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Annual Review 2013
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 2
Editors Note:This Annual Review of the work of Adelaide West Uniting Church has sought to include as many of the activities undertaken by the Church in 2013as possible. If your particular activity is not reported I apologise but if you would like it included for 2014 please make certain that the Editorreceives your material early. To save space Adelaide West Uniting Church is usually abbreviated to AWUC.While every effort has been made to accurately record all activities, errors will occur and are regretted.
Leon Broster
Our VisionWe aim to be a Church where:People love God deeply and passionately, demonstrating this through dynamic worship and prayer
It is our dream:
that all will discover the joy of listening to and talking with God and will actively engage in prayer in all its
many forms.
that all will enthusiastically participate in worship, expecting God to touch people’s hearts and transform
them in grace.
People love each other deeply and honestly, demonstrating this by nurturing and caring for one another and
genuinely welcoming people from outside our faith-community
It is our dream:
that this be a place of loving, learning, laughing and living in harmony
that all will find acceptance, safety, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance and encouragement.
People are led to hope and faith in Jesus Christ through faith-sharing and discipleship.
It is our dream:
that all will have opportunity and enthusiasm to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the thousands
living in our wider community who have not yet discovered it.
that through our authentic witness people will look to Christ for transforming hope.
People experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrating this by growth and transformation
in grace.
It is our dream:
that all will continually grow in the knowledge and the grace of God and will actively seek to do so by
participating in small groups, Bible studies, seminars, retreats and other educational opportunities.
that potential leaders will be identified and developed and leaders will be encouraged and empowered to
initiate ministries.
People express compassion and generosity that reflects God’s love, demonstrating this through a positive
attitude, willingness to serve and generous resourcing of ministries.
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 3
It is our dream:
that all will live out a positive ‘can do’ attitude with generous hearts, recognising and responding to the
needs of others both inside and outside our faith-community.
that our buildings be debt free and finance is released to develop new ministries.
We aim to be a church recognized locally and wider as a place where God is transforming people’s lives
It is our dream:
that all will be willing and available to participate in God’s ministry of reconciliation in the world.
that both individually and together as a body we will demonstrate integrity, compassion and justice in
every facet of our lives.
We aim to be a people who are:
Expectant and who offer Excellence
Inviting
Giving and Generous
Caring
Growing
Genuine, Maturing, Relevant, Learning, Surprising
Church CouncilAfter 2 years of staff changes we have been
able to settle down and continue to progress
our church community.
Phil Carr and Douglas Monaghan left us in
January 2013 Phil to ‘resume’ retirement
and Douglas was called to Burnside Uniting
Church.
We are pleased that Phil and Pam Carr have
retained their membership at Adelaide West
and can continue to contribute in so many ways.
Rod and Liz Dyson set a hectic pace in
building relationships within our Church and
the wider community and encouraging us in our
faith, worship and the myriad of activities.
In February we welcomed John Harris as our
Youth and Young Adults Pastor. John has
shown himself to be an amiable, energetic and
creative advocate for young people and has the
strong support of his wife, Chelsea.
We have been very well served by Suzi Cousins
in the office and with events, Lorraine Schroder
in Children and Family Ministry, David Bailey
in property and all our regular volunteers.
Other pages of this Annual Review will detail
the many ministries and accomplishments of
this Church, all of which have great
significance within our community.
A particular thank you to Lynton Willcocks for
the dedication he showed in proposing the solar
panels, negotiating the terms, supervising the
progress and checking out the installation. This
undertaking has required the input of
considerable time and technical knowledge.
This should prove a valuable asset not only to
Adelaide West but also the broader Uniting
Church.
A Church Council planning day held in May at
the home of Richard and Helen Young
provided an opportunity to socialise, review
and assess some of the good work done by
previous Councils and to consider the best
governance approach for the future.
The terms of 4 Councillors are about to expire
and so there will be an election at the Annual
General Meeting on 18th May. If you feel you
have a contribution to make please seek
nomination.
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 4
Our giving program was well supported but the
ongoing need for funds continues.
I am pleased to say that the offerings since
November have exceeded our earlier trends.
Mignon Grivell retired as minute secretary
during the year after 12 months of capable
service and Wendy Young added this role to
her already busy schedule. We hope that
Mignon’s health will continue to improve and
we thank Wendy for joining us at Council
meetings.
At the time of writing this report, as a Council,
we are addressing the request by Synod and
Presbytery to consider the impact on Adelaide
West if a sale of the adjacent Uniting College
for Leadership and Theology property should
take place. We are determined to secure the
benefits we currently enjoy and we believe that
Synod and Presbytery also wish to safeguard
our interests.
An application for a grant has recently been
submitted by Council to the Department of
Planning, Transport and Infrastructure to
establish a program to encourage bike riding
and to provide commuting educational
resources to our church and wider community.
Many thanks to all Councillors but to those who
may not seek re-election I say thanks for your
past guidance and we know you will offer
yourself for other forms of ministry within
Adelaide West. With God’s help Council
looks forward to addressing the challenges that
will face us during the year ahead.
Wes Ashman
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 5
Lead Minister’s ReportThe first year in a placement is alwayschallenging. Every church is different andministry is always based on relationshipswhich initially do not exist. The staff team hasa new youth and young adult’s pastor, newevents and office positions, a chairperson ofCouncil who had not long been in positionand a new lead minister. Since that time Ihave gained an understanding of this church,learned many names and heard many stories.The staff have become a team that work welltogether. 2013 is a good foundation to moveforward into the future.
Adelaide West is a large, complex, diverseand busy community. It is full of life andthere will always be more to do than can bedone. I greatly value the fact that the diversityhere is held together in love. Love alwayscovers a multitude of differences andpreferences.
I am thankful for the assistance that wereceived from Synod in developing a new andfresh brand that I hope will help us to engagewith the wider community.
There has been excellent cooperation andplanning for worship for the major seasons.This has added to our excellence in worshipand helped our sense of oneness even thoughwe worship at four different times eachweekend and a few other times each month.
During September we spent a lot of timefocusing on the use of our time, talents, giftsand resources. The result has been asignificant increase in giving that at present ismeeting a large anticipated financial deficit.As part of this process three visioningsessions were held—for the 9.15am, 10.45amand 5pm worshipping communities. Theinformation gained from these times ofbrainstorming and listening will inform futuredirections.
The hugely busy time toward the end of theyear also included a visit from the RevMalcolm Gordon. He helped us to think aboutworship leading, song writing and using songswritten for the local context. It is our plan tonot be so busy in September, October andNovember in 2014!
The current context for Christianity inAustralia is highly challenging. Most peopleare seeking a more personal spirituality ratherthan what we offer as a church. Our challengeis be hospitable to all who come here, to loveour neighbours, to help the world to be a morejust and compassionate place and to seek thedepth of relationship in Jesus Christ that willmake our lifestyle distinctive. The rate ofchange in Australian society will continue tochallenge our relevance to modern society.
Toward the end of the year I was able to leavesome things behind. I ceased being ex-moderator, concluded as a member ofStanding Committee and finished my role aschair of the Standing Committee NominatingCommittee.
I will continue to represent our MissionNetwork (Grace Connections) from time totime on Joint Nominating Committees andother pastoral matters. I am also part of theSA team that trains people to superviseministers and lay leaders.
Rev Rod Dyson
Editors NoteAfter nine years of compiling this report I feel it is
time to step aside for someone else to ‘have a go’.
I would like to thank all those that have contributed
to the review over the years. In particular I thank
‘Ferg’ for his support and skills in fixing the
final product and also to David Roberts for helping
me out when I sought his assistance.
I also thank Anne Thyne, Suzi Cousins and Sandy
Altmann for helping me, and my wife Tricia for
typing many of the hand written articles,
proofreading and putting up with my complaints
about the computer not doing what I wanted it to .
Leon Broster
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 6
Chair of the CongregationThis is my first 'report' as Chairperson of
Congregation, following on from Leon
Broster’s inaugural report of last year.
First I would like to recognise the contribution
Leon has cheerfully given to the role over the
past eight years, filled with leadership and
authority, and the occasional questionable
humour at congregational meetings! Like Leon,
I see the role as a blend of formal and informal
responsibility—formality to preside over
congregational meetings, and informality to
serve as a point of contact for matters of
council. This informal role is important, as I
can both enlighten people in the congregations
on decision making from council as well as
provide an avenue for feedback into council.
It is a privilege to see the trajectory of Adelaide
West Uniting Church showcased at
congregational meetings. I would encourage us
all to attend to see and hear this firsthand, and
celebrate how God is transforming our people.
Over the past 12 months we've seen continued
development of staff, small groups and worship
depth and diversity, as well as our major
project faithfully completed with the
installation of our clean energy solar panels.
We have also celebrated the regular
contributions of people committed to the array
of ministries listed in this report—from
property to catering and everything in
between—God is indeed good!
As congregations we are at our best when we
combine in support of Synod events,
church/community fair, working bees and the
increasing numbers (and age range) of
volunteers at pasty bake. These evidence how
we value the blend of our individual
congregations in community, and is a great way
to celebrate!
