Nourish – Hope in Disorienting Times

Nourish is always a big day in the calendar for the BUV, and it never disappoints. The purpose of the day is to encourage, connect and enrich BUV pastors and leaders as we gather from all over Victoria.

Last Friday 15 October, we had nearly 150 Baptist pastors, leaders and BUV Support Hub staff gather online after restrictions caused us to move our planning from an in-person event to Zoom.

The theme of Nourish was Hope in Disorientating Times – a timely subject that was brought to life with a wonderful array of powerful and insightful speakers.

Beginning with “coffee & chat” breakout rooms hosted by the PLS&D team, the day kicked off with a moving and visually stunning video of the song “10000 Reasons” featuring nearly 25 of our churches.

Rev. Robyn Song then opened with a beautiful passage from Psalm 86 and a prayer of thanksgiving and hope.

Rev. Chris Danes led off with “God is our Hope”, followed by Rev. Kathryn Jensen sharing “Hope is a Journey”. Rev. Daniel Bullock lead the final session of the day with “The Gift of Hope in the Community”. All our great speakers were real and engaging both heart and head, and the breakout rooms after each session were a time of connection and discussion.

“Today’s Nourish was spot on. Thank you for hitting exactly the right tone, with the great balance of encouragement and challenge … it truly did what the name advertises – provided nourishment.”

The day also featured a time for pastors and participants to share good news shout outs with us all, and there was a special moment of recognition for Garry Lock who celebrated 27 years as an ADF Chaplain.

There was a time of quiet celebration as we acknowledged those who have passed away in the last year, and a wonderful interview by Daniel Bullock with two pastors from Myanmar who gave insight into the ongoing situation in their home country.

Nourish was truly a great day for everyone who gathered and be encouraged in our ongoing life within the BUV.

Members’ Meeting

In the evening, we had a over 200 attendees online at the Members’ Meeting. The night opened with our video of the song “10000 Reasons” featuring nearly 25 of our churches. 

The results of the ballots for Recommended weekly stipend, superannuation and Church membership fee were all passed.

 In addition all of the appointments that were voted on were passed.

Union Council 

• Jo-Anne Bradshaw  –  Member of the Union Council of the Baptist Union of Victoria for a period of 12 months from 15 October 2021
• Fiona Hall  – Member of the Union Council of the Baptist Union of Victoria for a period of 3 years from 15 October 2021  

Honorary Legal Advisor

• Paul Holdway – appointed as BUV Honorary Legal Advisor for a period of 12 months from 15th October 2021 

Baptcare

• Graham Dangerfield –   as CEO of Baptcare

Debbie Uy Director or Finance and Administration gave us and update on the financial forecast for the year and  Rev Daniel Bullock presented the BUV Support Hub Strategic Direction for 2022 along with the BUV’s Vision, mission and an update on the flourishing churches survey results.

We prayed for our Ordinands who due to covid restrictions are unable to have their ordination service this year and we hope to have this in early 2022 when we can meet safely again with family, friends and supporters. We also welcomed our Ordination transfers for the year.

We welcomed the following new communities of faith to our Union:

Constituent Churches

• Falam Baptist Church
• Werribee Karen Baptist Church
• Melbourne Siyin Burmese Mission Church
• Melbourne Agape Baptist Church
• Shepparton Chinese Christian Fellowship Inc

Faith Communities

• Rock City Church

Micro Churches

• Lydias Table
• Aintree MC

And farewelled 

• Rise @ Carlton
• Hills Bible Church

Unfortunately due to the meeting being held online we were unable to hold a corporate discernment process. We did however watch a recording of a panel video of Welcoming Communities regarding welcoming people with insecure housing or homelessness. We hope that the discussion from this recording can continue at a local church level and we encourage you to use the local church forum guide provided in the members pack. You can view this video by clicking here

Thank you to all who attended our online Nourish and Members’ Meeting this October. We are grateful to God and we are looking forward to see you at our next gathering in May 2022 and pray we can be altogether in person.