Previously said, “In my next post I will reveal a human story which will show how the *sinful behaviour which has brought the bus to the state it is in has directly impacted on individuals who rely on its availability.”

So, in this third post I will follow through with that which I stated in the previous post and present a brief story about the personal impact of our bus not being used for its intended purpose.

What that story will highlight is, yet again, of some embarrassment for the entire congregation. The reason is because it show just how selective our church leaders are in choosing who can and cannot worship at Fairfield Uniting. It’s a power thing, who has what ‘rights’ at Fairfield Uniting.

An additional part of this post, linked to peoples’ rights’ will also be outlined and this component of the post will surely raise peoples hackles in demonstrating just how entrenched are the cultures of bullying, control, abuse and hypocrisy within portions of Fairfield Uniting’s congregation.

Now all of the points above can be measured against the backdrop of a letter I have previously referred to in the second post of this blog. The letter Fairfield Uniting’s Church Councillors used to unjustifiable attack my wife and who accuse me of “working against us”; “us” being, of course, the current Fairfield Uniting Church’s Elder and Church Councillors. The same people who, several times a day see and watch as the church bus deteriorates in front of them: the very same individuals who say I disrupt fellowship within our congregation.

Now let’s take that very last point first (I disrupt fellowship within our congregation) and detail what happened last Sunday (27July2014) before and after the morning worship service. On entering the church I was approached by a congregational member who asked if she could speak with me after church; I replied “yes”. After the service on the public footpath in front of the church I was again approached by the same person who had made the earlier request and, was asked had I come to “her place” and taken photos of the bus. She went on to say that her neighbour had seen me and that I had no right to do what I had done!

Now let’s take a closer look at those statements: her neighbour* had told her she had seen me and *she had; I did/do not deny that fact. I don’t know the neighbour nor she me so how was the link to me made? Furthermore, by that Sunday, the photos were already a part of this blog as featured in the second posting.

But there is a more sinister twist needing to be considered here; there was a very strong suggestion I had go ‘on to her property’. This point was made very aggressively several times during the confrontation. As you can all see ‘the bus’ was on a public road, in full view and accessible from all sides via public property!

The second part of that comment is that I had “no right” to photograph the bus. And there, in that part of her statement, you see an example of the control and bullying to be found in Fairfield Uniting’s Church congregation. The bus being property belonging to the church of which I am a member, parked on a public road in a municipal area in which I have resided for my entire 64 years and yet; I have no right to be on that road photographing something of which is the property of the ‘church community’ in which I belong; for almost the same period of time. What does this say about Fairfield Uniting Church? Is it a faith based ministry or a sect under the dictatorial control of a few? It’s looking a lot more like that latter than the former.

But it gets worse. I have indicated the approach was aggressive and it was: I did not deny what I had done and have no reason to regret my actions (taking the photos) and after the person had made her initial pronouncement she continue to aggressively threaten me (in full view of the congregation) repeatedly stating I had no right to go to her place and that I should never go there again. Having made her point I asked her to step away and when she did not and continued her tirade I walked away. In doing so I was followed, the tirade and threats continuing; I again asked her to step away and when she did not I indicated I should go to the police and crossed the road to break off the contact.

How many of you attend church services which conclude with this type of ‘fellowship’? Is it really me who is ‘disrupting’ the church? What level of protection and or support did I get from the Elders and other Church Councillors at the time of the confrontation or subsequently – NONE! When you know who delivered the tirade you will also know why not protection or support – for me!

Those events, of last Sunday, will have a sequel!

Now, to the second part of this post; a human story behind the un-availability of the church bus.

As previously stated the role of the church bus is to ferry those who are in need of transport to and from church to be able to do so.

Picture if you will a church congregational member who is severely disabled. A person for whom mobility is an extremely difficult and slow process: someone who should be able to count on being able to use/access a gift given to his church for the express purpose of transporting people with the need.

Add to that picture several components: one, this is person who, always with the disability, has attended for many decades. Two, even with the difficulties the person has, he did, for many years get himself to and from church but, due to changing circumstances involving distance this same person turned to using the amenity the church bus provided. That later arrangement has been in place now for probably over ten years. But it stopped, why? Well in part because of what you all now know; Fairfield Uniting’s bus is parked, un-registered and rotting on a public road.

