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b) in relation to other churches and the wider community – in these islands, across Europe, and throughout the world.

Convener: Revd Bob Andrews Secretaries: Revd Sheila Maxey (Secretary for Ecumenical Relations) Revd Philip Woods (Secretary for International Relations)
Ms Lesley-Anne Morgan (International Relations Programme Officer)

Members: Revd Mary Buchanan, Revd Phillip Jones, Mrs Jackie Marsh, Revd Richard Mortimer, Revd Elizabeth Nash, Mrs Darnett Whitby-Reid, Revd John Smith (Scotland), Revd Stuart Jackson (Wales) Revd John Crocker (Convener of the International Exchange Sub-Committee)

1 Introduction

1.1 The remit of the Ecumenical Committee is wide and far-ranging. Its concerns range from our relationships with ecumenical partners in England, Scotland and Wales to those with partner churches throughout the world. It is concerned with the ecumenical life of the church at the local as well as the regional, national and international levels. Its work as a committee overlaps that of other committees which seek to carry out their work ecumenically and therefore the other programme committees are represented on the Ecumenical Committee.

1.2 Because of this wide range of responsibilities, the committee has sought this year to shape an ecumenical strategy to enable it to give priority to the more important aspects of its work over the next five years. To this end, a strategy paper has been produced entitled Mission and Unity - Three Ecumenical Resolutions for the United Reformed Church. (see resolution 22) This is brought to the Assembly this year for its approval, not only as a strategy for the Ecumenical Committee, but also as a basis for a present day ecumenical commitment for the whole church.

1.3 There are several pressing reasons why such a strategy is needed.

1.3.1 We are a church in three nations, and the ecumenical developments and challenges are different in each one. We need to agree on the limits to diversity and on the extent of consistency necessary to ensure that our representatives in each nation can be recognised by our ecumenical partners as coming from the same church.

1.3.2 The United Reformed Church is itself changing, due, for example, to the grouping of churches, the developing role of synod moderators, the growth of local church leadership, and its increasingly multi-cultural nature in the the urban areas. Such developments raise questions about our understanding of the nature of the Church, where authority lies, and the nature of ministry.

1.3.3 The Growing Up report called the church to a radical reappraisal of its attitude to mission. An ecumenical strategy must have mission at the forefront and mission must take our changing society seriously.

1.3.5 We are a small church which is part of a large Reformed family of churches and which exercises an influence far beyond its size. However, we need to have realistic expectations as to how we can best make use of our valuable human resources when deciding whether to accept or reject invitations to participate in ecumenical projects, processes and conversations.

1.4 In producing this report, therefore, the same three ecumenical resolutions which are the basis of the strategy paper are used as headings, to enable us more easily to recognise and celebrate what has already been achieved as well as to show more clearly how these ecumenical resolutions relate to the work of the committee in the future.

A. To expand the range and deepen the nature of the Christian common life and witness in each local community.

2 Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI)

2.1 The Building Bridges of Hope programme, which was set up originally to monitor the mission and outreach of 40 local churches, mostly working ecumenically, in order to see what lessons could be learned from their struggles and achievements, has now entered its second phase. Some United Reformed Churches are now involved and the Life and Witness Committee continues to monitor and promote the programme.

3 Churches Together in England (CTE)

3.1 The repositioning of the Free Churches’ Council (FCC) within Churches Together in England has now taken place, and the Revd Tony Burnham, our General Secretary, has taken an active part in this as Free Church Moderator and as one of the presidents of Churches Together in England. This step is an indication of the changed ecumenical climate since 1990, and could have positive effects on the work of local churches and chaplains in the fields of heath care and education. The former General Secretary of the FCC, Revd Geoffrey Roper, is now Assistant General Secretary (Free Churches) of Churches Together in England.

3.2 The committee has welcomed the CTE publication Sharers, Guests and Tenants as both challenging and useful for United Reformed Church congregations who share their building with another congregation, usually from an ethnic minority grouping. The publication has been made available to each District Council. At the same time, the Revd Francis Amenu, the Ghanaian minister for the United Reformed Church in London, is working to build closer links between the two synods which cover London and the two Twi-speaking Presbyterian Church of Ghana congregations in London. The committee warmly welcomes the appointment of a Racial Justice Officer for the United Reformed Church, recognising the significant ecumenical implications of this post.

3.4 The review by Churches Together in England of the churches’ role in the Millennium celebrations shows that there was co-operation across a much wider range of churches than before. The CTE Forum which has immediately preceded this Assembly had as its theme Together in a Common Life. This ‘common life’ process encourages the churches to seek to witness and pray and serve together locally across as wide a grouping as possible and is offering a series of leaflets with suggestions. The first of these, Praying Together in our Common Life, is widely available and on the web.

