UNOH’s Policies

UNOH’s Policies: Some ways we respect each other and the broader church

UNOH’s mandate from Churches of Christ

On the 4 May 2001, the UNOH community was commissioned by Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania as “a missional order among the poor”. It was the end of a process that took eight years. Our community knelt down together and received the prayers, affirmation and blessings of a movement through its 300 representatives. UNOH began as part of Churches of Christ in July 1993 in what was then known as the Department of Mission, Education and Development. The then director, Don Smith, took a chance on us, believing in us and our crazy dream, and giving us space to work out our charism. We experimented with numerous disciplines and structures to share our common life together, and in 1999, on sabbatical, I (Ash Barker) had the opportunity to name in more concrete terms what UNOH being an order would really mean. Collective Witness: A theology and praxis for a missionary order was the result of this reflection. The first manuscript was worked over by the team, and it eventually became the basis of our common life together.
By recognising UNOH as a specialist community, the Churches of Christ were saying that they believed God had given UNOH a unique charism, leadership and formation process to reach the poor in these new, challenging times. Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania now have 140 congregations and one missional order.

In UNOH’s recognition as an order with Churches of Christ, the following differences were noted from local churches:

  • To become a UNOH member requires a three-year formation process.
  • UNOH is a community specifically for incarnational workers among the poor (i.e. workers who live and identify with the poor and share the gospel from this basis).
  • UNOH workers take on particular lifestyle disciplines around the themes of voluntary poverty, loving obedience and apostolic service.
  • UNOH has its own leadership from within (as a local congregation does) but it also has a board of reference and partnership circles for the key stakeholders in UNOH.
  • The purpose of UNOH is to start and support new churches and partnership projects with the poor. These are not owned by UNOH but by the host community that UNOH serves. (An example is the Rainbow Community Church, which affiliated with Churches of Christ as a local congregation in 1999.)
  • UNOH also has Companions of Hope, which is a volunteers’ fellowship for those seeking to reach the lost and the poor from the base of existing churches, ministries or alongside UNOH partnerships.
  • UNOH aims to have chapters among communities facing poverty beyond Melbourne. Bangkok was the first, in 2002.
  • All UNOH members are considered as “specialist ministers” and are accountable, as are other Churches of Christ ministers, to the “Code of Ethics”.

(Notice of Motion No 1. Urban Neighbours Of Hope: “That Urban Neighbours Of Hope would be accepted into affiliation with the Conference of Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania as a missional order among the poor”.-Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania 136th Annual Conference, May 2001.)

UNOH’s Governance and management structures

UNOH Members Council

The UNOH Members Council (MC) has the ‘final say’ in UNOH. The council is made up of all members of UNOH (i.e. those who do the three-year formation and are current workers). It meets once a year, with a representative team from each chapter meeting two other times each year. The MC not only elects the International Director, but also discusses and signs off on major policy and direction decisions themselves. The UNOH Inc Board responsibilities are also a part of the MC responsibilities. Because this includes technical/professional issues concerned with issues around assets, income and expenditure, UNOH Members Council connect with Churches of Christ Vic-Tas to bring specialist people in to advise as required. The UNOH Inc Board meets three times a year formally when the director is in Australia. Urgent, interim decisions can be made by this council via e-mail or skype.

International Director

The International Director (ID) reports directly to the UNOH Members Council. The ID’s responsibilities include:

  • Leading UNOH in living out our covenant and goals
  • Visioning for the future
  • Helping to resource and challenge UNOH workers
  • Ensuring the right people get on the UNOH bus in the right places for the future
  • Ensuring policies are implemented
  • Representing UNOH publicly
  • Supervising and supporting chapter leaders, UNOH training co-coordinator and administrator
  • Reporting back to the UNOH members
  • Ensuring UNOH Inc and Reference Group are effective.

The ID is chosen by the UNOH members and confirmed by the Reference Group. The ID can be dismissed by majority of UNOH members and confirmed by the Reference Group.
The current Director is Ash Barker.

UNOH Reference Group

The UNOH Reference Group (RG) is not so much a ‘senate’ as in the past, but now more a key sounding board, think-tank and group of respected advocates. It includes those who are spiritually discerning and whose focus is on the ‘big picture’ and key work of UNOH overall, its members and those they serve. The RG meets quarterly; meetings being held when the Director is in Australia. While not all of the group can get to all meetings, we try to work out conference-calling options to ensure we can get a group of supportive people in the same discussion. These meetings would be at least half a day with a single topic agenda/problem to solve. All recommendations are taken to UNOH Member’s Council.