Now the person I have outlined is NOT the only person who was being transported directly prior to the bus ‘becoming un-available’. His absence was not un-noticed and as one would expect the Elders and Church councillors would be right on top of a situation like this and arrange alternative transport? You know, go and pick the person up themselves and or announce or ask other congregational members if they could do so. That’s what you would expect: except as situations like this are under the CONTROL of Fairfield Uniting’s Elders and councillors it’s not what happens. But to be fair he did get mentioned, as not always being able to ‘attend’, in prayers, uttered by an Elder. Was he sick, choosing not come, or had he other commitments (?); some of us wondered.

After nearly six weeks I took it upon myself to visit him. Why the time span you might ask and, a reasonable question it is. We do have Elders in which we should be able to trust, we did have a minister who could well have been following through. But in the main, being honest, with the disquiet rife in a congregation did we want to lift the lid off and expose yet another example of the dysfunctional nature of Fairfield Uniting Church. That is, of course, is what has happened; our dysfunction is once again exposed and, it’s a disturbingly nasty thing which has been exposed!

In my visitation I was told the reason the person was not attending was because the bus had (told to them by a church councillor**) ‘broken down, was not working’ and that when it was fixed (at the end of the month) he would again be picked-up. Well we now know ‘not working’ is another way of saying un-registered and ‘end of the month’ was probably very ‘optimistic’ to say the least.

But, as with everything to do with Fairfield Uniting nothing is without a twist and, here is the twist in this story. Other congregational members, who were being transported up to the point the bus became un-available, broken down, not working and un-registered continue to be picked-up in the private cars of none other than church councillors! Oh dear! Why has one person only, who with the terrible infliction he lives with and who has demonstrated, through his perseverance and effort, his enormous depth of faith, been so appallingly treated by our church, Fairfield Uniting? And this is not the first time.

The fellow I have just talked about can barely walk but, given the opportunity, took it and came to church last week, transported in a private car. He made the effort, but many long term congregational members have given up and walked away from our congregation because of its management, our Elders and Church Councillors; the same people who accuse me of disrupting the fellowship of Fairfield Uniting.

There is yet another twist – after all it is Fairfield Uniting’s Elders and Church Councillors who have now been found ‘wanting’ in this case of ‘discrimination’. In the church hall, after the morning service, my wife was approached – by a **church councillor - about the fact the ‘person’ had been picked-up and asked why it had been done. She answered and, he continued with the question, was the arrangement going to continue. When he was told it would he was clearly ‘un-happy’; why, you might ask? The answer, of course, lays embedded not in the phrase ‘service to others’ but in the phrase ‘WE MUST CONTROL’.

What more do I need to say to convince the Uniting Church in Australia’s hierarchy as to why I have asked for their help only to watched as they just pass by?

In the next post more about control as the primary Pastoral Care tool exercised at Fairfield Uniting Church.  

I forewarned in my opening post, in the next post, I would reveal how the leaders of Fairfield Uniting had attacked my family and me. At the core of the leaders’ attacks is a distorted belief. To quote from their letter – “Unfortunately, we feel that you have been working against us, along with your wife (named) and your son (named), causing division within our congregation and we are trouble by this.”

Leaving me aside at the moment, that written attack on my wife and son is completely without basis. In particular, in relation to my wife, it was an untruthfully cruel personal attack on a person who has been a faithful and gracious part of the Fairfield Uniting congregation for many decades in many roles including teaching Sunday school. That is, until Sunday school was no longer a component of our church due to its destruction, with whole families, including those with young children and our grandchildren having left as a direct response to our leaderships’ (the Church Council) failings and actions!

It was an unjustified attack delivered for the sole purpose of hurting a person. In that respect it was successful and it brings not only shame to Fairfield Uniting’s Elders/Leaders but to all those who attend Fairfield Uniting and those leaders in the higher tiers of the Uniting Church who have failed to step in and support the rectification of that injustice. The un-truthful attack was delivered via a letter signed by EVERY MEMBER OF THE FAIRFIELD UNITING CHURCH COUNCIL including those who are “ELDERS”. Why you may be asking would Elders and Church Councillors stoop to this level; the answer(s) lay in knowing some simple facts.