I look forward to our next 12 months.
Richard Young
Office and Event Coordinator’s Report2013 was a year of change in many ways. Forme it was taking on a new job that was notonly new for me but also new to AWUC. It isstill a work in progress to balance thedifference between the office manager rolethat had previously been in place and the twonew roles of office and event coordinator. Wealso had a largely new team with Rod andJohn also new to their roles and Wesrelatively new to his role as Chairperson ofthe Council. Fortunately we had theexperiences of Lorraine, Norm and thevolunteers to help guide us at the start andwork with us to improve things as we went.Change is not always easy, and I commendthe volunteers, Norm and Lorraine for howthey embraced and in fact encouraged changethroughout the year.
We changed the newsletter quite dramaticallyby using colour. This is more expensive, but
has been met with enthusiasm and an increasein people reading this important
communication tool. I believe it is all worth itand the feedback has been very encouraging.It also looks more modern and inviting forthose who access it either by weekly email orby visiting our web site.
We have moved, cleaned, painted and fixed alot of things in the office and the greaterproperty. The blue walls in the hall created abuzz that exploded into the foyer and hall.The new logo gave everything a face-lift—although sadly not the staff and volunteers!We cleaned out old files, updated pastoralcare records, made new nametags andchanged office hours.Most importantly we have worked hardtogether ensuring the office is run efficientlyand continued to be here to support ourcongregations, regular users and visitors alike,whilst also supporting each other.
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Suzi Cousins—Office & Event Coordinator
9.15 am ‘Worship For Today’ CongregationUnder the leadership of Rev Rod Dyson and
the continuing high standard of preparation by
our worship leading team we experienced an
uplifting and exciting period of worship
throughout the year. A highlight of 2013 was
the excellent Advent and Christmas programme
with displays in the foyer and suitably
decorated auditorium thanks to the team of
volunteers from all congregations who
coordinated and planned each week during this
most important season.
Continuing effort has been made to welcome
new-comers and to make sure a friendly
atmosphere prevails before and after the
services.
We sincerely thank our two resident organists,
Meredith Dowdy and Wayne Colebatch, who
continue to inspire us their work on the Perry
Memorial Organ. We also thank the large team
of helpers who are involved in worship leading,
bible reading, leading prayers, hymn leading,
soloists and musicians, sound and projection,
stewards, flower arrangers, communion
stewards and those who set up the church and
the hall each Sunday.
The continued caring work by our pastoral
visitation team led by Rev Norm Scrimshaw
and a number of often nameless volunteers who
go about this work regularly visiting homes,
hospitals and nursing homes is most
appreciated. The availability of recorded
services is also a bonus. A big thankyou is
extended for all this valuable outreach.
The sound system continues to present some
problems which we trust will be addressed in
the near future. We also notice the
deterioration of the Church carpet and some of
the chairs which will need attention in the near
future.
We look forward with confidence to another
year when we can truly say—it has been good
to worship in the house of the Lord.
John Andrewartha—co-ordinator.
10:45am ServiceIn reflecting on 2013, the 10:45am Service and
Worship Planning Team has much to celebrate.
2013 was the year we welcomed the Dyson
family amongst us. We are very grateful for
Rod’s leadership both as our minister and
particularly in terms of worship. It was also
great to welcome Liz as a worship leader. Their
encouragement and teaching and questioning
has pushed us as worship planning team and
that has been much appreciated.
The 10:45am service is deeply diverse in both
age and culture and this is a cause for much
joy. 2013 became about recognizing this and
attempting to provide services that
incorporated a variety of ages and cultures in a
more intentional way. Incorporating an ‘All
Age’ service in conjunction with Kids Space
once a term, using a variety of ‘ages and
stages’ for prayers, drama, singing, music and
Bible reading, utilizing different languages for
songs, prayers and readings are just a few
examples of this awareness and need to be
more inclusive and cross-cultural in our
worship.
While we are aware we cannot meet
everyone’s needs every week, recognition of
the need to be inclusive pervades all we do in
worship at this service. This challenge
continues into 2014.
Organ ScholarshipAWUC has available an organ scholarship. Interested
musicians are encouraged to apply. Details are
available from the AWUC Office.
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About 50 people are involved in the worship
team as leaders, singers, musicians and tech
(sound and projection). This number increases
dramatically with the inclusion of those
involved in Bible readings, leading prayers,
drama, choirs, the sharing of testimonies and
stories and visual arts and presentation. We are
conscious that this number is larger than many
churches and delight in this broad involvement.
Over the course of the year we have welcomed
new singers, leaders and musicians which is
wonderful. Providing a tech ministry has at
times been difficult but we look forward to
some new people being trained in this area in
the near future. It is very exciting to see the
worship ministry at 10:45am continue to grow.
A focus on better caring and connecting as a
group is a goal for 2014. An open invitation
exists for anyone who would like to become
involved in 10:45am worship in any capacity.
Training and mentoring is readily provided!
Working with the other Adelaide West services
for planning and implementing Advent in 2013
was truly wonderful. While the out-workings
may have been different across the services,
the times working and creating together were a
blessing as was the unity in knowing that as
church we were co-operating and undertaking
common worship. We look forward to other
opportunities for this to occur.
Thank you to all who have been involved and
continue to contribute to the 10:45am service.
While particular highlights and challenges
have been mentioned here, we are acutely
aware that our main purpose is to glorify God in
all we do and say in our worship. All glory to
Him who is able to keep and sustain us.
Dianne Holden
On behalf of the 10:45am Worship Planning
Team
6pm Service2013 was an exciting year for the 6pmcommunity as we welcomed our new pastorJohn Harris, and his wife Chelsea only a shorttime after their wedding. While we werefortunate to have Douglas Monaghan lookingafter the service in 2012, it was good newsthat we were able to offer John a morepermanent position as the stability that thisbrings has helped us to plan for the future.The service has generally been aimed atproviding a service for young adults and olderyouths, but is not exclusively for this agebracket. Many of the young adults that attendare also part of the leadership of the youth
service on Friday nights and this oftenprovides a service where they don’t have toconcentrate on the running of the service.We have been lucky enough to have a goodteam of musicians and tech volunteers thatallows us to have a worship band and acousticworship at other times.In late 2013 a decision was made to changethe time of the service to 5pm going forwardinto 2014. We hope that this will help to buildcommunity by making it easier for people tomeet after the service for dinner, either at thechurch or elsewhere.
Greg Roberts
Bus ServiceIt is not often that you get to drive a Mercedes,
but five members of our Church do on a regular
basis.
The 12 seater bus provided by the City of West
Torrens enables us to pick-up and return home
members of our 9:15am and 10:45am services.
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Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 9
Our drivers are John Maddern, Rosemary
Colebatch, Wally Woehlert, Trevor Story and
Wes Ashman.
John Workolo and Tony Thompson both found
it necessary to retire during the year, John
because of work commitments and Tony owing
to family circumstances. A big thank you to all
these folk who have made or make attending
Church a possibility for a number of our
members.
If you would like to become a driver please
speak to one of our existing drivers and we can
arrange driver training for you.
We find there are often people outside the City
of West Torrens area who would like to ride on
the bus but we have to advise this is not
permitted under council regulations.
In addition to our bus service there are many
members of our congregation who regularly
provide transport to folks by using their own
cars and this is greatly appreciated.
Wes Ashman
Adelaide West Men’s ChoirAfter some nine or ten years of singing together,
the Men’s Choir has made further progress
and increased its level of activity in 2013. On
our ‘home ground’ we contributed to a 9.15
service, the Spring Fair in October and a fund-
raising concert on December 1st. From that
concert we made a donation of $1,000 to aid
the Uniting World Benefit Fund for the
Philippines.
Two events took place in the city—one at the
North Adelaide Helping Hand Centre which
was very well received, and the other was a
rather prestigious occasion at St Patrick’s
Church in Grote Street on February 7th. This
was a service for parliamentarians just prior to
the opening of Parliament. This was attended
by His Excellency, the Governor of SA, who
indicated his appreciation of the Choir.
Country visits included Owen, Victor Harbor
and Meningie where we led the morning
services and presented afternoon concerts.
Proceeds from these concerts were shared
between the choir and local communities. At
Meningie, this money was used to help erect a
monument in the town for the RSL. At Victor
Harbor, we assisted the churches in raising
money for a project that they have in India, and
in Owen, money raised went to the Tasmanian
Bushfire Relief Fund.
A different experience was participating in a
Choral Concert at the Inman Valley Leafy Sea
Dragon Festival. A choir from Victor Harbor
and a local singing group also shared in the
program.
Our supporting artists made a great impact with
Helen Young joining Raechel, Suzi, and Julie
in solo and ensemble work. We are indeed very
grateful to these girls for their talented
contribution to our concerts.
The involvement of young performers was
boosted with the inclusion of a junior chorus
for the December concert. This group of
children included grandchildren and children
of choir members. It is wonderful to see the
development of younger singers now apparent
after some years of following us around! There
is some great future talent here.
This year we purchased our own digital piano
which is now almost debt-free. Thank you to
all the wives, partners and ‘groupies’ who
support us and often travel long distances to be
with us. Your support is invaluable, but there
is always room for more.
