 |
|
Mission Council
The purpose of the Mission Council is to enable the Church, in its General Assembly, to take a more comprehensive view of the activity and policy of the Church, to decide more carefully about priorities and to encourage the outreach of the Church to the community. Its service is directly towards the Assembly, but its concern is with the whole Church and all its members, so it will seek to be aware of the pains and joys, the adventures and hopes of the whole body.
Members: The officers of the General Assembly, the past Moderator, the Moderator-elect, the Legal Advisor, the conveners of the Assembly standing committees (except the Pastoral Committee), the synod moderators, two representatives of F.U.R.Y. Council, and three representatives from each synod.
Those representing synods in March 1999 were
Northern Revd Peter Poulter Dr Peter Clarke Mrs Wilma Prenti
North Western Mrs Margaretta Batchelor Revd Bob Day Mr Gordon Ollerenshaw
Mersey Mrs Barbara Martin Dr Donald South Revd Gwynfor Evans
Yorkshire Revd John Jenkinson Mr Steve Wood Mrs Val Morrison
East Midlands Mrs Jill Strong Revd Clifford Wilton Mrs Irene Wren
West Midlands Mr Simon Rowntree Mrs Erica Young Revd Tom Bayliss
Eastern Revd Michael Burrell Mr Ken Woods Revd Clive Sutcliffe
South Western Revd John Rees Mrs Mary Eden Mr Geoff Lunt
Wessex Revd Julian Macro Revd David Williams Mrs Sue Brown
Thames North Dr Jack Gow Revd Rachel Poolman Mr Geoffrey Duncan
Southern Mrs Christine Meekison Revd Lesley Charlton Dr Graham Campling
Wales Dr Jean Sylvan Evans Mrs Delyth Rees Mr Peter Devaney
1. Our meetings.
1.1 During the year Mission Council has met at Swanwick; the Arthur Rank Centre at Stoneleigh; and at All Saints Pastoral Centre, London Colney. A constant theme running through all three meetings has been mission: at the third meeting the report on human sexuality took up a considerable amount of time.
1.2 The Moderator guided the meetings with a sensitive and sure hand. In this she was well supported by her chaplains, Ken and Meriel Chippindale. Of particular note was the way in which art was used to focus both worship and the study of the Bible.
1.3 The Revd Dr Finlay Macdonald, Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, was the theological reflector at the October meeting. The Scottish flavour was continued by the presence of the Revd John Arthur, General Secretary of the Scottish Congregational Church, at the meetings. At the January and March meetings he was accompanied by different conveners of his Church’s committees.
2. Responding to the Assembly.
2.1 Discipline of Church members. In 1996, Assembly asked Mission Council to consider disciplinary procedures for Church members (Resolution 54, Record p23). Attempts to get existing groups to look at this subject have not met with success. Recognising the complexity of the issues involved, Mission Council has recently set up a special task group to work on this matter. The Convener of the group is the Revd Julian Macro. It is hoped that a report may be ready for the Assembly in 2000.
2.2 Human Sexuality Pastoral Group. This was set up by resolution 41 of the 1997 Assembly. The members of the group are: Elizabeth Caswell, Malcolm Hanson, Jim Hollyman, Glyn Jenkins, Lis Mullen and John Waller. Mission Council decided to keep it in existence until at least October 1999. The wisdom of this decision has been proved by the fact that the group has been used on one or two occasions in recent months.
2.3 Small Churches Task Group. The 1998 Assembly asked Mission Council to set up a task group to consider and report on the opportunities, challenges and difficulties which small churches face (Resolution 6, Record p.51). The group has been established, with the Revd Graham Robson as Convener and the Revd Stuart Scott as Secretary. A report is due in 2000.
2.4 Continuing Ministerial Education. In 1998 Assembly approved a policy for Continuing Ministerial Education and asked Mission Council to consider the appropriate staffing arrangements (Resolution 45, Record p.26). The result of this consideration was a decision by Mission Council to create a post of Secretary for Continuing Ministerial Education for a period of five years. In preparing a job description care was taken to establish both a distinction from and a partnership with the post of Secretary for Training.
3. Actions of behalf of the General Assembly.
3.1 Appointment of the Moderator of the Northern Synod. Acting on behalf of the Assembly, Mission Council appointed the Revd Peter Ivor Poulter as Moderator of the Northern synod for a period of seven years to 31 August 2006. Two further resolutions relating to this appointment appear later in this report.
3.2 Appointments to Staff Posts. Acting on behalf of Assembly, Mission Council made the following appointments:
Mrs Karen Bulley to be Pilots Development Officer for a period of five years to 30 September 2003.
Revd John Steele to be Secretary for Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness from 16 November 1998 to 30 September 2003
Revd Jean Black to be Secretary for Continuing Ministerial Education for a period of five years to 31 May 2004.
