Queensland Churches Together shares its vision of unity with similar bodies in other states. Though each of the state bodies is independent of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), there are strong links between the national body and the states as well.
Every year the General Secretaries of the state bodies and the executive staff of NCCA get together for three days to exchange information and tell each other their stories. In 2007 they set up an informal network and called it AEON: Australian Ecumenical Officers' Network. With the help of this network they intend to share resources more than in the past and learn from each other. Communication between meetings takes place via telephone, email and internet (internal website).
"I always look forward to speaking to my colleagues in other states," says QCT General Secretary Glenine Hamlyn. "We plan together, laugh a lot and ask each other's advice on difficult issues," she adds. "The mutual support is important."
State CWS staff also get together once a year with the CWS staff of NCCA in Sydney, with telephone conferences in between. It is at such meetings that ideas and practical matters are discussed, and the vision shared.
The other state bodies are:
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is a member of the regional Asian ecumenical body, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). In the areas of interfaith dialogue and ecumenical formation, as well as on individual issues, there are significant exchanges between Australian ecumenical bodies and CCA. We greatly appreciate the opportunities CCA offers to learn from our Asian neighbours.
