The Social Responsibilities Committee (SRC) was established by Synod under The Social Responsibilities Committee Ordinance 1997. Under the Ordinance the Duties of the Committee are:
(a) To emphasise the Church’s teaching with respect to the duty of Christians towards their neighbour;
(b) To enquire into social issues;
(c) To investigate issues of concern identified by the Bishop, Diocesan Council or the Social Responsibilities Commission of General Synod;
(d) To liaise with other communities of faith on social policy issues;
(e) To liaise with other social responsibilities committees across the Province and the nation;
(f) To prepare reports and statements on social policy issues;
(g) To take such action as may be authorized by the Bishop;
(h) To work in collaboration with The Samaritans Foundation and other diocesan organizations.
The Committee is to consist of The Bishop (ex officio), six clergy and six laity elected by Synod, one lay member elected by the Anglican’s Men’s Society, one lay member elected by the Mother’s Union, and one member appointed by the Board of the Samaritans Foundation.
The present members are The Rev’d Melbourne Nelson (Secretary), The Rev’d Peter Tinney, Prof. Geoff Cutfield, Claire Foster, John McNaughton, Nancy North, Cec Shevels, Val Shevels (Chair), and Sue Williams.
In 2006 the major focus for the SRC was on the Make Poverty History campaign. In conjunction with Samaritans several Forums were arranged at various spots around the Diocese to coincide with National Poverty Week. In addition, a pre-Synod Make Indigenous Poverty History Forum was held in Newcastle in conjunction with The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC). Those attending were encouraged to work together, as Christian indigenous and non-indigenous people, to change the severe disadvantages suffered by the indigenous.
In 2007, the SRC has conducted a theological reflection on a personal story of an Aboriginal woman who not only related it to the Committee but who also participated in the theological process with us. This proved to be not only insightful but also profoundly moving, and opened our minds to the resources/traditions that the Church can bring to such issues. SRC has now aligned itself with an issue the Samaritans is tackling – that of post-prison housing/homelessness – and is preparing a theological reflection on the NSW Justice System that is responsible for the growing number of people being put in jail.
The SRC is a very busy committee and is actively involved in undertaking all of its duties as listed above. It is always open to new members with a serious interest in issues of social justice in our community/world.
For more information please contact any of the committee or the secretary on 4968 0375.
Freedom and Change
In a paper by Cec Shevels, published in The Newcastle Herald on International Human Rights Day in November last year, he suggests that one of the reasons for the loss by the Coalition Government at the last federal election may have been that ‘many people were beginning to worry about changes and even threats to our traditional values and freedoms. Such freedoms are usually protected by a National Bill of Rights, and in fact, every OECD country except Australia, has such legislation’.
The Diocesan Social Responsibilities Committee (SRC) has reflected theologically on Cec’s paper. In doing so, it concluded that:
• All people deserve fair and equal treatment, with justice, respect, mercy and compassion shown to all, in recognition that every person is made in the image of God.
• People with authority or power, when driven by fear, selfishness, or political advantage, often choose to deny respect, fairness, and the full protection of the law to certain individuals whose rights are either suspended and/or their person subjected to violence.
• Our failure to ensure, as far as we can, that our fellow human beings are treated with justice, fairness and dignity reveals our flawed nature, and our diminished humanity.
• We recognize that we have a responsibility to act as those whom God has entrusted to be stewards of creation, and that we have power by God’s grace to achieve this by enacting and administering laws that safeguard the human rights of others.
In their reflection SRC members saw some parallels between today’s abuses of human rights and Jesus’ own trial before the Jewish authorities and Pilate. The ‘trial’ betrayed Jewish principles required for judging fellow Jews, denied Jesus any benefits of the Roman legal code, and left Jesus completely alone and isolated, without access to appeal or judicial review. His torturers were not restrained by any threat of accountability. As with modern-day injustices, where all humanity is diminished, Jesus’ humanity faced its ultimate test at the hands of his fellow human beings.
The Rev'd Mel Nelson