Terms of reference for the UNOH Reference Group

  1. Aims:
    • To be a think-tank to help UNOH Members Council navigate its future ministry
    • To be a check and balance for UNOH Members Council thinking
    • To advocate for UNOH in RG’s networks
    • To help UNOH be a prophetic voice to the broader church
    • To champion a specific UNOH chapter
    • To be prayerful and interested in UNOH’s work on the ground – at least prayerfully reading newsletters
    • To ask tough questions of UNOH members
    • To be a resource that UNOH workers can draw on when needed
  2. Qualities required of RG members:
    • Spiritual wisdom
    • Deep valuing of UNOH’s ethos and vision
    • Concern for UNOH’s long-term well-being
    • Courage to challenge UNOH ideas, assumptions and practices
    • Have networks to look for people and opportunities for UNOH
  3. Attend three half-day RG meetings a year that include:
    • Prayer and reflection
    • Feedback from last meeting
    • Two questions/problems posed/raised (one from RG, and one from UNOH Members Council) for best thinking/solutions;
    • Developing a list of further action/discussions to be followed up outside the meetings
  4. To make the most of our time together requires that:
    • Members come to at least one of the three half-day meetings a year.
    • The group comes with one clear challenge/question for the UNOH Members Council to discuss and brain-storm each meeting
    • The Members Council come up with one clear challenge/question before the meeting for the RG to discuss and brain-storm
    • All questions and challenges are taken seriously
    • All solutions are followed up outside the meeting
  5. RG Participation
    • By invitation by a majority of Members Council for a three-year term
    • RG members are reviewed after three years by Members Council and can be re-invited
    • Members of the RG must attend at least one of the three meetings in a year to keep membership alive
    • RG has a chair elected by majority of Members Council. The current chair is Paul Cameron. The role of the chair is to facilitate meetings and ensure recommendations are clear and followed up.
  6. The next four half day meetings will be:
    • 30 October 2008 – Melbourne
    • 16 February 2009 -Melbourne
    • 23 July 2009 -Melbourne (primary meeting, with all UNOH workers, after Richard Rohr retreat)
    • 5 October 2009 -Sydney

UNOH Co-ordinating Team

UNOH Co-ordinating Team (CT) is led by the International Director. It includes chapter leaders, training staff, the Members Council chair and the finance/administrator. The main role for this group is to open up communication, help keep vision-casting, problem-solve and calendar check. It meets six times a year, three times face-to-face.

Chapters

Chapters are UNOH’s city-wide communities. They are led by chapter leaders.

Neighbourhood teams

Neighbourhood teams are UNOH’s neighbourhood based mission teams. They are led by a neighbourhood team leader.

Resource staff

The resource staff are employed to do specialised service that UNOH community workers cannot do themselves. This include administration and training staff.

UNOH’s code of conduct

We comply with the Conference of Churches of Christ Vic-Tas Codes of Conduct. The following are areas worth highlighting in our particular context. These excerpts must be taken in the context of the Churches of Christ documents as a whole.

Boundaries With Children

Workers who are regularly responsible for children within the neighbourhood should read “A Code of Practice for Responsible Leadership in Programs with Children” (Churches of Christ, Vic-Tas Conference). The following excerpts are relevant to all levels of interaction with children.

Behaviour and discipline

i) Expectations of Behaviour: Responsible leadership in programs with children includes guiding and sometimes correcting their behaviour. Leaders need a shared understanding of what is expected of children and how they will help them meet these expectations. Children should not be restricted with too many rules. However, boundaries appropriate to the age and development of the children need to be clearly defined and consistently applied. It would be appropriate to describe these in writing and make them available to children and parents (Examples in Appendix 5).

ii) Guiding Children: For the safety and wellbeing of each child, and the cohesion of the whole group, leaders should expect children to: give of their best; care for others; and behave in a way that pleases God. Any abuse, bullying or ostracism of others is not acceptable. Guidance can be provided by: the exemplary attitude and behaviour of leaders and other helpers; clearly communicating expectations; affirming and encouraging appropriate behaviour; adequate levels of supervision; and careful organisation of the program.

