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Welcome to the 2007 online edition of Assembly Hotline. Below you will find a summary of the main events and decisions from the United Reformed Church General Assembly, which met at the University of Manchester on July 7th - 10th. A summary of business from the Monday of Assembly appears below. For a summary of Saturday’s
business, please click here. Monday 9th JulyRacial Justice and Multicultural Ministry Resolution 35 – Abolition of the slave trade To mark the 200th anniversary of the act that abolished the slave trade in British territories, General Assembly passed Resolution 35, expressing regret for the past and calling on all members of the United Reformed Church to do the same. The resolution recognised the inhuman way in which African slaves were transported across the Atlantic and expressed sorrow for the legacy resulting from that oppression. It celebrated the courage of those of all races, who had challenged the slave trade, and expressed commitment to the continued struggle on behalf of oppressed people today, including many held in bondage. Catch the Vision, part 2 Comments were made about Vision4Life, the next stage of Catch the
Vision, which had been introduced on the previous day. Resolution 1 – Think Tank A ‘think-tank’ on mission and spirituality is to continue the Catch the Vision process. General Secretary, the Revd Dr David Cornick, said it was ‘to dream dreams and see visions, to see God’s blue sky beyond the church’s red tape’. A group of 15-20 people from across the spectrum of the denomination will meet twice a year, serving for three years each, and their proposals will be reported to Mission Council. There were calls for the group to be infectious and to invigorate the local church. David Cornick agreed and asked how the church can harness the learning of its members and ministers so that individual learning becomes a corporate asset. The resolution was carried. Resolutions 2, 3 and 4 – Department for Mission Last year, Assembly agreed to restructure its central operations into three departments, with a new Department of Mission responsible to a Mission Committee, representative of the Synods. The aim is to harness energy for mission and theology from all levels of the church, working mainly through local and Synod networks. This year, resolutions were brought to put the new structure into being. The department will bring together existing work on ecumenical and interfaith relations, racial justice and multicultural ministry, church and society issues, international relations, doctrine prayer and worship, and mission. The resolutions were carried. Resolution 5 - Two Moderators As part of the new pattern of meeting biennially, General Assembly agreed Resolution 5, and from 2008 will elect two moderators whenever it meets. One will be a minister of word and sacraments or a Church Related Community Worker, and the other an Elder. They will serve together for the following two years. Resolution 5a – Election of Moderators at General Assembly A resolution asking Mission Council to review the process for the nomination and election of Moderators of General Assembly was also agreed, proposed by the Revd Elizabeth Nash, outgoing Convener of the Ecumenical Committee. She saw a flaw in the current system, as Assembly had not yet elected an ethnic minority person, a disabled person or a young person as Moderator of General Assembly. Life and WitnessPresenting the last Life and Witness Committee report its Convener, the Revd Peter Ball, expressed delight that the life of the local church was a central theme of Assembly, since this was the whole purpose of the United Reformed Church. He asked what would happen if people saw the Church as it is meant to be, finding there the love and compassion of God. Next year the mission initiative Hope 2008 will encourage Christians in villages, towns and cities across the UK and Ireland to work together in ways that will impact their communities. Local events and activities will bring words of truth and acts of service to thousands of people – visit www.hope08.com Rural OfficerAssembly heard about rural issues from the Revd Graham Jones, National Rural Officer for the United Reformed Church and Methodist Church. He spoke of farmers in the UK affected by the recent floods and those who were being poorly treated by major supermarkets, as some received less in payment for their milk than it cost them to produce it. He wondered whether the trading terms available to suppliers of Fairtrade products from overseas should be applied to farmers in the UK and introduced the www.fairtradeforbritishfarmers.co.uk website. He referred to guidelines for churches hosting outreach post offices, as a way of replacing the services of local post offices that are due for closure or have been closed. Resolution 37 – Covenant Membership and Mission Church membership is affected by changing attitudes, sociological changes and pressures within the church. Life and Witness brought a resolution reaffirming church membership as a committed response to God’s covenant and Christ’s call to discipleship, encouraging churches to initiate ways of renewing the meaning of membership, asking Mission Council to examine the possibility of multiple memberships, and inviting local churches to hold an annual Covenant service to renew the commitment of existing members and welcome new ones. The resolution was carried. Church and SocietyEstablishing a Joint Public Issues Team with the Methodists and Baptists had been the key development of the last year, said Convener Mr Simon Loveitt. Statements had been made on opposition to the renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system, the voting rights of prisoners and how communities can live together in greater harmony. The team had also attended the three main political party conferences. Assisted Dying
