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HotlineWelcome to the 2006 edition of Assembly Hotline. Below you will find a record of the main events, the decisions and some of the background to the meeting of the General Assembly at the University of Exeter, taking place on July 7th - 10th, 2006. A summary of the business from today's sessions of Assembly appears below. For a summary of yesterday's business, please click here. Saturday, July 8thSouth West Synod presentationEvery year, a number of Synods, the regions of the United Reformed Church, present a report about its life and work. The South West Synod, the host Synod of this year’s Assembly, showed a DVD, presented by Synod Moderator, the Revd David Grosch-Miller. We want people to be excited about being a part of the URC, said the Revd Grosch-Miller. Paul Snell, the Synod’s Evangelist Enabler, presented a vox-pop from members of the public about their opinions of the church and religion. This ended with someone saying that no-one had ever asked them about this before. David then told Assembly about the churches within the Synod looking at their mission strategies, and the ways that they should work with other people. He told Assembly about a local church that had just built a new community suite. The Revd Rose Barrett, minister of Plymtree URC, which has a congregation of nine, talked about her village wanting a minister based in the village, and that part of her ministry was engaging with all who lived there. She went on to talk about her outreach work, which included trips to the local pub. She believed that some churches were in danger of prioritising bottoms on pews over the value of people. Communications and Editorial report
Carol Rogers, the Secretary of the Communications and Editorial section, at her 19th Assembly, the last before she retires in September, was interviewed by the Convener of the committee, the Revd Martin Hazell (both pictured). She explained how she had started her job three weeks before the 1987 Assembly. Mrs Rogers explained about the work of the department, including the bookshop at Church House and the Publications Board, which publishes around ten titles a year. She had seen many changes over the years including the changes in technology – she remembered with affection the use of Gestetner printers! She paid tribute to the Revd David Lawrence, who was the Editor of Reform and URC Press Officer until February, along with Zoe Oakley and Chris Andrews, Reform’s Editorial Assistant and Graphics Designer respectively. She also thanked the other staff in the department. Mrs Rogers also paid a warm tribute to her husband, the Revd Nigel Rogers, ‘the person I can scream at if it all goes wrong.’ The Revd Dr David Peel added a further tribute to the Revd David Lawrence, for his service to church for a great number of years, and asked Assembly to record thanks and good wishes. He then paid a warm tribute to Mrs Rogers whom he described as ‘faithful, creative and a colleague’. Resolution 18 – Church magazines‘Get it write’ is a leaflet that helps local church magazine editors. It was commended to all congregations. A version will be available to download form the main URC website after Assembly. Resolution 19 – Review of Committee’s workThere were calls from delegates of the Assembly for a continued presence at the Christian Resources Exhibition, an increased budget for press and PR, the availability of publications in other languages, and concerns about future of 'Reform' magazine. The resolution was carried. Equal Opportunities ReportThe Revd Derek Hopkins presented the report from the Equal Opportunities Committee. He noted the deaths of former members of the committee – Mr Hilary Gunn, the former head of HR at Church House, Ruth Norton, a former secretary of the committee, and Alan Hart, who had served two terms on the committee. A silence was observed. The report from the committee can be found here Moderator of General Assembly 2007-2008The vote for the Moderator of General Assembly 2007-2008 was held. The Revd Professor Stephen Orchard was elected. Youth and Children’s Work Committee
Kathryn Price, the Convener of the Committee, presented its report, which can be found here. She wondered why the URC appeared not be developing its own leaders, using the ecumenical make-up of the Youth and Children's Work Training Development Officer Team as an example. She stressed that Youth and Children’s Work should ‘always be on the agenda’. One representative said that areas of youth work that were growing usually included paid youth workers. Kathryn Price said that churches wanting to explore this should contact the department for assistance. Children’s Work Development OfficerJo Williams, the Children’s Work Development Officer, was greeted by the Moderator. The Moderator also greeted the four new Youth and Children’s Work Training and Development Officers. The total number of YCWDTOs is now 11. FURY
The FURY Chair, Isobel Simmons, explained the proposals adopted at FURY Assembly that will streamline the work of the youth organisation of the URC. Local youth work is the most important, she stressed, but in future it will be backed up by three national events, including the meeting at, and before, the General Assembly. ‘There are so many talented and passionate young people in the church,’ said Miss Simmons. She encouraged churches with no young people to contact their local YCWTDO. ‘Declaration of a Safe Church’ reviewThe Assembly asked Mission Council to revisit the declaration and bring to the 2007 Assembly proposals to extend its provision to cover emotional, physical and domestic abuse and neglect. Sheila Brain, representing the declaration working group, welcomed the resolution as well as the seriousness of the responses from Synods. She highlighted a number of new resources under development. Mark Westerman, a minister who deals with vulnerable women and children in his pastoral care, wondered whether the declaration should be reworded to say that the URC is working towards being a safe church, rather than saying it is a safe church. He commented that you would be instantly suspicious of anyone who said ‘I’m a minister, you can trust me.’ Roger Allen, Cheshire District, had two concerns. He said that the committee needed to bear in mind those who have had false accusations made against them as well as those from non-religious families. The resolution was carried. CORE skills for children’s ministryThe Assembly debated a resolution calling for all working with children in the URC to be adequately trained. Kathryn Price explained that some denominations have compulsory training for those who work with children. She added that doing ‘Kaleidoscope’ 16 years ago isn’t adequate for children’s work today. She emphasised the existence of the YCWTDO team and other resources in the hope that the URC would become a centre of excellence for children’s work training. The Assembly commended the replacement for ‘Kaleidoscope’, ‘CORE skills for children’s ministry’, a series of six training resources. Assembly also commended the Child Friendly Church Award scheme to local churches and recognised it as a sign of good practice. A copy will be available from the main URC website after Assembly. Moderators’ ReportThe Revd Peter Poulter, Moderator of Northern Synod, presented the report from the Synod Moderators. He asked if congregations and Assembly could reflect on whether the Messiah is among them and what it would mean to the life of their church. ‘Pray and give thanks for the life and work and worship of those congregations that make up the United Church Reformed,’ he said. The Moderator thanked the Revd Peter Poulter for the presentation, and his work as Moderator of the Northern Synod as he will be retiring before the next Assembly. She greeted the Revd Rowena Francis, his successor. She also thanked the Revd Peter Brain, Moderator of North West Synod, who is also retiring in the next year. Mission Council reportAnne Sardeson, Roding District, and Ruth Clarke, former Moderator, raised questions on a report commissioned by Mission Council about lessons the church should learn from a case of an individual minister, arising from a historic case of alleged sexual abuse. The Revd Ray Adams, Deputy General Secretary, replied. An edited version of the report is available to purchase. A question about the consultation process, looking at the feasibility of a London Synod, was raised. The Revd Bill Mahood explained what elements of the consultation had already taken place. Rural OfficerThe Moderator greeted the new Rural Officer for the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, the Revd Graham Jones. Catch the VisionThe General Secretary of the URC, the Revd Dr David Cornick, presented the report from the Catch the Vision group. Below is a summary of the presentation and debate.
David Cornick started the session by showing an image of Rembrandt’s painting the ‘Prodigal Son’. Rembrandt was soaked by the Bible, he said, and his insight into faith was astounding. The picture is almost a reformed icon as it shows the very heart of what it means to be a Christian. The hands in the picture offers an insight into God’s being, the General Secretary continued. On the left is a large, masculine hand, on the right, a soft feminine hand. He shared a reflection about the hands by Henri Nouwen. A mission and evangelism group, made up of people from differing theological standing points, met and converged on scripture and the conversations God has and haves with his people. People are transformed by the sheer knockout wonder of God. Work on this area of spirituality will continue over the next year. We are in the second of a three-year cycle with Catch the Vision, said the General Secretary. In 2004, Assembly agreed to become a vibrant and sustainable faith community over the next ten years. We will continue to live ecumenically, being grateful that we are here to stay, and we’ll use our resources to get on with the mission in hand. We set our mind now to resources, ‘the product of spirituality’. If we are to be viable, we must come to terms with our size, he continued, and learn to use our resources in a different way. We can’t do everything, or be everywhere. We have to make choices, remembering that the five loaves and two fishes are in the hands of an amazing God. How do we communicate the Gospel to our culture? How do we deal with issues at Assembly level? By starting small and locally. Peter Southcombe, Southern Synod regeneration officer, asked Assembly to consider the question about buildings, asking whether they were a blessing or a burden. The URC is rich in capital assets, he said, due to the foresight of our predecessors and we need to look after this. His work in regenerating churches found out that the conciliar nature of the church proved a barrier when applying for funding for example. Three Synods took part in a feasibility study, and 34 churches were offered for study. The buildings are about mission, the Revd Southcombe said, and many further mission possibilities were identified. This is also more than the local church, it’s about the kingdom, he continued, as a group of people across the nations that can create an agency that can help synods and local churches. There has been a lot of interest in this project both ecumenically and from government. We should look at refurbishing local churches rather than selling them off, he said, all to enable the church’s mission, and to be at the centre of the community. An executive summary, ‘One Church 100 Uses’, is being made available. ‘Our 1691 local churches should be centres of kingdom activity.’ We must change for the times – not with them, he concluded.
