Hotline 2002

Fond Farewells

After closing worship the Assembly Bible and Moderator John Waller leave the platform for the final time. Assembly meets next year in Portsmouth

Deputy General Secretary

The Revd Ray Adams was inducted as Deputy General Secretary during Monday morning's worship. Our picture shows Ray (left) being welcomed by General Secretary David Cornick

Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Assistant Treasurer

Mr Eric Chilton, who retired as a senor executive of Barclay’s Bank, and who has served the Church in a wide range of roles, was appointed as Honorary Treasurer for a four year period from January 2003. Recognizing the huge demands which the Church makes upon its Honorary Treasurer, Assembly agreed to create the post of Honorary Assistant Treasurer to share some of the load, with an appointment being made by Mission Council at its meeting in October 2002. The candidate sought for the Assistant Treasurer post should have relevant skills and live within reasonable travelling distance of London.

International situation

A wide ranging resolution from the Ecumenical Relations Committee centred around the need for better understanding of other faith communities and, in particular of Islam, together with an affirmation of the church’s belief in non-violent solutions to situations of conflict and the questioning of the desirability of the language of ‘the war against terror.’ Read Resolution 51.

Assembly was clearly moved by a passionate contribution on this resolution made by the Revd Peter Makari, a minister of the United Churches of Christ in the United States. The speech can be read here.

An ecumenical bishop

Proposals for a major experiment in ecumenical co-operation took a step forward when Assembly backed the Synod of Wales’ decision to join in a scheme for an ecumenical bishop who would have oversight of eight churches in Cardiff East.

The bishop would be in full communion with the United Reformed Church, the Church in Wales, the Methodist Church and Covenanted Baptist Churches in Wales and the first definition of the role is as a pioneer in mission and evangelism. The proposal would probably have received unanimous support had it not been for the fact that in the first instance the post will have to go to a man. The Church in Wales, one of the partners, is constitutionally unable to consecrate a woman as bishop and can give no guarantee as to when that situation might change. However, Assembly accepted the assurances of representatives of the Synod of Wales that they trusted that the Church in Wales was acting in good faith when it indicated that this was an issue with which the Church would have to deal before any second term of office could be considered.

The resolution was passed with only a very few votes against. Since the current structure of the United Reformed Church makes no provision for the office of bishop, the proposals will be discussed by synods and ratified by next year’s Assembly provided that no more than four synods register their opposition.

Administration of LEPs

Officers of local ecumenical projects (LEPs) around the country will breath a sigh of relief if Assembly’s adoption of Resolution 2 signifies the beginning of a change of heart on the part of their parent denomination. The resolution calls for effects to create a single point of reference for those involved in the complex business of getting approval for the constitution of an LEP and for a single form, shared between the denominations, for the collection of statistics. However a cautionary note was sounded by a Methodist member of Assembly, who pointed out that the different ways in which denominations approached the question of constitutions reflected fundamental aspects of their understanding of what it means to be the church.

Anglican-Methodist Unity

The report Conversations on the Way to Unity, which is the result of informal conversations between the United Reformed and Methodist churches and the Church of England was commended to synods, districts and local churches for study and comment alongside the proposals for an Anglican-Methodist Covenant. It was, according to Ecumenical Committee convener John Rees, a tool for understanding our ecumenical partners and ourselves and would be the basis for a well-informed debate on ecumenical issues at Assembly 2003. Assembly agreed and, in addition, welcomed recent invitations to comment from the Methodists and Anglicans, instructing the Ecumenical Committee to prepare a suggested response for discussion.

Ethical investment

How can we live with a situation where the church’s money is invested in companies which spend up to a third of their time doing things we believe to be wrong? That was one of the questions raised by John Ellis in questioning the existing guidelines for ethical investment. He brought a motion urging the church’s new Ethical Investment Advisory Board to explore a number of options centred around greater reliance on the ethical investment research of larger sister churches and handing over management of investments to managers committed to a Christian ethos. It was not the case, he argued that charity law prevented us from taking ethical issues into account to a greater extent than at present since other churches had much tighter guidelines. Nor was it true that the legal requirement to maximize income ruled out ethical investment since such investments had outperformed the market over several years.