In my previous post I alluded to the ‘autocratic/dictatorial’ leadership of Fairfield Uniting. It is a leadership which has – over time – crushed any person who attempted to object or challenge Elders/Church Councillor decisions or actions. Actions which are sinful, many and varied: actions which have contributed to an ‘eye-opening turn-over’ of ministers which should have, on its own, drawn more substantial attention from the Uniting Church hierarchy.

However there came a point where I decided enough was enough and yes I have challenged the Elders/Church Councillors. That is why the Church Council chose to attack: it’s a ‘strange’ form of pastoral care we have in Fairfield Uniting; some would be see it as bullying. It is the tool used and why many, long term members, and others, including ministers, have been forced out of (to leave) our congregation.

That said, this posting is also going to highlight the leadership’s poor management of church resources and assets (just one example) and in doing so reveal, in a significant manner, why I have stood my ground and draw the fire I do.

Below you will see several photos taken (only days ago) of ‘our’ church bus. The vehicle was purchased – new – in 1983, with money from a bequest (if I recall correctly), and for many years was used, on Sundays, to ferry congregational members, for reasons of need, to and from church and, on appropriate church outings. The bus has not been used for several weeks now; why? Well, truth is, as a congregation, we don’t know: however what I do know is the bus fell out of registration months ago!

Church members have not been told why, nor has there been any announcement/indication (forthcoming) as to the fate of the vehicle. Suffice to say however it is not a surprise to me; it is indicative, just another example, of the appalling handling of church affairs, we have been forced to accept and have ‘become used too’, at Fairfield Uniting.

Additionally, I am personally aware of the fact, even when the bus was still in use, it was in a state, had it been spotted by the authorities, which would have attracted defect notices. That point alone, given the vehicle is driven by a church councillor, says volumes about the handling of Fairfield Uniting’s affairs and the failure of our Church Councillors to ensure the safety of those being transported.

So where is the vehicle now and in what condition? Well, it’s an un-registered heavy vehicle parked on a public road. It’s not, and has not, been garaged/housed on church property for years (despite that being a requirement). It is, as the photos show, in a filthy state with rubbish stored in the rear of the vehicle and the drivers’ floor piled with trash and, dangerously, a loose fire extinguisher! It has one (inside rear) tyre fully deflated and other, quite visible, defect attracting damage. THE BUS WOULD NOT PASS A ROAD WORTHINESS INSPECTION and, the appropriate government authorities have been informed!

OUR CHURCH BUS HAS BEEN DELIBERATELY ALLOWED, BY OUR CHURCH COUNCILLORS, TO ROT ON A PUBLIC STREET WITHIN THE DAILY EYESHOT OF TWO FAIRFIELD UNITING CHURCH COUNCILLORS!*; WHY?

In its sign written state the Fairfield Uniting Church bus stands as a clear beacon, on a public road, next to a frequently used public park, as an advertisement of how appalling disrespectful our church is of gifts given in good faith for a purpose and the mission of the church.

The bus stands in a public place, as an advertisement to the world, of what Fairfield Uniting Church stands for; at the same time it is a reflection on the ‘brand’ which is The Uniting Church in Australia!

That this gift, a vehicle and church asset has been allowed to degenerate to this level of disrepair is an appalling disgrace which MUST be solely borne by Fairfield Uniting Church Councillors. This single example of careless disregard, by the church leaders, for the Fairfield Uniting congregation’s safety, assets, for the work, mission, integrity and reputation of Fairfield Uniting church and the wider Uniting Church in Australia is a disgrace which MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE.

Look at the images below and weep!

  

In my next post I will reveal a human story which will show how the *sinful behaviour which has brought the bus to the state it is in has directly impacted on individuals who rely on its availability.

R.P.Waddington.

I open this blog/conversation/vent with an outline of the primary role of the blog, which is, to place on the public record something of the horror Fairfield Uniting Church has become. I am doing it now, in this manner, as a last resort; as the ‘pursuit by conventional means’ has proven it not possible to adequately address critical issues.

Importantly, it is to place on the public record an historical/time link to the current leaders of Fairfield Uniting and the wider Uniting Church in Australia. Doing so will ensure the actions of those leaders, (who are responsible), will not, in the future, be apportioned to other than those directly involved and those, who may continue to allow the practices of the current Fairfield Uniting leadership to continue without change, apology and or restitution. It will also prevent those same leaders distancing themselves from the truth and or to attempt to change or distort the facts.