3.5 Two current concerns of Churches Together in England are the effectiveness of the County (Intermediate) Bodies and the training of ecumenical officers. The United Reformed Church both shares the concerns and is playing a full part in seeking better ways forward. Both are essential to resource the very significant ecumenical life of the churches in England.

4 Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS)

4.1 ACTS is undergoing a major review which covers staffing levels and the use of Scottish Churches House in Dunblane. A major ecumenical Assembly will take place in September 2001 at which it is hoped a very wide range of Scottish Christians will be present.

5 Churches Together in Wales (CYTUN)

5.1 Regional ecumenical bodies have been set up in Wales which are deliberately linked to the regional structures of the National Assembly of Wales, thus making clear their concern with society as well as church.

5.2 A School of Ecumenics, based on Trinity College, Camarthen, has been founded.

5.3 There seems little enthusiasm for the proposals from the Welsh Free Church talks but the Baptist Union of Wales has agreed to be an active observer on the Commission of Covenanted Churches in Wales (Enfys)

6 Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEP)

6.1 Last year the Free Churches’ Council produced a paper recommending ways in which members of churches within an LEP might be freely acknowledged as members of all the participating churches. The Methodist Church is making changes in its Standing Orders to enable this to happen. The Ecumenical Committee has produced an advice leaflet for local United Reformed churches explaining how the United Reformed Church can, within its current understanding of the authority of Church Meeting, offer membership to all the members of other partner churches in a single congregation LEP in which the United Reformed Church is a participant.

6.2 A checklist has also been produced, in consultation with the synod ecumenical officers, to indicate steps to be taken by United Reformed Church people who are involved in setting up a single-congregation LEP.

7 The Methodist/United Reformed Church Liaison Committee

7.1 The Liaison Committee continues to respond to the concerns of the joint churches and united areas. It has written to all sponsoring bodies and District Councils to encourage them to cooperate when carrying out visits to united churches. It has recommended that the joint annual statistical form should be discontinued as it was largely being used in addition to the Methodist form. In future the standard forms from both churches will be used. The fact that the two churches collect statistics at a different time and for different purposes lays a great burden on the joint churches and areas. The Liaison Committee has, thus far, been unsuccessful in easing this burden. Some concern has been expressed at the reactive nature of much of the agenda of the Liaison Committee and its lack of authority within the churches. It is, however, the only formal meeting of the two churches.

8 Networks

8.1 The committee has continued to sustain the network of synod and district ecumenical officers through regular mailings of News from the Ecumenical Committee and Ecumenical Filings. The bi-annual conference of ecumenical officers plays an important part in this process, and the next will be held at the Windermere Centre in the autumn of 2001, when the Revd Flora Winfield, Local Unity Secretary for the Church of England, will be the visiting speaker.

8.2 The Secretary for Ecumenical Relations has attended meetings of synod ecumenical officers, addressed ordinands’ and churches together groups, is an observer on both the Methodist and Church of England ecumenical committees, and networks informally and regularly with the ecumenical officers based in the central offices of the other churches.

B. To proclaim more clearly, in word and deed, that in Christ we are one world church family living in a world which God loves, and to celebrate the rich diversity of cultures, languages, church traditions and religious faiths within each local community and world-wide.

9 Belonging to the World Church

9.1 For a variety of reasons, the Belonging to the World Church programme, which was launched in 1998, has taken longer to implement than we had anticipated. The committee, at its meeting in January, considered all aspects of the programme very carefully to identify the most important elements so that arrangements for them could be put into place as early as possible. The committee agreed to give priority to three aspects of the work.

9.2 The first of the three will be the provision of overseas training opportunities for ordinands and Church Related Community Workers, with the first pilot programme now scheduled for 2002.

9.3 The second of the three will be the global partners programme through which each synod will be encouraged to have visiting speakers from an overseas partner church. It is envisaged that this will now be developed as an exchange programme between synods and partner churches. Further work on the details of this is being pursued in consultation with Synod World Church Advocates.

9.4 The third of the three priorities is the development of the Belonging to the World Church grants system for continuing ministerial education and overseas training opportunities.

9.5 In the cases of lay training opportunities and opportunities for young people and children, the international relations office will no longer initiate activities but will offer funding, advice and assistance with travel arrangements to Assembly committees, synods and FURY Council.

9.6 The setting up of research fellowships has proceeded piecemeal, although at present only one fellowship has been filled, at Northern College. A review group has been appointed, in conjunction with the Training Committee, to consider questions arising from our experience so far, such as whether these fellowships should be based in different colleges or in one; whether they should be full-time or part-time; whether they should be open to members of churches other than the United Reformed Church; and what the balance should be between research in the United Kingdom and research overseas. The review group is due to report in September.

9.7 Following a period without an International Relations Programme Officer, the Revd Dale Rominger, was appointed to the post and started work in March.

