New Positions

Would you like to work for an organisation focused on helping people feel whole, worthy and at peace?

We have two positions vacant! Click below to download the position descriptions:

Administrative Assistant

Communications Coordinator

Applications close Friday 23rd of November

New Position - Sydney

Over the last 6 months, the Sydney network has been having a conversation about how it can best live out the mission of the church. During the discussion, many concepts and forms have been discussed, with some exciting ideas coming forward! From new congregational models to adaptations on existing ones, there has been significant synergy around the idea that there is need for change. 

To ensure that change happens effectively, a temporary part-time paid position will be created to research and develop a pilot concept, which will be funded primarily by congregations. The role will be to work with the network to develop a new way of being that reaches the community in a way that is fresh yet stands on the foundations already created by the many who have gone before us.

Click here for the position description and selection criteria. If you would like to apply, please see details within.

As we venture down this path, we invite prayers from the community to centre and connect us all, helping us discern the best direction for our future together.

Tiona Reunion - Update

Tiona Reunion is shaping to be our biggest in a long time and we’re excited for the fun, spiritual nourishment, and blessings of community that we will experience over the Christmas holidays. 

Here’s an update on the registration process for the reunion:

• We have already allocated accommodation. We may still have a few Lodge rooms and campsites left so if you have not yet confirmed your accommodation, you need to contact Jan Thompson immediately at Tiona.Reunion@gmail.com.

• Registrations are closing at the end of November and we would be very grateful if you would finalise your registration as soon as possible. Processing registrations and payments involves some work and it would greatly assist the team of volunteers working behind the scenes if you could register immediately if you haven’t already.

• If you are attending reunion (or parts of reunion) and are not staying on the grounds, it is still very important that you register for the days you are attending (use the code ‘DAY’ in the accommodation reference question). This is especially true if you would like lunch or dinner provided. If you don’t book and pay for your meals in advance, we won’t be able to cater for you. 

• All fees are set out in the Fee Schedule 

• To register, click this link: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/CommunityofChrist0#/selectSessions/2497403 

If you have any questions, please contact Jan Thompson the volunteer reunion director at TionaReunion@gmail.com.

Tiona Reunion - Fee Schedule

Click here to download this years fee schedule 

National Gathering

Click here to register

As a spiritual venture, boldly follow the initiatives into the heart of God’s vision for the church and creation. Then, in response to growing insight about God’s nature and will, continue to shape communities that live Christ’s love and mission.

Doctrine and Covenants 165: 1b

Friends,

Like a labyrinth, we are called to venture into the heart of God’s vision to discover and discern where the church is called to be. It is there we will find insights about who we are as a people, and how we must respond to the world around us to create communities of joy, hope, love and peace. But there we must not remain. Receiving, discerning and learning is only half the task; action, application and mission are essential if we are to follow the path of the disciple. If we walked into the centre of the labyrinth and discovered love but did not come out, how could we experience love fully?

The spiral of the temple, the patterns of the seasons, the cycle of the sun and moon – all remind us that as a people we are best when we are moving and changing. If the sun were to stop, there would be no life; if there was only winter, there would be no life. Movement is critical, and if we stand still for even a moment, we risk falling out of step with the rhythms of creation.

This National Gathering we will explore this idea, moving into the heart of God’s vision for the church on a deeper level. Then, using newly found will and testimony, we will shape new expressions of community, binding us closely with our mission as a people of peace and justice. Through debate, moments of reflection, laughter and love, we will write, share and create exciting possibilities for the church to live its purpose. The return to Tiona has provided us with a new set of challenges, yet I believe it draws us back to what matters most for us as we take a break from the ordinary to explore our core mission. 

Will you join me in creating the future for our movement? 

Ben Smith

President, Australia Mission Centre

Strategic Plan

We're excited to release the Australia Mission Centre Strategic Plan! It has been developed over the last 12 months through many hours of discernment and contribution. It is now time to progress with its message, living it out across the nation. The leadership team will be facilitating sessions in many different areas around Australia over the coming months to help further its understanding, so look back here soon for more details on that.

In the meantime, share the word that the Spirit is on the move! Let us embrace that as we employ our understanding that all are called, it's up to each and every one of us as disciples to live our calling and respond to God's beckoning. 

Grace and peace!  

