Victorian Council Of Churches Forum, 29 July 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this forum this morning. Victoria has a long tradition of being involved and initiating services for people who experience a range of disabilities, who are disadvantaged, or who have been shunned and made outcasts of society because of their behaviour, mental health or criminal actions.

Two early examples of these agencies are the Melbourtne City Mission and the St James’ Ladies Benevolent Society. In the intervening years, other churches also responded to the needs of children and families with a pattern of service delivery across the metropolitan area of Melbourne and rural Victoria.  Many of these agencies still remain strong, while others have have amalgamated to form new entities, such as Anglicare, Catholic Care, Uniting Care, and the Salvation Army.

Today, whether the agency is small or large, they are often complex organizations with partnerships, links to government, various connections to their church hierarchy, strong in service delivery while having a declining volunteer and staff basis grounded in their respective churches.  Most were established by employing dedicated Christian volunteers and staff.  None could survive today employing only staff or volunteers who have a faith perspective.  While there may be some in the sector who are saddened by this, I suggest the contrary view, that the sector has been enriched and challenged by this new wave of professionals, and the role of agencies today would be greatly diminished without them.  This new professional group has opened the eyes of agencies to different types of services, a range of readily accessible research, a commitment to human rights and new partnerships. Without these attributes, today’s faith-based agencies would be the poorer.

Let me briefly summarise what I want to share with you this morning:

1. Agencies represented in this room have charisma, meant in the biblical sense, not of charm, but wisdom, experience, commitment for the long haul, working with the most disadvantaged (prisoners, the homeless, those with a mental illness)

2.  We have a narrative that frames our approach: a story of redemption, of hope, of reconciliation and sitting with those who are rejected by society.  We represent and embody in our practice and service a mission exemplified in the stories of the Good Samaritan, the Feeding of the Five Thousand, and the Prodigal Son.  We have a distinctive story to tell and share. Our approach and belief is that every person has the capacity to change and grow. Agencies in the sector are not only about service provision, but also provide opportunities for personal and social transformation, as the principles of restorative justice spell out.

3.  We deliver the goods.  Once we did this with our own resources, while today it is in partnership with government.  Part of our mission is to ensure the active sharing of the resources of this great land through advocacy, perseverance, and beliefs of people like yourselves here today.

4.  A key element of our history has been the central place of the Christian meta-narrative, the story that speaks of the overwhelming generosity of God.  I want to suggest and challenge you all to consider how this narrative fits and sits with your agency today.  My own assessment is that the narrative is often camouflaged, ignored, or presented in what I call ‘religious speak’.  Advocacy statements are often in no way dissimilar to those of a non-faith-based agency.  Theological reflection is at a minimum.  That is how it appears, I suggest, in public statements, annual reports, and brochures.  The narrative, the Christian foundations and principles that undergird an agency’s history and rationale are divorced from the words and deeds.  Our ability as leaders in the sector, our ability to influence the agenda must value-add to public discourse or service delivery.

5.  Change will continue to occur across the sector as our community changes. Peter Shergold’s Committee of Review will without doubt explore myths and facts of the sector.  Increased government funds will mean greater accountability.  Agencies in this sector, however, as I have already said, are not proxy government departments, as some public servants think, acting as though the agencies are at their beck and call.

We are much more than the cleaner who comes in to pick up shattered lives.

1. We inform social policy by being a voice for the voiceless.

2. We add on our own resources to government-funded services.

3. We ask the tough questions when a voiceless minority is being ignored or exploited.

4.  We are on the side of the poor and disadvantaged.

5. We bring a moral dimension to discussions in the public arena.

6. We invest in infrastructure and people.

Here I am reminded again of the question that Alice asked the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland:

         “Which way do I go to get out of here?”

 The White Rabbit replied, “That depends.”

“Depends on what?” said Alice.

“Depends which way you want to go,” replied the White Rabbit.

In conclusion, I want to suggest to you today that our way forward is to be a vibrant and prophetic part of the reawakening of the Australian community, an exemplar of vision, hope and a ‘hands-on’ approach.  “Without a vision the people perish,” says the ancient sage.  Jesus calls us to the building of God’s Kingdom.  It remains as true today as then.

In his inaugural speech as President of South Africa in 1994, Nelson Mandela spoke these words.  Let me leave them with you.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant?”

Actually, who are you NOT to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn’t help the world.

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

I challenge us all to imagine what we could be.