iii) Correcting Children: When correction is needed, leaders should choose the appropriate level of intervention, taking into account the effect of the child’s behaviour, and the ability of the child to understand why they are being disciplined. Explaining the reason for the discipline will help children take responsibility for their actions and remind them about appropriate behaviour. Options can include:

  • Redirection – if the safety of the child and others in the group permits, sometimes (especially with younger children) it is enough to simply redirect the child with a positive instruction, for example, “Joanne, how about you try using your own pencils?”
  • Incentives – sometimes redirection is more effective if there is an added incentive to change the behaviour, for example, “I will be watching for two of the best encouragers, and they can go first in the next game.”
  • Reminder – give the child a verbal reminder of the rules, for example, “Remember Jose, we agreed not to stand on the chairs unless we had removed our shoes.”
  • Warning – warn the child by naming the behaviour, and the management that will follow if the behaviour continues, for example, “John, it is time to listen. If you keep talking to your partner I will ask you to move.”
  • Removing privileges – knowing the consequences of their actions can help children make better choices, for example, “We cannot have cake until all the books have been put back.”
  • Reflection – helping the child understand why the behaviour is unacceptable and why they are being disciplined, for example, “I am really disappointed you ignored Jack. How do you think he feels? I would like to see you apologise and include him more in the group.”
  • Isolation – still in a safe place and supervised, for example, “I want you to move away, Jess. Sit there where I can see you, and think about how you should talk to leaders.”
  • Seek help – if you are finding a child’s behaviour too difficult to manage refer to another leader for help, for example, “I can’t continue with your interruptions, Julie, so I have asked the other leader if you can be in their group. You need to quietly stand up and go and join them.”
  • Removing the child – if the behaviour is unmanageable, return the child to the parent or caregiver with an adequate explanation, for example, “That is not how we behave in this group. I am taking you back to your grandparents and we will tell them why you are being removed.”
  • Careful physical restraint – sometimes the welfare of the child or others in the group may require immediate intervention. Use only the minimum restraint required as a last resort to prevent injury, for example, holding back a child that is attempting to kick another.
  • Children should not be disciplined in a way that threatens their emotional, physical, social or spiritual wellbeing. It is not appropriate for a leader to discipline a child in a program by:
  • Belittling or publicly shaming the child;
  • Using excessive force or restraint; or
  • Smacking or striking the child, including with any kind of implement.

Relationships with children

Leaders and other helpers need to ensure their relationships with children are beyond reproach. Carers must always respect the right of the child to establish their own boundaries over their body and feelings. They must never use their position in any way that could exploit or abuse a child emotionally, physically, sexually or spiritually. A leader or other helper must not develop a romantic or sexual relationship with a child in their care.

To maintain a safe relationship, all leaders and other helpers should:

  • Guard against any action that could be interpreted as romantic or sexual, including inappropriate physical contact;
  • Avoid any physical contact with which the child is uncomfortable; and
  • Be sensible in any one-on-one situations that may arise, especially emotionally charged ones such as deep personal conversations. Ideally the leader would be the same gender as the child, and be observable or interruptible by others.

i) Relationships
Example One: At a junior youth group pool party, a teenager, 15, keeps asking a male helper, 17, to give her a massage. He gives her the same foot rub he has offered the others but turns down repeated requests for more attention. When she persists, a female leader takes her aside to reflect with her on the inappropriateness of her behaviour. The leader later praises the helper for his maturity.

Example Two: An elder wants to organise a time for baptism preparation class with a 16-year-old. Attempts to organise a meeting at the teenager’s home when the parents will be there fail, so they agree to meet at the church building, when the secretary will also be working there and they use a room with windows.

Example Three: Two children are enjoying a friendly tickle with a leader at a Women’s Ministry Unit event. They are not alone and the leader starts to tickle a third child to include them. The leader notices this child does not seem to appreciate it, so immediately stops.
“Lighting a Path to Safety: Team Members Handbook” (Safety and Care in Scripture Union):

ii) Behaviour and language
Children learn as much from what team members do as from what they say. Behaviour, attitudes and language are as important as what is taught during a program. The way you communicate with children needs to reflect the conviction that Jesus welcomed children (Mark 10:13-16). That means using language and ways of relating that affirm worth, dignity and significance.