The move was opposed by the Treasurer, who felt the issue was far more complex than the motion implied. The church was already involved in ecumenical bodies and consulted with sister denominations. It was, however, important to remember that the responsibility lay in the hands of the trustees, who were charged with maximizing returns. Concern had been expressed that returns in the last few years had been negatively affected by our existing ethical policies.

Assembly overwhelmingly pass the motion

Resource sharing

From Wessex Synod came a resolution urging synods to get together and take further the process which has seen relatively wealthy synods share some of the income with the less wealthy. At present, even after sharing, the poorest synod has an income from investments less than one fifth of that of the wealthiest. The motion was overwhelmingly passed.

Stewardship

Southern Synod presented a motion calling for the appointment of one or more stewardship advocates. Introducing the motion, the Revd Michael Davies told Assembly that if you believe in the work, you have to raise the money to do it - and that takes courage. Four synods, he revealed, had pledged funds so far totalling £32,000 to enable the post to be put in place in 2003, with the aim of putting the costs into the national budget in 2004.

The motion found both supporters and opponents, who argued that the work needed to be based closer to the local level and that adding to the central budget would be perceived negatively. The motion was narrowly lost.

Assembly 2004

General Assembly 2004 will take place in Glamorgan from July 3rd to 6th.

Budget 2003

Treasurer Graham Stacey outlined the process which led to the setting of the budget for 2003. Initial examination of the figures suggested a possible deficit of up to £750,000 but as the result of a series of decisions and policy initiatives, the deficit was reduced to £250,000, which was considered just within the bounds of acceptability. The budget is based on the employment of 660 full-time stipendiary ministers, which is actually 10 more than long term policy on the ration of ministers to members would suggest. Next year’s stipend increase has been reduced from a proposed 4% to 2.5%. As a result, the increase in contributions required for the Ministry and Mission Fund will be 4.5%.

A one-year item of £100,000 was added to the deficit for the year to take account of the possible closing of Yardley Hastings - in the event that money will be required to maintain the centre for the year in the light of Assembly’s previous decisions.

Retirement date

Assembly agreed to tighten the rules relating to the retirement of ministers at the age of 65. In recent years ministers have been required to retire within six months of the date of their 65th birthday. Under new proposals which are intended to save £100,000 a year, ministers reaching the age of 65 will be required to retire within one month unless the church nationally agrees that there are exceptional circumstances.

Further Youth and Children's Resolutions

In other Youth and Children's Work related resolutions Assembly:

• Supported the committee in calling for all ministers to be given proper training in work with children and young people.
• Called on districts and synods to examine their work in the light of the Review’s proposals.
• Celebrated the relaunch of the Pilots programme and encouraged more churches to set up Pilots companies. Pilots was, said Elizabeth Caswell, a frontier mission, with two-thirds of the children and young people who attend Pilots having no other connection with a local church.
• Commended the proposals in the Review on the future of the Fellowship of United Reformed Youth (FURY). One of the implications will be that FURY will have a definite membership with a membership card and regular mailings - rather than simply defining the membership as all those young people who have contact with a local church.

Lay preaching

Assembly adopted a new strategy for the development of lay preaching (Resolution 35). The strategy is urgently needed in the face of a situation where the church needs to develop some 800 new lay preachers by the year 2010 in order to maintain the worship of the church. The strategy calls for the encouragement, training and support of those with appropriate talents.

Constitutional changes

Assembly accepted a resolution (Resolution 34) from the Ministries Committee seeking to enshrine the status and function of church related community workers within the Church’s Basis of Union. Because the resolution involves a change to the Basis of Union, it must be referred to the synods and approved by two-thirds of them before returning to Assembly next year.

Licensed to care

Assembly granted authority (Resolution 33) to the Ministries Committee to issue ‘certificates of limited eligibility’ to ministers of other churches who minister in United Reformed churches but who, for whatever reason, do not wish to join the URC’s roll of ministers and therefore remain under the discipline of another denomination. The certificate would refer to a specific post and last for 12 months.

