News - Lay Ministries

Woman Wisdom Bible studies, Rev Dr Sally Douglas

Early Church Understandings of Jesus as the Female Divine at the VicTas Synod meeting 2016

Rev Dr Sally Douglas continues to explore the theme of Woman Wisdom.

Rev Dr Sally Douglas explores the theme of Woman Wisdom

Rev Dr Sally Douglas explores the imaging and celebration of Jesus as the female divine – Woman Wisdom – in a series of Bible studies delivered at the 2016 Synod meeting. Janet McKenzie’s painting “Jesus of the People” was used with permission and can be seen to symbolise Woman Wisdom incarnate.

Sally’s book “Early Church Understandings of Jesus as the Female Divine, The Scandal of the Scandal of Particularity” (2016) has recently been published by Bloomsbury.

Small group study resources

Videos of the four studies are available for personal learning or group discussion. Handouts for each study include quotes from early Christian sources and Sally suggests watching only one study at a time, and then taking some time to reflect and discuss what you have heard (rather than watching two or more of the studies in one sitting).

Synod 2016 Bible Study Introduction by Sally Douglas includes a related Bible passage to read before each study, and discussion questions for personal or group reflection.

You may like to use the following questions after you have watched each study:

What surprised / excited / troubled you most in this study?
What would you like to know more about?
Are there implications for you, and your faith community, in how you follow Jesus in the 21st century?

Study 1:

Read Proverbs 8.22-9.6
Watch Synod 2016 Bible Study 1
Read Synod 2016 Bible Study 1 Handout with Bible passages and early Christian sources
Discuss the three questions above

Study 2:

Read Colossians 1.15-20
Watch Synod 2016 Bible Study 2
Read Synod 2016 Bible Study 2 Handout with Bible passages and early Christian sources
Discuss the three questions above

Study 3:

Read John 1.1-5, 14-18
Watch Synod 2016 Bible Study 3
Read Synod 2016 Bible Study 3 Handout with Bible passages and early Christian sources
Discuss the three questions above

Study 4:

Read 1 Corinthians 1.22-31
Watch Synod 2016 Bible Study 4
Read Synod 2016 Bible Study 4 Handout with Bible passages and early Christian sources
Discuss the three questions above

Crosslight articles on the four studies:

Jesus of the Poeple, Janet McKenzie

Janet McKenzie’s painting “Jesus of the People” was used with permission and can be seen to symbolise Woman Wisdom incarnate.

“First unveiled on NBC’s Today Show in 2000, Janet McKenzie’s painting, Jesus of the People was the first place winner of the National Catholic Reporter’s global competition to identify an image of Jesus for the New Millennium. Janet paints multicultural images which honor gender and race, spotlightighting women and people of color, both of which she notes are under-represented in iconic Christian imagery.” source

Interview with Sally by Liam Miller, Christian Students Uniting:

Copyright license information:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Licensor: Rev Dr Sally Douglas, 2016

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
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You are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or formatThe licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Pastor Competencies

Information for prospective and recognised Pastors

Information on the ministry of Pastor is available on the Uniting Church Assembly website, including the Core Competencies and General Competencies and rules. The Uniting Church Regulations include many on the ministry of Pastor, and are summarised on a single page.

Core Competencies are those areas determined by the UCA Assembly as essential minimum requirements for an appointment for the ministry of Pastor; every person recognised as a Pastor must demonstrate these competencies. The Assembly has determined that these Core Competencies address two areas: The Basis of Union and UCA ethos, and the UCA Code of Ethics and Ministry Practice. Competencies include knowledge, skills and other abilities. The Assembly provides relevant self-directed learning resources: Orientation to the Basis of Union and Orientation to the Code of Ethics and Ministry Practice, both available from CTM Resourcing. All pastors are required to demonstrate the Core Competencies before or within three months of commencing in their ministry context.

General Competencies are related to the particular role and context; a person in a Pastor role needs to demonstrate the competencies relevant to that role. The General Competencies include:

1. Community Development
2. Education
3. Evangelism
4. Leadership
5. Pastoral Care
6. Organisation & Administration
7. Worship & Preaching

Anyone exercising ministry under the regulations for the specified Ministry of Pastor is required to demonstrate both the Core Competencies and the relevant General Competencies for and within their ministry context.

The Assembly website is not easy to navigate for Pastor resources, and the search function is not very effective, so the following files are listed here for simplicity:

Core Competencies (2009)
General Competencies (2009)
Checklists (2008)
Common Questions & Answers (2008)
Summary of all Pastor regulations on one page (October 2017); original regulations (May 2008)
Rules (Aug 2008)

The Uniting Church affirms the priesthood of all believers: that every member of the Church has gifts for service, and that all ministries have a part in the ministry of Christ. The Uniting Church provides for the exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them, including…

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Formation

An ongoing life-long process

Formation is an ongoing life-long process, since we are continually formed and re-formed by the communities and other influences that surround us. Self-aware reflective Christian formation is a process of conscious discernment of all those influences, and a conscious decision to engage* (see below) the influences which shape us more fully into the form…

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2015 MSM courses

Mission Shaped Ministry Courses

What if the activity and ministry of the Church were shaped by mission to folk ‘outside’ the traditional structures? Who in your local community really needs to hear the good news of the gospel, but doesn’t understand all the Church lingo? The “Mission Shaped Ministry” course explores the mission of…

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