Avoid behaviour that gives the impression of favouritism or encourages ‘special’ relationships with individual children or young people. It is easy to ‘love the lovable’. The children who are not easy to love often need more love from us. It is also important to remember that children notice how leaders talk to each other. Negative nicknames, ‘put downs’, and sexist language reinforce behaviour that children may already see all too often. Where parents or members of the wider community observe leaders at work, they need to see a caring style that demonstrates the credibility of Christianity.

iii) Physical contact
Many children enjoy physical contact with adults and will actively seek opportunities for this through simple expressions of affection and confidence in play. Indeed, there may be occasions where physical contact is necessary. However, some children do not seek or enjoy physical contact. Children should be allowed to choose the degree of physical contact they have with others except in exceptional circumstances (e.g. when needing medical attention).

It is inappropriate to initiate close physical contact; this should come from the child, if at all. As a general rule, open displays of affection initiated by children in the presence of others are acceptable.
Team members need to be aware that consistent contact with the same person may give the impression of favouritism. It is unwise, and may result in others competing for attention or feeling left out.

There will be occasions where displays of affection are natural. Children must not be shunned if they initiate and demonstrate their need for comfort, bearing in mind the age of the child and the circumstances. Care needs to be exercised that such situations don’t occur in private. Where private conversations are necessary, the team member and child should remain visible to others in the group.

Physical contact between adults and children may be misconstrued. Any physical activity that is, or may be construed as, sexually stimulating to the adult or child is inappropriate and must be avoided. Children may not be aware of creating such situations. It is your duty to be alert to such circumstances and act accordingly.

On no account must any form of corporal punishment be administered, even in fun. The only form of physical restraint appropriate is to protect children from harm (e.g. reasonable restraint to stop a fight, to stop bullying or to avoid an accident).

It is inappropriate for a team member to pursue a romantic relationship with a participant.

iv) Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
Team members need to be sensitive to cultures and family traditions different from their own. These cultures and traditions may affect the degree of participation of children in activities and games. No pressure should be applied to children from other cultures and traditions to encourage participation. Team members need to show respect for authority structures in other cultures and traditions. Team members must not make statements about other religions and cultures that reflect ignorance, bias or ridicule.
Summary: (Based on Choose with care & Building Child Safe Organisations, ECPAT Australia 2001)

DO DON’T
Behave in a manner consistent with your position as a positive role model to children and as a representative of UNOH.

Treat all young people with respect and take notice of their reactions to your tone of voice and manner.

Allow children to determine the degree of physical contact they have with you, without showing favouritism.

Report to your team leader allegations or suspicions of abuse.

Alert your team leader if you find yourself in a situation where a team member of the opposite gender is required.

Report all concerns, issues, and problems to your team leader as soon as possible.

 Engage in inappropriately rough physical games.

Use any physical means to control or discipline a child, other than restraint by holding to prevent injury.

Hold, kiss, cuddle, or touch children in an inappropriate and/or culturally insensitive way.

Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even as a joke.

Do things of a personal nature that a child can do for themselves, such as going to the toilet or changing clothes.

Enter the sleeping accommodation of members of the opposite gender, except in emergencies or during organised group times. Be aware of situations when children might be changing, showering or using the toilet.

Spend time alone with a child [if you are male]. Always ensure another adult is within sight when conducting one-to-one coaching, instruction etc.

Safe House Rules

There will be situations when children stay in UNOH members’ houses for varying lengths of time (e.g. an overnight sleepover or for longer periods). These safe house rules provide safe boundaries for children who are in the care of adults who are not their parent(s):

  • When an adult is saying goodnight to a child, the bedroom door must remain open. An adult must not get into bed with a child. Drawn-out bedtime rituals should be avoided.
  • Children who are old enough should bath and wash themselves.
  • Adults should not walk about a house without clothes on.
  • Avoid wrestling or tickling games with foster children. Find other ways to work off children’s energy e.g. dancing, push-ups, and any exercise that can be done together but does not involve touching.
  • Don’t encourage playing in bedrooms.

