The Standing Committee of Presbytery coordinates the work of the Presbytery between meetings of the full Presbytery-in-Council. It is responsible for making decisions on behalf of the Presbytery and providing guidance and oversight for Presbytery ministers, committees, and members.
To support the participation of newly appointed members, meeting dates have been adjusted this year. The Standing Committee now meets on the second Thursday of each month, allowing for greater flexibility in dates and times.
Read Presbytery Annual Report 2024 final
Our current members of the Standing Committee are:
Chair – David Higham
Deputy Chair – Joy Blamires
Treasurer – Jeff Gardner
Secretary – Anne Kim
Mission and Leadership Discipleship Committee Convenor – Vacant
Pastoral Relations Committee Convenor – Cameron McAdam
Property Committee Convenor – Gavin Faichney
Elected Member – Eseta Waqabaca-Meneilly
Elected Member – Irma Aer
Presbytery Minister Team Leader – Jay Robinson
Presbytery Ministers Anneke Oppewal and Robin Yang also attend meetings.
David Higham, Presbytery Chairperson has been a member of the UCA since Dec 2012, when he and his wife Val, migrated to Australia to join their family. A native of Lancashire. He has been a member of the Methodist Church in the UK since 1965. David was Circuit Steward for a rural Methodist Circuit in Cumbria in the North of England, and started training as a local preacher there.
David and Val have moved around a little since migrating, being involved with Croxton, Croydon, Croydon North, Berwick, and Seaford Uniting Churches over the past 11 years. David also works part-time as a Pastor at Seaford UC, where he has been in Ministry since January 2020. He is authorized to preside in the Sacraments, and is an Accredited Lay Preacher. David has also served on a number of Victas Synod committees. David has been a member of the Presbytery since June 2016 and has worked with a variety of committees since then. He served as part-time Supply Presbytery Minister for the whole of 2023. He was elected as Deputy Chair in March 2023, elected as Chair in November 2023 and was commissioned as Chair on 31 January 2024.
David worked for the Royal Mail in the UK, for 35 years, starting off as a clerk and working his way up through various management positions in different cities and in regional headquarters, before retiring as an Area Manager for Cumbria.
Joy Blamires, Presbytery Deputy Chair has been a part of the Uniting Church from its inception having been a member of the Methodist church at the time of the vote on Church Union. She has had long-term involvement in three Parishes within the Uniting Church prior to her ordination in 2020.
Joy has been a Lay Preacher since 1976, filled a variety of roles at a local church level including Secretary and co-chairperson of Church Council. She has a passion for life long Christian education and discipleship initiatives expressed through leadership of study groups and have had long term involvement in ministry to children and families. She participated in the past two Synods and is a member of the Mission, Leadership and Development Committee of this Presbytery. She was appointed as the Deputy Chair November 2023.
Joy is currently the Minister at St Mark’s Mornington and enjoying the process of gaining a greater understanding of the ministry and missional activities and possibilities on the Mornington Peninsula. S
Jeff Gardner, Presbytery Treasurer, is a member of Coatesville Uniting Church, and has had a career in information technology. As a youngster Jeff was a member of the East Bentleigh Presbyterian Church which, following a hiatus during my teenage years, he returned to after his marriage. Following Union in 1983 Jeff became a member of Coatesville Uniting Church and continues to worship there today. He is a member of the Church’s Community Care team, which provides assistance to those in the community who are in need. He has also been the congregation’s Presbytery Rep for the last few years. He became the church Treasurer and a member of the Church Council in 2003. In 2013 he volunteered as a member of the Presbytery Finance Committee, and in 2017 filled in as Presbytery Minister Administration for several months, during the PMA’s long-service leave. He has been a member of several Synod lead working groups around Data Warehouse and Online Surveys. He became Presbytery Treasurer in 2018.
The Treasurer’s responsibilities include being a member of the Finance Committee and its representative on Presbytery Standing Committee (PSC)In conjunction with the Finance Committee:
• Advise on all finance matters pertaining to the Presbytery
• Advise and support congregation/parish treasurers in performance of their duties
• Administration of the Presbytery’s funds including Interest Only Mission Fund (IOMF), Barbara Barrett Memorial Fund
• Liaise with Property Committee on spending on Presbytery Manse maintenance
• Establish the annual budget for Presbytery operations
• Provide regular financial reports to PSC regarding the state of the Presbytery finances and spending against budget.
