The Fellowship of Congregational Churches is a conservative

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

denomination in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was formed by the forty congregations of the

Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to Australia. Congregational Churches existed in all states and territo ...

who chose not to join the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

in 1977. The Fellowship of Congregational Churches was declared to be the legal successor in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

of the Congregational Union of Australia by Act of the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

. Some ecumenically minded congregations left the Fellowship of Congregational Churches in 1995 and formed the

Congregational Federation of Australia The Congregational Federation of Australia and New Zealand is a Congregational denomination originally comprising fourteen congregations in New South Wales and Queensland but now including congregations in New Zealand. History Forty congregation ...

. The Rev.

Fred Nile Frederick John Nile (born 15 September 1934) is an Australian politician and ordained Christian minister. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004. Nile was re-elected at the Marc ...

, a long-term member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

, served as the President of the Fellowship of Congregational Churches for the years 2007 to 2012, and again for the 2013/14 year. In 2021, 28 Congregations are listed on the official websit

References

External links

Official website of the Fellowship of Congregational Churches
Uniting Church in Australia Christian organizations established in 1977 Christian denominations in Australia Reformed denominations in Oceania Congregational denominations established in the 20th century 1977 establishments in Australia Congregationalist denominations {{Christian-denomination-stub