Patterns of ministry

At the behest of the Ministries Committee (Resolution 32) Assembly commended to the church a major report on future patterns of ministries and of leadership generally within the church (read the report). The resolution refers the report to the whole church for discussion in churches, districts and synods before any proposals are brought to Assembly in 2004

A warmer welcome

Assembly agreed to a resolution from the Ministries Committee (Resolution 31) urging that ministers coming to serve within the United Reformed Church from other traditions and other countries will be welcomed at Assembly alongside newly ordained ministers of Word and Sacraments and newly-commissioned church-related community workers.

A year’s grace for Yardley Hastings

Resolution 45, proposing that the current National Youth Resource Centre at Yardley Hastings in Northamptonshire should cease to be used by the national church as the resource centre for youth, was moved by Youth and Children’s Work Convener Kathryn Price. She spoke of the many successes of the centre over the years and the problems which had been overcome. At the same time, attendances had fallen away and there was a general perception on the part of younger people that the centre was too expensive and too remote. There could well be a future for the centre in a more local role, as part of a broader strategy involving other places, and using finance from other sources - but it was not truly functioning a national centre. There was no objection to spending the amounts involved but we could not continue to fund something which was not making a real contribution.

Early speakers seemed weighted in favour of maintaining the role of the Centre. Several speakers felt the Church could not ‘afford’ to close the centre and that the report was premature, though others felt that resources could be better used in other ways. Testimony as to the effectiveness of the Centre varied, with some asserting that there was no shortage of centres available with comparable resources and others pointing to very positive experiences in their own lives or in the lives of their local churches.

An amendment was proposed to the effect that the work of the Centre be appraised and its future use considered in the light of the proposals of the Youth and Children’s Work Review, with proposals being brought to next year’s Assembly. Speeches were overwhelmingly in favour of the amendment, though some of those who advocated the review admitted that they felt the eventual outcome might be the same. Many speakers saw the amendment as a way of rectifying what they saw as the injustice, however unintentional, imposed by the very tight timescale under which the Youth and Children’s Work Review had been conducted.

The amendment was adopted by a substantial majority and, after further discussion, the motion was overwhelmingly carried.

Youth and Children's Work Debate

Introducing the report of the Review of Youth and Children’s Work, Convener Elizabeth Caswell spoke of the difficulties of obtaining accurate numbers which lay behind a general perception that the church was losing its younger generation. There is clearly a pressing need for youth and children’s work but it is important that that work is focussed in the right place - which is at the local level where the children and young people are.

The first resolution (41a) drawn from the report, which recognized the local church as the prime venue for the work received a mixed reception from a mixture of those who felt that the prime venue was the real world where children and young people lived and those who felt that the local church could sometimes not be the best place for the work for a variety of reasons. On the other hand a substantial number of members seemed to feel believed that the issue was not sufficiently contentious to need extended debate given that there were other difficult issues to be discussed; as a result, some time was taken was taken in procedural wrangles over whether debate should be truncated. After amendment the motion was changed to refer to ‘the local church in community’ and mention was added of the need for a national strategy and the provision of ‘supportive resources’.

Resolution 41a was passed. (original motion)

More follows…

New on the block

Newly ordained ministers cower in the dry while our intrepid photographer braves the rain to bring you their picture.

Moderator’s election

The Revd Alasdair Pratt was elected as moderator for the year 2003-4.