• Establish congregation/parish Mission & Service contributions and assisting Synod in seeing these budgets are met
• Reviewing a congregations 5-year financial plan and making recommendations to PRC prior to the approval of a placement
Cameron McAdam, Chair of the Pastoral Relations Committee, has been a Minister of the Word since 2005 serving in Camperdown and Mt Eliza. Part of Uniting Church all his life. He has experience leading the Presbytery as deputy and acting chairperson. Cam has been a member of a PRC and other presbytery committees in 3 presbyteries, along with key synod committees. Cam has a strong commitment to being a good colleague and concern for the pastoral wellbeing of colleagues and key leaders.
The Pastoral Relations Committee (PRC) has a central role in facilitating the functioning of placements in the Presbytery for those placements and the ministry agents who work in them. While much of its work is procedural and regulations based, its focus is firmly on the ‘Relations’ element of the title. The Chairperson has the role of coordinating the work of the PRC and liaising with the Presbytery Minister team, chairing meetings and representing the PRC on Standing Committee and at Presbytery Meetings. The role requires a knowledge of Placements processes; familiarity with the regulations; an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the Presbytery Minister team; awareness of the skills of the members of the PRC
along with a willingness to call on these; sensitivity and discernment in dealing with situations of conflict or difficulty; an appreciation of the work of other committees of the Presbytery; a commitment to confidentiality and a love for the church across the Presbytery.
Gavin Faichney, Chair of the Property Committee, is a member of St Luke’s Uniting Church, and has had a career in education. Gavin Faichney has been a member of the Uniting Church i Australia since its inception, worshiping first at Glen Iris Uniting Church and from 1980 onwards at St Luke’s Uniting Church, Mt Waverley. He was a member of the Maroondah Presbytery prior to the Presbytery amalgamations and since 2006 has been a member of the Port Phillip East Presbytery. He has served as a member of the Assembly of the Uniting Church and on several Of the VicTas Synods as well as the VicTas Synod Standing Committee (2008 – 2014 and several ecumenical committees, both state and national including as a UC representative on the Victorian Council of Churches executive.
Working at Church, Presbytery and Synod levels with regard to church property responsibilities, maintenance procedures and implementation strategies, Gavin has developed an experienced understanding of the property responsibilities and roles for each of these councils. The regard for stewardship and utilization of property assets for which a congregation has ‘responsible body status’ to meet with Missional aspirations in and for the local community and the wider church, is a vital role for congregations to undertake. With his knowledge and understandings of these roles and responsibilities Gavin is able to clarify and assist both Presbytery Standing Committee and Church Councils in their decisions relating to the
missional use of church property.
Eseta Waqabaca-Meneilly, member of Standing Committee Eseta has been a member of the 
Uniting Church in Australia since arriving in 1989, following her marriage to Chris Meneilly, and through the UCA’s partnership with the Methodist Church in Fiji. She has served the Church with distinction at congregational, Presbytery, Synod, and Assembly levels.
From 1995–1997, Eseta was Chairperson of the Marybyrnong Presbytery (now part of Port Phillip West Presbytery), becoming the youngest Chairperson, the first woman, and the first person of colour to hold that role. Her leadership deepened her understanding of the UCA’s Constitution and governance, and she became a strong and visible advocate for the UCA as a multicultural church.
Originally trained and working as a pre-school teacher, Eseta felt a growing call to theological study, beginning part-time at Pilgrim Theological College (then The Hall). This call led to her ordination in 2007. She later served as Chairperson of the National Multi-Intercultural Committee from 2008 to 2014.
Now a retired Minister of the Word, Eseta continues to feel called to ministry. She remains committed to sharing her faith publicly, serving the Church, and inviting others to discover God’s presence and belief within themselves.
Irma Aer, member of Standing Committee Irma has been a member of St Andrew’s Gardiner Uniting Church since 2016 and has been actively involved in the life of the congregation and its engagement with the wider community. Through participation in a range of activities and programs, she has grown spiritually while contributing to the church’s mission and outreach.
In 2026, Irma will serve in the eldership, supporting the discipleship team and sharing in the responsibility of leadership within the congregation. She values the opportunities St Andrew’s Gardiner UC has provided to serve, connect, and lead within a welcoming and faith-filled community.
As a member of the Presbytery Standing Committee, Irma understands her role as contributing to decision-making between Presbytery meetings and supporting the oversight of the Presbytery and its committees. She brings a spirit of service shaped by her active involvement in church life and her trust in God’s guidance.
Irma recognises that her gifts are given by God and seeks to use them faithfully in service to the Church. She approaches this role with prayerful discernment, patience, and humility, seeing it as an opportunity to serve God and participate in God’s ongoing work through the Presbytery.