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HotlineWelcome to the 2004 edition of Assembly Hotline. You'll find here a record of the main events and some of the background to the meeting of General Assembly at the University of Glamorgan from July 3rd - 6th, 2004. Select the day's business you would
like
to see from the menu below: Monday MorningModerators' ReportThe place of the church in today’s world was the theme of this year’s report from the 13 synod moderators, introduced to Assembly by the Revd Elizabeth Caswell, Moderator of the Eastern Synod. The report speaks of the ways in which our life as Christians is called to contradict the prevailing values of the culture in which we are set. Some of those differences may be hidden, others may be public. In particular the lives of Christians are called to embody contentment rather than the prevailing greed, personal responsibility and forgiveness in place of the culture of blame, a shared life in place of isolation, open-ness in place of fear, an eternal perspective in place of the desire for instant solutions and, not least, hope in place of cynicism. It is a way of life sustained only by intimacy with the God revealed to us in Jesus. And if it seems an insignificant thing that a few Christians should live in a different way, Elizabeth Caswell reminded Assembly that we were the yeast in the dough. Read the Moderators’ Report here. Quote of the weekDuring the explanation of a resolution extending the practice of remembering at Assembly ministers who have died during the previous year to former missionaries, Assembly Moderators and Assembly Clerks who may not have been ordained, the question was raised of how church-related community workers would be treated. (The answer is that CRCWs are ministers of the Church and would be remembered like any other minister). The Moderator remarked: The trouble with CRCWs is that they are all so young that none of them have died yet! Nominations CommitteeThe real question is how we recognize the gifts of the Spirit and call them into action. That, according to the Revd Dr Stephen Orchard, Convener of the Nominations Committee, was the basis of Resolution 32, which called for Assembly’s approval for a new set of guidelines for the procedure for the appointment of synod moderators. The new proposals introduce an element of advertising and application into the process, a greater role for the synod in drawing up the job specification and person profile and the establishment of a national panel of people from whom nominating groups would be drawn. Though there were some detailed criticisms of the guidelines, Assembly accepted Dr Orchard’s advice to give the guidelines a try with a view to making further adjustments in future in the light of experience. Catch the Vision IIThe second bite at the Catch the Vision report consisted of an opportunity for members of Assembly to make their own repsonses. The comments reflected the diversity of the church, with everything from warm commendation to angry condemnation. If there was a theme, it was that the challenges facing the Church are urgent and the actions needed to meet them will be radical. Assembly overwhelmingly passed the resolution endorsing the steering group’s report and called for work on the question of whether there was an ecumenical way forward. Read the Catch the Vision report here. Monday afternoonNewly ordained ministersThe Moderator greeted the ministers ordained since last year's Assembly and offered them this advice: Never despise your congregation – never preach what ‘they’ need to hear but rather always what you need to hear. And always – morning and night – give thanks to God for the good things that have been given to you.
Training CommitteeJohn Humphreys outlined the wide range of changes and initiatives in the world of training over the past year. Much work has been devoted major changes taking place in the world of training, driven by the major changes in the way the Church of England structures its training. There is a new co-ordinator for Training for Learning and Serving and Betsy Gray-King has been appointed as Secretary Post-ordination Commissioning Education and Training. The committee brought a number of resolutions. The first (Resolution 34) related to the five possible pathways for the development of training contained in the committee’s report, representing different combinations of local training, the use of colleges and sharing in ecumenical ventures. Assembly encouraged the committee to continue to explore the possibilities outlined and to consult widely within the church before bringing back further proposals.