Eric Chilton, the URC’s Honorary Treasurer, then turned to budget issues, and the review of the Ministry and Mission Fund. Around £20m is spent on the ministry and the same is spent on the maintenance of buildings. And we should question if we’re spending that money well. The report is only a start of the process, said, and although we’ve reached some early conclusions, we see an emerging dialogue. We’re not just talking about the £20m, but resource sharing: what we have and what we can give. We need strategic planning, Mr Chilton said, and we need to understand how it is applied. Last year some Synods didn’t meet their pledges. The URC is nearly half a million short of the set targets. The budget process is under review, and so the CtV group went back to the Plan for Partnership, now over 20 years old. A problem was highlighted: the budget is also set a long time before the year starts. Training is two years ahead and as the committee cannot know many candidates they will have they must over forecast the number to ensure they have enough money to cover the cost of training. The report recommends that the budget is set at the autumn meeting of Mission Council, and so the budget will be set a lot more closely to the actual year. Each church or pastorate with a minister should realise that the central cost of a minister is £30,000 per minister per annum, Mr Chilton said. There will also be more information to the local churches what MoM is about. He then talked about tithing, advocacy and stewardship, asking whether members will look at giving 5% of take home pay. The report suggests a Stewardship Sunday. David Cornick concluded by saying that the URC is a resource-rich church, and that its buildings are gifts to be used, to enable its ministry to the world. In reformed thought there is no distinction between sacred and secular space, but we need to make sure we understand that. Holy places and spaces are important oases in the secular desert. It’s astonishing what the Lord can do. Comments were then invited from the floor. The Revd Dr David Thompson, former Moderator, encouraged the ecumenical elements of the process while the Revd Andrew Willett, Cheshire District, expressed his support for the mission and evangelism elements, and Bob Day, South Manchester District, asked how the regeneration work would link to Church Related Community Workers. John Hardacre, St Albans District, asked why we fail at 5% giving and shouldn’t we be asking for congregations to properly tithe? Lythan Nevard, Roding District, said that she didn’t want the URC to change to the 'UR Community Centre' and so theological values should be at the heart of regeneration. She also asked churches were helped when facing the decision to close. Concerns were expressed about moving the funding for YCWTDOs down to Synods. Would not a wholesale revision of the way assets are held in the URC be of benefit, asked John Bradbury of Liverpool District. Anne Sardeson, Roding District, said that one of her passions is worship, and that she was concerned that if the church was spread too thinly that liturgical integrity could be threatened. David Cornick replied with thanks for the encouragement and the raising of concerns. He, along with Peter Southcombe and Eric Chilton, replied to the comments and questions raised. Resolutions returning for ratificationResolution 44 – Colin Ferguson, Reading and Oxford District, spoke against the resolution removing one level of councils as he believed it would inhibit voices from the pews. The resolution, which had come back for a second year for ratification, was carried. Resolution 45 - District CouncilsSynod Clerk of Eastern Synod Mick Barnes objected to the removal of District Councils in this resolution on behalf of the Synod and was allowed to make a statement about the reasons for the objection. The Synod believed that structures were not a main issue and that other issues were more important. Alienating rural churches were also a concern. He also talked about General Assembly meeting every two years, and that many potential contributions would be lost with a biennial meeting. This would also mean that less and less members would be able to attend Assembly. Roberta Rominger, Moderator of Thames North Synod, said that her Synod believed as structure of 30 Synods would be a better option, not 13. The Synod thought that the new 'Synods' could share Moderators and personnel to not increase resourcing needs. She reported that four of the Synod’s five district’s had objected to the resolution. Norman Vivien, Portsmouth District, was concerned that there was not a ‘Plan B’. Are we in danger, he asked, of coming back in a few years time saying that we were wrong? And when will we review this decision? Trevor Holborn, East Riding District, comes from a district with very scattered churches. He said that some have a dim view of Synods and so we are against the loss of district councils. John Oldershaw wondered whether reopening the discussion was correct – the Moderator, the Revd Elizabeth Caswell, said that it was. However, there was a motion soon after that the resolution 'be now put'. The motion was won. In