annualreview2013 · adelaidewestunitingchurch2013annualreview...

Annual Review 2013

Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review

Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus

Editors Note:This Annual Review of the work of Adelaide West Uniting Church has sought to include as many of the activities undertaken by the Church in 2013as possible. If your particular activity is not reported I apologise but if you would like it included for 2014 please make certain that the Editorreceives your material early. To save space Adelaide West Uniting Church is usually abbreviated to AWUC.While every effort has been made to accurately record all activities, errors will occur and are regretted.

Leon Broster

Our VisionWe aim to be a Church where:People love God deeply and passionately, demonstrating this through dynamic worship and prayer

It is our dream:

that all will discover the joy of listening to and talking with God and will actively engage in prayer in all its

many forms.

that all will enthusiastically participate in worship, expecting God to touch people’s hearts and transform

them in grace.

People love each other deeply and honestly, demonstrating this by nurturing and caring for one another and

genuinely welcoming people from outside our faith-community

It is our dream:

that this be a place of loving, learning, laughing and living in harmony

that all will find acceptance, safety, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance and encouragement.

People are led to hope and faith in Jesus Christ through faith-sharing and discipleship.

It is our dream:

that all will have opportunity and enthusiasm to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the thousands

living in our wider community who have not yet discovered it.

that through our authentic witness people will look to Christ for transforming hope.

People experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrating this by growth and transformation

in grace.

It is our dream:

that all will continually grow in the knowledge and the grace of God and will actively seek to do so by

participating in small groups, Bible studies, seminars, retreats and other educational opportunities.

that potential leaders will be identified and developed and leaders will be encouraged and empowered to

initiate ministries.

People express compassion and generosity that reflects God’s love, demonstrating this through a positive

attitude, willingness to serve and generous resourcing of ministries.



It is our dream:

that all will live out a positive ‘can do’ attitude with generous hearts, recognising and responding to the

needs of others both inside and outside our faith-community.

that our buildings be debt free and finance is released to develop new ministries.

We aim to be a church recognized locally and wider as a place where God is transforming people’s lives

It is our dream:

that all will be willing and available to participate in God’s ministry of reconciliation in the world.

that both individually and together as a body we will demonstrate integrity, compassion and justice in

every facet of our lives.

We aim to be a people who are:

Expectant and who offer Excellence

Inviting

Giving and Generous

Caring

Growing

Genuine, Maturing, Relevant, Learning, Surprising

Church CouncilAfter 2 years of staff changes we have been

able to settle down and continue to progress

our church community.

Phil Carr and Douglas Monaghan left us in

January 2013 Phil to ‘resume’ retirement

and Douglas was called to Burnside Uniting

Church.

We are pleased that Phil and Pam Carr have

retained their membership at Adelaide West

and can continue to contribute in so many ways.

Rod and Liz Dyson set a hectic pace in

building relationships within our Church and

the wider community and encouraging us in our

faith, worship and the myriad of activities.

In February we welcomed John Harris as our

Youth and Young Adults Pastor. John has

shown himself to be an amiable, energetic and

creative advocate for young people and has the

strong support of his wife, Chelsea.

We have been very well served by Suzi Cousins

in the office and with events, Lorraine Schroder

in Children and Family Ministry, David Bailey

in property and all our regular volunteers.

Other pages of this Annual Review will detail

the many ministries and accomplishments of

this Church, all of which have great

significance within our community.

A particular thank you to Lynton Willcocks for

the dedication he showed in proposing the solar

panels, negotiating the terms, supervising the

progress and checking out the installation. This

undertaking has required the input of

considerable time and technical knowledge.

This should prove a valuable asset not only to

Adelaide West but also the broader Uniting

Church.

A Church Council planning day held in May at

the home of Richard and Helen Young

provided an opportunity to socialise, review

and assess some of the good work done by

previous Councils and to consider the best

governance approach for the future.

The terms of 4 Councillors are about to expire

and so there will be an election at the Annual

General Meeting on 18th May. If you feel you

have a contribution to make please seek

nomination.



Our giving program was well supported but the

ongoing need for funds continues.

I am pleased to say that the offerings since

November have exceeded our earlier trends.

Mignon Grivell retired as minute secretary

during the year after 12 months of capable

service and Wendy Young added this role to

her already busy schedule. We hope that

Mignon’s health will continue to improve and

we thank Wendy for joining us at Council

meetings.

At the time of writing this report, as a Council,

we are addressing the request by Synod and

Presbytery to consider the impact on Adelaide

West if a sale of the adjacent Uniting College

for Leadership and Theology property should

take place. We are determined to secure the

benefits we currently enjoy and we believe that

Synod and Presbytery also wish to safeguard

our interests.

An application for a grant has recently been

submitted by Council to the Department of

Planning, Transport and Infrastructure to

establish a program to encourage bike riding

and to provide commuting educational

resources to our church and wider community.

Many thanks to all Councillors but to those who

may not seek re-election I say thanks for your

past guidance and we know you will offer

yourself for other forms of ministry within

Adelaide West. With God’s help Council

looks forward to addressing the challenges that

will face us during the year ahead.

Wes Ashman



Lead Minister’s ReportThe first year in a placement is alwayschallenging. Every church is different andministry is always based on relationshipswhich initially do not exist. The staff team hasa new youth and young adult’s pastor, newevents and office positions, a chairperson ofCouncil who had not long been in positionand a new lead minister. Since that time Ihave gained an understanding of this church,learned many names and heard many stories.The staff have become a team that work welltogether. 2013 is a good foundation to moveforward into the future.

Adelaide West is a large, complex, diverseand busy community. It is full of life andthere will always be more to do than can bedone. I greatly value the fact that the diversityhere is held together in love. Love alwayscovers a multitude of differences andpreferences.

I am thankful for the assistance that wereceived from Synod in developing a new andfresh brand that I hope will help us to engagewith the wider community.

There has been excellent cooperation andplanning for worship for the major seasons.This has added to our excellence in worshipand helped our sense of oneness even thoughwe worship at four different times eachweekend and a few other times each month.

During September we spent a lot of timefocusing on the use of our time, talents, giftsand resources. The result has been asignificant increase in giving that at present ismeeting a large anticipated financial deficit.As part of this process three visioningsessions were held—for the 9.15am, 10.45amand 5pm worshipping communities. Theinformation gained from these times ofbrainstorming and listening will inform futuredirections.

The hugely busy time toward the end of theyear also included a visit from the RevMalcolm Gordon. He helped us to think aboutworship leading, song writing and using songswritten for the local context. It is our plan tonot be so busy in September, October andNovember in 2014!

The current context for Christianity inAustralia is highly challenging. Most peopleare seeking a more personal spirituality ratherthan what we offer as a church. Our challengeis be hospitable to all who come here, to loveour neighbours, to help the world to be a morejust and compassionate place and to seek thedepth of relationship in Jesus Christ that willmake our lifestyle distinctive. The rate ofchange in Australian society will continue tochallenge our relevance to modern society.

Toward the end of the year I was able to leavesome things behind. I ceased being ex-moderator, concluded as a member ofStanding Committee and finished my role aschair of the Standing Committee NominatingCommittee.

I will continue to represent our MissionNetwork (Grace Connections) from time totime on Joint Nominating Committees andother pastoral matters. I am also part of theSA team that trains people to superviseministers and lay leaders.

Rev Rod Dyson

Editors NoteAfter nine years of compiling this report I feel it is

time to step aside for someone else to ‘have a go’.

I would like to thank all those that have contributed

to the review over the years. In particular I thank

‘Ferg’ for his support and skills in fixing the

final product and also to David Roberts for helping

me out when I sought his assistance.

I also thank Anne Thyne, Suzi Cousins and Sandy

Altmann for helping me, and my wife Tricia for

typing many of the hand written articles,

proofreading and putting up with my complaints

about the computer not doing what I wanted it to .

Leon Broster



Chair of the CongregationThis is my first 'report' as Chairperson of

Congregation, following on from Leon

Broster’s inaugural report of last year.

First I would like to recognise the contribution

Leon has cheerfully given to the role over the

past eight years, filled with leadership and

authority, and the occasional questionable

humour at congregational meetings! Like Leon,

I see the role as a blend of formal and informal

responsibility—formality to preside over

congregational meetings, and informality to

serve as a point of contact for matters of

council. This informal role is important, as I

can both enlighten people in the congregations

on decision making from council as well as

provide an avenue for feedback into council.

It is a privilege to see the trajectory of Adelaide

West Uniting Church showcased at

congregational meetings. I would encourage us

all to attend to see and hear this firsthand, and

celebrate how God is transforming our people.

Over the past 12 months we've seen continued

development of staff, small groups and worship

depth and diversity, as well as our major

project faithfully completed with the

installation of our clean energy solar panels.

We have also celebrated the regular

contributions of people committed to the array

of ministries listed in this report—from

property to catering and everything in

between—God is indeed good!

As congregations we are at our best when we

combine in support of Synod events,

church/community fair, working bees and the

increasing numbers (and age range) of

volunteers at pasty bake. These evidence how

we value the blend of our individual

congregations in community, and is a great way

to celebrate!