Of greater importance though is to make an example of Fairfield Uniting: a warning to other (Uniting) Churches, leaders and congregations; an example of how a congregation should not function!

As part of the ‘make an example of them approach’ my following posts will publish specific details of discussions, meetings and letters relating to the issues of Fairfield Uniting. There is no reason why anything relating to what has happened, to me, my family and close friends should be considered confidential. As embarrassing as it may be, for me/us, it surely will be of more embarrassment to our leaders and those of our community who have supported our church in complete ignorance of the sinful undertone within. It is necessary to expose Fairfield Uniting to the disinfection exposure provides.

Hopefully other church leaders and Presbyteries - with issues similar to Fairfield Uniting – may look at what will be revealed herein and, having done so, will take a looong hard look at what damage they may be causing to individual congregational members, their congregation and the Uniting Church in general.

If it is the mission of a Uniting Church congregation to follow the teachings of Christ, support their members and congregations and to reach out to the community radiating Christian behaviour then Fairfield Uniting is NOT the example to follow.

A visitor or casual observer, walking in to worship at Fairfield Uniting, will not notice the hostile attitudes in play. Whilst projecting a congenial outwards persona (and community involvement) it would take only a short period of time for an astute observer to uncover some very disappointing truths. If Fairfield Uniting ‘s ‘personality profile’ fits, in any way, your congregation then please take immediate steps to restore your church to one of faith, love, support and outreach else you will go the route of Fairfield Uniting.

At the core of my concern is a non-inclusive church: a church without a spiritual heart, a church with an autocratic leadership whose ‘pastoral care skills’ border on brutal. Over time, if you participate/follow my ‘conversation’ you will learn more about why that is so.

That said there is one additional point I am going to make here which goes, some way, to explaining how Fairfield Uniting ‘was allowed’ to descend to the level of sinful decay it has. It has a lot to do with people ‘not wanting to cause waves’: reasonable to a point but wrong if it means bad practices are ignored, go un-challenged or are allowed to propagate, to the degree they ultimately impact detrimentally on individuals and the life and witness of the church. Locally that is bad enough; however, it is made worse when those ‘higher in the church’, for reasons best known to themselves, choose to ‘pass by’, and not help when asked to do so.

This is precisely what has happened and it has shaken my faith to its core. Simply put, I can accept Fairfield Uniting’s problems are ‘self generated’ and there is some considerable history but when Presbytery, Synod and The Assembly are asked to help and don’t, won’t or do not know how to, what hope do individuals in a congregation have, whilst being bullied, to bring things back on track?

Let me give one example of why I have made the statement I just have. Asking for help I wrote, simultaneously, to the leaders of the top three tiers of The Uniting Church of Australia. Two of those leaders have not responded (even months later) not even to acknowledge the receipt of my letter. One leader did respond but did so on the basis he believed “the matter is being dealt with by…..”, continuing with “it is not one in which the ….. should become involved”. Really – let me think, think…..ing, think….ing ;-) what was that road to Jericho story about…..?

So from this ‘beaten-up and damaged travellers’ point of view, I can only conclude I/we must wait until a ‘good Samaritan’ appears ;-) or, alternatively, a real leader can be found within the Uniting Church in Australia who has conviction, the space in their heart and schedule, who is prepared to step on to a very ugly plate, hold their ground and, help and guide/lead a congregation which is failing in its primary mission.

In closing (this post): the ‘problem that is Fairfield Uniting’ has for a long time been an ‘invisible’ problem of The Uniting Church in Australia. It has been wrongly believed, by those who should know better, Fairfield Uniting could be dealt with behind closed doors. Flawed thinking which has empowered and facilitated the consolidation of dictatorial rule within the congregation. Flawed thinking which has meant many have been very deeply hurt and have walked away from the church.

Fairfield Uniting must change: in the absence of appropriate leadership and support from the Uniting Church hierarchy or a ‘Samaritan’ this public record may or may not provide, “through exposure to sunlight”, what I am seeking but, what it will do, for the historic record, is correctly apportion ‘the credit’ to those responsible.

R. P. Waddington.