CONTENTS: All program areas | Relief and Development | Peacemaking | Church Solidarity | Experience

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All Program Areas

Kerry Enright – National Director

Rev Dr Kerry Enright is National Director of UnitingWorld, the Uniting Church’s Assembly agency for international partnerships, including Relief and Development, Experience, Peacemaking and Church Solidarity. He and his family have lived in Sydney since he took up his role at the beginning of 2007. Kerry came from New Zealand where he originally practised law. He was a parish minister in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and then for ten years Assembly Executive Secretary (CEO) of that Church. Kerry’s experience was mainly with Pacific churches and communities and more recently he has visited partners in Asia and Africa. He is particularly keen to enable the Uniting Church to renew its heritage of international connecting as a core part of its identity.

Robert Lutton – Communications and Fundraising Manager

As the Communications and Fundraising Manager, what Rob enjoys most about his job is getting out to communities in Australia and overseas and interacting face to face with people. Rob has completed a B.TH; B.Min at Morling Theological College and served as a Pastor in Baptist Churches in NSW from 1991-1999. In 1999 he joined Global Interaction as National Youth Consultant. The role centred around developing immersion experiences for young adults in communities in Asia, Africa and PNG. In 2004 he moved into a role as Director for Partnership Development where he facilitated the fresh branding for Global Interaction and was project manager of the “Friends of..” series featuring Ben Catford. In 2002 through the Melbourne College of Divinity he completed a Graduate Diploma of Ministry and in 2006 a Graduate Certificate in Marketing (Swinburne).

In 2008 he was appointed as Communications and Fundraising Manager with UnitingWorld where he leads the communications and fundraising team that has overseen the development of a clear and fresh identity for UnitingWorld and a range of new resources and videos.

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Relief and Development

Rob Floyd – Associate Director for Relief and Development

Rob grew up in Hobart, Tasmania where he trained to be a secondary science teacher. Rob taught for several years in Tasmania before moving to Queensland where his teaching expanded to include computer studies.

In 1999 Rob and his wife Jacqui entered the People in Mission program and were placed as Mission Co-workers for the Uniting Church in the Artha Wacana Christian University in West Timor, Indonesia. Initially asked to set up a computer centre in the university, Rob also taught English, Computing and Biology at the university for seven years.

Whilst in West Timor Rob also worked as a consultant with a Christian Micro Finance Organisation called Tanaoba Lais Manekat. Through his experiences with TLM Rob developed his passion for relief and development work and ways in which poor people can be assisted to break out of poverty.

Rob returned to Australia in 2006 to commence work with UnitingWorld with particular responsibility for Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Timor Leste.

Laurie Fitzgerald – Associate Director for Relief and Development (retired April 2010)

Laurie has worked tirelessly for  more than 17 years working to build and foster international partnerships between the Uniting Church in Australia and overseas Church Partners.

He has a long and varied history working with the Church. He originally trained as a Congregational Minister in New South Wales serving in both Sutherland and Punchbowl.On 1 February 1993 Laurie joined the staff of the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia, as Development Officer for World Mission. In this position he initiated a range of new ideas that have allowed the overseas work of the Uniting Church to grow and move from strength to strength.

World Mission later became Uniting International Mission and Uniting Church Overseas Aid (UCOA), and then UnitingWorld, where he served as Associate Director for Relief and Development until his retirement on 30 April 2010.

Laurie has always been warmly welcomed and genuinely appreciated by our Church Partners overseas, and has been an asset to the team. We thank him for his dedication and service, and wish him an enjoyable and peaceful retirement.

Bronwyn Fraser – Development Education Officer

Bronwyn comes to UnitingWorld following 15 years in working in Education as a Science teacher. During this time she worked within a variety of schools including city and country schools, public and Christian schools as well as in an all boys school in North East London. Whilst teaching on London, she travelled widely, experiencing many aspects of good cross cultural interaction. Before resigning for her previous teaching role to pursue a Masters in International Development Studies, Bronwyn was an active participant in a cross cultural and faith exchange program, by preparing and accompanying groups of year 10 students on exchange to Tonga. In January this year, Bronwyn also completed an internship through The Centre for Refugee Research at UNSW, which involved Human Rights Advocacy training for refugee women in India.

As part of her new role as Development Education Officer for UnitingWorld, Bronwyn has the opportunity to work with Australian Uniting Church School and Church communities in raising awareness of global issues such as poverty and inequality and to outline the appropriate response approaches that lead to good development. The aim of this is to build the awareness of Australian Uniting Church communities and empower them to take the opportunities available to become actively involved by linking these communities in partnership with our overseas Church partners and projects.

Geoff Dornan – International Programs Coordinator

Rev Geoff Dornan joined UnitingWorld’s Relief and Development Unit as International Programs Coordinator in January 2010.