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Choir members thank Meredith for her
patience, humour and hard work, in, not only
teaching us, but putting so much work into
planning and preparation towards our public
performances.
Ron White
Peace lamp
The peace lamp on the communion table was
made in Taybeh, a small Christian village
located 25kms from Jerusalem in the Holy
Land. These lamps are distributed world wide.
Their goal is to unite people of faith all over the
world in praying for peace in the Holy Land.
Healing ServiceAs part of our worship in 2013 we have learnt
from and shared with Rev Norm Scrimshaw,
Colin Rowe, Rev Rod Dyson, Pastor Anne
Thyne, Belinda Willcocks and Rev Dr Phil
Carr; being blessed by their input. With
Belinda as our resident pianist, we are doubly
blessed for worshipping our Saviour and Healer.
This all happens in the Chapel at 7:30pm on
the fourth Wednesday of the month from
February to November. After the Healing
Service we enjoy a delectable supper together,
mainly provided by the irrepressible Paddy
Cross. Thank you to Colin and Betty Rowe and
Vicky Barclay for their support; and also to
Deborah Ralph for typing and printing the
orders of service.
An intrinsic part of the Healing Service is to
pray for anyone who would like prayer, as well
as people and situations laid on our hearts or
brought to our attention. The news alone has
ample prayer points! ‘More things are
wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.’
(Alfred Lord Tennyson) All are welcome to
come and worship or be prayed for. They might
only come the one time to be upheld, refreshed
or healed in some other way.
On 28th May 2014 we will be joined by Brian
Jefferies who worships at Rosefield Uniting
Church. He can give some amazing testimonies
of healing.
‘I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; he
gives me wisdom in the night. I keep my eyes
always on the Lord. With him at my right hand,
I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad
and my soul rejoices; my body also will rest
secure.’ (Psalm 16:7-9)
Jilda Ralph
Pastoral Care / Visitation PastorMany different people make up the family
called Adelaide West. Different ages, different
facesn belonging to families and friends all
contributing to the connection we have with our
church family. This is what makes my role in
the church exciting and enjoyable visiting in
home, hospital, nursing home or retirement
village.
Some facts that may be of interest. I visit five
people who because of age no longer come to
church but still live in their own home. Six
people reside in nursing homes because they
need special care other than they can get living
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 11
in a retirement village. While we have sixteen
people enjoying the special care given in a
retirement village, some with swimming pools
and bowling greens, special areas for meeting
as a community or just enjoying a birthday
party together.
This love and care together with pastoral care
offered by the Church makes sure we are caring
for people as they get older.
I really appreciate extra care being shown. A
group of men have lunch with a man who is in
one of our nursing homes a number of
kilometres away. Weekly a group of ladies visit
another resident in a nursing home.
If you can offer some of your time to visit these
people, let me know. If you have ideas to make
our care in the church more satisfying to those
on the receiving end again bring it to my notice.
For those who have joined the Pastoral Care
team thank you, may it bring you a blessing
and fulfilment in your outreach as part of
reaching out beyond ourselves.
Rev Norm Scrimshaw
Lay PreachersThere are six accredited lay preachers
associated with Adelaide West. They are
involved in conducting worship both within and
outside of Adelaide West. In some cases they
preach at other churches, in other cases it is at
Aged Care facilities.
In 2014 Liz Lampard will be living elsewhere
and will no longer worship and preach at
Adelaide West. We thank her for her dedicated
ministry as a Lay Preacher.
We recognize and are grateful for other lay
people in our congregations who also lead
worship and preach at services.
Peter Whiting
Progressive Christianity GatheringsThe group is pleased that attendancescontinue to grow at our monthly service onthe 3rd Wednesday of each month in theChapel at 7.00 pm. Numbers range between20 and 30 at each gathering.One of the highlights for the year was PhilCarr’s Christmas presentation: Christmas isnot a calendar date. It's a character disposition.Incarnation challenges us to experienceGod’s glory in our own lives throughgratitude, humility and compassion. Thethemes of each service, and the language usedin worship, are consistent with the 8guidelines for Progressive Christian thought,which may be found athttp://progressivechristianity.org/the-8-points/,summarized as:By calling ourselves Progressive Christians,we mean we are Christians who…
1. Believe that following the path andteachings of Jesus can lead to an awarenessand experience of the Sacred and the Onenessand Unity of all life;2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus providebut one of many ways to experience theSacredness and Oneness of life, and that wecan draw from diverse sources of wisdom inour spiritual journey;3. Seek community that is inclusive of ALLpeople, including but not limited to:
Conventional Christians andquestioning sceptics, • Believers &agnostics, • Women and men
Those of all sexual orientations andgender identities, • Those of all classesand abilities;
4. Know that the way we behave towards oneanother is the fullest expression of what webelieve;
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5. Find grace in the search for understandingand believe there is more value in questioningthan in absolutes;6. Strive for peace and justice among allpeople;7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity ofour earth;8. Commit to a path of life-long learning,compassion, and selfless love.Common Dreams is an alliance of Australianand New Zealand kindred organisationswhich promote the study, discussion andimplementation of Progressive Christianthought and action. A major Common DreamsConference is held each three years, with themost recent being held in Canberra inSeptember, 2013. Over 400 people (70%
Uniting Church, 20% Anglican, 10% otherdenominations) participated in the conference,including a large contingent from SouthAustralia, with several of our group attending.10 of the presentations from the conferencecan be found athttp://www.commondreams.org.au/index.php/online-shop/product/6-cd3-conference-proceedings-text-zip-file/categorAs we reflect on the 2013 year, we aregrateful to those who participated in leadingworship, to Meredith Dowdy who coordinatedthe music, and to Lesley Ashman whoregularly provided supper that we enjoyedduring a time of fellowship after each service.
Esmond Dowdy
Home GroupsThere are about sixteen Home Groups meeting
as part of Adelaide West’s worship, most of
which meet fortnightly in the evenings.
Home Group leaders met several times in 2013.
In our first meeting we shared and collated the
favourite resources from each group (available
on request if your group is thinking about what
resources to use next!). In late 2013 we
discussed the option of following a common
Bible study resource, but because of the
diversity of the approaches of our home groups
it was decided that this wouldn’t work well
for most people. There was however a great
deal of enthusiasm for following a common
theme across all groups so we could ‘track
together’ as a congregation, with each group
adapting their own approach to the material. It
was decided that we would use the Lenten
studies from the pulpit as well as the new
Lenten study groups as out first attempt to do
this.
With the aim to get the whole church walking
the same journey, each week the sermon will
give an outline of the topic, with discussions
followed up in Home Groups, on Facebook and
using other approaches to engage as many of
the broader congregation in the same series.
Stay tuned as this idea of moving together on a
journey as a whole congregation develops
through the coming year.
Another highlight this year has been the start-
up of four additional small groups. One group,
led by Rod and Liz Dyson has been in
development for some time and a good solid
group of people will be meeting every fortnight
into the future. In 2014, two other groups have
formed specifically for Lent, but may well be
ongoing, coordinated by Dianne Holden and
Norm Scrimshaw. A fourth group with young
teenage girls has been meeting weekly at the
church for several months.
If you aren’t yet involved in a home group,
please talk to Brett or Ruth Gresham or one of
our ministers. With a huge variety of group and
meeting times, there is bound to be a group of
people who would love to welcome you.
Brett and Ruth Gresham.
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Thrive 2013
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Thrive continues to run alongside the lives of
our various members some of whom have been
here for many, many years and some who are
new faces to the group.
We continue to lift each other in prayer and
walk beside each other whenever the need
arises. Above all we praise God when we look
back and see how far some of us have come and
how amazingly God
has been with us
during both the
difficult and also the
happy times.
This year some of
our families have been touched by
unemployment which is a challenge financially
and emotionally. Again we feel God’s hand in
this area of our lives.
As always we are all touched by friends and
family who have many other issues such as
illness, relationship stress and financial
hardships.
Linda has kept us on track financially, and we
are supporting a Scripture Union’s Primary
Age Programs Staff worker for Western
Adelaide.
The majority of the year we have continued with
our study of WM Paul Young’s ‘The
Shack’ following Mack’s journey as he gets
closer to God, realizing that God is with us even
in our darkest times.
As the New Year begins we have turned to look
at ‘The Covenant Prayer’ and now we have
begun the ‘Lent Event’ studies as we lead
into Easter.
Louise Woodhouse
2013 Synod & Presbytery MeetingsAs always the team of helpers came together for
three Synod events in 2013.
The first meeting was in February rather than
March, due to speakers’ commitments, and
also added an extra day, but the team took this
all in stride and managed with relative ease
(and tired, aching bodies.)
This gave us a longer break before the June
meeting that did feel small in comparison. We
then hit the ground running in late October
when Deidre Palmer was installed as the new
moderator at an inspirational service on the
Wednesday evening prior to the always bigger
October/November meeting.
Although the team working behind the scenes
doesn’t see what happens in the meetings, we
love catching up with people who have become
friends since Synod meetings have been held in
our
building.
