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    Uniting Church Studies The New Preamble, Vol. 16, No.1

    TXT

    [...]UDIES
    UNITING CHURCH STUDIES




    THE NEW PREAMBLE
    [...]TION
    Exploring the implications of the new preamble
    Chris Budden


    THI: PRIEAIVIBI.I:[...]t's call for a 'careful reading': The UCA and its Preamble
    Clive Pearson


    19 Revelation, providence and openness: Reflections on Paragraph 3 of the Preamble
    Geoff Thompson


    29 Covenants, treati[...]s


    49 A multicultural perspective on the new Preamble
    Katalina Tahaafe-Williams


    59 Preamble to a new era in Indigenous-Christian relations? S[...]John D'Arcy May


    63 The proposed new Preamble and the Barmen Declaration, and why it matters
    Alex Jensen


    RIESPONSIE
    71 Preamble: Crisis and opportunity
    Wes Campbe[...]
    [...]Exploring the implications of the new Preamble
    _____ Chris Budden


    At its meeting in[...]of the Uniting Church in Australia adopted a
    new Preamble to its Constitution. The suggestion for a new Preamble arose from within the life of the
    Uniting Aborigi[...]rue in the Assembly. After some minor changes the Preamble was accepted by formal majority
    and passed to the next stage in the Uniting Church’s long processes (the Preamble still has to be agreed
    to by presbyteries and syn[...]f Union. When the Assembly decides to adopt a new
    preamble there is, quite rightly, a significant concern ab[...]e world. The critical question in relation to the Preamble
    [...]st in a particular place.


    While the existing Preamble speaks of what it means to be the Uniting Church, the new, proposed
    Preamble seeks to answer the question ‘what does it mean[...]ing that we live in a
    multicultural society, this Preamble takes the position that the most significant and[...]vity?
    There is, I think, one major risk in this preamble project: that the Preamble will unintentionally serve
    continuing colonial in[...]oice. Are even those of us most committed to this Preamble co-operating in another form of social
    control? Will the adoption of this Preamble simply suggest that everything is sorted out and[...], take an example that has some affinity with the Preamble - the Prime Ministers apology
    to the Stole[...]
    [...]violent
    and destructive and very ambiguous as the Preamble suggests? Second is the question of whether this
    Preamble will be used to end the discussion, to declare th[...]the life of the Uniting Church. That is, will the Preamble be used as an
    end or a new beginning?


    An overview
    There is no doubt that the Preamble makes some bold claims, and raises significant th[...]ont the church
    as it decides how (if at all) this Preamble fits into its life.


    The essays offer a wide range of perspectives on, and approaches to, the Preamble. Some place the
    Preamble in a broader context and ask both what can be learned from others and what the Preamble
    might contribute to ongoing discussions elsewhere. Alex Jensen places the Preamble in a conversation
    with the Barmen Declaration, Ka[...]rectly engaged with the theological claims of the Preamble. Geoff
    Thompson’s article concentrates on parag[...]bout both the theological
    method underpinning the Preamble and the meaning and significance of the claims made - particularly
    in relation to what the Preamble suggests about the particularity of Christ. Ben M[...]f a pilgrim people and expresses concern that the Preamble is framed not in
    that language but the lan[...]
    [...]y exploring both the theological challenge of the
    Preamble and the opportunities it offers to think about ou[...]y since the Assembly explaining and defending the Preamble; and there was little space
    to be involved in thi[...]and through which they would wish to discuss the Preamble.


    Preambles, First Peoples, and academic discussion
    The Preamble started its life as a gift to the church,[...]
    [...]sation through which the whole church can
    own the Preamble may, paradoxically, exclude those who have initia[...]those who hold strong, personal views about this Preamble. We have moved into another space, shaped[...]
    _ I The Preamble
    In regard to the Preamble the Assembly made two decisions.


    Note that:[...]derstand what is enacted in
    the constitution;
    a preamble can give expression to what a community considers[...]cative and have a significant symbolic value;
    a preamble is not legally binding in terms of interpretation[...]which flow from that constitution.


    Amend the Preamble to Constitution by deleting the existing Preamble and replacing it with:


    Preamble to Constitution
    The Uniting Church in Au[...]
    [...]a 'careful reading'
    The UCA and its Preamble
    _____ Clive Pearson



    Identifying a ‘difficult conversation’
    The debate over the proposed new Preamble to the Constitution of the Uniting Church was nev[...]evance of the gospel’?2


    The debate over the Preamble is set inside a specific history that has[...]
    [...]ightened because of the subject matter of the new
    Preamble itself. Anna Haebich has described how ‘Aborigi[...]f the need for penitence. How well the need for a Preamble - or an equivalent - may be
    understood is[...]
    [...]nograph is the key to the thinking behind
    the new Preamble. It performs this task ‘better than any officia[...]ld now be clear that this business to do with the Preamble is not merely a debate over wording,
    inter[...]
    [...]eat care’.