10 Council for World Mission (CWM)

10.1 The next CWM Council meeting will have been held just before the Assembly in Taiwan in June, where we will be represented by Mrs Olive Bell, Mr Neil Platt, Revd Ken Forbes and Revd Philip Woods. Amongst other things the meeting will be appointing a new General Secretary and considering proposals to change the structure of CWM. Proposals from CWM’s six-yearly review group for major changes in the structure of CWM were considered by the committee, which expressed the view that structural changes should not take place without a preliminary consideration of the aims and objectives of CWM and wider consultation with the member churches. The discussion at this Council meeting will be the first part of such consultation.

10.2 A global consultation on the Community of Women and Men took place in India in April, at which the United Reformed Church was represented by Lyndsay Cole, with a further representative from the synod of Scotland (still to be appointed at the time of writing). Until the Council meeting in June, the Congregational Union of Scotland is still counted as a separate member church.

10.3 Much of the spirit and philosophy behind CWM can be gleaned from the excellent bi-monthly publication Inside Out, which is highly commended both to local churches and to individuals and can be obtained on subscription from the International Relations office.

10.4 The CWM European Region has developed considerably in recent years through the appointment of a part-time Mission Enabler. This post came to an end in November 2000, but with encouragement from CWM a new full-time post has been created to develop the work further. The United Reformed Church share of the cost of this post will be funded from the proceeds of the sale of St Andrew’s Hall in line with the Assembly’s decision that the money should be used for mission education and training in an international context.

10.5 Major changes are proposed to the annual European Region Window on the World conference after the 2000 conference made a substantial deficit. A new constitution has been agreed, and the administration has been taken over by the Congregational Federation.

10.6 The report of the European Mission Conference, co-sponsored by the European Region, the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Netherlands Missionary Council and the European Evangelical Alliance, which took place in 1999, is now available and can be obtained from the International Relations office.

11 Consultation on Mission

11.1 A wide-ranging consultation is planned at the Windermere Centre in the autumn of 2001. The consultation will be by invitation and it is expected to consist of a broadly representative group of synod moderators, mission enablers, synod training officers, staff from theological colleges, and representatives from various Assembly committees. Its aim is to build on ‘Growing Up’ by stimulating theological reflection on the mission of the United Reformed Church with help from world church insights, under the leadership of Dr Preman Niles, General Secretary of CWM.

12 Scholarship Programme

12.1 A full account of this can be found in the report of the International Exchange Sub-Committee. However, on its own initiative the Ecumenical Committee agreed to use part of the proceeds from the sale of St Andrew’s Hall to fund a new scholarship which will bear that name and will continue the tradition of working with our partner churches in sharing and developing skills and insights in mission.

13 Partner Churches around the World

13.1 Throughout the year the United Reformed Church is in many and various ways relating to partner churches around the world. Here are some examples from the past year.

13.2 Presbyterian Church of Myanmar

Because of the situation in Myanmar the United Reformed Church, at the request of the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar, continues to hold funds for them. (Where such funds have existed for other churches we have over the years transferred them to the churches concerned). This year, again at the request of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, the Council for World Mission has given us the responsibility for managing the money due to them from the CWM Mission Programme Support and Self-Support funds. The Committee has set up an appropriate management structure and mechanism to manage the funds so that the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar has full access to them and can, when the time is right, arrange for them to be transferred fully to their care.

13.3 Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

The convener-elect, the Revd John Rees, represented the United Reformed Church at the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan International Forum. The theme of the forum was ‘Taiwan in the Changing East Asian Situation and the Mission of the Presbyterian Church’. This followed an earlier visit to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan by the convener in 2000.

13.4 Uniting Church in Australia

The General Secretary, the Revd Tony Burnham, attended the General Assembly of the Uniting Church of Australia, where there was particular concern for the church in Indonesia and signs of increasingly close relationships with the churches of the Pacific region.

13.5 Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI)

The Revd David Campbell has represented the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on the committee for the past year and has kept members informed on both church and society developments in Ireland on the difficult road to peace. David moved in February to be a minister with the Presbyterian Church of Australia and hopes to develop ecumenical links with that church. His insights and contributions to the understanding of the committee have been greatly appreciated. He will be succeeded by Revd Colin McClure who is also the voting member from the PCI at General Assembly.

13.6 Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (EKP)

At its September meeting the committee received the report of the biennial theological consultation with the EKP which we hosted in Dunblane on the theme ‘Approaches to Community, Nation and World’. The next theological consultation in 2002 will be hosted by the EKP.