I always love to hear feedback that we are a
welcoming bunch of people, always smiling and
willing to go out of our way to help and that
nothing is impossible. We even managed to
successfully coordinate our first evacuation,
when a speaker fainted and we had to finish the
evening early and clear the building to allow the
ambulance officers access. It was a great relief
when this went very smoothly.
We were sorry to lose one of our regular
volunteers, Susan Venning, and she hasn’t
really been replaced. We value every member of
our team and are especially happy when
someone new joins us.
We have increased the catering by offering
meals for purchase for those attending and
although this has greatly increased the workload,
new people have been helping and that reduces
the pressure on the kitchen team. It has also
provided a significant increase in income.
There are always jobs that need doing leading
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up to and during Synod meetings, please let me
know if you want to get involved. The benefits
are worth the effort.
Suzi Cousins
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2013 Community Spring Fair
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This was the first spring fair ever held at
Adelaide West that wasn’t coordinated by
John Andrewartha and Leon Broster, and I take
this opportunity to once again acknowledge the
years of service they have given to this major
fundraising event. I can assure you this was the
only change and they both were once again
instrumental in ensuring its success.
We faced a number of challenges this year with
some of our usual stall conveners and workers
travelling overseas, some were sick either on the
day or leading up to it or had clashing events,
yet we still managed a record profit. It was
particularly exciting to work with two branches
of the West Torrens Council with the Our Place
project and with the girls from OPAL who
launched their healthy breakfast week at our
fair with the assistance of Poh and Natalie.
Suzi Cousins
The New Logo
As a whole church community we worked
together early in the year to look at where we
are, where we are heading and where we want to
be heading. Although this is something I am
sure we will re-visit often, it was particularly
important for the staff to work through this
together as a new team.
From that exercise came the idea that we
wanted to refresh our logo and present a more
modern image to the community. We also
worked with the Church Council on this idea
and were lucky enough that Bindy Taylor from
the Synod office offered both her services and
those of Dave Lombardi to work with us on
developing a new logo.
After a few meetings we were presented with a
number of options that were
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narrowed down and then finally selected by staff
and Church Council. In the end, the process
had to be fast-tracked to link in with other
projects and opportunities that were occurring
simultaneously. The logo was presented to the
congregation who enthusiastically supported our
decision and within a week we were up and
running.
This new logo has been steadily rolled out and
the reaction both internally and externally has
been amazing.
It also gave us the opportunity to freshen up
things like the Sir Donald Bradman Drive
signage. You often don’t realize how tired
something is until you freshen it up.
I am sure the time will come when we once
again feel it is time for a revamp, but at least for
the next few years, we love our new logo.
Suzi Cousins
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Children’s Ministry 2013
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KCO 2013—Team Jesus
We took 23 campers and 18 Leaders to this
wonderful event held at Nuriootpa Tourist Park
with approximately 1,300 others from churches
all over South Australia. We were entertained
by Play (carnival type activities), Create (Craft)
and Explore (exploring the Easter season) as
this year KCO was held on Palm Sunday
Weekend. In the evening ‘concert’ we had
Sean W Smith get the crowd moving and
shaking. The weather was very kind to us and
we started the weekend with some light showers
and then the sun joined us for the rest of our
time together. We had extra fun on our return
bus trip, as our bus got a flat tyre so we
extended KCO on the side of the Northern
Expressway; thanks to Trevor Story we were
saved a longer stay there. We are blessed here
at Adelaide West with children that are so well
mannered and well behaved.
Kids’ Space is travelling well. We saw a
couple of leaders move to different projects and
then gained some fill-in and permanent leaders.
Ali Andris has moved on to other ministries and
we miss her but she goes with our blessing.
Miriam Crosby spent seven months in France,
just a little far to come back and help us every
week, but we now have her back to the team
(thanks Miriam). Linda Story took long service
leave in term four and we had Chelsea Harris
and Kelly Contellis join our Seahorse team and
have continued on forming a very vibrant team
in that room with the 3–4 year olds.
We enjoyed another great Christmas celebration
service. On the 8th December, we took over the
10.45 am service with a presentation again
wonderfully written and directed by Belinda
Willcocks, and we had a lovely crowd to
worship with.
mainly music is going strong with many new
families joining us. The team that lead this
wonderful program are all amazing, all very
gifted and use those gifts well. We have lots of
opportunities to chat to children and their
caregivers and the most exciting thing is when
those conversations go deeper than just
‘howdy’ and can supply an ear and perhaps
even help wrestle with some of those life
questions and even be able to help in practical
ways. We took our part in the Christmas season
and had an early evening service in the hall at 6
pm aimed at the preschool age. We had a lovely
crowd of families and we also enjoyed a sausage
sizzle.
Primary Schools Outreach this year has been a
great place to be. It is such a privilege to be
able to get into the community and be the face
that some people see as Adelaide West. I and
some of the others available have been involved
in the Easter and Christmas seminars. Being
able to present these events is such a joy.
FROGS (Fully Rely On God) is a lunchtime
program that I help run with others from
churches in the local area.
One of the children excitedly shared with us:
“When I started coming to this group I
wasn’t a believer but last night I prayed to
Jesus and now I am a believer, thanks to you
ladies here at Frogs”. It just melts our hearts!!
I have also been involved with helping the
Lockleys Primary School set up a playgroup, I
helped them get started and now the families
have stepped up and are helping run the group.
It was great to help the community is this way.
I was fortunate to attend the National
Children’s Ministry Conference in late May in
NSW—Leaders to Go was a great time of
learning, there was a wonderful cross section of
leaders from all over Australia and even some
from New Zealand. It has helped in planning for
the future of the ministry of children here at
Adelaide West, as my goal for the next step for
us is to find out the direction we are all heading
as a church and to find the role that the children
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and families will have in helping that to be
achieved.
We are so fortunate here at Adelaide West to
have such vibrant and caring families and the
gifted leadership of all of our activities. I hope
that next year will be a year of equipping and
learning for us all and that we will take full
advantage of the opportunities to ‘give things
a go’ and follow that still small voice that is
calling us to ‘follow Him’. So I encourage
you again to pray for the children and families
in your lives, it will make such a difference.
Colin Buchanan Concert
We ran a Café alongside the Koorong-run
Colin Buchanan Concert on the 4th October. It
was a great day with some great youth being our
team to serve. There were over 1,000 people
through the building during the day. Colin
performed two concerts in the day, one at 9.30
and then another at 12.30, and speaks to most
of the children
allowing time for autographs and photos.
It is great fun to be able to help bring these
concerts that are so important in the lives of the
small children and their families.
Pancake Day
Every year, usually on the Sunday before Shrove
Tuesday, we get involved in the Pancake Day
event raising money for Uniting Care. We serve
a pancake morning tea between the services and
in 2013 we sent $171.00 to Uniting Care, which
is a Uniting Church initiative, to help with their
mission. So keep an eye out next year for this
event. Thank you for your support.
Lorraine Schroder
Youth MinistryOver the last 12 months our youth ministry has
been concentrating on building strong teams of
leaders (including overhauling our leadership
structure and policies) and opening up more
ways for young people to be cared for and
discipled. To achieve this we have launched
mid-week youth small groups and are helping
to facilitate mentoring relationships. We have
undergone a name change (from City Youth to
Engage Youth) to reflect the refocusing our core
values (the things we stand for) and to create
clear pathways for youth to help keep them
remain engaged with Jesus beyond High School.
It is our hope that as youth move through
Adelaide West UC and become Young Adults
they will stay connected to Adelaide West
through either the morning services or the
young adult focused evening service EngageChurch. We have articulated our core values:
Engage Youth exists to…
1. connect our youth to God’s Church2. equip youth to grow in their Christian faith3. encourage youth to discover their gifts and
serve4. encounter and enjoy God in worship.
Two highlights during the previous year were
our 40 Hour Famine Party and the end of year
Semi-Formal. Both were run as fund raisers and
we were able to raise over $2,200 (combined)
for World Vision (40 Hour Famine) and Uniting
World’s Philippines Typhoon Appeal.
Sunday morning youth (CY Sunday) also went
through a big change with the departure of
Daniel Ralph from the morning programme (he
still attends our evening service). We want to
say a big thankyou to Daniel who gave of
himself to this ministry for over 8 years! A new
team has come on board to run this programme
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and we are continuing to develop this ministry.
Amongst other things, a name change will soon
be on the way to bring it in line with our Friday
night programme.
Our two camps were also a huge success. In
April over 90 leaders and campers from three
different Churches got together over one great
weekend to worship, encounter and learn about
God at Revolution Camp. In October over 30
youth and leaders from Adelaide West attended
SAYCO (South Australian Youth Camp Out),
held over the three days of the October long
weekend. A great time was had by all and this
year promises to be just as good.
All in all, a sense of excitement and hope for
the future permeates our youth ministry. We
celebrate those who have come before but know
the best is always still yet to come. Bring on
2014!