    This metaphor is apt. The new Preamble and the debate surrounding its passage bring to t[...]is compounded because of the kind of document the Preamble is. Its role is to draw attention to the
    self-und[...]e Uniting Church and its origins. The nature of a Preamble is to attract vested
    interests and a concern for[...]about what is being
    proposed. With respect to the Preamble the most consistent and accessible contrar[...]
    [...]ill thus be dedicated to the way in which the new Preamble relates to the Basis of Union. It is a good
    theme[...]umber of articles and items of opinion on the new Preamble.
    The edition for October 2009 was rather spirited[...]churchmanship in his concern for whether the new Preamble is
    too ‘hasty’ and may have ‘long term cons[...]tive approach adopted in the drafting of the 1977 Preamble and how this example
    of‘top-down decision-makin[...]n on the
    ‘consequences of deleting the existing Preamble, with its historical, theological and lega[...]
    [...]ered. It
    recognises that the advocates of the new Preamble are ‘well-intentioned’ but calls into questio[...]oples and the theological tenor that pervades
    the Preamble and which should be debated at every level of the[...]be difficult to voice opposition to the proposed Preamble because of
    the trauma of a poor history. It is qu[...]; Ann Hibbard noted how phrases from the original Preamble which grounded the union in a language of[...]
    [...]ey Fihaki is one, for instance, who argues that a preamble must point towards
    ‘Christ and Christ alone [be[...]then models of revelation are implicated. The new Preamble says as much through its
    claim that the ‘same l[...]r too much expectation is being placed on the new Preamble. Is this the right way to go? Might it be
    'sel[...]and organisational? What practical role will a
    preamble play? Is it not the case that most people in the[...]e Congress seeking to address in and through this Preamble. If it is more relational, then perhaps there oug[...]is conviction that part of the purpose of the new preamble is to 'reinforce the position of the coven[...]
    [...]en sets up a ‘tricky problem’ if the existing Preamble is to be replaced.23


    Langkamp is effective[...]nd salvation. The
    difficulty for the proposed new Preamble lies in how its understanding of God, the Spirit[...]re of an opinion expressed elsewhere that the new Preamble’s
    reading of revelation will actually do a diss[...]23 Paul Langkamp, 'Too Many Gods: Re-reading the Preamble', ACCatalyst, 4:1 (February 2010), pp. 14-15.
    [...]mp are now sharpened. The difficulty with the new Preamble’s understanding is the manner
    in which the reve[...]tive. Its authors envisage the purpose of the new
    Preamble to make the Uniting Church ‘a whole church’,[...]ters for ‘Why we said No’ to the proposed new Preamble is a solid
    package deal made up of a series of co[...]rcised a ‘careful reading’ of the alternative Preamble and exercised ‘an hour of great care’[...]
    [...]elpful rather than condemnatory. The proposed new Preamble is
    more obviously sensitive to Indigenous experie[...]The first has to do with whether or not the draft Preamble has



    " Abetz. 'News and Views'.
    25 Max C[...]
    [...]ocess of interpretation may flow both ways. Can a Preamble fulfil that bilingual function? What
    the ACCataly[...]model of contextual theology which underpins the Preamble.
    Now the ACCatalyst authors have not demonstrated[...]The other side to this coin is that
    the proposed Preamble sits more distinctively inside one out of a numbe[...]Maybe the bilingual task is to map out what this Preamble might look like if it was
    expressed in and throug[...]nous law and custom.27


    The time in which this Preamble
    [...]ness
    Reflections on Paragraph 3 of the Preamble
    _____ Geoff Thompson


    Against the background of the very history narrated in the Preamble, any criticism of the Preamble
    is fraught with risks. So closely have the theolo[...]hole church to the theological claims made in the Preamble. In the name of
    such truth-telling, it must be po[...]eological tradition than that used to promote the Preamble.


    In this paper, therefore, I will attempt to[...]irstly, it has frequently been suggested that the Preamble constitutes an invitation for dialogue
    between in[...]e no grounds for refusing it. The language of the Preamble is not, however, the
    language of invitation. It i[...]y definition of doctrine,
    and notwithstanding the Preamble’s de iure constitutional locus, this is[...]
    [...]pletely uncontroversial. "The dispute is with the Preamble’s endorsement of the latter.