I look forward to our next 12 months.

Richard Young

Office and Event Coordinator’s Report2013 was a year of change in many ways. Forme it was taking on a new job that was notonly new for me but also new to AWUC. It isstill a work in progress to balance thedifference between the office manager rolethat had previously been in place and the twonew roles of office and event coordinator. Wealso had a largely new team with Rod andJohn also new to their roles and Wesrelatively new to his role as Chairperson ofthe Council. Fortunately we had theexperiences of Lorraine, Norm and thevolunteers to help guide us at the start andwork with us to improve things as we went.Change is not always easy, and I commendthe volunteers, Norm and Lorraine for howthey embraced and in fact encouraged changethroughout the year.

We changed the newsletter quite dramaticallyby using colour. This is more expensive, but

has been met with enthusiasm and an increasein people reading this important

communication tool. I believe it is all worth itand the feedback has been very encouraging.It also looks more modern and inviting forthose who access it either by weekly email orby visiting our web site.

We have moved, cleaned, painted and fixed alot of things in the office and the greaterproperty. The blue walls in the hall created abuzz that exploded into the foyer and hall.The new logo gave everything a face-lift—although sadly not the staff and volunteers!We cleaned out old files, updated pastoralcare records, made new nametags andchanged office hours.Most importantly we have worked hardtogether ensuring the office is run efficientlyand continued to be here to support ourcongregations, regular users and visitors alike,whilst also supporting each other.



Suzi Cousins—Office & Event Coordinator

9.15 am ‘Worship For Today’ CongregationUnder the leadership of Rev Rod Dyson and

the continuing high standard of preparation by

our worship leading team we experienced an

uplifting and exciting period of worship

throughout the year. A highlight of 2013 was

the excellent Advent and Christmas programme

with displays in the foyer and suitably

decorated auditorium thanks to the team of

volunteers from all congregations who

coordinated and planned each week during this

most important season.

Continuing effort has been made to welcome

new-comers and to make sure a friendly

atmosphere prevails before and after the

services.

We sincerely thank our two resident organists,

Meredith Dowdy and Wayne Colebatch, who

continue to inspire us their work on the Perry

Memorial Organ. We also thank the large team

of helpers who are involved in worship leading,

bible reading, leading prayers, hymn leading,

soloists and musicians, sound and projection,

stewards, flower arrangers, communion

stewards and those who set up the church and

the hall each Sunday.

The continued caring work by our pastoral

visitation team led by Rev Norm Scrimshaw

and a number of often nameless volunteers who

go about this work regularly visiting homes,

hospitals and nursing homes is most

appreciated. The availability of recorded

services is also a bonus. A big thankyou is

extended for all this valuable outreach.

The sound system continues to present some

problems which we trust will be addressed in

the near future. We also notice the

deterioration of the Church carpet and some of

the chairs which will need attention in the near

future.

We look forward with confidence to another

year when we can truly say—it has been good

to worship in the house of the Lord.

John Andrewartha—co-ordinator.

10:45am ServiceIn reflecting on 2013, the 10:45am Service and

Worship Planning Team has much to celebrate.

2013 was the year we welcomed the Dyson

family amongst us. We are very grateful for

Rod’s leadership both as our minister and

particularly in terms of worship. It was also

great to welcome Liz as a worship leader. Their

encouragement and teaching and questioning

has pushed us as worship planning team and

that has been much appreciated.

The 10:45am service is deeply diverse in both

age and culture and this is a cause for much

joy. 2013 became about recognizing this and

attempting to provide services that

incorporated a variety of ages and cultures in a

more intentional way. Incorporating an ‘All

Age’ service in conjunction with Kids Space

once a term, using a variety of ‘ages and

stages’ for prayers, drama, singing, music and

Bible reading, utilizing different languages for

songs, prayers and readings are just a few

examples of this awareness and need to be

more inclusive and cross-cultural in our

worship.

While we are aware we cannot meet

everyone’s needs every week, recognition of

the need to be inclusive pervades all we do in

worship at this service. This challenge

continues into 2014.

Organ ScholarshipAWUC has available an organ scholarship. Interested

musicians are encouraged to apply. Details are

available from the AWUC Office.



About 50 people are involved in the worship

team as leaders, singers, musicians and tech

(sound and projection). This number increases

dramatically with the inclusion of those

involved in Bible readings, leading prayers,

drama, choirs, the sharing of testimonies and

stories and visual arts and presentation. We are

conscious that this number is larger than many

churches and delight in this broad involvement.

Over the course of the year we have welcomed

new singers, leaders and musicians which is

wonderful. Providing a tech ministry has at

times been difficult but we look forward to

some new people being trained in this area in

the near future. It is very exciting to see the

worship ministry at 10:45am continue to grow.

A focus on better caring and connecting as a

group is a goal for 2014. An open invitation

exists for anyone who would like to become

involved in 10:45am worship in any capacity.

Training and mentoring is readily provided!

Working with the other Adelaide West services

for planning and implementing Advent in 2013

was truly wonderful. While the out-workings

may have been different across the services,

the times working and creating together were a

blessing as was the unity in knowing that as

church we were co-operating and undertaking

common worship. We look forward to other

opportunities for this to occur.

Thank you to all who have been involved and

continue to contribute to the 10:45am service.

While particular highlights and challenges

have been mentioned here, we are acutely

aware that our main purpose is to glorify God in

all we do and say in our worship. All glory to

Him who is able to keep and sustain us.

Dianne Holden

On behalf of the 10:45am Worship Planning

Team

6pm Service2013 was an exciting year for the 6pmcommunity as we welcomed our new pastorJohn Harris, and his wife Chelsea only a shorttime after their wedding. While we werefortunate to have Douglas Monaghan lookingafter the service in 2012, it was good newsthat we were able to offer John a morepermanent position as the stability that thisbrings has helped us to plan for the future.The service has generally been aimed atproviding a service for young adults and olderyouths, but is not exclusively for this agebracket. Many of the young adults that attendare also part of the leadership of the youth

service on Friday nights and this oftenprovides a service where they don’t have toconcentrate on the running of the service.We have been lucky enough to have a goodteam of musicians and tech volunteers thatallows us to have a worship band and acousticworship at other times.In late 2013 a decision was made to changethe time of the service to 5pm going forwardinto 2014. We hope that this will help to buildcommunity by making it easier for people tomeet after the service for dinner, either at thechurch or elsewhere.

Greg Roberts

Bus ServiceIt is not often that you get to drive a Mercedes,

but five members of our Church do on a regular

basis.

The 12 seater bus provided by the City of West

Torrens enables us to pick-up and return home

members of our 9:15am and 10:45am services.



Our drivers are John Maddern, Rosemary

Colebatch, Wally Woehlert, Trevor Story and

Wes Ashman.

John Workolo and Tony Thompson both found

it necessary to retire during the year, John

because of work commitments and Tony owing

to family circumstances. A big thank you to all

these folk who have made or make attending

Church a possibility for a number of our

members.

If you would like to become a driver please

speak to one of our existing drivers and we can

arrange driver training for you.

We find there are often people outside the City

of West Torrens area who would like to ride on

the bus but we have to advise this is not

permitted under council regulations.

In addition to our bus service there are many

members of our congregation who regularly

provide transport to folks by using their own

cars and this is greatly appreciated.

Wes Ashman

Adelaide West Men’s ChoirAfter some nine or ten years of singing together,

the Men’s Choir has made further progress

and increased its level of activity in 2013. On

our ‘home ground’ we contributed to a 9.15

service, the Spring Fair in October and a fund-

raising concert on December 1st. From that

concert we made a donation of $1,000 to aid

the Uniting World Benefit Fund for the

Philippines.

Two events took place in the city—one at the

North Adelaide Helping Hand Centre which

was very well received, and the other was a

rather prestigious occasion at St Patrick’s

Church in Grote Street on February 7th. This

was a service for parliamentarians just prior to

the opening of Parliament. This was attended

by His Excellency, the Governor of SA, who

indicated his appreciation of the Choir.

Country visits included Owen, Victor Harbor

and Meningie where we led the morning

services and presented afternoon concerts.

Proceeds from these concerts were shared

between the choir and local communities. At

Meningie, this money was used to help erect a

monument in the town for the RSL. At Victor

Harbor, we assisted the churches in raising

money for a project that they have in India, and

in Owen, money raised went to the Tasmanian

Bushfire Relief Fund.

A different experience was participating in a

Choral Concert at the Inman Valley Leafy Sea

Dragon Festival. A choir from Victor Harbor

and a local singing group also shared in the

program.

Our supporting artists made a great impact with

Helen Young joining Raechel, Suzi, and Julie

in solo and ensemble work. We are indeed very

grateful to these girls for their talented

contribution to our concerts.

The involvement of young performers was

boosted with the inclusion of a junior chorus

for the December concert. This group of

children included grandchildren and children

of choir members. It is wonderful to see the

development of younger singers now apparent

after some years of following us around! There

is some great future talent here.

