The official Church of England representative at the United Reformed Church General Assembly has praised the assembly’s inclusive nature. She said visitors such as her experienced a real sense of belonging, and that the “genuinely ecumenical climate was very refreshing”.
 
The Venerable Dr. Joy Tetley (pictured) was present as a member of the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity. In a report submitted afterwards she said: “The whole tone, as I experienced it, was hopeful and honest, positive and constructive – and most certainly hardworking. Everything was conducted within a strong framework of worship and Bible study.”
 
Dr. Tetley identifies one area of concern for ecumenical relations, in the URC’s campaign to promote itself through advertising and marketing . She says: “Clearly this has implications for the many local ecumenical partnerships  (where different denominations work together) and for ecumenical relations more generally.” She adds: “It will be interesting to see how the essentially ecumenical character of the United Reformed Church is expressed through what is communicated in this campaign”.
 
One of the more frustrating aspects of General Assembly for many URC representatives was the way consensus decision-making operated. Dr. Tetley urges the URC to persevere with reaching decisions by consensus, even though it did not always operate smoothly, as a “flagship example to the rest of us”.