What is the Uniting Church for?

The purposes of the Church are to provide for the worship of God, to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to promote Christian fellowship, to nurture believers in the Christian faith, to engage in mission, to assist in human development and towards the improvement of human relationships, to meet human need through charitable and other services and to do such other things as many be required in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

How did the Uniting Church start?

The Uniting Church came into being on 22 June 1977, as a result of the coming together of the Congregational Union in Australia, the Methodist Church of Australia, and the Presbyterian Church of Australia. In uniting, those churches wanted to live out the “unity which is both Christ’s gift and will for the Church” (Basis of Union, paragraph1). This principle remains an important part of all the Uniting Church’s life and work – in local congregations, national commitments to work together with other churches, and relationships and partnerships with churches of various denominations in Asia and the Pacific.

The church in action

With 15,000 staff in more than 400 geographic locations throughout Queensland, the Uniting Church’s Community Services arm UnitingCare is serving more than 14,000 people every day of the year. UnitingCare is one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit heath and community service providers delivering quality and compassionate care through its network of agencies. These agencies provide residential and community services to older people, people with disabilities, and youth at risk; services to strengthen families and children; offer crisis support, counselling and acute health care. The service offered by UnitingCare in Queensland is distinctive because of its strong focus on mission, the scale and breadth of its service, its reputation for service reliability and quality and its local focus. UnitingCare Queensland is the church in action to provide for the well-being of individuals and communities especially those who are vulnerable and socially disadvantaged.

Promoting justice

The Uniting Church undertakes the tasks of promoting justice, reconciliation and peace through social justice advocacy work which expresses the belief that God is committed to life now. The Uniting Church responds to the Bible’s call to care for and protect the marginalised and vulnerable by addressing issues such as the environment, the rights and dignity of asylum seekers, the treatment and care of prisoners, inadequate gambling legislation, religious intolerance, multicultural/cross-cultural issues, fair employment practices and much more. In a Statement to the Nation made at it’s inauguration in 1977 the Uniting Church in Australia pledged to seek the correction of injustices wherever they occur; work for the eradication of poverty and racism within our society and beyond; affirmed the rights of all people to equal educational opportunities, adequate health care, freedom of speech, employment or dignity in unemployment if work is not available; and opposed all forms of discrimination which infringe basic rights and freedoms.

Becoming a member of the Uniting Church

The Uniting Church baptises those who confess the Christian faith and children for whose instruction and nourishment in the faith the church takes responsibility and membership of the Uniting Church is open to 'all who are baptised into the Holy Catholic Church in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'. Membership is not seen as a status or privilege but rather as a commission to take responsible action in the life and mission of the church. To find out about becoming a member of the Uniting Church, talk to the minister of your local congregation.

Decision making in the church

The Uniting Church is very democratic but is not a democracy. A democracy is a form of government in which people as a whole rule. The Uniting Church believes that Christ alone is supreme and that he may speak to the church through any of its councils. It is the task of every council to wait upon God's Word, and to obey God's will in the matters allocated to its oversight. The church's representatives on any council do not represent a majority view on an issue, they seeks the will of God in prayer and by consulting together in the light of the Word of God.

What the Uniting Church believes

The Uniting Church's beliefs are drawn from the Bible and from the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. The church also takes heed of the Reformation Witness in the Scots Confession of Faith (1560), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), the Savoy Declaration (1658), and of the preaching of John Wesley in his Forty-four Sermons (1793). It affirms the place of ongoing theological, literary, historical and scientific study. The church's foundational document, the Basis of Union brings together aspects of these writings and traditions and sets out the church's way of living and being.

About the Uniting Church logo

The emblem of the Uniting Church in Australia shows the cross of Jesus Christ, in its light and love, standing over a darkened world - redeeming it through grace and truth. The Holy Spirit, is symbolised by the dove with the wings of flame, and the wide U at the bottom points to the fact that we are uniting; as a semicircle it also reminds us that the renewing of both church and world are as yet incomplete.

The Basis of Union