This year we purchased our own digital piano

which is now almost debt-free. Thank you to

all the wives, partners and ‘groupies’ who

support us and often travel long distances to be

with us. Your support is invaluable, but there

is always room for more.



Choir members thank Meredith for her

patience, humour and hard work, in, not only

teaching us, but putting so much work into

planning and preparation towards our public

performances.

Ron White

Peace lamp

The peace lamp on the communion table was

made in Taybeh, a small Christian village

located 25kms from Jerusalem in the Holy

Land. These lamps are distributed world wide.

Their goal is to unite people of faith all over the

world in praying for peace in the Holy Land.

Healing ServiceAs part of our worship in 2013 we have learnt

from and shared with Rev Norm Scrimshaw,

Colin Rowe, Rev Rod Dyson, Pastor Anne

Thyne, Belinda Willcocks and Rev Dr Phil

Carr; being blessed by their input. With

Belinda as our resident pianist, we are doubly

blessed for worshipping our Saviour and Healer.

This all happens in the Chapel at 7:30pm on

the fourth Wednesday of the month from

February to November. After the Healing

Service we enjoy a delectable supper together,

mainly provided by the irrepressible Paddy

Cross. Thank you to Colin and Betty Rowe and

Vicky Barclay for their support; and also to

Deborah Ralph for typing and printing the

orders of service.

An intrinsic part of the Healing Service is to

pray for anyone who would like prayer, as well

as people and situations laid on our hearts or

brought to our attention. The news alone has

ample prayer points! ‘More things are

wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.’

(Alfred Lord Tennyson) All are welcome to

come and worship or be prayed for. They might

only come the one time to be upheld, refreshed

or healed in some other way.

On 28th May 2014 we will be joined by Brian

Jefferies who worships at Rosefield Uniting

Church. He can give some amazing testimonies

of healing.

‘I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; he

gives me wisdom in the night. I keep my eyes

always on the Lord. With him at my right hand,

I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad

and my soul rejoices; my body also will rest

secure.’ (Psalm 16:7-9)

Jilda Ralph

Pastoral Care / Visitation PastorMany different people make up the family

called Adelaide West. Different ages, different

facesn belonging to families and friends all

contributing to the connection we have with our

church family. This is what makes my role in

the church exciting and enjoyable visiting in

home, hospital, nursing home or retirement

village.

Some facts that may be of interest. I visit five

people who because of age no longer come to

church but still live in their own home. Six

people reside in nursing homes because they

need special care other than they can get living



in a retirement village. While we have sixteen

people enjoying the special care given in a

retirement village, some with swimming pools

and bowling greens, special areas for meeting

as a community or just enjoying a birthday

party together.

This love and care together with pastoral care

offered by the Church makes sure we are caring

for people as they get older.

I really appreciate extra care being shown. A

group of men have lunch with a man who is in

one of our nursing homes a number of

kilometres away. Weekly a group of ladies visit

another resident in a nursing home.

If you can offer some of your time to visit these

people, let me know. If you have ideas to make

our care in the church more satisfying to those

on the receiving end again bring it to my notice.

For those who have joined the Pastoral Care

team thank you, may it bring you a blessing

and fulfilment in your outreach as part of

reaching out beyond ourselves.

Rev Norm Scrimshaw

Lay PreachersThere are six accredited lay preachers

associated with Adelaide West. They are

involved in conducting worship both within and

outside of Adelaide West. In some cases they

preach at other churches, in other cases it is at

Aged Care facilities.

In 2014 Liz Lampard will be living elsewhere

and will no longer worship and preach at

Adelaide West. We thank her for her dedicated

ministry as a Lay Preacher.

We recognize and are grateful for other lay

people in our congregations who also lead

worship and preach at services.

Peter Whiting

Progressive Christianity GatheringsThe group is pleased that attendancescontinue to grow at our monthly service onthe 3rd Wednesday of each month in theChapel at 7.00 pm. Numbers range between20 and 30 at each gathering.One of the highlights for the year was PhilCarr’s Christmas presentation: Christmas isnot a calendar date. It's a character disposition.Incarnation challenges us to experienceGod’s glory in our own lives throughgratitude, humility and compassion. Thethemes of each service, and the language usedin worship, are consistent with the 8guidelines for Progressive Christian thought,which may be found athttp://progressivechristianity.org/the-8-points/,summarized as:By calling ourselves Progressive Christians,we mean we are Christians who…

1. Believe that following the path andteachings of Jesus can lead to an awarenessand experience of the Sacred and the Onenessand Unity of all life;2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus providebut one of many ways to experience theSacredness and Oneness of life, and that wecan draw from diverse sources of wisdom inour spiritual journey;3. Seek community that is inclusive of ALLpeople, including but not limited to:

Conventional Christians andquestioning sceptics, • Believers &agnostics, • Women and men

Those of all sexual orientations andgender identities, • Those of all classesand abilities;

4. Know that the way we behave towards oneanother is the fullest expression of what webelieve;

http://progressivechristianity.org/the-8-points/



5. Find grace in the search for understandingand believe there is more value in questioningthan in absolutes;6. Strive for peace and justice among allpeople;7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity ofour earth;8. Commit to a path of life-long learning,compassion, and selfless love.Common Dreams is an alliance of Australianand New Zealand kindred organisationswhich promote the study, discussion andimplementation of Progressive Christianthought and action. A major Common DreamsConference is held each three years, with themost recent being held in Canberra inSeptember, 2013. Over 400 people (70%

Uniting Church, 20% Anglican, 10% otherdenominations) participated in the conference,including a large contingent from SouthAustralia, with several of our group attending.10 of the presentations from the conferencecan be found athttp://www.commondreams.org.au/index.php/online-shop/product/6-cd3-conference-proceedings-text-zip-file/categorAs we reflect on the 2013 year, we aregrateful to those who participated in leadingworship, to Meredith Dowdy who coordinatedthe music, and to Lesley Ashman whoregularly provided supper that we enjoyedduring a time of fellowship after each service.

Esmond Dowdy

Home GroupsThere are about sixteen Home Groups meeting

as part of Adelaide West’s worship, most of

which meet fortnightly in the evenings.

Home Group leaders met several times in 2013.

In our first meeting we shared and collated the

favourite resources from each group (available

on request if your group is thinking about what

resources to use next!). In late 2013 we

discussed the option of following a common

Bible study resource, but because of the

diversity of the approaches of our home groups

it was decided that this wouldn’t work well

for most people. There was however a great

deal of enthusiasm for following a common

theme across all groups so we could ‘track

together’ as a congregation, with each group

adapting their own approach to the material. It

was decided that we would use the Lenten

studies from the pulpit as well as the new

Lenten study groups as out first attempt to do

this.

With the aim to get the whole church walking

the same journey, each week the sermon will

give an outline of the topic, with discussions

followed up in Home Groups, on Facebook and

using other approaches to engage as many of

the broader congregation in the same series.

Stay tuned as this idea of moving together on a

journey as a whole congregation develops

through the coming year.

Another highlight this year has been the start-

up of four additional small groups. One group,

led by Rod and Liz Dyson has been in

development for some time and a good solid

group of people will be meeting every fortnight

into the future. In 2014, two other groups have

formed specifically for Lent, but may well be

ongoing, coordinated by Dianne Holden and

Norm Scrimshaw. A fourth group with young

teenage girls has been meeting weekly at the

church for several months.

If you aren’t yet involved in a home group,

please talk to Brett or Ruth Gresham or one of

our ministers. With a huge variety of group and

meeting times, there is bound to be a group of

people who would love to welcome you.

Brett and Ruth Gresham.

http://www.commondreams.org.au/index.php/online-shop/product/6-cd3-conference-proceedings-text-zip-file/categor



Thrive 2013



Thrive continues to run alongside the lives of

our various members some of whom have been

here for many, many years and some who are

new faces to the group.

We continue to lift each other in prayer and

walk beside each other whenever the need

arises. Above all we praise God when we look

back and see how far some of us have come and

how amazingly God

has been with us

during both the

difficult and also the

happy times.

This year some of

our families have been touched by

unemployment which is a challenge financially

and emotionally. Again we feel God’s hand in

this area of our lives.

As always we are all touched by friends and

family who have many other issues such as

illness, relationship stress and financial

hardships.

Linda has kept us on track financially, and we

are supporting a Scripture Union’s Primary

Age Programs Staff worker for Western

Adelaide.

The majority of the year we have continued with

our study of WM Paul Young’s ‘The

Shack’ following Mack’s journey as he gets

closer to God, realizing that God is with us even

in our darkest times.

As the New Year begins we have turned to look

at ‘The Covenant Prayer’ and now we have

begun the ‘Lent Event’ studies as we lead

into Easter.

Louise Woodhouse

2013 Synod & Presbytery MeetingsAs always the team of helpers came together for

three Synod events in 2013.

The first meeting was in February rather than

March, due to speakers’ commitments, and

also added an extra day, but the team took this

all in stride and managed with relative ease

(and tired, aching bodies.)

