The Uniting Church defines a Congregation as:

“…those members and adherents who ordinarily meet together for the public worship of God, to hear the Word of God, to celebrate the sacraments, to further the work which Christ has committed to his Church, and who are recognised as a Congregation by the Presbytery.”

(Constitution, para 2)

 
 

There are different configurations of congregations:

  • Some exist as a single unit with their own Church Council and minister (eg., Port Macquarie).
  • Some are linked to one or more other congregations, sharing a minister (no current examples within this Presbytery).
  • Some are grouped in a wider configuration, each with their own Church Council but with a joint management committee eg., the Lower Macleay River group).
  • And some behave as a single congregation with just one Church Council but meet in two or more different locations – known as multi-centre congregations (eg., the Lower Manning).

There are seven parts to this section of the Presbytery Web site, each of them accessible from the buttons at the top of this page. There is no point in selecting the “Congregations General Page” button – you’re already on that page!

 

Select the “List of Congregations” button to see a map of the Presbytery with each congregation marked. You can go to the page for any particular congregation by clicking on its name on that map or on the button for that congregation to the right of that page.

Select the “Secretaries of Congs.” button to see a list of the Secretaries of each of the Church Councils and, where appropriate, of each of the congregations.

 

Select the “Treasurers of Congs.” button to see a list of the Treasurers of each of the congregations.

Select the “Lay Reps., to Presby.” button to see a list of those lay members of the Presbytery (and their elected alternates) who have been elected by each of the congregations.

 

Select the “Lay Preachers” button to see a list of all the accredited Lay Preachers throughout the Presbytery, arranged according to their respective congregations.

Select the “All ministry agents” button to see a list of all the ministers of the word, deacons, lay pastors, youth workers and other ministry agents, active or retired, throughout the Presbytery.