    The claims and t[...]ndicated, the point at issue in this paper is the Preamble’s third paragraph (hereafter #3).
    After two par[...]he Assembly, the UAICC set its endorsement of the Preamble against previous failures
    to address the question[...]to indigenous peoples prior to colonisation. The Preamble
    is understood to redress this situation - and was[...]rs of the UCA to acknowledge through the proposed Preamble.*1


    This claim to, and acknowledgement[...]
    [...]of #3, the Report of the Task Group proposing the
    preamble offered very little in terms of interpretation. Y[...]it made 5 key points:3 (a) it explained that the Preamble refers to the “Indigenous peoples’ knowledge[...]th Trinitarian faith;4 (e) it maintained that the
    Preamble does adequate justice to the particularity of Chr[...]estion:



    3 See "Report of the Task Group on the Preamble to the Constitution", Reports to the Twelfth Asse[...]elpful and probing critique of this aspect of the Preamble, see Craig Thompson,
    "The History and th[...]
    [...]first peoples. In view of the history told in the Preamble, it might have
    been more appropriate for the Asse[...]contextual and
    liberation theologies in which the Preamble has been proposed and defended, #3 contains disco[...]6 Chris Budden, "Theological Issues in the New Preamble", Cross Purposes: Special Edition (2010),[...]
    [...]UNITING CHURCH STUDIES




    issues at hand in the Preamble, and for those who would defend #3, the appeal to[...]Contemporary engagement
    Paragraph 3 of the Preamble concerns itself with the status of custom, law an[...]te - the history of dispossession narrated in the preamble extends to
    custom, law and ceremony. Yet, the Preamble leaves us, it seems to me, in a rather str[...]
    [...]Dominic O'Sullivan


    Introduction
    The revised preamble to its Constitution positions the Uniting Church[...]recording the church’s transitional steps, the preamble highlights deeply contrasting perspectives
    on Chr[...]es to all people.5 Yet, more often than not,



    1 Preamble and Clauses of the Uniting Church in Australia, 2[...]ord, Blackwell Publishing Limited, 2004, p. 19.
    3 Preamble and Clauses of the Uniting Church in Australia, 2009,2.
    4 Preamble and Clauses of the Uniting Church in Austr[...]
    [...]nant in the
    context of its revised constitutional preamble, but to allow readers to draw whatever con[...]
    [...]open to his call to be reformed.’19



    II. The Preamble: Recognising or confessing?
    It is at this point that I am uneasy about the proposed Preamble to the Uniting Church’s Constitution.
    Although the act of revising the preamble (or indeed the Constitution) is in keeping with t[...]h’s founding confession, the content of the new Preamble reflects a theological stance
    incompatible with t[...]ourse, a confession of faith and a constitutional
    preamble are very different kinds of documents. Especially[...]nds’ of the polity as a whole; fundamentally, a preamble is a statement of ‘belief’.20 In the case of[...]nstitution, therefore, a basic requirement of any preamble is that it reflects the church’s
    deepest[...]
    [...]TUDIES




    animated. So although a constitutional preamble is not itself a confession of faith, one of its m[...]onstituted’. To put
    the matter more simply: the Preamble to the Uniting Church’s Constitution is respons[...]hurch’s polity is animated.


    The proposed Preamble, however, is framed not as the aspirations of a c[...]cal bird’s-eye view?


    The language of the Preamble betrays the fact that this document is ind[...]
    [...]t policy.’27 Reading the
    Uniting Church’s new Preamble, it is indeed hard to avoid the same impre[...]
    [...]world.


    V. Conclusion: confessing Christ in the Preamble
    I am deeply sympathetic with the theological intentions of the new Preamble to the Constitution, and
    I am convinced that the[...]ches’?35


    The theological content of the new Preamble, however, reflects a posture that is hard to reco[...]erent, spoken from a different standpoint, if the
    Preamble was to become an exercise of Christian confession[...]ended as an illustration of how the language of a preamble could
    remain faithful to the church’s co[...]
    [...]A multicultural perspective
    on the new Preamble
    _____ Katalina Tahafee-Williams


    This paper is an attempt to bring the current debate on the new Preamble to the Uniting Church in
    Australia’s Constituti[...]so recognizes and affirms the ten clauses in the
    Preamble calling us to this critically important and enriching relationship.1


    The Preamble debate has brought into focus a critical question[...]and Multicultural Ministry. A key concern of the
    Preamble is to articulate an answer to the question, ‘Wh[...]respond to this question in the
    light of the new Preamble, and in the context of the relationship be[...]
    [...]A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW PREAMBLE[...]
    [...]A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW PREAMBLE[...]
    [...]r.