This gave us a longer break before the June

meeting that did feel small in comparison. We

then hit the ground running in late October

when Deidre Palmer was installed as the new

moderator at an inspirational service on the

Wednesday evening prior to the always bigger

October/November meeting.

Although the team working behind the scenes

doesn’t see what happens in the meetings, we

love catching up with people who have become

friends since Synod meetings have been held in

our

building.

I always love to hear feedback that we are a

welcoming bunch of people, always smiling and

willing to go out of our way to help and that

nothing is impossible. We even managed to

successfully coordinate our first evacuation,

when a speaker fainted and we had to finish the

evening early and clear the building to allow the

ambulance officers access. It was a great relief

when this went very smoothly.

We were sorry to lose one of our regular

volunteers, Susan Venning, and she hasn’t

really been replaced. We value every member of

our team and are especially happy when

someone new joins us.

We have increased the catering by offering

meals for purchase for those attending and

although this has greatly increased the workload,

new people have been helping and that reduces

the pressure on the kitchen team. It has also

provided a significant increase in income.

There are always jobs that need doing leading



up to and during Synod meetings, please let me

know if you want to get involved. The benefits

are worth the effort.

Suzi Cousins



2013 Community Spring Fair



This was the first spring fair ever held at

Adelaide West that wasn’t coordinated by

John Andrewartha and Leon Broster, and I take

this opportunity to once again acknowledge the

years of service they have given to this major

fundraising event. I can assure you this was the

only change and they both were once again

instrumental in ensuring its success.

We faced a number of challenges this year with

some of our usual stall conveners and workers

travelling overseas, some were sick either on the

day or leading up to it or had clashing events,

yet we still managed a record profit. It was

particularly exciting to work with two branches

of the West Torrens Council with the Our Place

project and with the girls from OPAL who

launched their healthy breakfast week at our

fair with the assistance of Poh and Natalie.

Suzi Cousins

The New Logo

As a whole church community we worked

together early in the year to look at where we

are, where we are heading and where we want to

be heading. Although this is something I am

sure we will re-visit often, it was particularly

important for the staff to work through this

together as a new team.

From that exercise came the idea that we

wanted to refresh our logo and present a more

modern image to the community. We also

worked with the Church Council on this idea

and were lucky enough that Bindy Taylor from

the Synod office offered both her services and

those of Dave Lombardi to work with us on

developing a new logo.

After a few meetings we were presented with a

number of options that were



narrowed down and then finally selected by staff

and Church Council. In the end, the process

had to be fast-tracked to link in with other

projects and opportunities that were occurring

simultaneously. The logo was presented to the

congregation who enthusiastically supported our

decision and within a week we were up and

running.

This new logo has been steadily rolled out and

the reaction both internally and externally has

been amazing.

It also gave us the opportunity to freshen up

things like the Sir Donald Bradman Drive

signage. You often don’t realize how tired

something is until you freshen it up.

I am sure the time will come when we once

again feel it is time for a revamp, but at least for

the next few years, we love our new logo.

Suzi Cousins



Children’s Ministry 2013



KCO 2013—Team Jesus

We took 23 campers and 18 Leaders to this

wonderful event held at Nuriootpa Tourist Park

with approximately 1,300 others from churches

all over South Australia. We were entertained

by Play (carnival type activities), Create (Craft)

and Explore (exploring the Easter season) as

this year KCO was held on Palm Sunday

Weekend. In the evening ‘concert’ we had

Sean W Smith get the crowd moving and

shaking. The weather was very kind to us and

we started the weekend with some light showers

and then the sun joined us for the rest of our

time together. We had extra fun on our return

bus trip, as our bus got a flat tyre so we

extended KCO on the side of the Northern

Expressway; thanks to Trevor Story we were

saved a longer stay there. We are blessed here

at Adelaide West with children that are so well

mannered and well behaved.

Kids’ Space is travelling well. We saw a

couple of leaders move to different projects and

then gained some fill-in and permanent leaders.

Ali Andris has moved on to other ministries and

we miss her but she goes with our blessing.

Miriam Crosby spent seven months in France,

just a little far to come back and help us every

week, but we now have her back to the team

(thanks Miriam). Linda Story took long service

leave in term four and we had Chelsea Harris

and Kelly Contellis join our Seahorse team and

have continued on forming a very vibrant team

in that room with the 3–4 year olds.

We enjoyed another great Christmas celebration

service. On the 8th December, we took over the

10.45 am service with a presentation again

wonderfully written and directed by Belinda

Willcocks, and we had a lovely crowd to

worship with.

mainly music is going strong with many new

families joining us. The team that lead this

wonderful program are all amazing, all very

gifted and use those gifts well. We have lots of

opportunities to chat to children and their

caregivers and the most exciting thing is when

those conversations go deeper than just

‘howdy’ and can supply an ear and perhaps

even help wrestle with some of those life

questions and even be able to help in practical

ways. We took our part in the Christmas season

and had an early evening service in the hall at 6

pm aimed at the preschool age. We had a lovely

crowd of families and we also enjoyed a sausage

sizzle.

Primary Schools Outreach this year has been a

great place to be. It is such a privilege to be

able to get into the community and be the face

that some people see as Adelaide West. I and

some of the others available have been involved

in the Easter and Christmas seminars. Being

able to present these events is such a joy.

FROGS (Fully Rely On God) is a lunchtime

program that I help run with others from

churches in the local area.

One of the children excitedly shared with us:

“When I started coming to this group I

wasn’t a believer but last night I prayed to

Jesus and now I am a believer, thanks to you

ladies here at Frogs”. It just melts our hearts!!

I have also been involved with helping the

Lockleys Primary School set up a playgroup, I

helped them get started and now the families

have stepped up and are helping run the group.

It was great to help the community is this way.

I was fortunate to attend the National

Children’s Ministry Conference in late May in

NSW—Leaders to Go was a great time of

learning, there was a wonderful cross section of

leaders from all over Australia and even some

from New Zealand. It has helped in planning for

the future of the ministry of children here at

Adelaide West, as my goal for the next step for

us is to find out the direction we are all heading

as a church and to find the role that the children



and families will have in helping that to be

achieved.

We are so fortunate here at Adelaide West to

have such vibrant and caring families and the

gifted leadership of all of our activities. I hope

that next year will be a year of equipping and

learning for us all and that we will take full

advantage of the opportunities to ‘give things

a go’ and follow that still small voice that is

calling us to ‘follow Him’. So I encourage

you again to pray for the children and families

in your lives, it will make such a difference.

Colin Buchanan Concert

We ran a Café alongside the Koorong-run

Colin Buchanan Concert on the 4th October. It

was a great day with some great youth being our

team to serve. There were over 1,000 people

through the building during the day. Colin

performed two concerts in the day, one at 9.30

and then another at 12.30, and speaks to most

of the children

allowing time for autographs and photos.

It is great fun to be able to help bring these

concerts that are so important in the lives of the

small children and their families.

Pancake Day

Every year, usually on the Sunday before Shrove

Tuesday, we get involved in the Pancake Day

event raising money for Uniting Care. We serve

a pancake morning tea between the services and

in 2013 we sent $171.00 to Uniting Care, which

is a Uniting Church initiative, to help with their

mission. So keep an eye out next year for this

event. Thank you for your support.

Lorraine Schroder

Youth MinistryOver the last 12 months our youth ministry has

been concentrating on building strong teams of

leaders (including overhauling our leadership

structure and policies) and opening up more

ways for young people to be cared for and

discipled. To achieve this we have launched

mid-week youth small groups and are helping

to facilitate mentoring relationships. We have

undergone a name change (from City Youth to

Engage Youth) to reflect the refocusing our core

values (the things we stand for) and to create

clear pathways for youth to help keep them

remain engaged with Jesus beyond High School.

It is our hope that as youth move through

Adelaide West UC and become Young Adults

they will stay connected to Adelaide West

through either the morning services or the

young adult focused evening service EngageChurch. We have articulated our core values:

Engage Youth exists to…

1. connect our youth to God’s Church2. equip youth to grow in their Christian faith3. encourage youth to discover their gifts and

serve4. encounter and enjoy God in worship.

Two highlights during the previous year were

our 40 Hour Famine Party and the end of year

Semi-Formal. Both were run as fund raisers and

we were able to raise over $2,200 (combined)

for World Vision (40 Hour Famine) and Uniting

World’s Philippines Typhoon Appeal.

Sunday morning youth (CY Sunday) also went

through a big change with the departure of

Daniel Ralph from the morning programme (he

still attends our evening service). We want to

say a big thankyou to Daniel who gave of

himself to this ministry for over 8 years! A new

team has come on board to run this programme



and we are continuing to develop this ministry.

Amongst other things, a name change will soon

be on the way to bring it in line with our Friday

night programme.

Our two camps were also a huge success. In

April over 90 leaders and campers from three

different Churches got together over one great

weekend to worship, encounter and learn about

God at Revolution Camp. In October over 30

youth and leaders from Adelaide West attended

SAYCO (South Australian Youth Camp Out),

held over the three days of the October long

weekend. A great time was had by all and this

year promises to be just as good.