Introducing a discussion on assisted dying Mr Loveitt said that whereas once our society discussed death and not sex, now the reverse seemed to be true. Death was a painful subject, and while some people had an uplifting experience of the death of a loved one, others had a traumatic time. Church and Society had consulted widely about assisted dying, as the United Reformed Church did not have a position on this, and now asked the church to form an opinion. Lord Joffe’s defeated Parliamentary Bill had said that those of sound mind but in great pain from terminal illness could be given medical assistance to end their lives at their own request, subject to certain safeguards. Mr Loveitt said we believe life is
God-given and is not ours to extinguish. We also believe in life after death
and have a sense of death as the ultimate healing. Advances in technology
and medicine give us choices not available a generation ago and mean that
life can be sustained even in a Persistent Vegetative State. The choice was
between medically assisted dying, which would be visible and regulated, or
allowing this to continue underground without safeguards. After groups had
discussed the The resolution affirmed that human life is precious and God given, and that death is not the end. It recognised there is a time to die and circumstances in which it would be wrong to continue treatment to prolong life. It acknowledged that some palliative treatment can hasten death, and accepted this, so long as the intention of the treatment was pain relief and comfort. The resolution also opposed any change in the law to allow voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide, and commended Living Wills or Advance Directives, while cautioning against their use to facilitate a person’s death. Finally it called for more resources to provide high quality palliative care, recognised the valuable contribution made by carers, and expressed prayerful support for those who support the dying. Children’s Assembly‘If my church was a game, it would be Cluedo, as there are lots of rooms to be explored.’ ‘If my church was a food, it would be chocolate sundae, because I go on Sunday and I like it.’ ‘If my church was a sport, it would be swimming, as there is one person doing something but with lots of support and encouragement.’ These are a few of the messages which General Assembly received on film from members of the Children’s Assembly that took place for the first time alongside it. More than 20 children aged 9 to 14, from across the UK, met to discuss the same issues as General Assembly as well as studying Bible passages, doing junk art, brick building and footprint painting. Their wish list came up with a proposal for every church to include a room with a chocolate fountain. There were also ideas to make churches more environmentally friendly, with the use of solar panels and recycling facilities. The children advocated having fun and quiet areas in each church, with waterfalls, ponds, and other water features to encourage reflection, as well as worship bands to allow more lively worship. Pilots event 2008Assembly heard about Retired Ministers’ Housing Resolution 6 This South Western Synod resolution expressed concern about the Retired Ministers’ Housing Society’s borrowing from the United Reformed Church’s general funds. It urged Synods to donate 10% of the net proceeds of any sale of redundant church property to the Society, to assist it in repaying this borrowing as quickly as possible. Introducing the resolution the Revd David Grosch-Miller, South Western Synod Moderator, said this would allow the responsibility for housing retired ministers to be shared. The General Secretary wondered whether Mission Council could initiate an overall review of ministerial housing. The resolution was carried. Ministries Committee Resolution 40 Ministries Committee Convener, the Revd Peter Poulter, introduced Resolution 40 on the changes needed to assess candidates for the Ministry of Word and Sacraments and Church Related Community Work after the demise of District Councils. The new process of discernment between those who have received a call from God and the church will take candidates through recommendation by Church Meeting, to Synod interviews and Assessment Board. He explained that the final decision on each candidate will be made in future by the Assessment Board. There are fewer candidates coming forward and the number of Assessment Conferences each year has gone from three to two. The challenge is to keep the resulting timetable fair and caring. At Assessment Board there will still be three options for each candidate – to start training, to pause, or to stop the candidacy. Ecumenical Committee
