All Those Meetings

It's is good to be back in harness and planning out the new year. I have begun the active process of work by once again connecting with the schedule of meetings Julie and I are obliged to attend.

It can be the bane of those in large organisations to front up to meetings that seem pointless, unproductive and just going through the motions of keeping the organisation ticking along. A wise friend of mine pointed out that it seemed to him that the meetings became and end in themselves and the action part of the process was forgotten.

Three of the meetings I have attended this year have been quite the opposite. Some of the highlights I would like to share with you are;
The Macquarie-Darling Presbytery ( a regional representation of the NSW UCA church ) met at Dubbo recently at which one of the key note presentations was from a young member about "Hospitality" as understood by the Y generation. It seems that we older folks have much to learn from this generation who see hospitality as intentional, relational and integral to who we can be as church.

The Uniting Church State Disaster Response committee met in Sydney last week at which it was revealed that a network of inter-faith chaplains have been recruited and trained by the UCA in partnership with NSW community Services to offer chaplaincy in recovery centers post a disaster in NSW. It is hoped that the chaplains will have no work and yet we are there if needed.

Last but not least the Rural Ministry Unit ( a body of the church passionate about ministry in rural NSW) met last week at Wellington to map out strategies that might best serve the interests of rural communities across the state. As NSW is primarily an urban culture the interests of rural people have to be presented vigorously to share in limited resources.

So it is that the meeting process can and should be action based. I hope these meetings set the tone for the year to come!

Kel Hodge