    This paper takes the position that the new Preamble is a step in the right direction towards healing[...]ss.


    However, we need to remember that the new Preamble is only a small step in the right direction.
    Ther[...]ing the world. What is being asked for in
    the new Preamble is a morsel given the irreparable harm alr[...]
    [...]A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW PREAMBLE 55




    the way of our fello[...]leven proposals in relation to key changes in the Preamble to the Constitution and some
    minor changes to the[...]h. Of the eleven, proposals 2
    and 3 are about the Preamble. The rest of the proposals address issues of deci[...]and ‘Second peoples’.


    The changes to the Preamble itself (proposal 3) include ten clauses addressin[...]ion of all of creation in the end time.18


    The Preamble is not legally binding! One wonders then if the i[...]ges be made at all! To put it
    another way, if the Preamble is not legally binding, and therefore has no teet[...]hanges make? What guarantee is there that the new Preamble will make any difference to
    the status of[...]
    [...]rticipants or victims.’23


    Indeed the new Preamble could be seen as a form of positive action. But i[...]d witnesses to the Gospel ofJesus
    Christ. The new Preamble is therefore an opportunity for the church[...]
    [...]A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW PREAMBLE 57




    to justice a[...]od’s justice, peace and reconciliation. The new Preamble is an opportunity to live out that renewal[...]
    [...]59




    Preamble to a new era in
    Indigenous-Christia[...]In accepting the invitation to comment on the new Preamble to the Constitution of the Uniting
    Church in Aust[...].1


    Though I can therefore only comment on the Preamble in general terms, I do so from a Roman
    Catholic p[...]g the recognition that
    the traditions of what the Preamble calls ‘First Peoples’ are religious in their[...][the Europeans] knew in Jesus Christ” (3.1) the Preamble could
    be construed as imposing a whitefell[...]
    [...]ds and waters since time immemorial” (3.2), the Preamble firmly plants their separate
    history withi[...]
    PREAMBLE TO A NEW ERA IN INDIGENOUS-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS?[...]ere made in Australia, humbly acknowledged in
    the Preamble, simply mirror and repeat those made on coundess[...]uniquely among mainline churches, the UCA in this
    Preamble makes relations with Indigenous peoples ab[...]
    [...]63




    I The proposed new Preamble
    and the Barmen Declaration,
    a[...]Assembly of the Uniting Church, the new proposed preamble of the Constitution
    of the Uniting Church is bein[...]s much as I support the general thrust of the new
    preamble, I believe that there is a serious theological fl[...]can be remedied.


    In short, paragraph 3 of the preamble speaks of the revelation of God in the laws, cust[...]oblems arising from this, I
    shall discuss the new preamble in light of the Barmen Theological Declaration of[...]ght some theological problems
    in the proposed new preamble and point towards a way in which these can be resolved.


    This is important, because the preamble to the Constitution must be consonant with the co[...]tain core beliefs. This cannot
    be ignored, as the preamble to a constitution is an important text. Helen Irv[...]stralian Constitution, that a ‘Constitution’s Preamble is a singular thing. It carries the burden
    of mix[...]as well as precise.’1 In its current form, the preamble
    is indeed inspirational, but unfortunately lacks[...]ilarities
    between the authors of the new proposed preamble and the German Christians, or that the theology
    or intention of the preamble are the same as the false teaching of the[...]
    [...]y a discussion of paragraph
    3 of the proposed new preamble in the light of issues raised by this. In[...]
    THE PROPOSED NEW PREAMBLE AND THE BARMEN DECLARATION, AND WHY IT MAT[...]
    [...]UNITING CHURCH STUDIES




    The new proposed Preamble
    It is important to keep these issues in mind when we discuss the proposed new preamble to the
    Constitution of the Uniting Church in Australia.


    The intention behind this section of the preamble can be found, I believe, in the book Rainbow Spir[...]these concerns, section three of the proposed new preamble states:


    The First Peoples had already[...]ly, however, the way in which this is done in the preamble falls under the condemnation
    of Barmen I:[...]
    THE PROPOSED NEW PREAMBLE AND THE BARMEN DECLARATION, AND WHY IT MATTERS[...]Barmen Declaration to these churches. To adopt a preamble to the constitution
    in a way that contradicts the[...]hristian beliefs. Paragraph 3 of the proposed
    new preamble appears to suppose uncritically that God revealed[...]tude.