All in all, a sense of excitement and hope for

the future permeates our youth ministry. We

celebrate those who have come before but know

the best is always still yet to come. Bring on

2014!

John Harris—

Youth and Young Adult Pastor



Girls Brigade



Adelaide West Girls’ Brigade

contains 12 girls, 2 young

leaders, 2 leaders, 1 chaplain

and a helper. During 2013 we have had some

new members start and stay which has built up

our numbers, but even though we are small we

always welcome new members, and have lots of

fun.

Throughout the year we had a

few themed nights and ‘bring

a friend’ nights which did

bring in some new girls but

they mainly just came for the

night. We also did a bit of

fundraising to help our girls and leaders to

attend our state camp in September 2013 at ElShadi campsite near Wellington—this

celebrated Girls’ Brigade turning 120 across

the world. It was a great weekend and our girls

had lots of fun and met new friends from other

companies across South Australia. We would

love to thank the church for your generous

donation.

After state camp we reached the end of the year

which came up fast, and had the joy of handing

out awards to all our girls, and also on this night

each girl received a Bible to help them learn

more about our wonderful creator in their own

time. We used the money donated from the

church to purchase these bibles for our girls.

We ended the year with a family fun night at

Apex Park at West Beach and had everyone join

in games and finished with a shared picnic.

2014 started with a giant games night, and we

had two new girls join and become members of

our company, and one young leader who joined

us from Elizabeth Company this year.

We are looking forward to the rest of the year

and adventures it will take us on. One of our

upcoming events is our first fundraiser for the

year, selling Kytons Hot Cross Buns and

Lamingtons. Vicki has done another great job of

collecting. We ended term one with an Easter

night and early next term we have our annual

PLT camp for our Seniors and Pioneers to learn

about becoming a leader.

Thank you for your continued support we do

appreciate it so greatly.

Joan Bourn—Team Leader

Prayer MinistryThe Prayer Ministry continues in three formal

formats within the church community. The

prayer chain supported by about ten people

operates with prayer requests able to be phoned

to 8276 8770.

The Prayer Breakfast on the second Saturday

morning each month in the chapel continues to

attract half a dozen members (see the report on

the following page).

The Prayer and Fasting time is convened by

Bryan Crosby and held 7–8 pm each Tuesday

night, again averaging half a dozen people to

pray. It would be wonderful if the prayer

ministry was supported by more when those of

us involved know we are seeing answers to our

prayers. How uplifting this ministry is: we look

back and see prayers answered, not always in

the way we expect but it is tremendously

rewarding as we have communion with other

members of our church community and the Holy

Spirit.

The door is open for any to join us temporarily

or regularly to pray for the advancement of the

Kingdom of God at Adelaide West. May God

continue to bless all our ministries as we go

forward in Jesus’ name.

Colin Rowe



Prayer Breakfast



We meet on the Second Saturday of each month,

excepting January. We gather in the prayer

Chapel to pray for our church and community.

Then we have fellowship over a simple

breakfast in the hall. We generally finish by

10.00 am.

Marg Reichelt

Coffee, Chat and Share Craft GroupA small group of ladies meet on Tuesday 9.30–

11.30 am during the school terms for fellowship

and craft and Vera Barraclough lovingly

provides a delicious homemade morning tea for

us.

In the third term Margaret Scrimshaw designs

and helps us make our Christmas cards. We all

also make cards using quilling—the art of

rolling paper on a metal to form flowers and

other designs (once a feather tip was used,

hence quilling).

The Spring Community Fair is a highlight and

we take responsibility for the craft stall.

We pay $2 for our morning tea and have made

donations to Adelaide West for electricity, KCO

(Kids’ Camp Out), Revolution Camp, mainly

music, 40 Hour famine, Christmas Bowl appeal

and towards replacing the blinds in the Hall.

Judy Johnston

Pasty BakeThis event is held every Friday afternoon and

Saturday in May at the Meals on Wheels

kitchen.

The people who help range in age from 14–94

and include men, women and teenagers, so it is

an all-church event. In 2013, we raised

$19,128 of which $17,500 was given to the

church and the remainder to various charities. If

you would like to have fun, enjoy a laugh or two

and get to know other people, COME ALONG.

Pam Young

Adelaide West Catering TeamWe have completed another very successful

year during which we raised $50,000. Of this,

$32,000 was given towards the solar panels,

$3,000 for office equipment, $5,000 for the

sound system upgrade and other smaller items.

None this would have been possible without the

help of many amazing people. So if you helped

in the kitchen, baked or gave a donation,

THANK YOU.

Pam Young

Recycled BatteriesWe now receive about 10 kg each month. Multiply

that by 12 and, if my maths is right, that’s about

120 kg. So keep recycling! Judy Johnston

Did you Know?We only collected $40 for the Lenten Appeal in

2013—when we did not promote it that year. In 2014,

we raised over $700. It’s amazing what some

promotion does.



Cooperating Churches of West Adelaide



This group has representatives from the

Catholic, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Anglican

and Adelaide West Uniting Church and Schools

Ministry Group, supporting ministry in the local

schools.

Through the Christian Pastoral Support Workers

(formerly Chaplains) with Schools Ministry

Group, currently we help support Verity Coyler

(Underdale High School), Jo Skeates (Lockleys

Primary School), Sandy Altmann (Lockleys

North Primary School) and Andrew Barbirat

(Adelaide High School). During 2013 we

supported Liz Lampard (Lockleys North

Primary School) and we thank her for her work

and wish her well with her new adventures this

year. We are delighted that Sandy Altmann is

joining the CPSW team in 2014.

With the help of Scripture Union we support

SUPA (Scripture Union Primary Age) clubs,

Christian Option Programs, where volunteers

from all the churches are able to go into State

Primary Schools and present programs that offer

Christianity as an option. We support the

Christmas and Easter Seminars that are

‘staffed’ from the churches in our area

This group also coordinates the Back toBethlehem event at Mellor Park, usually in late

November. We try to show what a village may

have looked like in the days of Jesus. The

churches all work together and have their own

stalls and Adelaide West was fortunate enough

to be able to provide two of these last year! The

Baker’s Tent was again very ably attended

and run by Shane and Jo Lampard, thank you.

In 2013 we also ran the hot food stall and had

Greg Roberts, Julian Whiting and a couple of

wonderful helpers from Mile End Church of

Christ. (Of course as I was there and

Moreen and Allen Schroder were amazing

helpers too!!) We had wonderful weather and

had a continual stream of people all day, a great

witness to the community.

If that was not enough this group also

coordinates the Lockleys Community Carols

also held at Mellor Park. We are able to supply

some of the chairs and tables at this this event

and also provide the BBQ, adding to our

community outreach.

Just a plug for 2014—Back to Bethlehem will

be on Saturday, 29th November and the

Lockleys Community Carols will be on

Wednesday, 10th December.

We thank Paddy Cross for her many years of

service and dedication to this committee and

being our faithful representative. I have now

taken up the role and hope to be able to fill the

shoes of my predecessors.

Blessings and thanks,

Lorraine Schroder.

Dear Friends,This is my last report as your representative on Cooperating Churches. For many years I have sought to have newblood and a younger person as representative on this committee.Adelaide West is the largest congregation of the Coop Network and I pray we will continue to support and encouragethis hard-working committee as well as our new capable representative Lorraine Schroder, who already has shownherself to be a very valuable team member.We pray that all schools continue to recognize the inestimable value the Christian presence of CPSWs give to theschool communities, because of church volunteers undergirding them.I want to sincerely thank Shane and Jo Lampard in organizing the Baker’s Tent so skilfully and willingly at Back toBethlehem for so many years. It has been such a blessing.Lorraine will now oversee AWUC’s role at Back to Bethlehem and the Lockleys Community Christmas Carols.I praise God and thank AWUC for supporting me in the many years I have represented you in this avenue of service,as the baton of love is handed on to Lorraine. May I take this opportunity to genuinely thank Leon Broster and theteam of helpers for the incredible effort time and patience given to enable this excellent Annual Review to be



produced.Paddy Cross

.



Adult Fellowship



The Fellowship is led by two coordinators and a

committee of eight, and has a membership of 38.

Our year begins with the February Meeting a

‘Getting to know you’ theme. Last year this

was followed by our Easter meeting in March, a

dinner of roast meat and vegetables followed by

delicious sweets Judy Johnston made for us,

after which Reverend Rod Dyson spoke about

the historical origins of Lent and celebrated

Communion with us.

The Metropolitan Fire Service provided us with

serious information on ‘Fire Safety in our

Homes’ presented in a fun way. Fun was the

theme later in the year when the ‘Clown

Doctors’ told us of their work at the

Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Other speakers were: Jo Skeates, the Lockleys

Primary School CPS worker, who cooked us fish

fingers, speaking about Jesus cooking fish for

the disciples; Ali Andris told us about her work

with Autistic students; and Sister Gwen spoke of

her work at Hutt Street Centre. Members

donated tea and coffee for the work among the

homeless. Our ‘Who am I’ night challenged

our imaginations as we decided who/what to

represent and guessed which character others

had chosen by their costumes.

