The NSW/ACT Synod meeting was a wonderful event! Tessa, Sun and I flew the (metaphorical) West Epping flag proudly, as we helped to lead the music each day. There were moments of joy and celebration, as well as some difficult, tense and emotional conversations to be had. Rev. Simon Hansford (the new Moderator) chaired the meeting beautifully, striking a balance of solemnity and dad-humour. It was a real privilege to be there.

One of the overarching themes that emerged from this particular Synod meeting was the concern about who the roles and responsibilities of the Uniting Church get passed to, when that might happen, and how. That is, who will lead the church after us? A lot of “institutional knowledge” seems to be getting lost over the years, with ministers and leaders retiring or dying without passing on their knowledge and wisdom to those coming after them.

A few key leaders in the Synod (Executive Directors of boards, Secretariat staff, and members of key committees) have therefore volunteered themselves to be active, one-on-one mentors over the next eighteen months, to younger people who are interested in learning the ropes of church governance, structure, business, and so on. Mentors would be set up with students to meet regularly, talk about their work and how things usually get done, and encouraging the students to step into parts of those roles themselves.

This is an idea that really excites me. I am aware that there is an increasing narrative that people like Sun, Tessa, Adrian and myself are “the future of this church”, and this is not something we run away from. We all deeply love the Uniting Church, and we are excited to be a part of its future. However, people like us can only take the reins of the church if we are taught first how to drive the metaphorical horse-and-cart, and then (and only then) are passed the reins. We need mentors around us to teach us, encourage us, believe us, and then let us move forward.

I wonder if this concept might hold true within the local congregation. I wonder if those who built this church, saw its growth and flourishing, and served the church generously for many years, might now be able to intentionally mentor the younger generations of members coming through, to take this church forward into a new era. Understanding, of course, that the church of the future will not look like the church of the present or past, there is still so much tradition, memory and stories that emerging generations need to hear, with an attitude of love and grace. Many congregations around us see the consequences of older generations simply throwing the baton to the younger generations, expecting them to pick it up and run – except that the younger generations have never run before, so they leave the baton on the ground and find a safe haven.

Instead of that common narrative, let’s do something different. Let’s follow in the footsteps of Moses (mentoring Joshua), Eli (mentoring Samuel), David (mentoring Solomon), Elijah (mentoring Elisha), Mordecai (mentoring Esther), and of course Jesus, who mentored his twelve apostles who then established the Church. Mentoring is how the Church began, and mentoring is how the church will continue. So who will you mentor, or be mentored by?