“It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role … I have understood this to be a part of God’s calling, and I’ve tried to be faithful to that,” said outgoing Moderator Rev David Fotheringham in his report to Synod 2025.
Moderator Rev David Fotheringham ended his term in the role this morning, thanking Uniting Church members in Victoria and Tasmania for the opportunity to serve them for the last three years.
“It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, and I want to express my gratitude to the Synod for entrusting me with the privilege of serving this way for the last three years,” he said.
“I have understood this to be a part of God’s calling, and I’ve tried to be faithful to that.
“We are a conciliar Church, and as such this is not so much a role of authority, but one of representation and leadership for which I’ve offered what I can.
“It’s also a role which gives a pretty unique opportunity to see the enormous variety, breadth and depth of God’s work through the people, committees, and entities of the Church.
“I can hardly express how much I’ve appreciated being able to gain those kinds of perspectives, and I’m conscious that I’m still learning.”
David paid tribute to the work of the Synod Standing Committee during his time as Moderator, and encouraged members to consider putting their hands up for the six positions to be filled on the committee as it continues its work.
“If you have some interest in oversight, and if you’re willing to learn, reflect, and work with the Standing Committee team, please consider nominating, or think about who to nominate,” he said.
David spoke of many highlights over the last three years, including the opportunity to work closely with the Victorian and Tasmanian Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congresses, as well as congregations, presbyteries and schools.
“The Moderator gets to be a co-chair of the Walking Together in Covenant Committee, and in that role, and in other spaces, it’s been wonderful to work with and walk with Alison Overeem, Will Pickett and others,” David said.
“It’s been a pleasure to visit congregations and presbyteries, to speak at schools when new Principals are inducted, and to do site visits to Uniting Vic.Tas and AgeWell sites, sometimes for particular events and sometimes just to meet the wonderful people there.
“It’s been deeply moving meeting with survivors of abuse in the context of providing formal apologies, sometimes working with staff from Uniting Vic.Tas, including their CEO and the Heritage Service – deeply moving and deeply significant.
“It’s been inspiring to work along with members of the Standing Committee on contributing to some national matters, including but not limited to working with Northern Synod as they’ve had some difficult challenges and griefs and also in support of Nungalinya College.
“I’ve appreciated the experience of working with particular presbyteries or presbytery leaders around particular issues.
“As many in this room would understand, there are often challenging issues that come up regarding people in conflict or distress which can take many, many hours of work and care, in the Synod office, as in presbyteries, which for most people is mostly unseen.
“I’m aware of some of the careful, pastoral work that people do in those spaces, and the cost of that work, and I’m very grateful – we can all be very grateful – for that careful work which is behind the scenes.”
David told today’s meeting of three significant issues that now face the Church in Victoria and Tasmania.
The first, he said, related to helping presbyteries and the Synod to work together in the strategic planning space, so that resourcing can be coordinated and well stewarded.
“Regardless of how this Synod meeting resolves its part, it has been a great experience to work with people across the presbyteries,” he said.
“We can debate the pros and cons of that work elsewhere – that’s fine.
“For now, I just want to express my appreciation for the ways that we’ve been able to share in that work, alongside of the work of the Presbyteries-Synod Forum.”
The second challenge, David said, related to the importance of walking together as a Church with First Peoples, and the need for Truth Telling during that journey.
“The Yoorrook Justice Commission has been a historic and significant step in Victoria’s journey with Truth Telling, and the churches have their part to play,” he said.
“We’ll do more about that later, but for the purpose of this report I want to reflect that it has been a deeply moving experience to be a part of that work, and I’m deeply grateful for, and slightly in awe of, the work that was done to pull together the Synod’s substantial submission, which involved staff from property, trusts, legal, communications, the Justice and International Mission cluster and the General Secretary’s office.”
David said unrest in the Middle East continued to be an issue of significance for the Church at a national and Synod level.
“The third major issue for this term has been Israel’s violent and unrelenting military campaign in Gaza, in response to the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023,” he said.
“I am grateful for the ways in which so many ministers, pastors and lay preachers have helped congregations and individuals in prayer, in grieving, in reaching out, and in advocacy; and I’m grateful for the leadership of the President and the clarity of responses by the Assembly Standing Committee in solidarity with the World Council of Churches.”
David said he now looked forward with confidence to the Church’s future, and the leadership his successor, Rev Salesi Faupula, will bring to the role of Moderator.
“There is no doubt that God works through individuals and groups of people who, recognising God’s love for them and for the world as we see it in Jesus, love God and love one another, and pay attention to the life and needs of the communities around them,” he said.
“There are some places where this happens with great vibrancy; and other places where this happens with quiet faithfulness and dedicated service.
“In this role, I have had the chance to experience worship, witness and service in a big range of significant ways across all aspects of the Church, in the evolving context in which we find ourselves.
“We are indeed Pilgrims of the Spirit – I’m very grateful for the theme of the Synod under our new Moderator, and I have great confidence in the leadership and character that Salesi offers for this Synod.”
