OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVES

1. Establish a robust spiritual foundation that unites and strengthens the Christian community through worship, pastoral care, and community outreach.
2. Engage and nurture the spiritual growth of children and young people in our church
3. Preserve and promote the Dinka/Jieeng language and cultural heritage among the younger generation and integrate it into the church’s activities
4. Build a church/hall to provide a dedicated space for Youth, Sunday School, and community programs/events, which enhances the church’s ability to serve its congregation
5. Demonstrate Christian values through active service and community outreach such as evangelism, fostering goodwill and support within and beyond our church congregation

Safe Ministry and Commitments

St Peter Jieeng commits to adopting and implementing all the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne’s safe ministry policies, including the legislations and policies relevant to privacy, confidentiality, and child safety standards. We are committed to being a church which promotes respectful relationships in which women and men can flourish as people of God. Our church and its members want to enjoy peace, love and unity and be free from violence, intimidation, and coercive control of any form. For example, physical, emotional, spiritual, verbal, financial or sexual prejudices will never be tolerated. We assure you to tell us any form of violence you are experiencing, and we will listen to you and provide spiritual and social support. If you want, we can help you contact the appropriate community services for specialist family violence support. We will not disclose your information to anyone unless you and your children are at risk of harm.

You can also contact the following services for specialised support:

• 1800 RESPECT – 1800 737 732
• GenWest (formerly Women’s Health West) – 800 436 937
• SAFE STEPS – 1800 015 188

The appointment of a Safe Ministry and Child Safety Contact. St Peter Jieeng has appointed team members responsible for overseeing, developing, and implementing the policies in various ministries within the church. Each ministry team have a designated leader, appointed by the Church or nominated by the Priest, to be responsible for encouraging and equipping the members of their team to exercise and carry out their respective ministries successfully effectively. The Priest/vicar oversees the church’s activities, including the direction of each ministry team, Church leadership, governance, reporting, budget and mission.

Church leadership and Governance Structures

St Peter’s Jieeng uses the Parish Governance Act 2013 to elect or nominate its members. The church’s main leadership structure comprises of:

1. Priest/Pastor in charge
2. Churchwardens x3
3. Council (comprises of several departments)
4. Youth & Sunday School Ministry (x1 rep in council)
5. Mother Unions (x2 rep in council)
6. Pastoral Care & Community Outreach (x2 rep in council)
7. Music (rep in council)

Roles and Responsibilities

The specific roles and responsibilities of each ministry and individual responsible were described and adopted in the Parish Governance Act 2013. For example, the Churchwardens and Church Council are the main bodies responsible for overseeing the affairs of the church, including the ongoing training and develop members with essential skills and knowledge about the church governance, such as the financial management or budgeting required to run the church programs, and the reporting policies and procedures.

Leaders do not directly approach anyone to join a ministry but are to provide the vicar and pastoral team with recommendations. Upon receiving such recommendations, the pastoral team will undertake a process of prayer and discernment as to the suitability of the person being recommended for the proposed ministry. If someone is called to a particular ministry, the vicar will meet with that person to invite them to take up that ministry position.)

Parish Communication Policy

1. Official letters must carry a logo and seal
2. Community connection (word of mouth)
3. Official website and social media (linked)

St Peter Jieeng is committed to communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ in an effective way. However, we recognise effective communication requires a strategic approach that ensures the correct way to disseminate information in a timely and targeted manner. Our official messages will be in English and carry a logo and stamp, as we are in an era of rapid mass communication. This is an expectation. Consistency of message dictates that there needs to be an authorised spokesperson who is the channel of all communication. While the Parish Council may have various messages that it wishes to communicate, it is also essential that all communication is directed via the Priest in charge, Churchwarden or designated spokesperson in each department to avoid confusion and allow the messages to be passed quicker as timely information is crucial. Consequently, the delayed distribution of information can lead to members speculating, uncertainty and unnecessary rumours, which may ignite unhealthy relationships. Therefore, St Peter’s Jieeng Anglican Church leaders and its members must follow the communication policy.

We acknowledge multiple audiences, including external and internal, such as the diocese, other congregations on the same premises, St Clement Anglican Church (Altona Meadows), and those from different social and cultural backgrounds. In such situations, our communication with audiences must always be in written English and carry a logo and seal. The communication will always be tailored to each targeted audience.

The church has grown in number of children, young people, and families from whom community connections and social media is a medium of communication as part of our daily lives. Programmes or activities such as Sunday School (Dom Jot) and Youth Choirs (Thoom) weekly training and practices, and the mother program is Jieeng Language School (JLS), which is open to everyone, including non-Jieeng who want to learn Jieeng Language (Thongjang). Apart from these internal activities with stakeholders, St Peter Jieeng Anglican Church in Western Melbourne seeks to engage with the wider communities surrounding the City of Wyndham suburbs, the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, its national and international partners, such as the African Churches, South Sudanese churches in Australian and overseas. Each audience requires different information, which means the use of the English language will be maintained as a medium of effective communication. St Peter’s Jieeng communication policy development will evolve.