Unfortunately, several changes had to be made

to our program the latest being in October when

our speaker was unable to come due to illness.

A pleasant evening was spent with members

nominating their favourite hymn, telling us why

they chose it and Glenys accompanied our

singing on the piano. The AGM is held in

November and our December Christmas

meeting is a fun night when gifts are exchanged

and the name of our ‘Secret Friend’ is

revealed.

We support four World Vision children with the

help of the Day Friendship group and follow

their progress through their letters: Valentina

from Tanzania, Robinson from Indonesia,

Omega from Zimbabwe and Emmanuel from

Rwanda.

Members again took part in the March World

Day of Prayer, held at St Mark’s Lutheran

Church. The service was compiled by the

women of Egypt.

May means Pasty Bake and Friday afternoons

and Saturdays we enjoy a special time of

friendship working together baking our tasty

pasties. Some members make curry for the Red

Dove Café at the Royal Adelaide Show and the

Spring Fair.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to

make this another successful and happy year for

the Adelaide West Uniting Adult Fellowship.

Pamela Roberts—Secretary

World Vision—Adult Fellowship and Friendship ClubAdelaide West Uniting Church continues its

involvement with World Vision through the

generosity of members from these two groups.

Their commitment each month enables us to

fund four children at a cost of $42 each month

(around $2,000 per annum). This pays for

school fees, books, uniforms, health care and

district projects. The whole area is helped with

school and health, buildings, improved water

supply, food and marketing ventures.

We write to the children three times a year—for

Christmas, birthday and in-between. They are

told about our church, Australia and our way of

life. Although gifts are not permitted (some

sponsors may try to outdo others), we do send

sheets of stickers to share with family and

friends and handkerchiefs printed with maps of

Australia and Australian animals. In return we

receive beautiful letters with grateful thanks,

best wishes for our health and often hope that

they will ‘see us soon’.



Thank you to everyone for your generosity and

pray that our four children—in Tanzania,

Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Indonesia—will

continue to be educated and grow up to be

healthy and safe.

Judy Johnston.



Friendship Club



During 2013 a shipment of unused spectacles

was sent to the Christian Blind Mission for use

in their programs. Thanks for those who

contributed. More are needed in 2014 but no

broken pairs or sunnies please.

We welcomed Reverend Rod Dyson at our first

meeting in March 2013 and thoroughly enjoyed

his message and taking Communion.

Through the year, five concerts entertained us:

A.R.D.A. Radio Players, the Merrilee Singers,

Johnson’s Concert Show, Tea Tree

Troubadours and The Encounter Ensemble

Group at our Christmas Luncheon.

We were inspired by these wonderful people at

other times of the year. Bob Farrow (a

headmaster and clever teacher) Wendy Young

and Kees Vermey on Indonesia, Rhonda

Williams on South Africa and Amanda from the

Cora Barclay Centre.

This year we have several new members and we

trust they will feel loved as we welcome them.

We think of those in a special way who have lost

family and friends or have gone to nursing

homes or are unwell and pray in Jesus name for

your comfort and peace.

We take this opportunity to thank the

Wednesday luncheon team led by

Marg Scrimshaw for the hours of preparation

and serving scrumptious meals enjoyed by those

who came to have company and lunch.

We thank Judy Johnson who keeps us well

informed about our four World Vision children,

sharing expenses with the Evening Fellowship

to maintain their care.

Special thanks to Betty and John Burton, Gwen

Hammer, Helen Dewar, Irene Parslow and

others for taking devotions and being afternoon

tea hosts and hostesses.

There has been wonderful support with moving

chairs, washing and drying dishes and other

duties from all our men and ladies. I personally

thank you also for your warmth, humour and

love extended to one another during our happy

and interesting days spent together, and hope

others will feel welcome to join us in the future.

May God bless you and I wish you all good

health, much laughter and blessings for 2014.

Marie Faithfull—Coordinator

Dried Fruit ReportOnce again we have shown a good profit from

dried fruit sales over the last 12 months—over

$1,000. This is down a bit on the previous year,

but still a steady income.

This money has gone towards replacing the

office kettle, purchasing some new glass vases

to be used at events including the Spring Fair

and our big one ($800) went to purchase and

install an outdoor sink by the BBQ, bringing

this area up to compliance with food handling.

This quiet little fundraising source is run by a

very small team—Leon and I—but is a

steady income for the church. It would be lovely

if we could expand it a bit and I would

encourage anyone who has ideas on how to do

this to contact me.

We have had a cost increase this year that we

had to pass on and by the time you read this we

will have introduced dried nectarines. Have you

tried them yet?

Please show your support of this ongoing

resource.

Suzi Cousins



Adelaide West Involvement in Beach Mission



On 4 January, Sandy and Richard Altmann,

Rachel Ferguson and Tim Stevens headed to

Port Vincent to become part of the Scripture

Union Port Vincent Family Mission team. This

was Rachel’s

second mission

and Tim’s first.

The team was

made up of

members from a

number of

denominations and were all ages. The one thing

we all had in common was a passion for sharing

the gospel.

The family program which ran from Monday, 6

January to Friday, 10 January was a very

worthwhile outreach program that reached

children from 5–11 years of age with the

children’s program and 12 years and over with

the teens program; in addition to parents who

(with their children) joined in the evening

family programs.

As members from Adelaide West Uniting

Church we felt grateful for the support we

received—both prayer support, financial

support (from Wednesday Lunch Group) and

practical support (Leon lending and

transporting his mini-golf course). Knowing

members of

our church

family are

praying for us

helps add to

the

connections

that are made whilst on mission through the

building of relationships with the children and

families; an integral part in helping those who

are willing, on their first steps to faith.

It is an exciting moment when a child starts to

ask in-depth questions about a bible verse we

have read, or when they ask us (as leaders) to

pray with them.

Sandy Altmann

Mainly MumsIn Term 3 of 2013 Mainly Mums was started as

a way to further develop relationships between

the adults attending mainly music. Together we

looked at a study which covered topics like

managing stress, guilt and criticism. Volunteers

provided a crèche for which we were very

grateful. This allowed the mums the time and

space to think about and discuss these topics—

not to mention allowing the facilitator to

facilitate! As well as the ideas and tips offered

throughout the study, the main benefits of

sharing together were realising that we all

struggle with these things from time to time and

coming to know that we

have the friendship and support of others in the

same stage of life.

Through this group we were able to reconnect

with a couple of mums who had stopped coming

to mainly music when their work situations

changed and it was great to catch up and hear

how they had been doing.

In 2014, we are offering a parenting course

called Toolbox, which has started well and (by

request) has spilled over to include a couple of

evenings to get the dads up to speed too! We

hope to offer more opportunities like these into

the future. If you are interested in being

involved, through presenting material, attending

the group or looking after children please speak

with Kylie Roberts or Lorraine Schroder.

Kylie Roberts

Did you Know?Approximately 54% of offering moneys are now

given electronically—about 41% use Egive

and 13% direct credit to the church’s bank

account.



Property Report for 2013



In around October 2013, after some prayer, I

accepted the role of property coordinator.

Lynton had finalised his formal undertaking of

the role at some stage in 2012 and between that

time and October 2013, various people took on

coordinating roles, chiefly Suzi Cousins and

Richard Young. I’d like to thank them for

standing in during that time. Lynton however,

was not idle during that time, undertaking an

increasingly complex and involved project to

install solar panels as well as representing

AWUC on a Synod group investigating options

around the future building needs of Synod as

well as the Adelaide College of Divinity.

Prior to my commencing in later 2013, a very

successful Working Bee was held in advance of

the October Synod. From my role in late 2013,

it soon became apparent that there are a

significant number of people who express their

care for one another through caring for the

premises. In no particular order, Kym Ralph is

called on to plug leaks, Jim Tamlin fixes and

builds things, as does Trevor Story. The garden

keeps (that I know of) Judy Johnson, Wayne

Colebatch and Ron White occupied a lot, and

credit for the green and cared-for appearance

must go to them, especially over the hot summer.

Joy Hardwick and Peter Whiting look after

much property administration. David Gordon

remembers the manse when most of us go, “Of

course, the manse!” Simon and Nathan Story

do various electrical tasks. Leon Broster and

John Andrewartha are thanked for the many

small tasks they do, such as chair bottoms and

light bulbs.

Jesus talked about (paraphrased) “to whom

much is given, much is expected”, and “if

you are faithful in small things, bigger things

will come your way”. Our collective

endeavours to maintain the property are really a

way of caring for one another, and to enable the

property to be used, and used widely, and it is a

pleasure that it is. May God continue to bless

his people through the premises and his people

here.

David Bailey—Property Coordinator

Other initiatives and projects include:

Building a new shed—thank you, Jim TamlinCleaning the paving—thank you, Richard Altmann



Installing New Blinds—thank you to the fundraisers



Split the Power Board and Installed Solar Panels



Grateful thanks are due to Lynton Willcocks.