14 World Council of Churches (WCC)

14.1 The World Council continues to face a severe financial crisis. The generosity of the German churches from the beginning has distorted expectations of what such a world body is able to achieve. Most of the work of the WCC is funded by the churches of the Northern Hemisphere, which has meant that they have had a disproportionate influence on its agenda. However, things are moving on, particularly as a result of the work of the Special Commission addressing the concerns of the Orthodox member churches and it is likely that there will be considerable changes to the workings of the WCC in the years ahead. Creatively it is already being seen in the development of the General Secretary, Konrad Raiser’s idea of creating ‘ecumenical space’ for mutual learning and discovery. The committee is kept informed of these developments and contributes its own thoughts on the process which are conveyed to the WCC through our representatives at various meetings and our routine contact with WCC staff.

14.2 Following the resignation of Ms Jenny Downing from the Central Committee, Revd Rowena Francis attended the meeting in Berlin in February on an interim basis. Revd Dr Donald Norwood attended as an observer in order to report for CTE and Revd Dr David Thompson attended as President of the World Convention of the Churches of Christ. Revd Tony Coates was also present, having been invited to be one of the interpreters.

15 The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC)

15.1 The next meeting of the General Council is to take place in Ghana in the summer of 2004, and preparations are already well in hand. The theme is to be ‘That they may all have life in fullness’, and the committee has submitted comments on the theme on behalf of the United Reformed Church. The committee received a report from the Revd Elizabeth Nash on the meeting of the executive committee in Bangalore in July 2000. The financial crisis facing the World Alliance has led to efforts to secure an endowment fund with the help of wealthy individuals.

15.2 The Mission and Unity programme of WARC is sponsoring a number of consultations around the world looking at relations between Reformed churches. From time to time the United Reformed Church has been asked to contribute to these by sharing its own experience on mission and unity. Currently we are involved in two consultations: (a) On the relations in Europe between Korean Presbyterians and the historic Reformed churches; and (b) On the situation of Reformed Churches in the Ukraine.

16 The Conference of European Churches (CEC)

16.1 The Presbyterian Church of Wales is the latest church to be admitted to membership of CEC. In April CEC and CCEE (the European Council of Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conferences) held a European Ecumenical Encounter in Strasbourg which included the presentation of the Charta Oecumenica which has been the subject of much consultation with the churches of Europe. The Charta is ‘a declaration of common commitments for the churches of Europe, their relationships to one another and their service and witness to European society.’ The committee has contributed to this process on behalf of the United Reformed Church.

16.2 The next CEC Assembly will be in Norway in 2003, when the theme will be ‘Jesus Christ heals and reconciles: our witness in Europe’. Gabrielle Cox, convener of the Church and Society Committee, now represents the United Reformed Church on the European Integration Working Group.

17 Leuenberg Church Fellowship (LCF)

17.1 In June the Assembly of the Leuenberg Church Fellowship was held in Belfast, hosted by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The United Reformed Church was represented by Derek Wales and Hillian Durell. Having its roots in the Faith and Order movement, the Leuenberg Church Fellowship has moved on and is attempting to address many of the social and political concerns of today, making it more broadly a confessional body representing its members’ interests. One of the main items at this Assembly is who speaks for Protestant Churches in Europe today, with the German churches advocating a stronger role for the LCF particularly in relation to the European Union.

18 The World Convention of the Churches of Christ (WCCC)

18.1 The United Reformed Church had ten official representatives at the Convention in Brisbane in August 2000 and a similar number of others from the United Reformed Church participated in the event at their own initiative. The reason for this large delegation was to gain valuable experience in preparation for co-hosting, with the Fellowship of the Churches of Christ, the next convention in Brighton in 2004. The style of the Convention was a new experience for most of those who attended from Britain and was the subject of discussion at the first international planning meeting held in Loughborough in February, when United Reformed Church and Fellowship members shared their hopes of what the 2004 Convention might be like.

18.2 During the Brisbane Convention Revd Dr David Thompson was inaugurated as President and Mrs Muriel Garrow as President of the World Christian Women’s Fellowship.

19.1 DECC brings together the Disciples and United churches within the WCCC family. Meeting just before the WCCC in Brisbane the Council addressed the theme “Autonomy and Unity in the Ecumenical Movement Today”, received the report of the Disciples of Christ -Roman Catholic International Commission for Dialogue, and attended to a number of constitutional issues. In particular it addressed the anomaly whereby when a Disciples church united with another church it could only be an associate member of DECC, despite the fact that DECC exists to assist Disciples churches in the journey towards the visible unity of the Church. Further recognising the contribution of united churches DECC confirmed the Revd Dr David Thompson as its new Moderator.

20 Networks

20.1 The annual meeting of synod European Partnership Co-ordinators was held in Edinburgh in March. To a greater or lesser extent almost all synods are now linked with an ecumenical partner church in Europe, and each synod sustains that partnership on behalf of the whole of the United Reformed Church.

20.2 With the development of the Belonging to the World Church programme increasing responsibility is now being placed on synod World Church Advocates and their annual consultation was dominated by reflection on how to make the programme more effective.

20.3 The committee is aware of the need to give full support to those who are carrying out these important roles in each synod of the church.

