I tried to connect with a South Australian conversation about call, ministry and ordination earlier this year (God calling). Since then I’ve been asked, in several different contexts, to explain the UCA’s understanding of ordination. Manifesto for Renewal provides my more fully developed account of the UCA’s view, however, as I listened to some people talking about the issues again today at Uniting Leaders I thought it might be useful to post the sketchy notes that I’ve been speaking from to resource the ongoing conversation:
Ordination in the Uniting Church
There are theological, Christological and ecclesiological dimensions the UCA view of ordination.
The fundamental theological context is the mission of God as it’s expressed in paragraph 3 of the Basis of Union:
“God in Christ has given to all people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. The Church’s call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole, an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself.”
Then there’s the core Christological context of how Christ calls the church into being “through human witness”, as it’s expressed in paragraph 4:
“The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church is able to live and endure through the changes of history only because its Lord comes, addresses, and deals with people in and through the news of his completed work. Christ who is present when he is preached among people is the Word of the God who acquits the guilty, who gives life to the dead and who brings into being what otherwise could not exist. Through human witness in word and action, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ reaches out to command people’s attention and awaken faith; he calls people into the fellowship of his sufferings, to be the disciples of a crucified Lord; in his own strange way Christ constitutes, rules and renews them as his Church.”
The central ecclesiological principle is that in baptism every member of the church is commissioned to participate in the ministry of Christ. As it says in paragraph 7, “Baptism into Christ’s body initiates people into his life and mission in the world”, and more fully in paragraph 13:
“The Uniting Church affirms that every member of the Church is engaged to confess the faith of Christ crucified and to be his faithful servant. It acknowledges with thanksgiving that the one Spirit has endowed the members of Christ’s Church with a diversity of gifts, and that there is no gift without its corresponding service: all ministries have a part in the ministry of Christ”
Those key principles provide the context to understand what is said about ministry and ordination in paragraph 14. First, there is the more broadly stated commitment to engage in a search for those whom God is calling to ministries that the church needs in every place and in every generation (and that paragraph mentions ministers of the Word, elders or leaders, lay preachers and deaconesses in particular):
“The Uniting Church, from inception, will seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to recognise among its members women and men called of God to preach the Gospel, to lead the people in worship, to care for the flock, to share in government and serve those in need in the world.”
Then there is the more specific statement of the theological basis for our search for those called to the ministry of the Word:
“Since the Church lives by the power of the Word, it is assured that God, who has never failed to provide witness to that Word, will, through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, call and set apart members of the Church to be ministers of the Word. These will preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments and exercise pastoral care so that all may be equipped for their particular ministries, thus maintaining the apostolic witness to Christ in the Church. Such members will be called Ministers and their setting apart will be known as Ordination.”
The ministry of the Word is just one of that “diversity of gifts” that is mentioned in paragraph 13. It’s not superior to other gifts of ministry but, just like them, it has its own dignity and value. 1 Corinthians 12-14 is the biblical precedent for thinking that through (and living it out).
The 1997 Assembly’s “Affirmations on Ordination” explain that,
“Ordination is an especially solemn form of commissioning, reserved for those people whom the Church has set apart to exercise leadership in the ministries which the Church has generally held to be of permanent and crucial importance…” (para.1).
It affirms that,
“By ordination, Ministers of the Word and Deacons are given a new relationship to the Church, a new standing place and new responsibilities within it, and a new form of accountability to the Church” (para.2).
And it confirms that,
“…every member of the Church is a member of the laity [the laos tou theou], Ministers of the Word and Deacons included. Ministers and “lay people” do not constitute two separate “classes” in the Church” (para.5).
Andrew F Dutney 
Encouraging and as usual well reasoned from the Basis. Unfortunately the human behaviour of even the first disciples too often turns this around, and instead of developing the question as you have Andrew, starts with the second last point and works back.
Perhaps the hardest part of a ‘calling’, whatever it is, comes when you feel others are getting the ‘benefits’ without having done ‘the hard yards’ (think ‘formation’ in the UCA). I think that is why Jesus needed to centre his teaching on that topic through the example of the ‘little child’, but it is still a challenge for those of us who have learnt all our life that ‘you have to work hard in this life to be recognised’. Of course the question is ‘by who?’ because I know (and like 1 Cor 13, it keeps getting clearer) God recognised, valued and cared for me ‘before I was formed!’ So I can relax and celebrate other’s gifts and the blessings to us as the body of Christ as they share those gifts.
I am drbabulvet@yahoo.com I am everyday studying Bible. Amen amen so I believe God Jesus most highly powerful. Amen amen of i have know Jesus, you control all the parts of our body, and you know when they’re not working at their best. Sickness leaves us stressed and steals time from all the things I want to be doing. I’m honest, Lord. I don’t like to be sick. But times like this also make us rest in you, so I thank you for this chance simply to wait on you.
I come to you today asking for your touch, Lord. Help us to be patient and allow you to do your work. If doctors are involved, give them wisdom, and thank you for providing the help we need, however you choose to provide. Whether this is a test, or simply a time to trust, I want my response to honor you.
As my Good Shepherd, I know you will lead us beside quiet places and restore our soul and body. We trust you and want to follow your leading. Help us to welcome this time not as an interruption. carefully planned schedule, but as an opportunity to draw strength and nourishment for the journey ahead. You are our healer and our Great Physician. I look to you and give thanks for the promises in your Word that assure of your presence and your help.
Teach us what you want to learn during these unpleasant times, Lord. Help us not to take out our discomfort on those around me, and show us how to be a good patient while I’m recovering. In these days of sickness, Lord, we trusting you and asking you to make us well. And when you’ve restored our health, give us wisdom so we can treat our body as the temple of your Spirit. I’m eager to get back on my feet serving you, but I realize that even in sickness, I can still draw near to you. Thank you Jesus Amen so I want Christian Religion capture by married or life time contact seriously prepare so amen amen amen amen God bless you. drbabulvet@yahoo.com