    Furthermore, it must be asked if the preamble assumes that the particular revelation thr[...]
    [...]he
    particular revelation continues. The proposed preamble is ambiguous in this regard. It first states that[...]st certainly not what the authors of the proposed preamble intend to say or to imply, but,
    unfortunately, ca[...]the concerns that the
    authors of the new proposed preamble raise are invalid. On the contrary, they n[...]
    THE PROPOSED NEW PREAMBLE AND THE BARMEN DECLARATION, AND WHY IT MATTERS[...]ion, as it is, unfortunately, in the proposed new preamble. It is essential therefore that
    the preamble reflects this distinction properly, because this[...]n the other.


    And this matters, because the preamble to a constitution must be precise as well as insp[...]logy is not an optional extra in the proposed new preamble — it is not something
    that can be discar[...]
    [...]In its current form, paragraph 3 of the proposed preamble does not provide the church
    with solid theology,[...]and careful theological work on the proposed new preamble may lead to
    something that is truly ground[...]
    [...]71




    Preamble: Crisis and opportunity
    Wes Campbel[...]nsights into Gods ways.


    Crisis
    The proposed Preamble has produced a crisis. Not merely disagreement ab[...]ng God.


    In this paper I propose to take the Preamble seriously as a theological document, acknowledgin[...]ns raised by Uniting Church theologians
    about the Preamble.1 Criticisms are levelled at the process by which[...]it is important to take heed of the words of the Preamble, and the
    limitations expressed in the words prese[...]is provided concerning the status of the proposed Preamble: recognising that a preamble
    may give an historical account which rehearses si[...]an/London: Collier Macmillan, 1967, p. 230.
    4 The Preamble and a decision of the Assembly about the status of the Preamble are printed at the beginning of this journal.
    [...]venant is therefore the
    presupposition of the new Preamble.


    Thus the introduction to the proposed Preamble says:


    ... the Church shall be govern[...]eological critique being
    directed at the proposed preamble by colleagues whose theological acumen I respect.[...]ssion in the Uniting Church, not only because the preamble is critical of the church’s
    role in dispossessi[...]and when each was



    5 See clauses 8-10 in the Preamble.
    6 Rudolf Bultmann famously posed the q[...]
    PREAMBLE: CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY[...]
    PREAMBLE: CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY[...]history
    with indigenous people of this land? The preamble in paragraphs 4-7 summarises that mixed hi[...]
    [...]we
    grapple with the theological dimension of the preamble, with its recounting of our history and in its
    at[...]involved in the drafting and presentation of the preamble to the church,
    particularly the character[...]
    PREAMBLE: CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY[...]prior to the Assembly presented the proposed
    new Preamble for discussion.


    This discussion bri[...]
    [...]sis’ of paragraph 3. In its framing, and in the preamble itself,
    are various phrases which indicate that t[...]this land.
    I suggest that where anyone judges the preamble to fail in its theological aspirations, we[...]
    PREAMBLE: CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY[...]n must be engaged here because paragraph 3 of the Preamble speaks of the ‘Creator
    God’ whom the F[...]
    PREAMBLE: CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY[...]iscover themselves and develop.37




    38 As the Preamble is a statement issued now within a Christian cont[...]genous history to the people of Israel; does this Preamble supplant Abraham? What is the relationship of Jes[...]cestors. Taking this to be the effect of the
    Preamble it will also allay any fears of a new styl[...]
    [...]UCTION
    Exploring the implications of the new preamble
    Chris Budden


    THE PREAMBLE

    ARTICLE!*
    7 Exploring the ACCatalyst's call for a careful reading': The UCA and its Preamble
    Clive Pearson


    19 Revelation, providence and openness: Reflections on Paragraph 3 of the Preamble
    Geoff Thompson


    29 Covenants, treaties an[...]ers


    49 A multicultural perspective on the new Preamble
    Katalina Tahaafe-Williams


    59 Preamble to a new era in Indigenous-Christian relations? S[...]sues
    John D'Arcy May


    63 The proposed new Preamble and the Barmen Declaration, and why it matters
    Alex Jensen


    RESPONSE
    71 Preamble: Crisis and opportunity
    Wes Campbell[...]

    MD

    Uniting Church Studies The New Preamble, Vol. 16, No.1
    Preamble