John Harris—
Youth and Young Adult Pastor
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Girls Brigade
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Adelaide West Girls’ Brigade
contains 12 girls, 2 young
leaders, 2 leaders, 1 chaplain
and a helper. During 2013 we have had some
new members start and stay which has built up
our numbers, but even though we are small we
always welcome new members, and have lots of
fun.
Throughout the year we had a
few themed nights and ‘bring
a friend’ nights which did
bring in some new girls but
they mainly just came for the
night. We also did a bit of
fundraising to help our girls and leaders to
attend our state camp in September 2013 at ElShadi campsite near Wellington—this
celebrated Girls’ Brigade turning 120 across
the world. It was a great weekend and our girls
had lots of fun and met new friends from other
companies across South Australia. We would
love to thank the church for your generous
donation.
After state camp we reached the end of the year
which came up fast, and had the joy of handing
out awards to all our girls, and also on this night
each girl received a Bible to help them learn
more about our wonderful creator in their own
time. We used the money donated from the
church to purchase these bibles for our girls.
We ended the year with a family fun night at
Apex Park at West Beach and had everyone join
in games and finished with a shared picnic.
2014 started with a giant games night, and we
had two new girls join and become members of
our company, and one young leader who joined
us from Elizabeth Company this year.
We are looking forward to the rest of the year
and adventures it will take us on. One of our
upcoming events is our first fundraiser for the
year, selling Kytons Hot Cross Buns and
Lamingtons. Vicki has done another great job of
collecting. We ended term one with an Easter
night and early next term we have our annual
PLT camp for our Seniors and Pioneers to learn
about becoming a leader.
Thank you for your continued support we do
appreciate it so greatly.
Joan Bourn—Team Leader
Prayer MinistryThe Prayer Ministry continues in three formal
formats within the church community. The
prayer chain supported by about ten people
operates with prayer requests able to be phoned
to 8276 8770.
The Prayer Breakfast on the second Saturday
morning each month in the chapel continues to
attract half a dozen members (see the report on
the following page).
The Prayer and Fasting time is convened by
Bryan Crosby and held 7–8 pm each Tuesday
night, again averaging half a dozen people to
pray. It would be wonderful if the prayer
ministry was supported by more when those of
us involved know we are seeing answers to our
prayers. How uplifting this ministry is: we look
back and see prayers answered, not always in
the way we expect but it is tremendously
rewarding as we have communion with other
members of our church community and the Holy
Spirit.
The door is open for any to join us temporarily
or regularly to pray for the advancement of the
Kingdom of God at Adelaide West. May God
continue to bless all our ministries as we go
forward in Jesus’ name.
Colin Rowe
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Prayer Breakfast
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We meet on the Second Saturday of each month,
excepting January. We gather in the prayer
Chapel to pray for our church and community.
Then we have fellowship over a simple
breakfast in the hall. We generally finish by
10.00 am.
Marg Reichelt
Coffee, Chat and Share Craft GroupA small group of ladies meet on Tuesday 9.30–
11.30 am during the school terms for fellowship
and craft and Vera Barraclough lovingly
provides a delicious homemade morning tea for
us.
In the third term Margaret Scrimshaw designs
and helps us make our Christmas cards. We all
also make cards using quilling—the art of
rolling paper on a metal to form flowers and
other designs (once a feather tip was used,
hence quilling).
The Spring Community Fair is a highlight and
we take responsibility for the craft stall.
We pay $2 for our morning tea and have made
donations to Adelaide West for electricity, KCO
(Kids’ Camp Out), Revolution Camp, mainly
music, 40 Hour famine, Christmas Bowl appeal
and towards replacing the blinds in the Hall.
Judy Johnston
Pasty BakeThis event is held every Friday afternoon and
Saturday in May at the Meals on Wheels
kitchen.
The people who help range in age from 14–94
and include men, women and teenagers, so it is
an all-church event. In 2013, we raised
$19,128 of which $17,500 was given to the
church and the remainder to various charities. If
you would like to have fun, enjoy a laugh or two
and get to know other people, COME ALONG.
Pam Young
Adelaide West Catering TeamWe have completed another very successful
year during which we raised $50,000. Of this,
$32,000 was given towards the solar panels,
$3,000 for office equipment, $5,000 for the
sound system upgrade and other smaller items.
None this would have been possible without the
help of many amazing people. So if you helped
in the kitchen, baked or gave a donation,
THANK YOU.
Pam Young
Recycled BatteriesWe now receive about 10 kg each month. Multiply
that by 12 and, if my maths is right, that’s about
120 kg. So keep recycling! Judy Johnston
Did you Know?We only collected $40 for the Lenten Appeal in
2013—when we did not promote it that year. In 2014,
we raised over $700. It’s amazing what some
promotion does.
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Cooperating Churches of West Adelaide
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This group has representatives from the
Catholic, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Anglican
and Adelaide West Uniting Church and Schools
Ministry Group, supporting ministry in the local
schools.
Through the Christian Pastoral Support Workers
(formerly Chaplains) with Schools Ministry
Group, currently we help support Verity Coyler
(Underdale High School), Jo Skeates (Lockleys
Primary School), Sandy Altmann (Lockleys
North Primary School) and Andrew Barbirat
(Adelaide High School). During 2013 we
supported Liz Lampard (Lockleys North
Primary School) and we thank her for her work
and wish her well with her new adventures this
year. We are delighted that Sandy Altmann is
joining the CPSW team in 2014.
With the help of Scripture Union we support
SUPA (Scripture Union Primary Age) clubs,
Christian Option Programs, where volunteers
from all the churches are able to go into State
Primary Schools and present programs that offer
Christianity as an option. We support the
Christmas and Easter Seminars that are
‘staffed’ from the churches in our area
This group also coordinates the Back toBethlehem event at Mellor Park, usually in late
November. We try to show what a village may
have looked like in the days of Jesus. The
churches all work together and have their own
stalls and Adelaide West was fortunate enough
to be able to provide two of these last year! The
Baker’s Tent was again very ably attended
and run by Shane and Jo Lampard, thank you.
In 2013 we also ran the hot food stall and had
Greg Roberts, Julian Whiting and a couple of
wonderful helpers from Mile End Church of
Christ. (Of course as I was there and
Moreen and Allen Schroder were amazing
helpers too!!) We had wonderful weather and
had a continual stream of people all day, a great
witness to the community.
If that was not enough this group also
coordinates the Lockleys Community Carols
also held at Mellor Park. We are able to supply
some of the chairs and tables at this this event
and also provide the BBQ, adding to our
community outreach.
Just a plug for 2014—Back to Bethlehem will
be on Saturday, 29th November and the
Lockleys Community Carols will be on
Wednesday, 10th December.
We thank Paddy Cross for her many years of
service and dedication to this committee and
being our faithful representative. I have now
taken up the role and hope to be able to fill the
shoes of my predecessors.
Blessings and thanks,
Lorraine Schroder.
Dear Friends,This is my last report as your representative on Cooperating Churches. For many years I have sought to have newblood and a younger person as representative on this committee.Adelaide West is the largest congregation of the Coop Network and I pray we will continue to support and encouragethis hard-working committee as well as our new capable representative Lorraine Schroder, who already has shownherself to be a very valuable team member.We pray that all schools continue to recognize the inestimable value the Christian presence of CPSWs give to theschool communities, because of church volunteers undergirding them.I want to sincerely thank Shane and Jo Lampard in organizing the Baker’s Tent so skilfully and willingly at Back toBethlehem for so many years. It has been such a blessing.Lorraine will now oversee AWUC’s role at Back to Bethlehem and the Lockleys Community Christmas Carols.I praise God and thank AWUC for supporting me in the many years I have represented you in this avenue of service,as the baton of love is handed on to Lorraine. May I take this opportunity to genuinely thank Leon Broster and theteam of helpers for the incredible effort time and patience given to enable this excellent Annual Review to be
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produced.Paddy Cross
.
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Adult Fellowship
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The Fellowship is led by two coordinators and a
committee of eight, and has a membership of 38.
Our year begins with the February Meeting a
‘Getting to know you’ theme. Last year this
was followed by our Easter meeting in March, a
dinner of roast meat and vegetables followed by
delicious sweets Judy Johnston made for us,
after which Reverend Rod Dyson spoke about
the historical origins of Lent and celebrated
Communion with us.
The Metropolitan Fire Service provided us with
serious information on ‘Fire Safety in our
Homes’ presented in a fun way. Fun was the
theme later in the year when the ‘Clown
Doctors’ told us of their work at the
Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Other speakers were: Jo Skeates, the Lockleys
Primary School CPS worker, who cooked us fish
fingers, speaking about Jesus cooking fish for
the disciples; Ali Andris told us about her work
with Autistic students; and Sister Gwen spoke of
her work at Hutt Street Centre. Members
donated tea and coffee for the work among the
homeless. Our ‘Who am I’ night challenged
our imaginations as we decided who/what to
represent and guessed which character others
had chosen by their costumes.
Unfortunately, several changes had to be made
to our program the latest being in October when
our speaker was unable to come due to illness.
A pleasant evening was spent with members
nominating their favourite hymn, telling us why
they chose it and Glenys accompanied our
singing on the piano. The AGM is held in
November and our December Christmas
meeting is a fun night when gifts are exchanged
and the name of our ‘Secret Friend’ is
revealed.
