TRARALGON

UNITING CHURCH

MISSION PLAN
2005-7

Our Vision:
KNOWING JESUS CHRIST AND MAKING HIM KNOWN.

Our Mission:
To live the good news of Jesus Christ as an inclusive, supportive and outward-
looking faith community.

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PREAMBLE..........................................................................................................3

The Call to the Church .......................................................................................3

Our Goals for 2005-7...........................................................................................4

Christian Education............................................................................................4
Children and Youth .........................................................................................5
Pastoral Care ...............................................................................................6
Property ....................................................................................................7
Service and Justice .............................................................................8
Stewardship .....................................................................................9
Worship.......................................................................................10

Our Dreams: ......................................................................................................11

The Uniting Church in Australia ......................................................................12

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PREAMBLE
Over the next three years we commit ourselves to seriously considering the
implications of living the good news of Jesus Christ in Traralgon today.

We will evaluate what we do by asking, “Is it inclusive, supportive and outward

looking?”

Oversight for the implementation of our goals, as set out in this Plan, will be the
provided by the corresponding Task Groups.

The Call to the Church

Faithful is God,

who has called us,

And who will not fail us.

Faithful is Jesus Christ,

Who gathers us into a community of hope:

To worship God with wonder and praise,
To witness to God’s love in word and deed,
And to seek God’s justice in the world.

Faithful is the Holy Spirit,

Who releases us:

To listen for God’s word in Scripture and prayer,
To cherish the ministry of all God’s people,

And moves us:

To risk telling the story of Jesus,
To take our part in God’s action in the world.

Faithful is God,
Who calls us,
and who will also do all this.

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Our Goals for 2005-7

Christian Education

™ To involve 80% of our faith community in small groups within a 12 month

period e.g. study groups, ALPHA, afternoon service, etc.

™ To organise three ‘Leadership Seminars’ each year.

™ To arrange a lecture series or the visit of a ‘keynote’ speaker each year.

™ To advertise and run an ALPHA Program each year.

™ To increase our appreciation and understanding of the culture of the

‘unchurched’, particularly the X and Y generations, by:-

a) Sponsoring people to go to relevant conferences e.g. Thomas

Bandy
b) Arranging appropriate speakers to come to Traralgon
c) Making resources available for use in our small groups and
elsewhere
d) Implementing appropriate change to our programs.

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Children and Youth
™ To explore ways of building bridges between the congregation and the
Kids Club, playgroups, etc.

™ To coordinate quarterly services for children and youth, through the

Worship Task Group.

™ To promote our monthly Youth Services through our attendance and

support for the Planning Meetings.
™ To continue to encourage the church community through organising and
promoting the Church Camp.
™ Through the Y Files we will encourage the youth to learn about and grow
in their faith.
™ To oversee the implementation of the ‘Safe Place for Children’ document.

™ To show bright displays and photos on what's happening at church, after

consultation with the Property Task Group. These to be taken down or
changed regularly.

™ To include kid-friendly posters and art work around the church buildings.

™ To send 6 young people to NCYC.

™ To develop prayer and support teams for every child under 18, i.e. a
buddy system with fridge magnets, photo/info board, etc.

™ To develop an action plan for the next 2 years for every item on the
CHYSM minutes

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Pastoral Care
™ To provide a visit to every member on our role at least once/yr.

™ To become better informed about St Vincent’s Outreach Program by

arranging a speaker and promoting the ‘basket’ used at communion.

™ To maintain contact with families who have children baptised by:-

a) Sending them birthday cards
b) Inviting them to relevant church activities
c) By appointing a contact person to be involved in the process
and to keep in contact afterwards
d) Delivering the Searchlight occasionally.

™ To acknowledge and welcome, during a worship service, all those who

transfer to our congregation.

™ To promote the use of name tags by:

a) Advertising and ordering new ones
b) Encouraging the use of the board to keep them at the church.
c) To support the recording and distribution of tapes of our worship
services.

