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4. ECUMENICAL CONSULTATIONS
4.1 Ecumenical consultations were undertaken, both in meeting representatives of churches in these islands, and in correspondence with the Council for World Mission and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
4.2 The Core Group has been grateful for the time which others have taken to share their views and to inform the Group of the situation in their own churches. Meetings were held with representatives of six churches in these islands and correspondence was exchanged with member churches of the Council for World Mission and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Eleven churches from other countries had considered the issue, others had not or were in the very early stages of their exploration.
4.3 Forty-four churches were contacted in all and replies were received from twenty-eight (a summary of these consultations is to be found in 10.1 Appendix).
Of those which had considered the subject there was almost universal recognition that there were diverse views. Many churches continue to explore the issues. Of those churches where this matter has come before a decision-making body, only three have clearly stated that they will not ordain people living in homosexual relationships and three have stated that they will. Two churches say that they will not knowingly ordain people of homosexual orientation and two that people would not be barred on the grounds of homosexual orientation alone. The Core Group wanted to discover whether decisions which the United Reformed Church might make would harm relationships with ecumenical partners. The courteous response which the Core Group received to its inquiries indicated the interest held in the discussions in this area by our ecumenical partners. The question of the effect of any decision of the United Reformed Church on ecumenical relationships is a complex one, and would need to be addressed further in the light of decisions made.
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