During 2013, the AWUC community expended

significant resources on splitting the electrical

board into two and the installation of 120 solar

panels (30 kW output). The solar panels took up

around 75% of the overall cost of $52,000.

The need for this work was partly in response to

a desire to contribute to environmental

sustainability and partly in response to a

generous bequest of $20,000 for solar panels,

and a number of other gifts. In particular, the

wonderful support from Adult Fellowship and

the Catering Group is recognised.

During the course of scoping solar panel options,

it was learned that in mid-2013,

SA Power Networks altered the trigger point for

when an electrical consumer moves from a

‘usage’ based tariff to a ‘peak demand’

based tariff. For AWUC, the immediate impact

was an estimated change in electrical charges

from around $20,000 PA to around $40,000 PA

(both without solar). A consequence of this was

that if solar was installed with no other changes,

whilst electricity usage would reduce, the cost

would increase.

Arising from extensive and lengthy

investigations, in the second half of 2013,



the Church Council decided to proceed with

splitting the electrical board into two in order to

avoid triggering the ‘peak demand’ based

tariff. The board split and new meters to

measure electrical usage are summarised as

follows:

312A Meter—this comprises all air

conditioning units and the front of house

lights. The solar is connected to this and, in

particular, offsets the high demand from the

air-conditioners (when they are used)

312B Meter—all other electrical services,

such as general lighting, kitchen, power

points and office computers

Post the solar install and with the split

board, the expected annual electrical

operating cost to AWUC is around

$7–10,000, a significant reduction

With the changes, we will need to take care

with the simultaneous use of all seven air

conditioners, in particular on very hot or

very cold days

As a significant undertaking by the AWUC

community, the panels and split board were

dedicated to God’s service as part of

Sunday worship services on 9 March 2014.

David Bailey

.



Nursing Home Visiting Team



In 2013, our church continued to conduct

monthly worship services at St Raphael’s and

Serene Nursing Homes. In 2014 we have added

the newly built ‘Empress’ Aged Care facility

on Henley Beach Road to our list of homes

where we conduct monthly services. Our

worship leaders are Norm Scrimshaw, John

Maddern, Rob Goldsmith and Peter Whiting.

Our nursing home visiting team also includes

Helen Dewar (our pianist), Judy Johnston, Marie

Faithfull, and Jean Rigby. The team is very

grateful to Alwyn Osmond for donating a

keyboard for us to use at the services we

conduct at Serene, as there is no musical

instrument there.

Our church also conducts services at St Martins

Nursing home on a roster with other

denominations. Services in 2013 were led by

Peter Whiting and Norm Scrimshaw.

We have recently welcomed Trevor Smith to our

team in 2014, and would be glad to welcome

anyone else who would like to join us for a few

hours on Wednesday afternoons on the last

Wednesday each month.

Peter Whiting

Wednesday LunchFirstly, let me say a big thank you to all who

have helped at Wednesday Lunch. It was sad to

say goodbye to Pauline Lock at the end of the

year, we will miss her in the kitchen.

We have had a very good year with people

enjoying a variety of meals and desserts. The

highlight was the Christmas dinner which

everyone really enjoyed.

In the coming year we are happy to have quite a

few new people join the team, some have helped

out before and some will be new to the team,

this will mean that the regulars will have an

easier year. In our preparation we try to have

alternatives for those with food allergies.

We have given donations toward the blinds for

the church hall, to Kids Space for KCO, Youth,

Scripture Union Beach Mission and Epilepsy

Foundation, also supplying the tea, coffee etc.

for the kitchen. We look forward to seeing you

at Wednesday Lunch and we always welcome

new people.

Margaret Scrimshaw

Coffee For BlokesCFB is an informal group that started up in

2013, and resumes in April 2014. On the

second Wednesday of each month we meet in a

local café (La Vita, Grange Rd) for a hot drink

and a chat. We talk about whatever takes our

fancy on the night, with no set agenda or study

programme. Numbers have varied from as many

as 15 or 16, when we had pizzas for dinner, to 5

or 6. CFB is intended to give men an

opportunity to catch up with other men and talk

about issues of interest to them. It is open to

men from other churches, and would also be a

good way to introduce non-Christian friends to

more Christian men. Contact Garry Lockwood or

David Bailey for more details.

Garry Lockwood

Did you Know?Christmas Bowl offerings for Christmas 2013

totalled $2,294.30.

Did you know?During 2013, 2 kg of postage stamps have been taken

to the Fellowship office at Synod (that’s a lot of

stamps!)



African Connection



During 2013, members of the congregation,

originally from African countries became much

more integrated into the worship life of

Adelaide West. On World Refugee Sunday in

July, Mathew Nyande gave a very moving

reflection at both morning services on what

Refugee Sunday means to him. At the same

services a group of women originally from Sierra

Leone participated as a singing group. Those

involved were Beatrice Munu, Ma-Musu

Nyande, Ashmou Sheriff, Gladys Konoyima, Yei

Musa, Finda Morsay, Hawa Sheriff and

Josephine Nyande. Several members regularly

participated in the singing group at 10.45 am

services.

In December, 2013, Gladys Morsay sent a

shipping container of goods to Sierra Leone, her

birth country, still recovering from the ravages

of war. Gladys did a remarkable job collecting

clothing, small furniture items, household goods,

bikes, toys, TVs, DVDs, tapes, computers,

books (especially for junior primary age

children), etc. to fill a 30 ft container which was

shipped to Sierra Leone at a cost of $10,000.

Such was her dedication that she wheeled a

pram around the streets of Brooklyn Park and

Underdale during the hard rubbish collection,

and salvaged many items to send to Africa.

Some may ask why not send the $10,000

directly as support for people in Sierra Leone?

The reason is that because of the recent

devastating war there, the items she collected

and sent are not available for purchase in the

country. Gladys also sent a container of goods in

2011, representing a sterling effort in terms of

her time, dedication and financial commitment.

In January, 2013, we celebrated a Renewal of

Marriage Vows service for Mathew and

Josephine Nyande, and in July the marriage of

Mary Workolo and Lawrence Gbeleyee. During

the year a number of our members became

Australian citizens, which is always a very

moving occasion for those who have made

Australia their home.

Each year a significant number of our members

participate in a Christmas celebration of Nine

Lessons and Carols. This well-attended service

is held at the Brooklyn Park Church of Christ,

which provides considerable support to the

African-Australian community.

Many of our families have moved to homes they

have purchased or to rental accommodation in

suburbs quite a distance from Adelaide West,

which means that they don’t worship with us

each Sunday. However, the connection is still

there, and it is wonderful to see such families

dropping in to worship at AWUC from time to

time. We are indeed privileged to have the

involvement of many African-Australian

families at Adelaide West.

Esmond Dowdy

Dates to remember in 2014

Spring Fair

Saturday, 18 October

Synod meetings

Friday, 21 June and Saturday, 22 June

Thursday, 30 October to Saturday, 1 November

ADELAIDE WEST UNITING CHURCH

ABN 76 585 525 379

FINANCIAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 DECEMBER 2013

Contents

Income and Expenditure Statement 1

Balance Sheet 2

Notes to the Financial Statements 3

Declaration of Church Council 9

Auditors' Report 10

1 | P a g e

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT

FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013

Actual Budget

2013 2013

Note $ $

INCOME

Offerings 236,306 240,000

Fundraising 2 15,644 20,000

Interest 1,934 6,000

Manse rental 17,348 18,500

Property income 38,477 25,000

Ministry income 3,4 22,657 23,500

Sundry income 3,073 7,000

TOTAL INCOME 335,439 340,000

EXPENSES

Interim Minister Stipend & Allowances (Phil) 5,390 5,500

Lead Minister Stipend & Allowances (Rod) 85,056 86,800

Youth Pastor Stipend & Allowances (John) 41,828 42,900

Visitation Pastor Stipend & Allowances (Norm) 12,532 13,500

Childrens and Family Pastor Salary (Lorraine) 49,500 48,900

Office Co-ordinator Salary (Suzi) 9,800 10,000

Event Co-ordinator Salary (Suzi) 11,295 10,000

Cleaner Salary (Buddika) 11,925 12,100

Caretaker Salary (Nathan) 1,631 1,700

Administration Expenses 5 9,195 10,700

Wider Church Payments 6 25,723 26,800

Local Ministry Expenses 7 3,633 6,000

Specific Ministries Expenses 8 3,147 7,500

Property Expenses 9 47,857 52,800

Loan Repayments 26,044 26,000

TOTAL EXPENSES 344,556 361,200

SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) (9,117) (21,200)

2 | P a g e

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31st DECEMBER, 2013

2013 2012

Note $ $

ASSETS

Cheque account (Credit Union (SA)) 66,058 47,835

Petty Cash 200 200

Investments 10 47,143 45,408

Loans / Receivables 11 12,000 6,170

Youth Bank account (Bank SA) 6,348 4,665

Youth Cash on Hand 161 517

TOTAL ASSETS 131,910 104,795

LIABILITIES

Payables – Electricity meters 17,496

Other Payables 1,678

Owing for work of the wider church / appeals 12 3,085 793

Funds held on behalf of Church groups 13 5,675 7,554

Funds held for specific projects 14 25,816 25,516

Income received for 2014 from Fellowship 18,500

Employee liabilities (Tax and Super) 708 1,775

Access card deposits 700 700

Loan on Building 15 187,039 205,990

TOTAL LIABILITIES 259,019 244,006

NET ASSETS (127,109) (139,046)

CHURCH FUNDS

Accumulated Funds (127,109) (139,046)

TOTAL CHURCH FUNDS (127,109) (139,046)

3 | P a g e

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


1 Statement of Significant Accounting Policies

This financial report is a special purpose financial report prepared in order to satisfy the

requirements of the Uniting Church in Australia's Constitution and Regulations to prepare a financial

report. The Church Council has determined that the Church is not a reporting entity.