It's available here for an online magazine version (click the middle for a full screen version), or downloadable by the arrow on the top left below:

Religious Freedom Review Submission

On 22 November 2017, the Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, announced the appointment of an Expert Panel to examine whether Australian law adequately protects the human right to freedom of religion. In undertaking its Review, the Prime Minister has instructed the Panel to:

• consider the intersections between the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and other human rights
• have regard to any previous or ongoing reviews or inquiries that it considers relevant
• consult as widely as it considers necessary

The Mission Centre Leadership Team felt it was prudent that we voice our perspective as a faith movement, through the lens of our enduring principles. The team underwent a process which included voice and approval from the Mission Centre Council, and the resulting submission is found through the link below. 

Click here to download submission

Statement on Weapons Exports

Statement of opposition to the Australian government’s decision to increase the export of weapons

For decades Community of Christ has voiced its opposition to the use and proliferation of weapons that are designed to kill. It is our belief that there is sacredness in all of creation, and tools that are designed to remove life are not in concert with that principle. In 1991 the Australian church called upon political leaders to refrain from the sale of armaments and weapons, a call renewed in 1999 by a motion encouraging members to renounce their own use of firearms (which was then adopted by the 2000 World Conference), and again in 2015 when the church affirmed the notion that sacred space is unarmed space. Our understanding of peace is that it can only be experienced fully when violence is absent.

Community of Christ in Australia calls on the Australian government to immediately reconsider its decision to increase its budget to fund weapons exports.

- Australia Mission Centre Leadership Team

Marriage Equality

Official Policy Change

Click here for the transcript of Ben Smith's announcement 

This week, after a meeting of the Australia Mission Centre Council and subsequent approval from the First Presidency, Community of Christ in Australia has changed its policy on the sacrament of marriage. Effective 18 December 2017, the sacrament of marriage will be available to all people eligible under Australian law, regardless of gender or sexuality, and celebrants of Community of Christ will be authorised to perform these marriages as they so desire.

We are called to be a people who uphold the worth of all persons. To truly live out their roles in the Australian community, all faith communities must work together to forge a path towards justice and inclusivity. Members of Community of Christ believe that God loves all people. Through the example of Jesus, Community of Christ ministers will continue to stand with those who are persecuted, oppressed and who are voiceless. The change to the Marriage Act, and the change in the policy of the Community of Christ, reflect that stance. We celebrate the change.

While unique in our movement to have a policy change of this regard that has not involved a National Conference, it is believed that the parts of our community most affected by this change have endured enough. Church leadership both locally and globally are of the opinion that previous discussions surrounding ordination of individuals in same-sex relationships reflected an overwhelmingly positive consensus, and with the addition of the postal survey and considerable public debate, it was considered unwarranted to hold another vote on this matter, choosing instead to live boldly into our enduring principles.

This step upholds the value the church places on the sacrament of marriage. We believe the relationship of marriage is founded in principles of Christ-like love, mutual respect, covenant, faithfulness and justice. For generations, this sacrament has not been open to all people. Now, gladly, it is.

In the next few weeks, more detailed resources and policy documents will become available.

Tiona News

Re: Assignment of Tiona Lease

Dear Friends,

After months of negotiations, I am pleased to announce that the Tiona Management Lease

has a new owner. Southern Cross Parks have purchased the existing lease from Sundowner

Tourist Parks and will take over operations immediately. Southern Cross Parks have a

portfolio of five caravan parks throughout NSW, QLD and Victoria, and have extensive

experience in the caravan and camping industry.

I’d like to acknowledge Sundowner for their contribution at Tiona, and wish them well in

their future endeavours.

Further thanks must be expressed to the Tiona Management Committee for their tireless

work in assisting Mission Centre Officers, the Mission Centre Council and the Presiding

Bishopric in ensuring this process was smooth and comprehensive, while maintaining

professionalism and upholding the church’s values and policies.

I look forward to many more years of fellowship and activity at Tiona, a place where so

many of us experience a deep sense of connection with the Spirit. May we continue to be

good custodians of this sacred ground.

In Peace,

Ben Smith

President, Australia Mission Centre

Tiona Management Committee:

Fran Breen, David Henricks, Ken Archer, Julie Crittenden with the assistance of Allan Walshe