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Property

Preamble: We seek to provide the best possible facilities to support our church’s
mission and achieve our goals.

™ To complete the ‘Memorial Wall’ (mounting the Foundation Stones)

™ To change the floodlights over the car park.

™ To improve our communication about the progress of our projects to

Property Committee members and to the congregation.

™ To provide additional storage for our Church’s groups and long-term rental
groups.

™ To draw up a maintenance schedule, covering painting, cleaning carpets,

etc. subject to budget constraints and church goals.

™ To focus on one project at a time and ensure it is completed, and not try to
do too many things at once.

™ To support the working bees of Glengarry & Traralgon South

congregations.

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Service and Justice
Preamble: We seek to be aware of injustice, prejudice and intolerance that lead
to denigration of individuals and groups. In conjunction with other organisations
and churches we will seek to provide support for those involved, and we will seek
to prevent or minimise further harm.

INTERNATIONAL

™ To increase our awareness and understanding about issues of poverty in

underdeveloped countries by focussing on and establishing links with one
particular overseas community.

NATIONAL

™ To raise awareness of problems of abuse and violence in our local and

national communities by:-

(i) Small groups studies,

(ii) Publicity of the issues,
(iii) Organising public meetings &
(iv) Utilising Synod resources provided for the Decade to Overcome
Violence.

™ To continue to support Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR)

™ To maintain our awareness of issues of Reconciliation by seeking

opportunities for local engagement.

LOCAL

™ To provide financial and other support for chaplaincy in the Traralgon

Secondary College.

™ To lobby for improved supported accommodation facilities and other

services for those with mental illness and acquired disability in the Latrobe
Valley.

™ To continue to support public discussion on ethical and social issues e.g.

the business ethics dinner.

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Stewardship
™ To encourage support for the Mission Plan through continued
implementation of the ‘Growing Generous Givers” program on an annual
basis.

™ To raise awareness of the various options for giving.

™ To enable reflection and commitment/recommitment annually in the use of

time and talents to support our vision and mission.

™ To record the pledged giving and send a letter of thanks to those

participating.

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Worship
™ To have ‘Special’ Services at least twice a year, that will be appropriate for
people to invite others who don’t normally come to church.

™ To have a person share a story from their faith journey in the combined
service each month and at other times as appropriate.

™ To involve more people in the leadership of worship services, including the

establishment of ‘Worship Teams’ for the 10:30am service.

™ To establish “Worship Teams” to support smaller congregations in the

area on a quarterly basis.

™ To hold a ‘Memorial Service’ each year, probably on All Saints Day, to

remember and honour those who have died, with a special invitation given
to those who have lost loved ones in the last 12 months.

™ To promote the use of Daily Devotions such as With Love to the World.

™ To support and promote the monthly ‘Youth Services’ and local

ecumenical services.

™ To support the Fabric Art Group by advertising their work and helping staff
their exhibitions and open mornings.

™ To tape a service each week and deliver copies to people unable to

attend.

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Our Dreams:

™ To replace the pews with comfortable seating.

™ To build a ‘Men’s Shed’ (cf. Orbost) incorporating additional storage and a

‘Youth Room’.

™ To purchase a data projector.

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 The Uniting Church in Australia
(According to its Basis of Union)

Is a Christian community who:

™ worships the one God

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit;

™ trusts in Jesus Christ

The divine One who became human, died and rose for the world (Para 1, 2)

™ shares God’s love with all people

Across barriers of race, gender and class (Para 2)

™ hears Christ through the Scriptures

In which he meets, feeds and guides us (Para 5)

™ celebrates baptism and the Lord’s Supper

In which Christ embraces and feeds God’s people (Para 6-8)

™ affirms the faith of the whole church

In the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds (Para 9)

™ engages with issues of our time

Confessing Christ in fresh words and deeds (Para 11)

™ believes God’s Spirit gives gifts to all members

And calls them to serve God in the world (Para 13f)

™ prays that God will be praised and glorified

In the church’s worship, witness and service (Para 18)

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