. www.unitingworld.org.au/programs/experience
If you think you may have the skills and passion to explore these possibilities, please contact:
Kathy Pereira
P: 02 8267 4250
E:
Relief and Development:
Rob Floyd and Laurie Fitzgerald have returned safely from Zimbabwe after travelling to the country for our Zimbabwe Emergency Food Relief program. While the country is slowly recovering from food shortages and economic disasters, the people of Zimbabwe are still struggling. Rob and Laurie were able to oversee the distribution of food stuffs provided by UnitingWorld’s emergency response and what a difference these things make in the home The Zimbabwe Food Aid Appeal will be launched in full shortly. Please check our website for updates.
Click here to read more about this project.
PNG
UnitingWorld’s Relief and Development Unit is set to launch a new Mother and Child Support project in Papua New Guinea. The project, funded partly by UnitingWorld, Anglican Board of Mission and AusAid, will assist poor mothers and children in the settlements of Port Moresby and a nearby village in Central Province. Mothers and their children are offered practical training programs and income generating activities to meet their daily needs. Young children are also offered elementary school programs. The project is to begin in September this year and Bryan Cussen will visit with key people next week in PNG to finalise the project.
Schools Trips
This year two school trips have taken place as part of of UnitingWorld’s Schools Engagement Program. The program aims to connect Uniting Church schools in Australia with our Relief and Development projects. As part of this program Brian Kennelly, Principal of Kinross Wolaroi School and Patricia Finch, the Head of Pastoral Care, travelled with Sharyn Robinson to New Britain, PNG in April this year. The trip marked the beginning of a flourishing relationship between Kinross Wolaroi School and George Brown High School. Brian and Patricia were introduced to George Brown High School, its community, its programs and its facilities and the geographic, cultural and historic environment of East New Britain. Very positive discussions were held on the nature of the relationship between the two schools and possible ways forward.
Knox Grammar School also undertook a trip to Milne Bay, PNG in June this year as part of the program. 12 students, 4 members of staff and a doctor travelled with Sharyn to PNG. In a testament to the success and impact of the trips two of the students who were a part of the inaugural trip in 2008 returned this year. Throughout the year, the Knox community has raised funds to provide desks for the Lelehudi Community School. The desks were partially constructed by PIR Enterprises in Salamo, PNG and the boys completed the building at the school during their visit.
Click here to read more about the project.
Peacemaking:
Joy Balazo has been in North East India from 23rd August to 1st September conducting peace workshops and training for local community leaders. Joy’s work in North East India has inspired many participants to spread YAP’s message in their long conflicted communities.
Click here to read more about Peacemaking in North East India.
YAP has recently begun exploring a new frontier in peacemaking in Indonesia. On 4th August Joy conducted two peace workshops with solely Muslim communities. Joy had met with Muslim leaders in Ambon earlier this year to discuss opportunities for peacemaking in the community. This sparked a new frontier for YAP. The beginning of peace work with conflicting Muslim communities demonstrates the enormous trust and respect YAP, a Christian program, has earned in the Maluku region.
Click here to read more about Peacemaking in Indonesia.
12th Assembly
During 12th Assembly, UnitingWorld hosted more than 40 overseas guests from 24 partner Churches in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. We also hosted three lunches with our overseas guests presenting at each. Selected speaker notes and Powerpoint presentations are available here.
UnitingWorld’s Trade Justice Paper “Trade Justice – A Uniting Church View” was adopted by agreement by the Uniting Church in Australia 12th Assembly. The paper provides a biblical and theological basis for reflection and action on trade.
The Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia also resolved unanimously on July 20 to convey its support to UnitingWorld’s partner church, the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma as it seeks to work under restrictive government regulation.
UnitingWorld also demonstrated its support to Zimbabwe. In the presence of Bishop Simbarashe Sithole of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, the 12th Assembly unanimously voted to affirm the Uniting Church’s solidarity with, and prayer for, its partner churches in Zimbabwe.
