A Change
of Name
(an
extract from 'Transmission'
newsletter, Spring 2003)
On 14th October this year, Adelaide Central Mission
became “UnitingCare
Wesley Adelaide.”
This is the second name
change in a century. In 1977,
the Central Methodist
Mission became Adelaide
Central Mission due to the
formation of the Uniting Church
of Australia.
(pic: Launch at the Stamford Grand Hotel for UnitingCare
Wesley)
There are equally compelling
reasons for a name change
this time too. The Uniting
Church is a national Church,
with national, state and local
identity and meaning. Uniting
Church services too need to be
able to work at national, state
and local levels.
Nationally our advocacy on
issues like poverty,
unemployment and
homelessness is increasingly
important, as are partnerships
that are being forged with
companies who are realising
that social responsibility is
core business.
At State level too, the voices of
Uniting Church agencies are
sought on many issues,
gambling for example, while
our services are provided at
both State and local levels.
The UnitingCare part of the name
recognises the common goal of all
Uniting Church agencies to provide
services that make a difference in
peoples lives. There is a clear link to
the Uniting Church of which we are
part. UnitingCare also exists already as
an advocacy arm of the Uniting Church
with some runs on the board, so the
UnitingCare part of the name has a
number of important elements.
Wesley is significant in the name too,
both because it recognises the history
of many Uniting Church agencies,
and because it is such a well known
and powerful name is some parts of
Australia. There is a compelling case
for including “Wesley” in the name.
The two, UnitingCare Wesley go well
together and reflect some of the
diversity and strength of the
organisations joining under the
common banner. The last part of the
name, is for
each agency, geographic, so that the location of the
service is clearly identified.
So
in South Australia, there are four
UnitingCare Wesleys, Port Pirie, Port Adelaide, Bowden
and Adelaide.
Each of these continue to provide
the services currently provided. The
movement to a common name is
further evidence of the closer working
relationship that has been actively
developed over the last couple of
years.
It will take a little while to grow
comfortable with the new name, but
we are still ‘making as big a
difference as possible in the lives of
people who are most in need of
community assistance’.