Boundaries with Adults

  • Don’t spend time alone with any local person of the opposite gender. This means not visiting them at home when no one else is there, and not inviting them in if you are home alone. If you are in a mixed household, and someone of the opposite gender arrives early to visit a housemate (i.e. you know they will arrive within ten minutes), leave the door open. If they may be longer, ask the visitor to come back later. Where possible, confirm with the person expected home by phone.
  • If meeting with someone on team of the opposite gender, ensure it is in a public place or somewhere easily interruptible (unless you’re married to them!).
  • If you are single, don’t be the one to extend invitations (to things that are happening), to local people of the opposite gender. Ask a teammate to invite them.
  • Do not have deep or personal conversations with local people of the opposite gender outside a structured group meeting.
  • Don’t stay overnight in the house with one other person of the opposite gender if your partner is away for the night.
  • Guard against any action that could be interpreted as romantic or sexual, including inappropriate physical contact, and sexual innuendo. The exception to this is if romantically interested in someone who would be considered an appropriate choice of partner (i.e. not a local person or someone with whom there is a power imbalance).
  • If considering beginning a dating relationship, talk first with a UNOH member who will help you to consider the implications of any possible relationship.
  • Seek healthy interdependence, appropriate levels of intimacy, and an empowering approach toward others on team and in your neighbourhood. Be aware of any signs of co-dependence, and seek accountability to maintain healthy relationships.”The co-addicted relationship is not based on healthy love, but on extreme positive and negative intensity. The Love Addict in particular may experience obsessive and compulsive feelings, thinking and behaviour with regard to the relationship, along with intense emotions including anger, fear, hate and lust, and so-called love for the other person.”
    (Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love, Pia Mellody with Andrea Wells Miller and J. Keith Miller)

    “Mutual interdependence occurs when two persons, secure in God’s acceptance, mutually give and receive love and forgiveness without demanding approval or conformity to expectations in return, resulting in spiritual vitality, a balanced view of self, and genuine intimacy.” (From Bondage to Bonding, Nancy Groom)

Activities we abstain from

UNOH workers are committed to total abstinence from the following activities which encourage ill health in our neighbourhoods:

  • Illicit drug use
  • Drinking alcohol – alcohol, though legal, is a drug, and has done a large amount of damage to many individuals and families, particularly in communities facing poverty. Because it is difficult to draw a line that what is OK for one person may not be OK for another, we choose to abstain completely. In addition, we do not want to support an industry that has done so much damage in the lives of people we care about.
  • Gambling – as for alcohol
  • Any form of aggression or violence etc.
  • Inappropriate romantic/sexual relationships – see above boundaries with adults
  • Because smoking cigarettes is a less socially destructive habit, smokers are not expected to quit, but will be encouraged and supported if they choose to.

Conflict resolution and grievance procedure

Not resolved satisfactorily   Talk to individual concerned with UNOH member/s and mentor.

Not resolved satisfactorily   UNOH congregation hearing – written documents are received from complainant, respondent and UNOH witness; interviews are conducted; both parties suspended until decision by UNOH members.

Decision made by UNOH members, checked and confirmed by UNOH Board.

(If UNOH worker is suspended, dismissed, or resigns during a conflict resolution process they must leave the neighbourhood and ministry they are serving immediately.)

Resourcing policies

To nurture our resourcing relationships with the broader Christian community, and not undermine or exploit our neighbours, the following are used as guidelines in sharing the stories from the neighbourhoods in seeking any resources from the broader Christian community:

  • Is what we are communicating the truth of what is happening?
  • Are we communicating the dignity of our friends and neighbours? If we were this person, would we be offended or pleased that this story is being communicated?
  • Is the growth of the person whose story is being shared stable enough that any publicity is not going to undermine their growth?
  • Do we have permission to tell the story? If in doubt change the name/situation.
  • Check appropriateness with a supervisor before going public.

Grievance procedures

Summary of conflict resolution and grievance procedure:

  • Parties to dispute meet and try to resolve it themselves. If not resolved, go to step 2.
  • A mediator facilitates a meeting between the two parties. A UNOH member will be present to take minutes of the meeting. If not resolved, go to step 3.
  • Parties take matter to the UNOH congregation (members). Both parties submit written accounts to the UNOH congregation and UNOH board chair. Both parties can speak to the UNOH congregation meeting. An outside mediator may facilitate the UNOH congregation meeting. UNOH members decide the outcome which is submitted to UNOH board for approval.
  • If either party is not satisfied with the outcome of step 3, they can get legal advice. It is advisable, if possible, for disputes to be settled without legal intervention. However, that is a final option.
    Note: If the matter concerns serious misconduct, the conflict resolution procedure does not apply. The complainant has the right to go to the police and/or make a complaint of misconduct to the Conference of Churches of Christ Vic-Tas, according to the Code of Ethics applicable to Churches of Christ Ministers.