C. To persevere in the search for the visible and organic unity of the Church through church-to-church conversations on matters of faith and church order so that sinful, and sometimes death-dealing, divisions may be healed and the Christian message of reconciliation be proclaimed with integrity.

21 Towards the making of an ecumenical bishop in Wales

21.1 Following the extensive and encouraging debate at last year’s Assembly, the National Synod of Wales voted unanimously at its March 2001 synod to support the revised proposal for the making of an ecumenical bishop in Wales. However, at the request of the Commission of Covenanted Churches in Wales (Enfys) the synod has agreed to delay bringing the proposal to the General Assembly until 2002, when it will also be coming to the Methodist Conference. The Church in Wales will begin its decision-making process this Autumn. The Presbyterian Church in Wales is accompanying the process as an observer.

22 The Scottish Church Initiative for Union (SCIFU)

22.1 The second interim report of SCIFU (the Scottish Church Initiative for Union) received a positive response from the Synod of Scotland at its synod meeting in August 2000. The views of local churches and area councils are currently being sought and will be reported to the synod meeting in August 2001. It is difficult for the United Reformed Churches in Scotland to consider more union proposals so soon after the union of 2000. Reservations, some strong, are being expressed by the other churches. However, the proposals are being widely discussed, especially in the Church of Scotland and the churches in several localities are looking at their existing relationships or developing new ones in terms of the proposed ‘maxi-parish’ model. It is unlikely that a Basis and Plan for Union will be ready for the planned date of May 2002. In the extra time inevitably created, the SCIFU Group hopes to work on sharing more of the vision of the proposals – answering the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ questions.

22.2 SCIFU has fruitfully explored the areas of diaconal ministry and lay preachers in the four participating churches, and a group is also working on a liturgy for the making of a bishop in the united church. That group has benefited from the experience in Wales.

23 The Tri-Lateral Informal Conversations between the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church.

23.1 These conversations have taken place over the past two years. They were set up in response to the United Reformed Church’s desire for inclusion in the conversations between the other two churches. The United Reformed Church representatives have been the Revds John Waller, Sheila Maxey, Elizabeth Welch and Bob Andrews, while Sheila Maxey and the Revd Dr David Thompson have been ecumenical participants in the Formal Conversations between the Church of England and the Methodist Church.

23.2 The report of the Formal Conversations between the Church of England and the Methodist Church is delayed until the end of the year. The report of the Informal Conversations will probably be published in booklet form in the early Autumn. Having been in public domain for some months, both reports will come formally to Assembly 2002, the Formal report because the United Reformed Church will specifically be asked to make a considered response to it, and the Informal report because it belongs to the United Reformed Church and it too has recommendations which will need careful consideration.

23.3 A number of emerging ecclesiological issues have arisen from the conversations on which further work needs to be done as the three churches journey towards the goal of visible unity. They include the limits to diversity, the meaning of ordination, personal and conciliar oversight, the meaning of church membership, and different approaches to the goal of Christian unity. The background to these emerging issues is described more fully in the report.

23.4 The report of the Informal Conversations makes certain recommendations, suggesting that the three churches should build in practical ways on relationships which already exist, and that the United Reformed Church should be included in any initiatives at local, regional or national level in which Anglicans and Methodists already share. Such recommendations could have important implications in Scotland and Wales as well as in England.

23.5 What is clear from the report and from the whole process of these conversations is that the United Reformed Church continues to be committed to being part of any ongoing process which will assist the visible and organic unity of the churches, at every level, and accordingly a carefully considered response will need to be made to the recommendations of both the Formal Conversations and the Informal Conversations when they are published.

24 The Advisory Group on Faith and Order

24.1 The Advisory Group, set up jointly by the Ecumenical Committee and the Doctrine, Prayer and Worship Committee, has considered the report to the Methodist Conference on ‘Episkope and Episcopacy’ with the purpose of assisting the Mission Council working group set up to look at personal leadership in the United Reformed Church, with special reference to synod moderators.

24.2 The group has also considered the document of the Leuenberg Fellowship, entitled The Church of Jesus Christ. in order to assist the committee in its ecclesiological thinking about the unity of the Church, and to prepare the two United Reformed Church representatives, Revd Derek Wales and Mrs Hillian Durell, for the Leuenberg Assembly in Belfast in June.

24.3 The Convener of the Advisory Group, Revd Fleur Houston, was the invited United Reformed Church observer at the Meissen Theological Commission meeting between the Church of England and the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland in March. She also attended the Leuenberg Assembly in Belfast as an observer.

25 United and uniting churches’ seventh international consultation

25.1 This group of churches world -wide is holding its seventh consultation in September 2002 in the Netherlands. The two themes which the WCC faith and order commissioners from this group of churches have asked the consultation to address are ‘mission’ and ‘identity’. The two major Dutch Reformed churches and the Dutch Lutheran church are in the process of uniting and asked to host this gathering in order to get encouragement and to learn lessons. The Revd Sheila Maxey represents the United Reformed Church on the planning group..

