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North Western Synod
1.1 The North Western Synod brings together people and churches in diverse places from the mountains of the Lake District and the shipyards of Barrow, by way of the industrial towns and farmland of Lancashire, to the Greater Manchester conurbation and the edges of the Peak District. Manchester, as the major population centre, has experienced revival with the success of hosting the Commonwealth Games and a new life as a tourist centre. It has yet to be seen how far this new life can benefit the run‑down inner areas, but the church here as elsewhere is contributing to the regeneration effort.
1.2 Issues raised at Synod meetings have reflected concerns in local communities. In areas of Lancashire and Greater Manchester, economic decline and tensions between people of different colour and faith have resulted in political extremism and violence. Several local churches are deeply involved in the development of inter‑faith understanding. Inter‑faith work in Oldham was reported to the General Assembly at York in 2001. United Reformed churches are active in the support of asylum seekers dispersed into the local communities.
1.3 As regional government becomes a prospect, the Synod heard with interest Monsignor John Devine talk of his work as the Churches’ Officer for the North West, working with the Regional Development Agency, pointing out the strength of the churches if they act in partnerships for communities. United Reformed Church ministers and members are active in regeneration programmes and debates across Greater Manchester. In Fairtrade Fortnight in 2001, the Synod met in Garstang, Britain’s first Fairtrade town, and heard about giving practical effect to policies for the rights of the developing world.
1.4 In District Pastoral Committees and Council meetings, people have been trying to raise the sights of local church members from the immediate concerns of maintaining, with declining numbers of members, buildings and organisational structures established in more confident times. Several local congregations have decided to close their buildings and disperse, but others are developing imaginative new plans. Regular Consultations on Mission Enabling and Training (COMET) have brought together members of Synod committees and teams to spend some time discussing concerns such as inter‑faith relations or concepts of Christian leadership and some time on more immediate practicalities.
1.5 Local Leadership of local churches has been established in some parts of the Synod for many years, but has been given a new impetus in the production of a new policy. Eighteen people have taken part in a course based on that developed by Mersey Synod and the response has been lively and productive. Accreditation should be completed by the time of the General Assembly.
1.6 The North West values its many international links, often derived from the centres of higher education in the region. The Revd Chang Jen‑Ho was welcomed to the Synod with his arrival in Manchester as National Chaplain to Taiwanese Students in Britain. The Synod is strengthening the link with the Waldensian Church in Italy on behalf of the United Reformed Church, building on the work of the United Reformed Church Waldensian Fellowship, based in the North West, which for over twenty years has organised visits between the two churches. We intend to find opportunities to bring together people working in similar fields in the two churches, such as ecumenism, education and immigration, to share experiences.
1.7 We formally give notice that, in order to relate to the clustering of Baptist churches in the area, the United Church in Hyde (Baptist and United Reformed), was transferred from the South East Manchester District to the North East Manchester District.
1.8 In the summer of 2000, the Synod said farewell to the Revd Keith Forecast after eight years of pastoral care as Synod Moderator, with a grand service of thanksgiving at Blackburn Cathedral. The Revd Peter Brain was welcomed as the new Moderator and has shown the church clarity of purpose for challenging times. We wished the Revd Nigel Uden well as he left St Annes‑on‑Sea to become Moderator of the Southern Synod. Raymond Clarke was thanked for his service as Synod Clerk, when he was replaced by George Morton in 2001.
The National Synod of Wales
1 Re‑imagining the Future – Being Church Differently.
1.1 Following the publication of the ‘Growing Up’ report the National Synod of Wales, like others, wanted to find a way of addressing those issues that are taxing the whole Church. We had already appointed an Advocate for the Five Marks of Mission to help us embody the report in our life. We want to encourage the whole people of God to consider those wider issues of discipleship, ministry, and mission that face the United Reformed Church. We began a process we called ‘Re‑imagining the Future ‑ Being Church Differently.’
1.2 During 2002 each District held District Days based around the ‘Re‑imagining’ theme. They proved to be very encouraging and what was learned there was fed into a major week‑end consultation held in Aberystwyth University in September 2002. Representatives from each congregation, serving ministers, interim moderators, children and young people were invited for the week‑end. Our purpose was simply to provide the space and the challenge for us to talk together about God. We focussed on God rather than structures so that we could re‑discover the foundation on which to approach ministry and mission questions. God’s people did their best theology whilst in exile, and Walter Brueggemann's use of the Exile paradigm for the Church was very helpful and challenging.
1.3 Groups of people wrote discussion starter documents which were published and sent to each local congregation. Since all serving ministers and interim moderators were at the week‑end consultation, we asked a group of people – none is a minister of Word and Sacraments – to develop a worship resource pack based on the lectionary readings. It was printed and a copy sent to each local congregation most of whom did use the material for their act of worship and celebration.
1.4 We invited others from the wider church to bring their insights and skills to us. Among them the Revd Dr David Cornick and the Revd Dr John Sutcliffe, our theological reflectors, offered us helpfully critical reflections. John’s written reflection is before the churches and we are now following up and trying to encourage the conversations from that week‑end to continue.
