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The purpose of the Doctrine, Prayer and Worship Committee is:

• to lead the Church in its continual study of theology, enabling it to reflect upon and express the doctrines of the United Reformed Church;

• to participate in and respond to ecumenical and inter-faith discussions on doctrinal matters;

• to advise the Assembly, its officers and committees on questions of doctrine;

• to listen to the concerns of local churches, district councils and synods about public worship and personal devotion;

• to develop programmes and material which will encourage the growth in faith and spiritual experience of all those involved in the life of the Church;

• to encourage by such means as may be appropriate at national level the greater participation of all ages and both sexes in worship, prayer and work of the Church as it serves the mission of God;

• to respond to requests for national materials and consultations;

• to share ideas for the prayer and worship life of local congregations with and from the national and world Church and to develop ecumenical collaboration in the area of faith and order and spirituality;

• to publish regular and occasional worship materials for the use of the Church, including the Prayer Handbook, Orders of Service for Public Worship and Hymnody;

• to oversee the network for Silence and Retreats.

Committee Members

Convener: Revd Dr Colin Thompson

Secretary: Revd Kirsty Thorpe Staff Secretary: Revd John Waller

Members: Mrs Brenda Cheer (Youth and Children’s Work Committee), Mr Colin Ferguson, Revd Hugh Graham, Revd Charles Martin, Revd Glyn Millington, Revd Nadim Nassar, Revd Dr David Peel, Revd Michael Playdon (Silence and Retreats Network), Mrs Jenny Poulter, Revd Alistair Smeaton, Revd Sally Thomas (Inter-Faith Relations Committee), Revd Dr Janet Tollington, Revd John Young.

Representatives from other Churches: Revd Dr Peter Doble (Methodist Church), Venerable Joy Tetley (Church of England).

1 Introduction

1.1 Questions about the nature and responsibility of Ministries, about what it means to be a church member in a Local Ecumenical Partnership or in a United Reformed Church congregation, and work on the new Service Book have dominated the Committee’s time in the past year. As well as these issues the Committee has reflected on the doctrinal aspects of work being done by other groups in the United Reformed Church and kept abreast of the faith and order implications of the wide range of ecumenical talks currently taking place in parts of Britain.

2 New Service Book

2.1 The Drafting Sub-committee has been making progress on the production of the new Service Book under the convenership of Revd John Reardon. It has a small but diverse membership and meets independently of the main committee. Comments have been received from United Reformed Church congregations around Britain which were asked to try out the draft orders for baptism and holy communion, as well as from a number of others who have on their own initiative submitted their views. The Committee is grateful for all these responses. The two services are being re-considered by the Drafting Sub-committee, in the light of these responses, but there is no intention of publicising further drafts of these services in view of the constraints of time. The Committee is grateful to its retiring Convener, Colin Thompson, and to Michael Playdon for their willingness to continue in membership of the Drafting Sub-committee after they relinquish office at General Assembly.

2.2 As well as the orders for baptism and holy communion there are other services in different stages of drafting and the work involved has proved to be detailed yet important. The new book will be compared, rightly or wrongly, with recent service books from both the Methodist Church and Church of England and its language needs to both stand the test of time and bear repetition. Only careful drafting work can make this possible.

2.3 The Committee has accordingly decided that it cannot meet the original publication date for the new Service Book of summer 2002. In order to check the book text, and the content of the accompanying CD Rom, the Committee will hold an additional meeting in 2002 and publication will then take place in mid 2003. This should ensure these new liturgical resources are of good quality and is preferable to the alternative of rushing to finish the task within the original timeframe.

3 Responsibility and Accountability of Ministries

3.1 In response to a request from Mission Council in October 1998 the Committee has been considering the nature of Responsibility and Accountability of Ministries in the United Reformed Church. A first report was prepared by a small group and was then re-drafted by the Committee as a whole. Mission Council had asked that the term ‘Ministries’ be interpreted in its broadest sense encompassing ordained and non-ordained forms, stipendiary and non-stipendiary ministry, the work of elders and lay preachers and diakonia. It was decided that an inter-committee group should deal with diakonia (see 4).

3.2 The Committee’s final response was submitted for the consideration of Mission Council in March 2001. It highlighted a number of questions such as the role of a sending synod in deciding whether a candidate for ministry is ready for ordination after training, the relationship of district councils with ministers in secular employment, the nature of accountability to district councils of CRCW’s and the responsibilities and accountability of lay preachers to their district councils.

4 Diaconal Ministry and the diaconate

4.1 The Committee has been conducting an exploration of the diakonia aspect of ministry, through an inter-committee working party, in response to Mission Council’s request. Representatives from Doctrine, Prayer and Worship Committee, the Ecumenical Committee, Life and Witness Committee and Ministries Committee worked jointly on a report opening up the issues surrounding ‘Diaconal ministry and the diaconate’.

4.2 This gave a theological and historical overview of the diaconate in the Reformed tradition, set the issue in the wider ecumenical and contemporary scene, and offered a list of ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ for the possible establishment of a diaconate in the United Reformed Church. In the event Mission Council did not decide to take any further action on this matter but the work has been valuable, as was the experience of inter-committee working.

5 Forum at General Assembly

5.1 Last year the Committee organised a meeting at General Assembly to launch the new draft services for baptism and holy communion. This was in response to a request that it should provide a forum for doctrinal discussion within the United Reformed Church.

5.2 Ordination, particularly with respect to the eldership, has emerged as a very important issue in the recent informal trilateral conversations with the Methodist Church and Church of England. The Committee will hold a forum discussion on ‘Ordination’ at General Assembly this year, as an evening meeting, to which all are invited.

6 Church Membership

6.1 Responses have been received to the discussion paper the Committee issued last year, ‘Celebrating Church Membership’. The Committee is grateful to all who have responded and will be summarising the results, as well as working on further suggestions to take this matter forward.

7 Rededication Sunday

7.1 This year the Rededication Sunday material offered for the first Sunday in October will be a draft of the form of service which it is hoped to include in the new Service Book. The Committee aims to have the material available in good time and would welcome feedback on the contents.

8 Silence and Retreats

8.1 The Silence and Retreats network has its own report in the appendix of this Book of Reports.

9 Thanks and farewells

9.1 The Committee is grateful for the contribution of Janet Tollington and Michael Playdon and of Peter Doble from the Faith and Order Committee of the Methodist Church, who leave this year. They have all given valuable service to the work of the Committee.

10 Convenership

10.1 Colin Thompson’s liturgical skills, learning and leadership have been a rich contribution to the life of the committee. The Committee and the Assembly are greatly in his debt. He is being succeeded by John Young from the Synod of Scotland.