The Uniting Church in Australia Assembly Doctrine Working Group has released a discussion paper on theology marriage, in response to the 13th Assembly, using the official Uniting Church marriage service as the basis for theological reflection. The process began with a process of listening, in which facilitators (including me) worked with selected groups to hear a diversity of views. Robert Bos has produced a report on that process, “Views of marriage in the UCA”, providing insights from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities, recent migrant communities and “Anglo Australian” communities. Ben Myers, theology lecturer at UTC Sydney, drafted “Discussion Paper on Marriage”, the commentary on the marriage service in Uniting in Worship 2. Now’s the time for further conversation and response, with submissions due by 10 October 2014 so they can be collated and provided to the Assembly Standing Committee for its meeting in November this year.
Producing a discussion paper is an important step. Hosting meaningful conversations in response, however, is not a simple matter. My experience as a facilitator in the initial listening process, with the Canberra Region Presbytery and the Assembly of Confessing Congregations marriage working group, confirmed for me the importance of an environment focused on respect and genuine inquiry. Working in small groups of three helps to get around the dominance of loud and authoritative voices, though of course there’s always a risk that highly introvert people will still struggle to come up with reflective responses under pressure.
I’m anticipating that the United Theological College community will have an opportunity to explore the documents and do some theological reflection in response.