Ms Suzanne Adofo and Mr Stephen Summers to be Church Related Community Work Development Workers on a job-share basis from 14 June 1999 to 30 June 2004.
3.3 Basic Ministerial Stipend. Acting on behalf of Assembly, Mission Council set the basic ministerial stipend for 1999 at £15,600.
3.4 Promotion of Parliamentary Bill. Acting on behalf of Assembly, Mission Council authorised the United Reformed Church Trust to promote the Parliamentary Bill referred to in the Joint Proposals Document (for union with the Congregational Union of Scotland) on behalf of the United Reformed Church.
4. Other Actions.
4.1 Westminster College. Mr Andrew Armour was appointed Clerk to the Governors of the College.
4.2 Congregational Union of Scotland/United Reformed Church Union. Following news of the first acceptance of the union proposals by the Assembly of the Congregational Union of Scotland, Mission Council invited the General Secretary and one other representative of the Union to attend its meetings in 1999. The Council also invited the Union to nominate a co-opted member to certain Assembly committees, those nominated being asked to serve until July 2000. These contacts have already been found to be valuable.
4.3 Advisory Group on Faith and Order. The Ecumenical Committee sought approval for the setting up of a group, on which it and the Doctrine, Prayer and Worship Committee would be represented, to advise on ecumenical documents and proposals on behalf of the United Reformed Church. Approval was given with a recognition that there was an important task to be done.
4.4 St Andrew’s Hall Missionary College. Mission Council had a substantial discussion following the news that the Council of St Andrew’s Hall had decided to close the college and sell the buildings and land. At its conclusion the following resolution was passed:
"Mission Council: receives with sadness the decision of St Andrew’s Hall Missionary College to sell the buildings and the land and to close the college to new students from April 1999;
welcomes the assurance of the Ecumenical Committee that a) the scholarship programme, and b) the provision of preparation before and reflection after service for people serving overseas, or coming from overseas to work here, will continue;
and supports our representatives on the Council as they continue to work for an outcome which will provide an ongoing resource for mission education to the United Reformed Church".
Subsequent events have been the responsibility of the Ecumenical Committee.
4.5 Assembly Posts. Mission Council agreed to the extension of the following posts:
Director of the Windermere Centre for a period of five years, or until the incumbent leaves if that is at an earlier date, from 1st September 1999. The postholder should be an ordained minister of the United Reformed Church or of a church in the Reformed tradition.
Financial Secretary and Chief Accountant from the retirement of the present incumbent on 30 June 2000.
Secretary for Training for a period of five years from 1st September 1999, or until the postholder relinquishes the post if that be earlier.
4.6 Partnership for Theological Education, Manchester. Negotiations for United Reformed Church involvement in this new partnership have been carried out by the Training Committee. However Mission Council considered and passed the following resolution, which was brought jointly by the Training and Finance Committees:
"Mission Council approves the capital investment of £200,000 in Luther King House Trust, subject to the officers of the Finance Committee being happy with the level of financial expertise available to the Trust, and to the legal structure of the organisation, and requests the General Secretary and the Treasurer to make the nomination or appointment of an appropriate person to the board of the Trust".
Satisfactory reports were later received and the Revd John Piper was appointed to the board.
4.7 Disciplinary process: Commission Panel. It has already been agreed that, in the event of the Secretary to the Panel temporarily being unable to act, the Convener of the Assembly Arrangements Committee for the time being could do so. Mission Council has decided that, in the event of that office holder also not being available, the Convener of the Ministries Committee will have the authority to act as a substitute.
4.8 The use of local church premises. During the discussion of mission which led to the commendation of Growing Up, it was recognised that the buildings of local churches were an important resource. However they are not always used to the greatest advantage. In some instances buildings can become a liability. This discussion led Mission Council to decide that it could be helpful to many local situations to ask a task group to make a report giving general guidance to local churches over a range of matters to do with the effective use of buildings. A group has been set up with a reporting date of March 2000, but it is recognised that the size of the remit may make it impossible to finalise the report by that time.
4.9 The resignation of ministers and the secession of local churches. Since the human sexuality debate has led to some requests for clarification of both these issues, some work has been done on behalf of Mission Council. However, when it became clear that the Assembly was to be asked to seek the views of all the councils of the United Reformed Church on a statement on human sexuality, Mission Council felt that applications to secede, in particular, were not appropriate at least until the Assembly has made a definitive decision. If ministers wish to resign, or local churches to seek to secede on other grounds, procedures are already in place.