Resolution 36 The resolution adopted the Statement on the Nature of the United Reformed Church’s Ecumenical Engagement. FURY
The FURY Advisory board had now replaced FURY Council and was made up of three teams – the FURY Executive, FURY Task Group, and FURY Communications Group. The position of FURY Chair was replaced with FURY Moderator at FURY Assembly in January, where there had also been a celebration of 35 years’ of youth work in the United Reformed Church. FURY aims to encourage involvement of young people in Assembly and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. FURY is also involved in preparing a strategy about climate change, and how we can live with each other, and is helping to organise a multicultural youth event in 2008. It is working closely with Pilots for the 2008 Safari event and is involved in the Vision4Life process, enabling young people to grow in the Christian faith and to explore world issues. ‘The future is local, the future is FURY.’ Inter Faith Relations
Resolution 59 – London and Glasgow violence General Assembly passed an emergency resolution from the Church and Society and Racial Justice Committees, in response to the recent bombing attempts in Glasgow and London, reaffirming its opposition to the use of violence when senses of grievance and injustice are held. It expressed dismay at the recent terrorist attacks, recognising that these are an affront to Muslim communities when they are claimed to have been committed in their name, and praying that negative responses should not happen. The Revd John Humphreys, Moderator of the National Synod of Scotland, explained that the United Reformed Church had already sent a message of solidarity to Muslims in Scotland. Ms Morag Mclintock said recent court cases showed that race hate crimes against Muslims in Glasgow had followed the bombing attempts. 2008 Moderator
Procedural resolutions A block of technical resolutions covering Section O procedures, Ministerial Incapacity, Ministerial Discipline and Listed Buildings were taken together and voted on without debate. Assembly Arrangements CommitteeThere was a request for displays from departments at future assemblies. Resolution 24 The Revd James Breslin, Clerk to Assembly, reported that using a legislative process to amend the United Reformed Church’s structure as it is outlined in the Basis of Union would be too time consuming and costly. This meant that resolutions from the 2006 Assembly would not return to Assembly for ratification. Instead he presented Resolution 24, a lengthy document removing references to Districts Councils from the Basis of Union but maintaining a legal minimum of references to their statutory obligations, as mentioned in the URC Acts of 1972, 1981 and 2000. This put into effect the principle of what the 2006 General Assembly voted for without the need for more Parliamentary work. Synod youth involvement at Resolution 24 will need to be confirmed by next year’s General Assembly, subject to any comment by Synods. Resolution 25 This resolution, deleting reference to District Councils from the Rules of Procedure in The Manual Section C, was carried. Catch the Vision group With this resolution, the Catch the Vision group concluded its work, and Assembly thanked it with extended warm applause. Reflection
The Revd Elizabeth Caswell, General Assembly Moderator 2006 – 2007, offered a reflection on her year in office. She thanked God, the church, her husband Graham, and members of the Eastern Synod for supporting her. She had visited 14 District and Area Councils, the assemblies of three other Churches, each nation within the United Reformed Church, the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches in Brazil, as well as receiving papers for all Assembly Committees. All over the place, small congregations were closing, and there were overworked ministers and elders. She had met puzzlement and even anger over the structural changes. However, in terms of the vision of being called and transformed, of making a difference, people were quite excited ‘in a URC sort of way’. The URC did little, amazing things. She recalled a village church with 38 members built on a steep hill. Not downhearted, the congregation had received some creative help with ministry from its Synod and gifts from its members, so was now open for youth work. ‘We have posh churches that wring their hands about similar young people. This church opens the door and welcomes them in.” There was a church with a three-hour service, with people arriving an hour and a half after worship started, and a congregation made up of people from 27 different countries. The United
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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 AddressStephen Orchard's address to the General Assembly Prayers for Assembly
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