26 Consultation of British and Irish Reformed churches on ‘Identity and Partnership’

26.1 This consultation, planned for March 2002 at the Windermere Centre, to bring together representatives of the Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Churches in Wales and Ireland, together with the United Reformed Church, in order to explore the experience of devolution and the nature of our different national societies, as well as how we understand our identity and mission as Reformed churches had to be postponed because of the foot and mouth epidemic. It will take place in December.

27 Consultation with younger ecumenists

27.1 A consultation is planned for 12-14 April 2002 with the purpose of bringing together a group of under-40’s drawn from each synod in order to pass on the ecumenical vision and to discover what form it takes for a younger generation. The consultation is planned for a weekend because the committee recognised that the United Reformed Church’s future ecumenical leadership must be both lay and ordained.

28 Welcomes and farewells

28.1 This year the committee was delighted to welcome Mrs Darnett Whitby-Reid as a new member, Mrs Doris David as Personal Assistant to the Secretary for International Relations and, more recently, to welcome Revd Dale Rominger as International Relations Programme Officer. It will greatly miss the contributions of Revd Richard Mortimer and Mrs Jackie Marsh who both come to the end of their term at this Assembly. It will also miss Ms Lesley-Ann Morgan who moved on from Church House to other work in November.

28.2 At this Assembly, Revd Bob Andrews both comes to the end of his time as Convener and retires from the ministry. The committee and the staff owe Bob an enormous debt of gratitude for his excellent and well-prepared chairing, for his willingness to attend many extra meetings where his calm wisdom was of such value, and for his personal support for the staff secretaries whenever they have needed it. Committee members past and present and all the staff would like to express their thanks and to wish Bob, Kay and the family every blessing during the coming years.

28.3 The committee looks forward with confidence as one of its members, Revd John Rees, takes over the convenership from this Assembly.

Resolution 22 - Three Ecumenical Resolutions

General Assembly

a) welcomes the following three ecumenical resolutions offered by the Ecumenical Committee as providing a framework for the United Reformed Church’s ecumenical commitment locally, nationally and internationally for the coming five years; and

b) encourages synods, district councils and local churches to consider how they might use them in practice and to that end invites the Ecumenical Committee to distribute the ecumenical resolutions and their supporting material in an attractive form throughout the Church.

• To expand the range and deepen the nature of the Christian common life and witness in each local community.

• To proclaim more clearly, in word and deed, that in Christ we are one world church family living in a world which God loves, and to celebrate the rich diversity of cultures, languages, church traditions and religious faiths within each local community and world-wide.

• To persevere in the search for the visible and organic unity of the Church through church-to-church conversations on matters of faith and church order so that sinful, and sometimes death-dealing, divisions may be healed and the Christian message of reconciliation be proclaimed with integrity.

Mission and Unity

Three Ecumenical Resolutions for the United Reformed Church

The background

Who we are

The United Reformed Church, as a united and uniting church, must always live with provisionality, open to new ways. As a Reformation church it must also take seriously the particular rock from which it was hewn. But it is, first of all, a church whose purpose, within the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, is:

• To make its life a continual offering of itself and the world to God in adoration and worship through Jesus Christ

Our commitment to Christianunity – restated in 1996

That same Basis of Union, 1972, states that ‘as a united church (we) will take, wherever possible and with all speed, further steps towards the unity of all God’s people’

At the 1996 General Assembly, that commitment was reaffirmed and its implications for the life of the United Reformed Church at that time were then spelled out. It was agreed that the commitment would be expressed through:

a) resource sharing of theological insights, people, buildings and money

b) identifying and offering the rich insights of our tradition to others and being open to receive theirs

c) active involvement in ecumenical bodies locally, regionally, nationally and internationally

d) the development of and support for Local Ecumenical Partnerships and United Areas

e) active participation in initiatives leading towards organic union.

But ‘ecumenical’ means……

The word ‘ecumenical’ comes from the Greek oikumene meaning ‘the whole inhabited earth’. Oikumene in turn is related to the Greek for household, oikos. So the ecumenical vision is of the whole human family living together in love and peace. Pursuing that vision goes far beyond inter-church relations and is the business of the whole church.

However, the Ecumenical Committee has a particular responsibility. Its remit states: ‘The committee will seek to ensure that wherever the United Reformed Church meets locally or nationally (sic), in worship, council or committee, it is working in partnership with Christians in the locality, the World Church and the whole human family.’