1.5 There is much more that could be said, but this gives a flavour. We have expended a good deal of energy and resource into this process but it is proving to be very encouraging.
2 Buildings Inspection
2.1 We are in the process of the first systematic inspection of all our church property. It is causing a good deal of anxiety for most of our congregations. With two thirds of the inspections now completed the estimated expenditure is over £2.5m. In its way this is also part of our Re‑imagining. The question raised for us is not so much where do we find all this money? Rather it is whether we should think about finding all this money? Are there other ways of being church today? A hard question? Of course it is.
3 Ministry Mission and the Whole People of God.
3.1 Alongside this process the Training and Development Team has a vital ministry. It comprises the Synod’s Training Officers, Ecumenical Officer, Rural Officer, Advocate for the Five Marks of Mission, Convenor and Moderator. Together the team enable and encourage ministers, Lay Preachers, individuals and congregations for ministry and mission. ‘Training for Learning and Serving’ continues to be one of our major emphases. We now have in the region of 50 people who have benefited from that course. Our task is to discover how all the resources we have can be employed along with the deployment of our ministers of Word and Sacraments to offer ministry across the Districts and Synod.
4 Ecumenical Bishop.
4.1 Since General Assembly met last year we have seen a major disappointment. The Enfys (meaning 'Rainbow' and symbolising the Covenanted Churches in Wales) proposal to appoint an Ecumenical Bishop in East Cardiff suffered a blow when one of our Covenant partners, the Church in Wales, did not feel that they could support such a move at this time. (The Presbyterian Church of Wales had withdrawn from the proposal at a much earlier stage). Nevertheless this recent decision has prompted the five Covenant partners to re‑examine our understanding of our 30 year Covenant. This process will run for something like a year. During this time we are looking forward in anticipation to where God is leading us.
5 'We do not lose heart!’
5.1 This disappointment reminds us that It is not always easy to “Re‑Imagining the Future”, to “Be Church Differently”, and we not underestimating the task ahead of us. Nevertheless the sense of excitement about this process is tangible. With others we look forward to the way the United Reformed Churches in Wales in all their variety and partnerships will continue to become a witnessing celebrating communities of Jesus Christ.
Mersey Synod
1 Profile
1.1 The most compact synod, Mersey is nevertheless a synod of marked contrasts. For instance in Wirral District suburban wealth meets urban blight and deprivation. Rural Cheshire contrasts with inner city Liverpool where the Synod is trying to find creative ways of using its resources of minisry and money.
2 Clusters as a tool of mission
2.1 In recent years we have been focussing on the establishment of clusters, groups of church with a geographical identity yet often with diverse gifts and needs. This exercise grew out of the need to take action over deployment but is evolving into a way of addressing mission needs at the local level. It is now becoming clear that we have entered on a process of continuous change and who knows where God will lead us? Our hope is that clusters will offer a flexible way forward and not become a new set of stone tablets.
2.2 Administratively, the Synod has tried to work within the present structures of the United Reformed Church but to mould these to the needs of our mission for today. We are attempting not to increase the number of meetings and to use our minister where they can be most effective. What fits today does not fit tomorrow – ministers move, churches are alive to change, we modernise our mission and adjust to the needs.
3 Marshalling the gifts of lay people
3.1 As ministers adjust to their changing roles, there is a need to empower lay people, to realise the huge breadth of talent God has given. When people receive help and encouragement they rise to the occasion. With this in mind Mersey created the Local Church Leadership Course and the fourth group of people are about to be trained for their individual leadership role, which is specific to each. An introductory course, entitled ‘Invited to lead worship in your own church’, is much in demand. There has also been an encouraging growth in take up for TLS courses.
4 The Synod Team and office
4.1...... Our commitment to growing people and local churches is ably served by the team of Training Officer, Youth Leadership Training and Development Worker and Mission Development Officer. All share with the Moderator and staff in working in the new synod office and resource centre. This was purpose‑built and has proved its worth. So much is gained by the team being on one site with the Moderator in terms of professional sharing, fellowship and support, to their benefit and that of the synod.
5 Synod Life
5.1 Synod has been led by its committees and task groups in thinking about a variety of contemporary issues – everything from ageing to the purpose‑driven church and new sorts of mission. It has a budding relationship with the Swedish Covenant Church and exchanges have taken place. Pilgrimages and retreats are popular and take us to Iona, southern Scotland and to Windermere. The Moderator led an ecumenical delegation to Cologne and preached on the occasion of the city’s twinning with Liverpool, the sixtieth anniversary of the allied bombing of Cologne.
6 Communication and Publicity
6.1 The Synod has a Communications Officer who works part time to produce a bi‑ monthly magazine, ‘Lookout!’ which is distributed to every worshipper. A synod directory is produced each year, making it a reliable source of information for the churches. Our efforts to publicise our work outside have met with limited success, in common with the experience of the wider church.
7 Special People
7.1 The Synod has taken pride in the election of its FURY representative, Emma Pugh, as chair of FURY. We are glad her talents will still be available to the synod and commend them to the wider church.