Geoff has held a variety of positions and placements in the Uniting Church in Australia and other churches beyond. He has worked in parish ministry in the New South Wales Synod, chaplaincy and teacher at Newington College and Director Ministry and Mission of Uniting Care NSW/ACT. Early in ministry he was appointed by the then Assembly body the Commission for World Mission to work in Chile during the Pinochet years and was seconded from there to work in El Salvador towards the end of the civil war – both during the 1980s. Whilst committed to practical action, he also has interests in the scholastic world; in particular the inter-relationship between philosophy, theology and ethics, having done post-graduate work in this area from 1999-2003 at Boston University, Massachusetts.

Geoff is based in the Sydney office managing projects in India, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Zambia. He is also involved in strengthening partnerships between Australian Church communities, UnitingWorld, and our Overseas Partners. Geoff brings knowledge and experience in both the Australian and overseas contexts to our team and we look forward to having him here.

Bryan Cussen – Pacific Programs Coordinator

Bryan joined the UnitingWorld team in April 2009 to coordinate our relief and development programs in PNG, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. After a career in social welfare and church planning, Bryan’s work in the Pacific began in 2000 when he and his family went as volunteers to Papua New Guinea. There he spent two years teaching at a Christian university in Madang. Feeling called to become more involved in the Church’s work in developing countries, Bryan added to his qualifications in psychology and theology with a Masters in International Development. He then took up a role coordinating an innovative ecumenical program which has seven Christian Churches in PNG and sister Churches in Australia collaborating in a wide range of development work – health, education, adult literacy, peace building – across PNG. At UnitingWorld he is now developing a similar program in Vanuatu.

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Peacemaking

Joy Balazo – Associate Director for Peacemaking (Young Ambassadors for Peace)

Joy’s story is truly inspirational.

Joy Balazo grew up in the Philippines and as a young woman, joined a Catholic convent with the intention of becoming a Nun. However, Joy felt that she could do more good out in the world rather than in a convent so she left to complete her MA in Psychology. She went onto teach psychology to university students but still wasn’t satisfied she was doing all that she could so she joined an ecumenical group working for justice and peace in the Philippines.

She then moved to Melbourne to work with the Philippines Resource Centre where she educated Australians about human rights abuses in the Philippines. In 1991 she became the Secretary for International Human Rights with the Uniting Church National Assembly.

She then established the internationally respected ‘Young Ambassadors for Peace’ program which has responded to numerous conflicts around the world and builds peace from the ground up – with incredible results.

Joy continues to fly around the world, holding peace workshops and establishing Young Ambassador for Peace centers in conflict zones such as Ambon, Indonesia.

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Church Solidarity

John Barr – Associate Director for Church Solidarity (Asia)

The Rev. John Barr has had a distinguished and varied career. John originally trained as an electrician then earned his BA Hons in Social Anthropology and MA in Religious Studies from Sydney University. He was ordained to the Uniting Church in Australia in 1992 and trained at the United Theological College. He has served in West Timor as a mission co-worker and taught at the Christian University in Kupang.

Upon his return to Australia, John served as a Uniting Church Minister in the Parish of Armidale and was University Chaplain for the University of New England. In 1996 he was transferred to the National Assembly to work as Secretary for People in Mission. In 1999 he was appointed as Indonesia Secretary for Uniting International Mission and in 2002 commenced work as the Associate Director for Church Solidarity Asia, which includes responsibility for 17 partnerships in the Asia region.

Bruce Mullan – Associate Director for Church Solidarity (Pacific)

Bruce has worked with the Uniting Church in Australia for almost 30 years in education, mission and youth ministry.  With extensive qualifications in education, leadership, mission and communications, he has worked with the church in NSW, Tasmania and Queensland.   Most recently he served with the Queensland Synod as head of the communications team and editor of Journey prior to joining UnitingWorld in March 2009. Bruce has an enduring passion for the peoples of the Pacific.

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Experience

Kathy Pereira – Associate Director for Experience Programs

Kathy brings warmth, vitality, enthusiasm and expertise in developing UnitingWorld Experience placements and InSolidarity exposure visits, connecting people and churches and making a difference in the world.

Kathy has extensive experience in education and has taught a range of subjects as well as serving for a number of years as an Assistant Principal. She has a MEd (Masters in Education) with research relating to the impact of short term cross cultural exchanges on adolescents. She has worked on a range of education boards, presented workshops and keynote speeches and is a trained and certified Counsellor. She has previously established a school cultural exchange and now facilitates experiences that bring people together and celebrates both our cultures and commonalities. As Associate Director for UnitingWorld Experience, Kathy has developed placements that respond directly to the expressed needs of our partner churches and delights in providing opportunities for people to use their unique gifts while having their own pre-suppositions blown apart. She believes that people-to-people “Experience” programs provide tangible evidence of the relationships between the UCA and our global church partners, as well as strengthening the life and witness of our own UCA church communities and people.