Three ecumenical resolutions for a missionary church in today’s world

A. To expand the range and deepen the nature of the Christian common life and witness in each local community.

1 Developing relationships with new partners, some reflecting our increasingly multi-cultural society – e.g. house churches, the African and Caribbean churches, pentecostal and independent churches, the Orthodox churches, the Reformed groups not worshipping in English (Korean, Ghanaian, Pakistani, Hungarian, German) etc. – and including the spiritual explorers outside the Church.

2 Pressing for deeper relations with old partners, often already expressed through formal Local Ecumenical Partnerships, and shared witness and service – the Anglican churches in the three nations, the Methodists and Baptists, the Moravians, the Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the Congregational Federation, the Roman Catholic Church …..

How might this be enabled?

3 Strengthening the support for and widening the role of the District and Synod ecumenical officers.

4 Raising this wider ecumenical profile in District visitations and in deployment and clustering discussions.

5 Listening to the concerns of local churches and Local Ecumenical Partnerships and strengthening the central church-to-church work on obstacles to greater local shared life and witness. This work is already being done in, for example, the Methodist/United Reformed Church Liaison Committee and CTE’s Group for Local Unity.

B To proclaim more clearly, in word and deed, that in Christ we are one World Church family living in a world which God loves, and to celebrate the rich diversity of cultures, languages, church traditions and religious faiths within each local community and world-wide

What might this mean?

1 Welcoming into our local communities new immigrants, international students/workers and asylum seekers and thus receiving their God-given gifts.

2 Taking advantage of the Belonging to the World Church programme which offers local experience of the World Church and wider world, through visits, sabbaticals, study fellowships etc.

3 Making connections between congregational and town twinning and our existing church– to–church partnerships, which may also be a particular synod’s partnership. (e.g. the German churches of the Pfalz and of Lippe, the Reformed Church of Hungary, the Church of the Czech Brethren, the Waldensian Church)

4 Establishing special local links with groups of Christians living in this country who come from partner churches either in CWM or in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (e.g. Ghanaian, Pakistani and Taiwanese Presbyterians)

5 Being willing to enter into dialogue and common action with people of other faiths.

How might this be enabled?

6 Through a new audit of local church, synod and town links, including ecumenical links such as that between Churches Together in Derby and a diocese of the Church of North India.

7 By networking those local churches which are building relationships with Christians of other cultures and languages and those new to this country.

8 By using the programme for receiving mission partners through the Council for World Mission more flexibly.

C To persevere in the search for the visible and organic unity of the Church through church-to-church conversations on matters of faith and church order so that sinful, and sometimes death-dealing, divisions may be healed and the Christian message of reconciliation be proclaimed with integrity

1 Knowing who we are, whilst recognising that in the different nations and with different partners there will be different emphases: and remembering that provisionality is part of our identity.

2 Refusing some conversations and initiating others, recognising that such conversations may need to transcend class and cultural barriers as well as doctrinal ones.

How might this be enabled?

3 Engaging ordained and lay, young and old, Assembly committees and local churches, in open and informed debate about the nature and purpose of the Church in order to articulate afresh in this generation who we are, in all our diversity, and to what new purpose God is calling us.

4 Offering criteria through, for example, synod ecumenical strategies and through the leaflet Reformed Expectations for the United Reformed Church in LEPs, to assist the local in deciding when to accept and when to refuse an invitation to be part of a new Local Ecumenical Partnership.

5 Persevering in ecumenical prayer and worship.

An invitation from the Ecumenical Committee

These three ecumenical resolutions for a missionary church calls on the United Reformed Church to expand, to deepen, to persevere, to celebrate and to proclaim. The Ecumenical Committee invites the whole church to identify with these ecumenical resolutions and then work out what they might mean in practice in the particular place or situation.

International Exchange Sub-Committee

The International Exchange Sub Committee is responsible for the selection, training and caring of mission partners for service here and overseas, and for overseeing the exchange of personnel, including the World Exchange volunteers programme.

Convener: Revd John Crocker Secretary: Revd Philip Woods Revd Bob Andrews (Convener, Ecumenical Committee), Mr Peter Bryant, Revd Keith Riglin, Revd Gwen Collins, Revd John Humphreys, Revd Birgit Ewald and Revd Sheila Maxey (Secretary for Ecumenical Relations).

1 Introduction

1.1 Much of the committee’s time is taken up with attending to the details of personnel exchange. In recent years this has been significantly about receiving people from our partner churches to work with us here. However, in the past twelve months there has been a renewed interest in serving overseas and during this time the committee has journeyed with four couples (and their children) seeking to serve overseas. Alongside this, as referred to in last year’s report the committee has taken time out with a special residential meeting in April to revise the guidelines that govern our practices in sending and receiving mission partners.

