From the Chaplains
Making history in the Uniting Church – and not being stuck in the middle
Greetings from the Chaplains; we hope you are traveling well this week, wherever your paths may be leading.
I’ve been reflecting that one of the main roles of a chaplain, whether it be in a school, a prison, a university, an army or a hospital, is to be ‘in the middle’.
In the middle of community life, moving between different groups of people in that community.
In the middle of the secular and the sacred.
As they care for and nourish the spiritual lives of the people in a community, chaplains are in the midst of life, as it busily goes on in that community, to both support people through their suffering and to celebrate with them in their joy.
What a privilege – to be in the middle of community life!
I was reminded of this phenomenon of ‘being in the middle’ when I watched the recent feature on ABC TV’s Compass program about the Moderator-elect of the Uniting Church, Reverend Mata Havea Hiliau.
Mata is proud to be an Australian Pasikifa woman, and, with her ties to the Australian Tongan community, brings to her new role a wealth of experience and humility.
She knows what it is like to live between two cultures, and to navigate the complexities of this.
You can watch the episode about Mata here (and listen out for the incredibly beautiful Tongan singing!): Compass ‘Uniting the Tongan Way’ .
History will be made on Thursday 14 September when Mata will be installed as the Pasifika woman to be Moderator of the Uniting Church NSW & ACT at St Stephen’s Uniting Church, Macquarie St, Sydney.
You may be wondering, what is a Moderator?
Well, as the outgoing Moderator Rev. Simon Hansford explains in this Compass episode, a Moderator is someone whose job is to be ‘in the middle’, and to facilitate communication between different groups. He says,
“[Mata’s] task is to say, ‘This is what this side is saying, can you hear it?’ And vice versa.”
In a sense, we are all ‘Moderators’. In our lives, we all need to learn to be ‘in the middle’ and navigate different groups of people with different values, needs and priorities.
As parents, we are ‘in the middle’ of our children’s need for love and nurturing, and their need for discipline and boundaries. (When these two come together, it is a wonderful thing!)
We as parents are also ‘in the middle’ of the need to live our own lives and have our own identity, and our urge to give our energy, love and parts of ourselves to our children to help them thrive.
As teachers and chaplains, we are ‘in the middle’ of our students’ learning journeys. We guide and support them as they, too, navigate growing up; traveling between childhood and adulthood. We communicate with colleagues and our students’ parents about the best ways to support and challenge our students’ learning and try to hear these different voices clearly.
Being in the middle is a wonderful place to be, because it is full of possibility.
But sometimes, we can feel stuck in the middle. Unable to move forward or backwards. Unable to be heard or to hear others clearly. Uncertain of what is needed for our lives to be meaningful.
From a Christian point of view, Jesus Christ is the moderator, or mediator, between ourselves and God. The writer of Hebrews says that “Christ is the mediator of a new covenant”; that is, Christ allows a new way of being in relationship with God. This way is paved with forgiveness, compassion and love. Spiritually speaking, Christ stands in our place before the throne of the almighty, holy God. Which means that we can approach that throne – that is, be in an intimate, real relationship with God – with (humble) confidence, knowing that there is One who mediates and moderates on our behalf, even when we, because we are human, fail and fall.
We will have the great pleasure of hosting Reverend Mata Havea Hiliau at Pymble on Wednesday 11 October for a combined Uniting Church Schools’ community prayer meeting. All members of the school community are welcome – see details below.
I pray that as you journey with your family this week and over the term break that you will feel not stuck in the middle, but able to navigate the complexities of being human, knowing that, if you choose to accept the offer, there is One who mediates for you; offering a loving, intimate relationship with our Creator God.
Edwina O’Brien
Assistant Chaplain