Category: Papers

Occasional Papers

Occasional Papers are available to download on the Documents/Papers link on the top banner of this website. Volumes 1-10 (Volume #3 is missing – we will upload when we track it down and scan it in!). These papers are invaluable references on diaconal ministry in general, and the renewal of the UCA diaconate in particular.

Alison McRae – De-Centred Ministry (a doctoral thesis, 2009)

De-Centred Ministry: A Diaconal View of Mission and Church, a doctoral thesis by Alison McRae (2009)

This thesis deals with one particular expression of diaconal ministry within the church, that of the ministry of Deacon within the Uniting Church in Australia. The research is based on an understanding that the ministry of Deacon is essentially an ecclesial concept. Drawing on the manner in which the Uniting Church in Australia has recently developed its renewed diaconate, and on the experiences of deacons currently in ministry, it highlights how the ministry of Deacon within the UCA is best understood as being directed towards the needs of the wider community and operating on the margins of church and community. The thesis suggests that the ministry of Deacon in the Uniting Church can be understood to be a ‘de-centred ministry’. It challenges us to move away from understanding diaconal ministry as a ministry of humble servanthood, and to see it as an ecclesial concept that helps us understand more about the nature of the church and what is at the heart of its own diaconal mission.

Read the thesis here: Alison_McRae_Thesis._copy_1_pdf