We support four World Vision children with the
help of the Day Friendship group and follow
their progress through their letters: Valentina
from Tanzania, Robinson from Indonesia,
Omega from Zimbabwe and Emmanuel from
Rwanda.
Members again took part in the March World
Day of Prayer, held at St Mark’s Lutheran
Church. The service was compiled by the
women of Egypt.
May means Pasty Bake and Friday afternoons
and Saturdays we enjoy a special time of
friendship working together baking our tasty
pasties. Some members make curry for the Red
Dove Café at the Royal Adelaide Show and the
Spring Fair.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to
make this another successful and happy year for
the Adelaide West Uniting Adult Fellowship.
Pamela Roberts—Secretary
World Vision—Adult Fellowship and Friendship ClubAdelaide West Uniting Church continues its
involvement with World Vision through the
generosity of members from these two groups.
Their commitment each month enables us to
fund four children at a cost of $42 each month
(around $2,000 per annum). This pays for
school fees, books, uniforms, health care and
district projects. The whole area is helped with
school and health, buildings, improved water
supply, food and marketing ventures.
We write to the children three times a year—for
Christmas, birthday and in-between. They are
told about our church, Australia and our way of
life. Although gifts are not permitted (some
sponsors may try to outdo others), we do send
sheets of stickers to share with family and
friends and handkerchiefs printed with maps of
Australia and Australian animals. In return we
receive beautiful letters with grateful thanks,
best wishes for our health and often hope that
they will ‘see us soon’.
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Thank you to everyone for your generosity and
pray that our four children—in Tanzania,
Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Indonesia—will
continue to be educated and grow up to be
healthy and safe.
Judy Johnston.
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Friendship Club
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During 2013 a shipment of unused spectacles
was sent to the Christian Blind Mission for use
in their programs. Thanks for those who
contributed. More are needed in 2014 but no
broken pairs or sunnies please.
We welcomed Reverend Rod Dyson at our first
meeting in March 2013 and thoroughly enjoyed
his message and taking Communion.
Through the year, five concerts entertained us:
A.R.D.A. Radio Players, the Merrilee Singers,
Johnson’s Concert Show, Tea Tree
Troubadours and The Encounter Ensemble
Group at our Christmas Luncheon.
We were inspired by these wonderful people at
other times of the year. Bob Farrow (a
headmaster and clever teacher) Wendy Young
and Kees Vermey on Indonesia, Rhonda
Williams on South Africa and Amanda from the
Cora Barclay Centre.
This year we have several new members and we
trust they will feel loved as we welcome them.
We think of those in a special way who have lost
family and friends or have gone to nursing
homes or are unwell and pray in Jesus name for
your comfort and peace.
We take this opportunity to thank the
Wednesday luncheon team led by
Marg Scrimshaw for the hours of preparation
and serving scrumptious meals enjoyed by those
who came to have company and lunch.
We thank Judy Johnson who keeps us well
informed about our four World Vision children,
sharing expenses with the Evening Fellowship
to maintain their care.
Special thanks to Betty and John Burton, Gwen
Hammer, Helen Dewar, Irene Parslow and
others for taking devotions and being afternoon
tea hosts and hostesses.
There has been wonderful support with moving
chairs, washing and drying dishes and other
duties from all our men and ladies. I personally
thank you also for your warmth, humour and
love extended to one another during our happy
and interesting days spent together, and hope
others will feel welcome to join us in the future.
May God bless you and I wish you all good
health, much laughter and blessings for 2014.
Marie Faithfull—Coordinator
Dried Fruit ReportOnce again we have shown a good profit from
dried fruit sales over the last 12 months—over
$1,000. This is down a bit on the previous year,
but still a steady income.
This money has gone towards replacing the
office kettle, purchasing some new glass vases
to be used at events including the Spring Fair
and our big one ($800) went to purchase and
install an outdoor sink by the BBQ, bringing
this area up to compliance with food handling.
This quiet little fundraising source is run by a
very small team—Leon and I—but is a
steady income for the church. It would be lovely
if we could expand it a bit and I would
encourage anyone who has ideas on how to do
this to contact me.
We have had a cost increase this year that we
had to pass on and by the time you read this we
will have introduced dried nectarines. Have you
tried them yet?
Please show your support of this ongoing
resource.
Suzi Cousins
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Adelaide West Involvement in Beach Mission
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On 4 January, Sandy and Richard Altmann,
Rachel Ferguson and Tim Stevens headed to
Port Vincent to become part of the Scripture
Union Port Vincent Family Mission team. This
was Rachel’s
second mission
and Tim’s first.
The team was
made up of
members from a
number of
denominations and were all ages. The one thing
we all had in common was a passion for sharing
the gospel.
The family program which ran from Monday, 6
January to Friday, 10 January was a very
worthwhile outreach program that reached
children from 5–11 years of age with the
children’s program and 12 years and over with
the teens program; in addition to parents who
(with their children) joined in the evening
family programs.
As members from Adelaide West Uniting
Church we felt grateful for the support we
received—both prayer support, financial
support (from Wednesday Lunch Group) and
practical support (Leon lending and
transporting his mini-golf course). Knowing
members of
our church
family are
praying for us
helps add to
the
connections
that are made whilst on mission through the
building of relationships with the children and
families; an integral part in helping those who
are willing, on their first steps to faith.
It is an exciting moment when a child starts to
ask in-depth questions about a bible verse we
have read, or when they ask us (as leaders) to
pray with them.
Sandy Altmann
Mainly MumsIn Term 3 of 2013 Mainly Mums was started as
a way to further develop relationships between
the adults attending mainly music. Together we
looked at a study which covered topics like
managing stress, guilt and criticism. Volunteers
provided a crèche for which we were very
grateful. This allowed the mums the time and
space to think about and discuss these topics—
not to mention allowing the facilitator to
facilitate! As well as the ideas and tips offered
throughout the study, the main benefits of
sharing together were realising that we all
struggle with these things from time to time and
coming to know that we
have the friendship and support of others in the
same stage of life.
Through this group we were able to reconnect
with a couple of mums who had stopped coming
to mainly music when their work situations
changed and it was great to catch up and hear
how they had been doing.
In 2014, we are offering a parenting course
called Toolbox, which has started well and (by
request) has spilled over to include a couple of
evenings to get the dads up to speed too! We
hope to offer more opportunities like these into
the future. If you are interested in being
involved, through presenting material, attending
the group or looking after children please speak
with Kylie Roberts or Lorraine Schroder.
Kylie Roberts
Did you Know?Approximately 54% of offering moneys are now
given electronically—about 41% use Egive
and 13% direct credit to the church’s bank
account.
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 37
Property Report for 2013
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 38
In around October 2013, after some prayer, I
accepted the role of property coordinator.
Lynton had finalised his formal undertaking of
the role at some stage in 2012 and between that
time and October 2013, various people took on
coordinating roles, chiefly Suzi Cousins and
Richard Young. I’d like to thank them for
standing in during that time. Lynton however,
was not idle during that time, undertaking an
increasingly complex and involved project to
install solar panels as well as representing
AWUC on a Synod group investigating options
around the future building needs of Synod as
well as the Adelaide College of Divinity.
Prior to my commencing in later 2013, a very
successful Working Bee was held in advance of
the October Synod. From my role in late 2013,
it soon became apparent that there are a
significant number of people who express their
care for one another through caring for the
premises. In no particular order, Kym Ralph is
called on to plug leaks, Jim Tamlin fixes and
builds things, as does Trevor Story. The garden
keeps (that I know of) Judy Johnson, Wayne
Colebatch and Ron White occupied a lot, and
credit for the green and cared-for appearance
must go to them, especially over the hot summer.
Joy Hardwick and Peter Whiting look after
much property administration. David Gordon
remembers the manse when most of us go, “Of
course, the manse!” Simon and Nathan Story
do various electrical tasks. Leon Broster and
John Andrewartha are thanked for the many
small tasks they do, such as chair bottoms and
light bulbs.
Jesus talked about (paraphrased) “to whom
much is given, much is expected”, and “if
you are faithful in small things, bigger things
will come your way”. Our collective
endeavours to maintain the property are really a
way of caring for one another, and to enable the
property to be used, and used widely, and it is a
pleasure that it is. May God continue to bless
his people through the premises and his people
here.
David Bailey—Property Coordinator
Other initiatives and projects include:
Building a new shed—thank you, Jim TamlinCleaning the paving—thank you, Richard Altmann
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 39
Installing New Blinds—thank you to the fundraisers
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 40
Split the Power Board and Installed Solar Panels
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 41
Grateful thanks are due to Lynton Willcocks.
During 2013, the AWUC community expended
significant resources on splitting the electrical
board into two and the installation of 120 solar
panels (30 kW output). The solar panels took up
around 75% of the overall cost of $52,000.
The need for this work was partly in response to
a desire to contribute to environmental
sustainability and partly in response to a
generous bequest of $20,000 for solar panels,
and a number of other gifts. In particular, the
wonderful support from Adult Fellowship and
the Catering Group is recognised.