4.10 Multi-racial, multi-cultural development worker. Marjorie Lewis-Cooper will complete the second year of her three-year appointment at the time of this year’s Assembly. In the first year she carried out extended visits to each of the Provinces and detailed reports are being prepared. In the current year Marjorie has concentrated her work on the committees of the Assembly. In the third year the programme will be assessed and the Assembly of 2000 will be invited to discuss the conclusions reached, and to decide on the next steps. This pattern of work was agreed when the post was created but inevitably other things have developed which were not planned! In particular Marjorie has created a network of black ministers serving in the United Reformed Church; she has been invited to a number of discussions concerning the reception of "single-ethnic" congregations into the United Reformed Church - the first of which will be received this year; and the mid-point in this ministry was marked by a significant network gathering at Carrs Lane Church in Birmingham in February. It is hoped that this last development will have rooted the programme more deeply in the synods. Throughout her ministry, Marjorie Lewis-Cooper has been supported by a management committee. The current members are: John Waller (convener), Sandra Ackroyd, Wilfred Bahadur, Virginia Becher, Peter Brain, and Henna Desai.
4.11 Resource Sharing task group. During the past year, all the provinces have made a firm commitment to the ongoing inter-provincial sharing of financial resources and have offered a minimum of 5% of 1998 investment income as a contribution in 1999. This gives those provinces which are net recipients in the resource sharing process, assurance of future financial support for longer term programmes. In 1998, over £100,000 was given and distributed. The figure in 1999 is likely to approach £150,000.
The annual consultation between the provinces continued to focus on the sharing of information and, where appropriate, on the harmonisation of policy. Standards for manse accommodation and building inspections and surveys are currently being considered in this context.
Progress is slow, but sure. The principle of inter-provincial resource sharing has been established as part of the church’s way of life and in that we rejoice.
4.12 Deployment of ministers. As part of its discussion of the mission programme, Growing Up, Mission Council considered both the number of stipendiary ministers which the United Reformed Church will wish to have in the coming years, and the policy which determines their deployment. The former concern is explained in Growing Up. On deployment Mission Council affirmed the present formula and process, which includes consultation with the synods, but agreed that in the future the allocation to synods should be submitted annually to Mission Council for approval.
4.13 Church Related Community Work in the United Reformed Church. A review of this programme, carried out by the Revds Graham Cook and Bob Day, was discussed by Mission Council. The major principles were incorporated into the report, Growing Up, and the more detailed recommendations were passed to the Ministries Committee.
Millennium Task Group
Millennium Task Group Committee Members
Convener: Revd Elizabeth Caswell Secretary: Revd Roger Whitehead
Representative membership from most Assembly committees.
1.1 It’s coming. Since we entered 1999, there has been a much greater sense that the millennium is not a distant idea but a looming reality. Even after Assembly (when there will only be 171 days left of the second millennium) it will not be too late for churches to make their plans.
1.2 For those who are bored or suffering from "pre-millennium tension", it is worth pondering that there is unlikely to be another occasion during the lives of any of us when many people will be searching for the meaning of life, and wanting to make a new start. Churches might reflect around two basic questions: (a) what are we going to do to celebrate two thousand years of Jesus Christ?; and (b) if all that has been planned works and if enquirers come into our church in a spiritual search, what will we offer them? All the ecumenical planning in England, Scotland and Wales has been focused on helping churches to answer these two questions.
2 Resources
2.1 Our own URC devotional material, Jesus 2000, for use in the spring and autumn Synods and by congregations after Easter and before Christmas helps Christians think through who Jesus is, so that we are ready to share faith with enquirers. We are very grateful to Revd Bill Mahood and his team for preparing it.
2.2 The ecumenical plans for candles and the resolution on millennium eve are designed to highlight the awareness in the general public that the millennium takes its meaning and focus from the birth two thousand years ago of Jesus Christ who, for Christians, is still the pivotal figure in human history. The resolution provides an agenda for discussions with all our fellow citizens about the sort of society we want in the next century.
