Yesterday I returned from Churches Together in England's Forum. This body of about 300 people meets every three years and provides guidance to CTE about the state of the churches. The theme this year was Changing World: Changing Church?
I attended the last Forum in 2006 and dipped into the Forum in 2003; this time I noticed a change in mood. I was not the only person to feel this and I will try to write a few lines about my take on what was happening.
The change was positive although it is difficult to put into words exactly what was different. Whatever it is, it seems the church members present (and there was a higher proportion of lay people present than previously), across the denominations, are determined to seek unity in their own way. There is, if not rejection, scepticism about formal talks and structural ecumenism. There is impatience with the way church authorities are approaching ecumenism. There is evidence that people will work it out on the ground and expect to supported.
Perhaps one of the most effective presentations was about some work in the Forest of Dean, where there is close collaboration, initiated by the Salvation Army, and involving United Reformed and Anglican Churches. The story was typical of many where a few people take a step of faith and soon gather a wide range of other people around them. I was interested to note this spirit driven initiative encountered people who were already ecumenically minded. The Anglican church joined in because of their existing arrangement with the United Reformed church. Also, the work is structured as a Local Ecumenical Partnership and apparently they wrote the constitution with great enthusiasm!
I intend to write several posts in the near future reflecting upon Timothy Radcliffe's presentation. He is a Dominican and presented a stimulating paper about the type of relationships necessary for ecumenism.
I heard two people quite independently speak of the move from a modern to a post-modern society. CTE was founded under modernist conciliar ecumenism and we seem to be moving towards relational ecumenism. This has implications for how we structure ecumenical life in the future.
It seems to be the nature of the Forum that it offers clues to the future direction of ecumenism. It does not propose new directions or implement new structures. After the 2006 Forum I felt ecumenism had lost its way. This time it seems that maybe our feet are on a new path. The thing is we don't really know where this path is likely to lead us.
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