The financial report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the following

Australian Accounting Standard:

AASB 1031: Materiality

No other Accounting Standards, Australian Accounting Interpretations or other authoritative

pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board have been applied.

The following specific accounting policies, which are consistent with the previous period unless

otherwise stated, have been adopted in the preparation of this financial report:

Cash basis

This financial report has been prepared on a cash basis, and is based on historic costs, and does not

take into account changing money values.

Property improvements, Equipment, Land and Buildings

New property improvements, and equipment purchases are not capitalised, but are expensed in the

year of purchase.

Land and Buildings are assets of the Uniting Church Property Trust. It is Uniting Church policy to

include these assets in the Balance Sheet of the Uniting Church Property Trust, rather than the

Balance Sheet of the congregations who have the beneficial use of such land and buildings.

Accordingly, the value of Land and Buildings is not shown in these Financial Statements.

Financial Assets

Investments are brought to account at cost or valuation. Dividends and interest are brought to account

when received.

Employee Benefits

4 | P a g e

No provision has been made for Long Service Leave, Annual Leave and Sick Leave entitlements not

taken at balance date.



2013 2012

$ $

2 Fundraising

Spring Community Fair (net of expenses) 14,005 12,935

Other Fundraising 1,639 2,054

15,644 14,989

3 Ministry Income (Derived from donations using special

envelopes and from Evening Fellowship)

Childrens Ministry 4,352 13,051

Youth Ministry 5,638 2,379

Young Adults 1,140 1,047

Seniors Visitation 9,695 10,154

Schools Chaplaincy 1,832 1,500

22,657 28,131

4 Evening Fellowship Donations

(a) Included in Ministry Income above:


Youth Ministry 3,500 1,500

Young Adults 1,000 500

Seniors Visitation 7,500 7,500

Schools Chaplaincy 1,500 1,500

17,000 15,500

(b) Included in Sundry income

Contrib. to cost of bus transport for worship services 1,500 1,500

18,500 17,000

5 Administration Expenses

5 | P a g e

Stationery, photocopying 2,531 3,879

Telephone, internet, postage 2,796 2,877

Stewardship expenses 612 220

Bus hire for services 2,764 2,836

Sundry Admin expenses 492 1,374

9,195 11,186



2013 2012

$ $

6 Wider Church Payments

Mission and Service Fund 23,985 20,220

Schools chaplaincy 1,438 1,438

Co-operating Churches 300 300

25,723 21,958

7 Local Ministry Expenses

Worship, Preaching and copyright costs 2,181 1,776

Evangelism and Outreach 1,152 1,489

Pastoral Care 300 708

3,633 3,973

8 Specific Ministries Expenses


Youth Ministry 1,500 239

Young Adults 0 386

Seniors Visitation 0 207

3,147 3,887

9 Property Expenses

Electricity 16,848 17,404

6 | P a g e

Gas 552 501

Water and Sewerage 1,657 1,024

Insurance 7,688 7,272

Repairs and Maintenance 14,275 9,546

Security and fire protection 2,425 2,758

Manse expenses 2,961 3,796

New equipment and technology 496 746

Sundry Property expenses 955 150

47,857 43,197

7 | P a g e



2013 2012

$ $

10 Investments (All with UC Invest)

For general purposes 20,302 19,684

Music Fund 3,212 3,115

Organ Trust Fund (see below) 23,629 22,609

47,143 45,408

Organ Trust Fund

Balance at start of year 22,609 24,465

Donations invested after deducting payments

to guest organists and non-routine maintenance 303 716

Investment interest 717 1,278

23,629 26,459

Less expenditure on organ modifications 0 3,850

Balance at end of year 23,629 22,609

11 Loans / Receivables

Refugee loans 2,153 2,153

GST refund due from Tax Office 5,207 1,397

Childrens’ Ministry (KCO, mainly music) 717 1,177

Debtors (Property hire) 935 0

Youth related 0 868

Other reimbursements 2,988 575

12,000 6,170

12 Funds held for work of wider church / appeals

Christmas Bowl 2,264 768

Other 821 25

3,085 793

8 | P a g e



2013 2012

$ $

13 Funds held on behalf of Church Groups

African Unity and Friendship Group 0 55

Alpha 508 508

Friends of Refugees (see below) 2,171 2,564

Girls Brigade 0 300

Mens Choir (see below) 0 761

Wednesday Lunch (see below) 2,996 3,366

5,675 7,554

Friends of Refugees


Donations and fund raising 205 1,557

2,769 3,882

Less expenditure assisting new arrivals 598 1,318


Mens Choir

Balance at start of year 761 545

Income from performances (excl those for appeals) 1,706 720

2,467 1,265

Purchase of keyboard and other expenses 2,467 504

Balance at end of year 0 761

Wednesday Lunch


Profits from lunches and Sunday morning tea 3,358 2,613

6,724 4,147

Less expenditure 3,728 781


9 | P a g e



2013 2012

$ $

14 Funds held for specific projects

Cleaning Fund 4,270 4,400

Council grant for plants 85 85

Debt reduction donations (paid off loan in 2014) 1,773 1,512

Maintenance Fund 16,554 19,216

Musical Instruments Fund 345 0

Organ Fund donations (invested in 2014) 269 303

Hall blinds 2,520 0

25,816 25,516

15 Building Loan


Add interest (5% p.a.) 9,902 10,849

215,892 234,214

Less repayments, debt reduction donations, Local Support

Scheme fore-gone interest 28,853 28,224


Local Support Scheme

Funds loaned interest-free at call to UC Invest by members,

with fore-gone interest used to pay off building loan

39,519 33,419

Interest fore-gone for the year by members 1,298 1,421

10 | P a g e

CHURCH COUNCIL DECLARATION

2013

The Church Council has determined that the Church is not a reporting entity. The Church Council has

determined that this special purpose financial report should be prepared in accordance with those accounting

policies outlined in Note 1 to the accounts.

In the opinion of the Council:-

1. the financial statements and notes present fairly the Church’s financial position as at December 31,

2013 and its performance for the year ended on that date in accordance with accounting policies

described in Note 1 to the financial statements;

2. at the date of this statement, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Church will be able to pay

its debts as and when they fall due.

This has been agreed to at a properly constituted meeting of the Council.

----------------------------------

Chairperson

----------------------------------

Member

Date:

11 | P a g e

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ADELAIDE

WEST UNITING CHURCH

2013Scope:

I have audited the accompanying Income and Expenditure Statement and Balance Sheet and Notes to the

Financial Statements set out on pages 1 to 7 (being a Special Purpose Financial Report) of Adelaide West

Uniting Church for the year ended December 31, 2013. The Church Council of Adelaide West Uniting

Church is responsible for the financial report and has determined that the accounting policies used are

appropriate to meet the needs of its members. I have conducted an independent audit of this financial report

in order to express an opinion to the members of Adelaide West Uniting Church Council. No opinion is

expressed as to whether the accounting policies used, are appropriate to the needs of the Church Council.

The financial statements have been prepared for distribution to the Church Council. I disclaim any

assumptions of responsibility for any reliance on this report or on the financial report to which it relates to any

person other than the Church Council, or for any purpose other than that for which it is prepared.

The audit has been conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. The audit procedures

included examination, on a test basis, of evidence supporting the amounts and other disclosures in the

financial report and significant accounting estimates. These procedures have been undertaken to form an

opinion as to whether, in all material respects, the financial report is presented fairly so as to present a view

which is consistent with my understanding of Adelaide West Uniting Church’s financial position. These

policies do not require the application of all Australian Accounting Standards and other mandatory

professional reporting requirements.

Qualification:

Offerings/Donations/Fundraising Activities:

It is not practical for Adelaide West Uniting Church to maintain an effective system of internal control over

the collection of offerings, donations and other fundraising activities prior to their entry in the accounting

records. Accordingly, the audit in relation to collection of offerings, donations and other fundraising activities

was limited to the amounts recorded in the accounting records.

The audit opinion expressed in this report has been formed on the above basis.

Audit Opinion:

In my opinion, the financial report presents fairly the financial position of Adelaide West Uniting Church as at

December 31, 2013 and the results of its operations for the year then ended.

JULIE BRAY CPA

-------------------------------

Date

annualreview2013 · adelaidewestunitingchurch2013annualreview...

Documents