2.3 From the Churches Together in England stable there comes the three NewStart leaflets (With God; At Home; and For The World’s Poor) which provide elders and church meetings with discussion starters and lists of relevant resources. (1) NewStart Worship Books One and Two will furnish worship leaders with ideas and liturgy material relevant to the millennium themes and aimed at the occasional attender; these Books cover all the main festivals up to Epiphany 2001. (2) NewStart Hymns provides new hymns to old and new tunes around millennium themes. (3)
3 Getting the local church ready
3.1 ‘Millennium News’ from the Churches Millennium Office (4) provides additional information about a wide range resources. Particularly helpful is ‘Making Sunday Best’ (Fanfare For a New Generation) (5) with ideas to assist churches in making themselves really welcoming to those for whom the church building is alien territory. Most of the churches’ children’s work departments in England, Scotland and Wales have co-operated in Stories for the Millennium. These include ‘Why the Fuss’ for 8-13s, and ‘Stories for 2000: why the Fuss?’ for 4-7s at give-away prices for local school children whom you might invite specially to church for the millennium. (6)
3.2 We expect that there will be two suggestions for ways of helping visitors to take another step in the exploration of faith. One is based on the ‘Alpha’ approach for those who want to meet with others; the other based on the York courses (which use audio cassettes) aimed more at the casual enquirer who is afraid of getting personally too involved. (7) In addition there is material available from Y-2000. (8)
3.3 Other resources available. The Churches Millennium Office has a list of all planned publications and this is worth studying to see just how rich and varied the resources are; it also lists Revd Jack MacKelvey’s book ‘The Millennium and the Book of Revelation’ which is one of only a very few to look seriously at the biblical material on time and to relate it to Revelation which some Christians see as forecasting the end of time around the millennium. (9)
4 The millennium is not just for a weekend
4.1 In every area of the churches’ millennium work stress is being laid on the need to lay solid foundations for work which will continue through the next decade. For example, NewStart At Home literature challenges us to on-going new relationships with our neighbours and to make life better for the marginalized. NewStart For The World’s Poor reminds us that the issues surrounding debt relief and world poverty are not going to be over by the end of 2000; the URC has registered with the government’s new scheme ‘Millennium Gift Aid’ - see report of Church and Society. The millennium material encourages congregations to make commitments over the longer term.
4.2 We are encouraged to learn how often local URC churches have the initiative to bring together all the churches in an area to plan for Pentecost 2000, when it is hoped that Christians will "be together in one place" for public celebration of the faith. CTE’s planning for this weekend has been carefully co-ordinated with that of ‘March for Jesus’ who are observing Pentecost Saturday as ‘Jesus Day’ with an international chain of street celebrations. These two will dovetail so that there can be a weekend of Christian activity.
4.3 ‘JC2000’ is the millennium arts festivals for schools based on the life of Jesus. Pupils are asked to devise productions looking at two questions: "If Jesus came to my town in the year 2000, what would be have to say to us and what would we want to say to him?" ‘Hopes and Dreams’ is a major music, dance and drama production developed by Revd Rob Frost; ‘Y-2000’ invites Christians to wear a simple lapel badge with the `Y’ logo device which encourages Christians to explain the true meaning of the millennium.
5 The Task Group’s work
5.1 As forecast in last year’s report, the main role of the Task Group has been to pass on information to churches and to district correspondents. We are grateful to the URC Treasurer for allowing the URC to make an appropriate contribution to the cost of the ecumenical literature and for the postage costs of making this material available widely.
5.2 Two mailings with full details of available material were sent care of district correspondents, and we are very grateful to them to undertaken to pass them on to local churches.
5.3 The Task Group will also try to provide speakers to Synods, Districts and local churches to help in planning and evaluating millennium suggestions throughout the millennium year.
5.4 Disclaimer! One feature of the Churches’ national preparation for the millennium is that materials are constantly becoming available; another is that the Churches are trying to relate to national and local government plans which are not likely to be finalized until autumn 1999. The information in this report is accurate at the time of writing (March). Corrections and additions will be notified in the verbal presentation to Assembly. Those not at Assembly
can get the latest information from the Churches Millennium Office: 0171-898 1435, fax: 020 7898 1432, e-mail: enquiry@millennium.churcomm.org.uk, web site: www.2000ad.org
6 Our thanks
We want to place on record our gratitude to URC district correspondents and to the ecumenical Millennium Team led by Revd Stephen Lynas which has successfully put Christianity in the centre of discussions about the millennium celebrations, the dome, and the public debate about future hopes for our nation. This has been achieved despite all the other emphases in the media and it has achieved the task which the churches set for themselves three years ago: "to forge a link in people’s minds between the year 2000, the name of Jesus Christ, and the possibility of personal meaning and public hope."
To God be the glory as we approach the Year of our Lord 2000!
Resources:
1 Available from Church House, 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT
2 Book One @ £8; Book Two @ £12; published by CTE and available from the URC Bookshop.
3 This publication (title not known at time of going to press) is published by Kevin Mayhew Ltd Will be available from the URC Bookshop.
4 Millennium Office, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3NZ
5 Fanfare for a New Generation 020 7450 9070
6 Price around £1 for quantities; published late summer 1999. Details from Ro Willoughby, Scripture Union, 207 Queensway, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2EB 01908 856111
7 York Courses, St Barnabas’ Vicarage, Jubilee Terrace, York, YO26 4YZ
8 A leaflet giving details of all that is available from the CTE Group for Evangelisation: Revd Roger Whitehead, The Manse, High Street, Harrold, Bedford, MK43 7BJ
9 This is published by Lutterworth Press @ £9.99 available from the URC Bookshop.
|