Note: This section is the same as the steps in the grievance procedure in the UNOH Inc. rules. In the UNOH Policies document, this section would be numbered 5, page 10 and headed ‘Conflict resolution and grievance procedure’. There is more explanation in this section about the steps but essentially they are the same as the UNOH Inc. rules.

The basic premises of our policy come from Matthew 18:15-20:

“If another member of the congregation sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the congregation; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the congregation, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

  1. The conflict resolution and grievance procedure set out in this policy applies to disputes between
    (a)    a UNOH member and another member: or
    (b)    a UNOH member and the Association.

    The exception to addressing the issue personally (see step 3) is if there has been serious misconduct (eg, sexual or physical abuse) and it would therefore be dangerous to do so. If this is the case we would encourage you to call the police, and since all UNOH workers are ministers or ministers in training, then it would be appropriate to also initiate a misconduct complaint through the Conference of Churches of Christ.

  2. Consider “have I been sinned against?” If so identify in what specific ways, how it makes you feel and how it affects you. Talk with your mentor about this if it helps you to clarify the exact nature of the issue/s.
  3. The parties to the dispute must meet and discuss the matter in dispute, and, if possible, resolve the dispute within 14 days after the dispute comes to the attention of all the parties.When raising the issue personally with the person whom you consider to have sinned against you, as early as possible, try to use a three-part assertion message (ie, what happened, how it made you feel and the effects this behaviour has on you), and try not to attribute motives.  Leaving issues to fester or talking with lots of other people or questioning motives does not help resolve conflict, but will almost certainly complicate and heighten tensions. Small issues talked through well and early almost always resolve well. Even small issues, if not raised, can become big issues that are almost impossible to resolve well.
  4. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute at the meeting, or if a party fails to attend that meeting, then the parties must, within 10 days, hold a meeting in the presence of a mediator.If talking personally with the person does not work, (ie, the “sin” against you continues and is not acknowledged), then it is time to go to the next level. Please don’t just leave the issue as a confrontation if you are not satisfied with the outcome. The next level involves both parties talking     with a UNOH member, and, if you require, an outside support person, to be a witness of you talking with the person you believe has sinned against you. Again please try to use the three part         assertion message. The UNOH member who acts as witness here also takes minutes of the meeting.
  5. The mediator must be -
    (a)    a person chosen by agreement between the parties: or
    (b)    in the absence of agreement,

    • in the case of a dispute between a member and another member, a person appointed by the committee of the Association, or
    • in the case of a dispute between a member and the Association, a person who is a mediator appointed or employed by the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (Department of Justice).
  6. A member of the Association can be a mediator.
  7. The mediator cannot be a member who is party to the dispute.
  8. The parties to the dispute must, in good faith, attempt to settle the dispute by mediation.
  9. The mediator, in conducting the mediation, must-
    (a) give the parties to the mediation process every opportunity to be heard,
    (b) allow due consideration by all parties of any written statement submitted by any party, and
    (c) ensure that natural justice is accorded the parties to the dispute throughout the mediation process.
  10. The mediator must not determine the dispute.
  11. If the mediation process does not result in the dispute being resolved, the parties may seek to resolve the dispute by taking the issue to the UNOH congregation (members), in accordance with the Act or otherwise at law.If taking a member to address the issue with you did not work (ie, the “sin” against you continues and is not acknowledged) then the issue can then be taken to the UNOH congregation (members). If this level is initiated then both the complainant and respondent are suspended from ministry while it is being heard. A written complaint must be submitted to the members by the complainant, together with a written response by the respondent, and the minutes of the meeting recorded by the UNOH member who was a witness. These documents will be seen by the UNOH membership and the UNOH board chair. Both workers will then be given a chance to tell their side of the story to the UNOH congregation. The UNOH congregation will involve an outside mediator if deemed appropriate. The decision by the members of UNOH – without those involved in the complaint – is then submitted to the UNOH board for checking and approval.  A response by the UNOH membership can include suspension or dismissal of the UNOH worker from the UNOH community and their ministry responsibilities.If a UNOH worker is suspended, dismissed or resigns during a conflict resolution process, they must leave the neighbourhood and ministry they are serving immediately. The UNOH community will provide financially for one month the accommodation requirements of such a UNOH worker during their transition and may take over the lease of the neighbourhood accommodation.  This ensures the best possible chance of a poor community not being made pawns in conflict between Christians.We do believe that the authority of the UNOH community rests primarily with the UNOH members. That is, those who invest the most have the most say, and can best be trusted because Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”