7.2 We have been well served by the Revd Graham Cook as Moderator for over eight years. He has been a great leader, enabler, innovator and publicist. He has served as Free Church leader on Merseyside, historically a high profile role, alongside the Roman Catholic Archbishop and Anglican Bishop.
7.3 Behind that high public profile he is a man of great compassion, a true pastoral carer, one who loves the church and its people because he first loved God. He has a great gift of communication, to groups large and small, both in person and through the media. His unique style has been equal to the role he has fulfilled for his Lord in this Synod. There will be much weeping at his leaving alongside the thanksgiving for his service. We wish Graham and his wife Jean, who is always at his side, a happy and healthy retirement.
West Midlands Synod
1 Synod Vision
1.1 Since our last report to Assembly in 2000, our main preoccupation has been the development of a vision for the Synod. This is based on the belief that the church is always in need of renewal, that that renewal is of God and is in continuity with the way God has shaped the lives of his people over the past centuries.
After much discussion, Synod stated in March 2001 that:
The vision for God’s people is rooted in the life of God,
bearing fruit in the work of the Creator, in the redeeming life of Christ, in the empowering of the Holy Spirit,
life that is like a spring of water ever welling up to renew and refresh us,
a glimpse of reality we cannot always see,
and that it should be implemented through what we have called the “Springs of Living Water” programme.
This has involved setting aside most of each morning of Synod to explore a particular theme by means of displays, presentations, workshops and discussion groups. An informal planning group with different membership each time has been set up to work out the details for each programme.
1.2 In October 2001, the theme of Worship was explored by means of displays, videos, storytelling, dramatic Bible Study, puppets, clowning, and the presentation of different kinds of space for meditation, prayer, etc. After an initial introduction, people were encouraged to wander around the church buildings sampling different aspects of and ways to present worship.
1.3 In March 2002, Spirituality was introduced through a series of workshops covering topics such as the Spirituality of Ageing, of Children, of Loss, in the Workplace, Celtic, and Black and Asian Spirituality. Members were able to choose two of these during the morning.
1.4 In October 2002, we tackled Believing through two speakers from different standpoints, and then groups considering a number of questions asking, for instance, what the most important elements of belief were for them, what they asked of people wishing to become church members, and in what new ways we could articulate our faith for contemporary society.
1.5 This March, Ecumenism ‑ Relationships for Mission was covered by nine presentations and discussions on, for example, ecumenism in an area of great deprivation about to undergo major regeneration, developments in town centres and a new housing estate, comparing rural and suburban shared churches, work with asylum seekers, and ecumenical theological education.
1.6 Next October, it will be The Church in the World, and in March 2004 there will be a general discussion on where we have reached and where we should go from there.
Having more time to explore a topic has been widely appreciated, and concentrating the more formal business into the afternoon has focussed minds helpfully!
2 Youth and Training
2.1 One of the other matters on which we have been concentrating recently has been to look at what we do and should be doing in the areas of working with children and young people. We set up a small review group some time ago and, while much useful information and views have been gathered, we are still some way from a clear strategy. The recent departure of our YCWT, Wallie Warmington, after over twelve years’ service, has created another element of uncertainty in this area.
2.2 The context of our serious financial position, where we are running a large deficit budget, has caused us to review whether we can afford to continue the YCWT post, and we have decided that for the time being we need to clarify our overall strategy first, but may seek to make some limited funds available more directly to Districts to support projects where people locally are working with young people.
2.3 Apart from the departure of the YCWT, there has been another change to our Training Team. The Revd Dr Neil Messer, our first Ministerial Training Officer, left his post with the Synod and at the Queen’s Foundation in July 2001 to take up a position in the University of Wales. In January 2002, the Revd Dr Michael Jagessar succeeded him in both posts. We will be reviewing our Training Strategy over the next year to assess how effective it has been and whether it needs amendment.
3 Other issues
3.1 We have also established a small group to consider whether our District boundaries and structures are still appropriate for the 21st century Church. Current thinking seems to favour ecumenical clusters in place of Districts, but we await the group’s report at our October Synod.
3.2 We have also been developing a coordinated Deployment Policy across the Districts, and in March 2002 Synod adopted our Racial Justice Strategy, “Launching out into the deep”, which we are beginning to implement through a network of Racial Justice Advocates.
4 Personalia
While we have been glad during this period to ‘loan’ our Moderator to the national Church as Assembly Moderator for 2001‑2002, we have been pleased to have her back again! It was also good to know that she accepted reappointment for a further five years. We have also been very grateful for the eight years of outstanding service given by our Synod Treasurer, David Hibbard. We have been even more appreciative of his willingness to continue unofficially until our new Treasurer, Roger Woodall, was able to take up the position at the beginning of this year. We are well served by our Synod Officers, and our dedicated Office staff, and we record our thanks to them all.
In a number of areas, we feel we are on the move, but perhaps our message should be ‘ watch this space’ ‑ or rather the West Midlands!
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