summing up, General Secretary David Cornick said that the processes of the church have been followed and that the resolutions had been debated properly, and reminded the Assembly about the two-thirds majority rule. The resolution was carried. Resolution 46The resolution asked that Assembly should meet every two years. Michael Davies, South East District, explained that Southern Synod voted against this resolution because the URC is a family, and like families, Assembly needs to meet often. Martin Cressey, a former Moderator, said that communication would be difficult if Assembly met every two years, and that it would be more difficult for the officers of the Church. David Thompson, a former Moderator, asked if the system of committees reporting every two years will remain, and that more information is needed about how we manage business between Assemblies. Helen Lidgett, Derbyshire District, spoke in favour of the resolution said that at a local level it was difficult to act on the Assembly’s decisions year on year. William McVey, Assembly Arrangements Committee Convener, said that 10 of the 13 Synods voted in favour of the resolution. The quality of representation and better communication of ideas are much more important than the length of time between Assemblies, he concluded. The resolution was carried. North Western Synod
A presentation was made by the North Western Synod which centred on two special category ministries. TrainingThe Revd John Humphreys presented the report of the Training Committee, the committee charged with encouraging and enabling the integration of the training across the URC. The committee has been conducting a review, which, the Revd Humphreys said, was the first step to becoming a learning church. ‘There are certain things that block the offer of training to all people,’ he said. He compared this a dam across the whole river of grace (see Moderator’s address). But we damage ministry if we only concentrate on one form of ministry, the minister. The next steps, he continued, includes making fuller use of training resources, developing partnerships between the disparate sources of education and training, and to engage with the changing ecumenical scene, all in order to serve the church better. The principles of ‘dam busting.’ After comments from the floor were invited, Peter Sulston from the Methodist Church, talked about the discussions on the same subject from the Methodist Conference a fortnight earlier. Resolution 35 – Training PartnershipsJohn Humphreys reminded Assembly about the task the committee was charged with about creating partnerships. People learning together and will serve together and appreciate each other better. ‘We are talking about joined up thinking, as we learn together. We need to develop the church together,’ he said. The resolution was carried. Resolution 36 – Training centresThe learning experienced by ministers and that experienced by others needs to be integrated, said the Revd Humphreys. Theological colleges should now become resources for the whole church including the training of ministers. The committee has explored many other possibilities, but this is what it believes is the way forward. After comments from the floor about the possibility of using Sarum College in Salisbury as an existing resource centre and a delegate from FURY wondering how the committee would report in 2012 as there is no longer an Assembly in 2012, the resolution was carried. Resolution 37 on college-based training will be discussed tomorrow. And the beat goes on
Members of FURY, the URC's youth organisation, gave a presentation about a trip with Christian Aid earlier this year visiting partner projects in Jamaica. Members of Assembly were asked, in line with the current campaign from Christian Aid, to beat anything it could, to join in the drumming petition and remind the UK government of the promises it made to the Make Poverty History campaigners. The Rt Rev John Gladwin
The Rt Rev John Gladwin, the Bishop of Chelmsford and Chair of the Board of Christian Aid, then addressed the Assembly. Click here to read the Rt Revd John Gladwin's address. Christian Aid, he said, is a real expression of the churches' commitment to working together in Britain and Ireland. But it needs to move with changing times, for example, how to take environmental change seriously, with all the implications of that for our world. He outlined the agency's aims over the next few years: improving quality of life, economic justice, accountable governments, HIV prevention and support and care, and to challenge the stigma associated with it, to improve people’s capacity to fight for justice and to improve the organisation itself, making sure it is answerable and working responsibly.
The Bishop then took questions from members of the Assembly.
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HighlightsCatch the VisionRead all the 'Catch the Vision' material Photo diaryHighlights of the Assembly in pictures ProfileThe new Moderator Moderator's AddressElizabeth Caswell's address to the General Assembly, entitled 'Sheer Grace' Prayers for Assembly
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