The Congregational Federation of Australia and New Zealand is a
Congregational
Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...
denomination originally comprising fourteen congregations in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
but now including congregations in New Zealand.
History
Forty congregations of the
Congregational Union of Australia
The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational church, Congregational Christian denomination, denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational church, Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to ...
decided not to join the
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
in 1977, and some formed the New South Wales based
Fellowship of Congregational Churches. Other remained independent. Others formed the Queensland Congregational Fellowship.
In July 1995 the
ecumenically minded congregations left the Fellowship of Congregational Churches because of its conservative and non-ecumenical orientation and with other churches who had remained outside the Uniting Church including the Queensland Congregational Fellowship formed the Congregational Federation of Australia, now the Congregational Federation of Australia and New Zealand.
[ The Federation has also attracted Samoan, Western Samoan, Filipino and Tokelauan churches meeting in Australia and New Zealand.]
Affiliations
* National Council of Churches in Australia
* International Congregational Fellowship
*World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...
References
*Source
Description of The Congregational Federation of NSW
at Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
, Christian Unity site "Appendix 2. Understanding the Member Churches of the NSW Ecumenical Council"
Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
Christian organizations established in 1995
Christian denominations in Australia
Reformed denominations in Oceania
Congregational denominations established in the 20th century
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