During the course of scoping solar panel options,
it was learned that in mid-2013,
SA Power Networks altered the trigger point for
when an electrical consumer moves from a
‘usage’ based tariff to a ‘peak demand’
based tariff. For AWUC, the immediate impact
was an estimated change in electrical charges
from around $20,000 PA to around $40,000 PA
(both without solar). A consequence of this was
that if solar was installed with no other changes,
whilst electricity usage would reduce, the cost
would increase.
Arising from extensive and lengthy
investigations, in the second half of 2013,
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 42
the Church Council decided to proceed with
splitting the electrical board into two in order to
avoid triggering the ‘peak demand’ based
tariff. The board split and new meters to
measure electrical usage are summarised as
follows:
312A Meter—this comprises all air
conditioning units and the front of house
lights. The solar is connected to this and, in
particular, offsets the high demand from the
air-conditioners (when they are used)
312B Meter—all other electrical services,
such as general lighting, kitchen, power
points and office computers
Post the solar install and with the split
board, the expected annual electrical
operating cost to AWUC is around
$7–10,000, a significant reduction
With the changes, we will need to take care
with the simultaneous use of all seven air
conditioners, in particular on very hot or
very cold days
As a significant undertaking by the AWUC
community, the panels and split board were
dedicated to God’s service as part of
Sunday worship services on 9 March 2014.
David Bailey
.
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 43
Nursing Home Visiting Team
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 44
In 2013, our church continued to conduct
monthly worship services at St Raphael’s and
Serene Nursing Homes. In 2014 we have added
the newly built ‘Empress’ Aged Care facility
on Henley Beach Road to our list of homes
where we conduct monthly services. Our
worship leaders are Norm Scrimshaw, John
Maddern, Rob Goldsmith and Peter Whiting.
Our nursing home visiting team also includes
Helen Dewar (our pianist), Judy Johnston, Marie
Faithfull, and Jean Rigby. The team is very
grateful to Alwyn Osmond for donating a
keyboard for us to use at the services we
conduct at Serene, as there is no musical
instrument there.
Our church also conducts services at St Martins
Nursing home on a roster with other
denominations. Services in 2013 were led by
Peter Whiting and Norm Scrimshaw.
We have recently welcomed Trevor Smith to our
team in 2014, and would be glad to welcome
anyone else who would like to join us for a few
hours on Wednesday afternoons on the last
Wednesday each month.
Peter Whiting
Wednesday LunchFirstly, let me say a big thank you to all who
have helped at Wednesday Lunch. It was sad to
say goodbye to Pauline Lock at the end of the
year, we will miss her in the kitchen.
We have had a very good year with people
enjoying a variety of meals and desserts. The
highlight was the Christmas dinner which
everyone really enjoyed.
In the coming year we are happy to have quite a
few new people join the team, some have helped
out before and some will be new to the team,
this will mean that the regulars will have an
easier year. In our preparation we try to have
alternatives for those with food allergies.
We have given donations toward the blinds for
the church hall, to Kids Space for KCO, Youth,
Scripture Union Beach Mission and Epilepsy
Foundation, also supplying the tea, coffee etc.
for the kitchen. We look forward to seeing you
at Wednesday Lunch and we always welcome
new people.
Margaret Scrimshaw
Coffee For BlokesCFB is an informal group that started up in
2013, and resumes in April 2014. On the
second Wednesday of each month we meet in a
local café (La Vita, Grange Rd) for a hot drink
and a chat. We talk about whatever takes our
fancy on the night, with no set agenda or study
programme. Numbers have varied from as many
as 15 or 16, when we had pizzas for dinner, to 5
or 6. CFB is intended to give men an
opportunity to catch up with other men and talk
about issues of interest to them. It is open to
men from other churches, and would also be a
good way to introduce non-Christian friends to
more Christian men. Contact Garry Lockwood or
David Bailey for more details.
Garry Lockwood
Did you Know?Christmas Bowl offerings for Christmas 2013
totalled $2,294.30.
Did you know?During 2013, 2 kg of postage stamps have been taken
to the Fellowship office at Synod (that’s a lot of
stamps!)
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 45
African Connection
Adelaide West Uniting Church 2013 Annual Review
Acceptance, hope and transformation in Jesus Page 46
During 2013, members of the congregation,
originally from African countries became much
more integrated into the worship life of
Adelaide West. On World Refugee Sunday in
July, Mathew Nyande gave a very moving
reflection at both morning services on what
Refugee Sunday means to him. At the same
services a group of women originally from Sierra
Leone participated as a singing group. Those
involved were Beatrice Munu, Ma-Musu
Nyande, Ashmou Sheriff, Gladys Konoyima, Yei
Musa, Finda Morsay, Hawa Sheriff and
Josephine Nyande. Several members regularly
participated in the singing group at 10.45 am
services.
In December, 2013, Gladys Morsay sent a
shipping container of goods to Sierra Leone, her
birth country, still recovering from the ravages
of war. Gladys did a remarkable job collecting
clothing, small furniture items, household goods,
bikes, toys, TVs, DVDs, tapes, computers,
books (especially for junior primary age
children), etc. to fill a 30 ft container which was
shipped to Sierra Leone at a cost of $10,000.
Such was her dedication that she wheeled a
pram around the streets of Brooklyn Park and
Underdale during the hard rubbish collection,
and salvaged many items to send to Africa.
Some may ask why not send the $10,000
directly as support for people in Sierra Leone?
The reason is that because of the recent
devastating war there, the items she collected
and sent are not available for purchase in the
country. Gladys also sent a container of goods in
2011, representing a sterling effort in terms of
her time, dedication and financial commitment.
In January, 2013, we celebrated a Renewal of
Marriage Vows service for Mathew and
Josephine Nyande, and in July the marriage of
Mary Workolo and Lawrence Gbeleyee. During
the year a number of our members became
Australian citizens, which is always a very
moving occasion for those who have made
Australia their home.
Each year a significant number of our members
participate in a Christmas celebration of Nine
Lessons and Carols. This well-attended service
is held at the Brooklyn Park Church of Christ,
which provides considerable support to the
African-Australian community.
Many of our families have moved to homes they
have purchased or to rental accommodation in
suburbs quite a distance from Adelaide West,
which means that they don’t worship with us
each Sunday. However, the connection is still
there, and it is wonderful to see such families
dropping in to worship at AWUC from time to
time. We are indeed privileged to have the
involvement of many African-Australian
families at Adelaide West.
Esmond Dowdy
Dates to remember in 2014
Spring Fair
Saturday, 18 October
Synod meetings
Friday, 21 June and Saturday, 22 June
Thursday, 30 October to Saturday, 1 November
ADELAIDE WEST UNITING CHURCH
ABN 76 585 525 379
FINANCIAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 DECEMBER 2013
Contents
Income and Expenditure Statement 1
Balance Sheet 2
Notes to the Financial Statements 3
Declaration of Church Council 9
Auditors' Report 10
1 | P a g e
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
Actual Budget
2013 2013
Note $ $
INCOME
Offerings 236,306 240,000
Fundraising 2 15,644 20,000
Interest 1,934 6,000
Manse rental 17,348 18,500
Property income 38,477 25,000
Ministry income 3,4 22,657 23,500
Sundry income 3,073 7,000
TOTAL INCOME 335,439 340,000
EXPENSES
Interim Minister Stipend & Allowances (Phil) 5,390 5,500
Lead Minister Stipend & Allowances (Rod) 85,056 86,800
Youth Pastor Stipend & Allowances (John) 41,828 42,900
Visitation Pastor Stipend & Allowances (Norm) 12,532 13,500
Childrens and Family Pastor Salary (Lorraine) 49,500 48,900
Office Co-ordinator Salary (Suzi) 9,800 10,000
Event Co-ordinator Salary (Suzi) 11,295 10,000
Cleaner Salary (Buddika) 11,925 12,100
Caretaker Salary (Nathan) 1,631 1,700
Administration Expenses 5 9,195 10,700
Wider Church Payments 6 25,723 26,800
Local Ministry Expenses 7 3,633 6,000
Specific Ministries Expenses 8 3,147 7,500
Property Expenses 9 47,857 52,800
Loan Repayments 26,044 26,000
TOTAL EXPENSES 344,556 361,200
SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) (9,117) (21,200)
2 | P a g e
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31st DECEMBER, 2013
2013 2012
Note $ $
ASSETS
Cheque account (Credit Union (SA)) 66,058 47,835
Petty Cash 200 200
Investments 10 47,143 45,408
Loans / Receivables 11 12,000 6,170
Youth Bank account (Bank SA) 6,348 4,665
Youth Cash on Hand 161 517
TOTAL ASSETS 131,910 104,795
LIABILITIES
Payables – Electricity meters 17,496
Other Payables 1,678
Owing for work of the wider church / appeals 12 3,085 793
Funds held on behalf of Church groups 13 5,675 7,554
Funds held for specific projects 14 25,816 25,516
Income received for 2014 from Fellowship 18,500
Employee liabilities (Tax and Super) 708 1,775
Access card deposits 700 700
Loan on Building 15 187,039 205,990
TOTAL LIABILITIES 259,019 244,006
NET ASSETS (127,109) (139,046)
CHURCH FUNDS
Accumulated Funds (127,109) (139,046)
TOTAL CHURCH FUNDS (127,109) (139,046)
3 | P a g e
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
1 Statement of Significant Accounting Policies
This financial report is a special purpose financial report prepared in order to satisfy the
requirements of the Uniting Church in Australia's Constitution and Regulations to prepare a financial
report. The Church Council has determined that the Church is not a reporting entity.