The Moderator greets the Revd David A L Jenkins
A second resolution (Resolution 35) expressed the Church’s gratitude to the Revd David A L Jenkins at the end of his term as the first co-ordinator of the Training for Learning and Serving scheme. Assembly also gave its support to resolution (Resolution 36) removing age restrictions on eligibility of ministers for sabbatical grants. The change was made partly out of a desire to see equal opportunities offered to all ministers, together with a recognition that many ministers go on offering service to the church beyond their ‘retirement’ and the church might benefit from an opportunity for them to go on developing their thinking and skills. A final proposal (Resolution 37) draws the training of ministers, whether before ordination, immediately following ordination or through the remainder of their ministry, into a single coherent framework. MinistriesThe Ministries committee brought a resolution reaffirming the normal age limits for entry into training, namely that candidates for stipendiary ministry should normally commence training by the age of 50, while for non-stipendiary candidates the upper limit for training is normally 55. The resolution makes provision, however, for a procedure for candidates who already possess qualifications which might shorten their training and might therefore be allowed to commence training later. A number of clarifications were also made to the Plan for Partnership relating to issues such as pulpit supply fees, travel expenses when ‘preaching with a view' and retirement resettlement grants and entitlement to holidays. Church and SocietyThe Revd Neil Thorogood introduced a resolution (Resolution 20) expressing the indignation of the Church over the separation barrier currently being built by the government of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The course of cuts off much of the most fertile Palestinian land, effectively annexing large areas of Palestinian land. People were being cut off from their land, their work, their families. Israel, he argued, had the right to protect itself but not by destroying the lives of others. The current course of the barrier, however, was not a protection, it was a provocation. After a number of speakers had shared their own experiences of the damage being done, Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the resolution Assets for Life
The new Assets for Life pack had an impressive send-off at Assembly by none other than the Prime Minister's personal envoy to British faith communities, John Battle MP. In a rousing speech Mr Battle commended Assets for Life as a practical tool for engaging with local communities and urged the United Reformed Church to share it widely with ecumenical partners. He complimented the URC for going further than any other denomination in embodying the importance of community work within its structures through the creation of the post of Church-related Community Worker. Faith communities were, he said, often the ones who are present in places of deprivation and their work frequently goes under-reported. If none of the faith-based work was done - if it were to stop suddenly - it would bankrupt both local and national government overnight. The government had tried to ensure that faith communities were properly involved in initiatives and that access to centres of power was improved (and made more equal). A unit in the Home Office has the special task of ensuring proper access for faith communities when policy is being developed. The question for the faith communities is whether they can retain their prophetic distance when they have access to the levers of power. From the government's point of view it was a matter of whether they could maintain their nerve under criticism. Fear was the driving force of politics today - fear of terrorism, of crime, of neighbours. Faith communities had a crucial role in helping to rebuild trust within communities. The task was to blend the prophetic and the contemplative and the challenge to faith was not secularization, it was the privatisation of faith which militated against faith shaping the life of the individual, the community and the nation. As for Assets for Life, Mr Battle hoped we had printed enough because it should be used well beyond the URC. Its most important feature, he felt, was the stories of hope it told of the Church's engagement with communities. They were stories that ought to be shared widely. Monday EveningChurch and Society IIDespite the fact that the state of our planet was one of the most serious concerns we had, it is six years since Assembly last looked seriously at this issue, Church and Society Convener Martin Camroux told Assembly. Other denominations, especially the Methodists and Baptists were engaged in the same process and we acknowledged a debt to them because we have borrowed from their polices. The time had come, he argued, to make hard choices about practical issues such as energy usage and transport. At the moment it was the poorest in the world who were paying for our profligacy. Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the policy paper setting out new guidelines for the church in environmental matters (Read the policy here) Resolution 17: Double Aid and Make Trade Just Introducing a resolution on the elimination of world poverty, Commitment for Life director Anne Martin told Assembly that only eight countries in Africa were on course to meet the internationally agreed Millennium Development goals, which seek to eliminate the worst effects of poverty by 2015. The situation was urgent and we had to do something to ‘make poverty history’. All the development agencies (and others) were coming together to ensure that 2005 is a turning point, with a campaign focussing on trade justice and a doubling of aid. There will be a campaign of ‘ballots’ showing politicians that people care about trade justice – we have undertaken to provide 10,000 from the URC. We would also be campaigning for a commitment from the government on the date when we shall achieve the target of 0.7% of gross domestic product given in aid. Last but not least, Assembly enthusiastically endorsed a resolution (Resolution 18) recommitting the Church for another four years to its development and campaigning programme, Commitment for Life. |
HighlightsSearch HotlineModerator's AddressRead the address, Any Questions?, given by the Revd Sheila Maxey to Assembly on Saturday July 3rd Catch the VisionRead David Cornick's speech Photo diarySidelights on Assembly in pictures Have Your SayJoin in the discussion about this year's General Assembly ProfileThe new Moderator |
