Ministry in Australia

disgrace, I thought, interfering in the business of a congregation without any good reason. This was sheer politics. I was disgusted.

The reaction to this decision of Presbytery was a unified congregation. With one or two exceptions, they all rallied behind Max Fox and saw to it that he was called the second time. When the call came before Presbytery this time, I was better prepared. There were also about 30 members of the Thirroul congregation present to reinforce their determination. When it came to the vote, we won by one vote, the thinnest of margins, but we won. From then on many issues were decided on party line, but our Uniting people always seemed to be in the minority. We began to call it "the bad presbytery".

Meanwhile, parallel structures for the Uniting Church had been established. As only few ministers from the Presbyterians were coming into Union, I was nominated to become the chairperson for the Uniting Presbytery. However, I felt that I was not experienced enough, also my concept of leadership may have clashed with that of my Methodist colleagues, so I declined.

By 1975 our Parish was well organised, and when church union was delayed until 1977, we decided with our three churches to unite all our services with the Methodist congregations at the beginning of 1976. Our finances, however, had to be kept separately. I had an excellent relationship with the Methodist minister, Eric Knight. We met at least once a week and decided all major activities together. Glenys Irons from Oak Flats became our secretary, and we issued a combined monthly newspaper for all, which Glenys called "METHO-PRES", a humorous allusion of the two joining denominations. After union it became "CROSS-FIRE', denoting parts of the Uniting Church emblem and hinting at a vigorous debate in the publication. The co-operation with the Methodists was such a wonderful contrast to the bickering of the Presbyterians, that my sanity was quickly restored.

Through John Brown's recommendation I was elected to the state Commission of Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR), the successor of the old Board of Mission. I usually caught the train for Sydney to attend the meetings. Later this led to my membership of BOEMAR, the national mission board of our church, and when the Joint Board of Mission was established before Church Union, I was also elected to this. The time I spent under John Brown's general secretaryship was a most inspiring and rewarding one. Many policy changes were initiated during that period, particularly with regard to Aboriginal ministry. I became a friend of Charles Harris, who was also a member on the board and who later became the first president of the Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress.

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