The wife of Reverend Gordon Bradbery stood up in church yesterday to show that she would not go quietly.Pilar Helmers took to the microphone during a post-service question and answer session at the Wesley Church on the Mall to raise the issue of the role of preachers' partners. Ms Helmers, who has been a senior manager with the South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service for the past five years, said she was worried about having to give up her career to follow her husband.
Campaign to save Rev Gordon Bradbery Presbytery of Illawarra letter to congregations Rev Bradbery had applied for an "extension of call" that would allow him to stay on at the Uniting Church for a further three years until his retirement in 2015. But, despite the church council voting unanimously in his favour, the extension was refused by the synod - a state committee of the church - before being passed to the regional presbytery, which formally rejected the recommendation late last month.Unless the congregation can convince the presbytery to reverse the decision, Rev Bradbery will be posted to another church at the end of 2010."My job has been growing and increasing and I am just getting the skills I need to do this job really well," Ms Helmers said."So when they move Gordon on, the choice I have is to live separately to him or go with him and give up my career, and he could be posted anywhere." Ms Helmers cited an example of a Uniting Church reverend who was posted to another church while his daughter was halfway through her HSC year. The family was forced to split up so the daughter could complete her studies."No consideration has been given to the partners, they just expect the wife to pack up and move on with her husband, but now of course, times have changed and we have double income families," Ms Helmers said."The (Uniting Church) need to rejig their policies to take on board that most partners these days have work."The question and answer session was held to brief the congregation on the "decision and implications" of the presbytery's decision.One woman's impassioned speech about how the church needed a strong leader and how Rev Bradbery fitted that role, drew applause from the 80-strong congregation.