The financial report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the following
Australian Accounting Standard:
AASB 1031: Materiality
No other Accounting Standards, Australian Accounting Interpretations or other authoritative
pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board have been applied.
The following specific accounting policies, which are consistent with the previous period unless
otherwise stated, have been adopted in the preparation of this financial report:
Cash basis
This financial report has been prepared on a cash basis, and is based on historic costs, and does not
take into account changing money values.
Property improvements, Equipment, Land and Buildings
New property improvements, and equipment purchases are not capitalised, but are expensed in the
year of purchase.
Land and Buildings are assets of the Uniting Church Property Trust. It is Uniting Church policy to
include these assets in the Balance Sheet of the Uniting Church Property Trust, rather than the
Balance Sheet of the congregations who have the beneficial use of such land and buildings.
Accordingly, the value of Land and Buildings is not shown in these Financial Statements.
Financial Assets
Investments are brought to account at cost or valuation. Dividends and interest are brought to account
when received.
Employee Benefits
4 | P a g e
No provision has been made for Long Service Leave, Annual Leave and Sick Leave entitlements not
taken at balance date.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
2013 2012
$ $
2 Fundraising
Spring Community Fair (net of expenses) 14,005 12,935
Other Fundraising 1,639 2,054
15,644 14,989
3 Ministry Income (Derived from donations using special
envelopes and from Evening Fellowship)
Childrens Ministry 4,352 13,051
Youth Ministry 5,638 2,379
Young Adults 1,140 1,047
Seniors Visitation 9,695 10,154
Schools Chaplaincy 1,832 1,500
22,657 28,131
4 Evening Fellowship Donations
(a) Included in Ministry Income above:
Childrens Ministry 3,500 4,500
Youth Ministry 3,500 1,500
Young Adults 1,000 500
Seniors Visitation 7,500 7,500
Schools Chaplaincy 1,500 1,500
17,000 15,500
(b) Included in Sundry income
Contrib. to cost of bus transport for worship services 1,500 1,500
18,500 17,000
5 Administration Expenses
5 | P a g e
Stationery, photocopying 2,531 3,879
Telephone, internet, postage 2,796 2,877
Stewardship expenses 612 220
Bus hire for services 2,764 2,836
Sundry Admin expenses 492 1,374
9,195 11,186
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
2013 2012
$ $
6 Wider Church Payments
Mission and Service Fund 23,985 20,220
Schools chaplaincy 1,438 1,438
Co-operating Churches 300 300
25,723 21,958
7 Local Ministry Expenses
Worship, Preaching and copyright costs 2,181 1,776
Evangelism and Outreach 1,152 1,489
Pastoral Care 300 708
3,633 3,973
8 Specific Ministries Expenses
Childrens Ministry 1,647 3,055
Youth Ministry 1,500 239
Young Adults 0 386
Seniors Visitation 0 207
3,147 3,887
9 Property Expenses
Electricity 16,848 17,404
6 | P a g e
Gas 552 501
Water and Sewerage 1,657 1,024
Insurance 7,688 7,272
Repairs and Maintenance 14,275 9,546
Security and fire protection 2,425 2,758
Manse expenses 2,961 3,796
New equipment and technology 496 746
Sundry Property expenses 955 150
47,857 43,197
7 | P a g e
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
2013 2012
$ $
10 Investments (All with UC Invest)
For general purposes 20,302 19,684
Music Fund 3,212 3,115
Organ Trust Fund (see below) 23,629 22,609
47,143 45,408
Organ Trust Fund
Balance at start of year 22,609 24,465
Donations invested after deducting payments
to guest organists and non-routine maintenance 303 716
Investment interest 717 1,278
23,629 26,459
Less expenditure on organ modifications 0 3,850
Balance at end of year 23,629 22,609
11 Loans / Receivables
Refugee loans 2,153 2,153
GST refund due from Tax Office 5,207 1,397
Childrens’ Ministry (KCO, mainly music) 717 1,177
Debtors (Property hire) 935 0
Youth related 0 868
Other reimbursements 2,988 575
12,000 6,170
12 Funds held for work of wider church / appeals
Christmas Bowl 2,264 768
Other 821 25
3,085 793
8 | P a g e
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
2013 2012
$ $
13 Funds held on behalf of Church Groups
African Unity and Friendship Group 0 55
Alpha 508 508
Friends of Refugees (see below) 2,171 2,564
Girls Brigade 0 300
Mens Choir (see below) 0 761
Wednesday Lunch (see below) 2,996 3,366
5,675 7,554
Friends of Refugees
Balance at start of year 2,564 2,325
Donations and fund raising 205 1,557
2,769 3,882
Less expenditure assisting new arrivals 598 1,318
Balance at end of year 2,171 2,564
Mens Choir
Balance at start of year 761 545
Income from performances (excl those for appeals) 1,706 720
2,467 1,265
Purchase of keyboard and other expenses 2,467 504
Balance at end of year 0 761
Wednesday Lunch
Balance at start of year 3,366 1,534
Profits from lunches and Sunday morning tea 3,358 2,613
6,724 4,147
Less expenditure 3,728 781
Balance at end of year 2,996 3,366
9 | P a g e
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 2013
2013 2012
$ $
14 Funds held for specific projects
Cleaning Fund 4,270 4,400
Council grant for plants 85 85
Debt reduction donations (paid off loan in 2014) 1,773 1,512
Maintenance Fund 16,554 19,216
Musical Instruments Fund 345 0
Organ Fund donations (invested in 2014) 269 303
Hall blinds 2,520 0
25,816 25,516
15 Building Loan
Balance at start of year 205,990 223,365
Add interest (5% p.a.) 9,902 10,849
215,892 234,214
Less repayments, debt reduction donations, Local Support
Scheme fore-gone interest 28,853 28,224
Balance at end of year 187,039 205,990
Local Support Scheme
Funds loaned interest-free at call to UC Invest by members,
with fore-gone interest used to pay off building loan
39,519 33,419
Interest fore-gone for the year by members 1,298 1,421
10 | P a g e
CHURCH COUNCIL DECLARATION
2013
The Church Council has determined that the Church is not a reporting entity. The Church Council has
determined that this special purpose financial report should be prepared in accordance with those accounting
policies outlined in Note 1 to the accounts.
In the opinion of the Council:-
1. the financial statements and notes present fairly the Church’s financial position as at December 31,
2013 and its performance for the year ended on that date in accordance with accounting policies
described in Note 1 to the financial statements;
2. at the date of this statement, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Church will be able to pay
its debts as and when they fall due.
This has been agreed to at a properly constituted meeting of the Council.
----------------------------------
Chairperson
----------------------------------
Member
Date:
11 | P a g e
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ADELAIDE
WEST UNITING CHURCH
2013Scope:
I have audited the accompanying Income and Expenditure Statement and Balance Sheet and Notes to the
Financial Statements set out on pages 1 to 7 (being a Special Purpose Financial Report) of Adelaide West
Uniting Church for the year ended December 31, 2013. The Church Council of Adelaide West Uniting
Church is responsible for the financial report and has determined that the accounting policies used are
appropriate to meet the needs of its members. I have conducted an independent audit of this financial report
in order to express an opinion to the members of Adelaide West Uniting Church Council. No opinion is
expressed as to whether the accounting policies used, are appropriate to the needs of the Church Council.
The financial statements have been prepared for distribution to the Church Council. I disclaim any
assumptions of responsibility for any reliance on this report or on the financial report to which it relates to any
person other than the Church Council, or for any purpose other than that for which it is prepared.
The audit has been conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. The audit procedures
included examination, on a test basis, of evidence supporting the amounts and other disclosures in the
financial report and significant accounting estimates. These procedures have been undertaken to form an
opinion as to whether, in all material respects, the financial report is presented fairly so as to present a view
which is consistent with my understanding of Adelaide West Uniting Church’s financial position. These
policies do not require the application of all Australian Accounting Standards and other mandatory
professional reporting requirements.
Qualification:
Offerings/Donations/Fundraising Activities:
It is not practical for Adelaide West Uniting Church to maintain an effective system of internal control over
the collection of offerings, donations and other fundraising activities prior to their entry in the accounting
records. Accordingly, the audit in relation to collection of offerings, donations and other fundraising activities
was limited to the amounts recorded in the accounting records.
The audit opinion expressed in this report has been formed on the above basis.
Audit Opinion:
In my opinion, the financial report presents fairly the financial position of Adelaide West Uniting Church as at
December 31, 2013 and the results of its operations for the year then ended.
JULIE BRAY CPA
-------------------------------
Date