2 Sharing people in mission

2.1 At the time of writing the following United Reformed Church people are serving with partner churches outside the UK:

• Alison Gibbs – United Church of Zambia (CWM)

• Stephen and Hardy Wilkinson – FJKM, Madagascar (CWM)

• Revd Jane Stranz – Reformed Church of France

• Revd Elspeth and Dr Ewan Harley – Congregational Christian Church in Samoa (CWM – one year ‘volunteer’ placement)

2.2 In January Revd Chris and Carol Baillie returned to this country after eleven years service with the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (CWM) in Grand Cayman.

2.3 Just before Assembly Mary Thomas will be ordained and commissioned with her husband, Paul, a maths teacher, for service with the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in Jamaica. Together with their two children (Peter and Helen) they will be departing for Jamaica, following a period of training, this autumn.

2.4 Current CWM vacancies are advertised on its website (www.cwmission.org.uk) or are available as a printed list from the International Relations office. Most of the vacancies are for lay people and cover a wide range of occupations.

2.5 The following people from our partner churches outside the UK are currently serving the United Reformed Church here:

• Revd Francis Amenu from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana – Ghanaian Minister to the United Reformed Church in London

• Revd Moiseraela Prince Dibeela from the Botswana Synod, United Congregational Church of Southern Africa – Mission Enabler in the East Midlands synod (CWM)

• Mrs Jasmine Jebakani from the Church of South India – Tutor at the Southern Theological Education & Training Scheme (CWM)

• Ms Muleba Muleba from the United Church of Zambia – volunteer at the United Reformed Church Youth Resources Centre, Yardley Hastings (CWM)

• Kiady Raharinosy from the FJKM (Madagascar) – volunteer in Llandfair LEP, Penrhys, South Wales.

2.6 The committee has agreed that Grassroots, an ecumenical project which also brings partners from beyond Europe to assist the UK churches with their mission, in partnership with Bury Road URC, Luton in the St Albans District, should be offered one of the overseas special category ministry appointments for their inter-faith worker post. The purpose of this post is to help the declining churches there to rediscover their calling in a community of people largely belonging to other faiths. At the time of writing applications are being sought from our partner churches in South Asia.

2.7 Prince and Cheryl Dibeela and their children will be returning to Botswana this summer, following Prince’s appointment with the East Midlands synod, where he has contributed much to their thinking on and involvement in mission. This will leave the committee with two vacancies in the overseas special category ministry posts, which they would like to see filled so that more people can benefit from the insights and ministry of our overseas partners. We therefore encourage congregations, districts and synods to consider if they could creatively utilise such a person in their situation.

3 World Exchange

3.1 During the past year the following people have worked with, or are working with overseas partner churches through the World Exchange volunteer programme:

• Helene McLeod - Guatemala

• Allan Christie - Malawi

3.2 Helene McLeod’s reports of her exploits in Guatemala, which can be found in Reform from time to time, remind us that the World Exchange volunteer programme is open to all people over the age of eighteen and that even at the age of 72 you might find a new and rewarding calling taking a year out to work with one of our partner churches in another corner of the world.

3.3 The development of St Colm’s International House continues and the committee makes good use of it for a variety of programmes, training opportunities and meetings and commends it to anyone looking for a meeting venue in Edinburgh.

4 Scholarship programme

4.1 The English for Church Workers course last year was again much appreciated by our partner churches. Participants came from (numbers in brackets):

• Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren (3)

• Evangelical Church of the Union (Germany) (3)

• Reformed Church in Hungary (3)

• Reformed Church in Sub-Carpatho Ukraine (2)

• Presbyterian Church of Korea (1)

4.2 In addition, in conjunction with the Romans 1:11 Trust a scholarship was offered to Revd David Chiboboke from the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian to undertake an MA in pastoral studies at Westminster College, Cambridge.

4.3 This year the committee is offering two English for Church Workers courses, the first of which was held April-June with three participants (two from the Reformed Church in Hungary and one from the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren). The next course will be held September-November and in addition to the usual churches participating it is hoped to have at least one person from the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba. We will also be offering scholarships for two post-graduate students at Westminster College from this September.

5 International Ministry Exchanges

5.1 Immediately before this Assembly we are hosting the International Advisers meeting for the Clergy Exchange International Foundation, the body behind International Ministry Exchanges.

5.2 During the past year the programme has undergone some significant changes, which have not been without their problems and some inconvenience to those trying to participate. However, it now has a full-time Executive Director and is considerably better placed to deliver quality exchanges which if appropriately planned as learning opportunities may be eligible for Belonging to the World Church CME grants.

5.3 During the year a number of ministers have availed themselves of this programme and participated in exchanges with colleagues in other parts of the world. Following the latest International Advisers meeting we expect to see the number of opportunities available through the programme expand.

6 Members

6.1 The committee wishes to record its appreciation of the contribution made by Bob Andrews who ending his term as Convener of the Ecumenical Committee also concludes his service with this committee. During the year we have welcomed Revd Birgit Ewald, filling a vacancy left over from last year’s Assembly.