Ruiton

The debate on the petition for secession from the Church at Ruiton was, in many ways, a low key affair - not least because the church had declined the invitation to send representatives to Assembly at the national church’s expense. The church felt that its arguments were fully expressed in the document it had submitted to support the petition. The three main arguments expressed at Assembly were:
The failure of the URC to provide continuity of ministry, leaving the church without a minister for 19 of the last 30 years.
Disputes over trust deeds and other property matters
A breakdown of relations with relevant URC bodies, including the Staffordshire District.
The local church expressed no hostility to the URC but asked to be allowed ‘to go back to our Congregational roots’.
The report of the Commission appointed by Mission Council was presented by former Moderator Keith Forecast, who expressed the Commssions feeling that reconciliation was still a real possibility and the time to agree to secession had not come. The Commission had drawn up a list of recommendations for the various parties involved which would be acted upon if secession were denied.
In an evenly-balanced debate, opinion was clearly divided between those who felt that the Ruiton church should be sent on its way with God’s blessing and those who felt that the arguments submitted were insufficient to justify the breaking of fellowship and that there was the possibility that the decision was being overly influenced by strong personalities.
In the resolution to reject the petition for secession was defeated by 254 votes to 210 and a formal motion granting the petition was then moved and overwhelmingly passed.
Following the vote, the Revd Barry Landon of the Congregational Federation (on of the ecumenical representatives at Assembly) asked for permission to speak and, in a moving contribution told Assembly that he had felt their pain and been deeply impressed by the patience, carefulness and thoroughness which had been shown over the issue - he would, he assured members, communicate that to others. He also assured Assembly that the Congregational Federation, to whom the Ruiton church may now turn, had not been involved in the process leading to the secession. He concluded: ‘I am deeply impressed and I thank God for our fellowship with you.’

View original motion

Communications

David Goodbourn presents resolution 29

Convener Graham Cook took Assembly on a lightning tour of the growing number of projects and services provided by the Communications Committee and its small staff. The Committee also brought a resolution commending the new Roots project - an ecumenical venture setting out to provide high quality, Sunday-by-Sunday educational and worship material for churches, with paper based material supplemented by the use of resources available on a web site. Assembly endorsed the new initiative with enthusiasm after a powerful piece of advocacy by David Goodbourn of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, who congratulated the URC on being one of the first bodies to put resources into the development of Roots.

Communications and Editorial Report
View Resolution 28 commending Roots

Task Group on Authority

Assembly passed with relatively little debate a series of resolutions brought by Mission Council on the basis of the recommendations of a task group set up during the human sexuality debate to consider the authority of Assembly and other councils of the church. The motions dealt with a wide range of issues including the separation of responsibilities in selecting candidates for the ministry of word and sacrament, the place of consultation with the wider church over decisions which must ultimately be taken by the Assembly, the promotion of good communication between the councils of the church, training material for those involved in the selection of candidates and, not least, the procedures to be adopted for the discussion of contentious issues by Assembly.

View the Motions

Election of Moderator

After prayer a vote was taken by secret ballot for the Moderator of General Assembly for the year 2003-4. The three candidates were John Ellis, a member of Christchurch URC, Tonbridge, in Kent, currently Secretary for Business and Economic Affairs for the Methodist Church, the Revd Duncan Wilson, a minister in Nottingham and the Revd Alasdair Pratt, a minister in Guildford.

The result of the election will be announced on Friday evening

Called to account

Assembly accepted the accounts for 2001 after a short presentation by the retiring Treasurer, Graham Stacey. He summarized the position in 2001, which showed a higher than expected deficit as a result of three factors:

Paying five more ministers than had been anticipated.
A small change in the pension fund costing some £95,000
A shortfall of £297,000 in the targets for giving to the Ministry and Mission fund.

The deficit was not disastrous but it indicated some trends which had to be considered carefully. He was thankful that so far, pledges for 2003 were in line with the anticipated budget.

Assembly also gave thanks for the giving the the Ministry and Mission fund, which finances paid ministry throughout the church and, significantly, added its thanks to hard-working treasurers at local church, district and synod levels.

View Finance report

Resolution 1: Voluntary religious service and employment

Murdoch McKenzie Ecumenical Moderator of Milton Keynes, lamented the fact that employers were less and less likely to allow employees to be absent on paid leave when carrying out duties arising out of their role within a faith community. While some other roles in life, like membership of the Territorial Army, brought with them an expectation of paid leave, the increasing number of non-stipendiary ministers, who performed a vital function within the community, faced a much more negative attitude. His motion urged the government to encourage employers to grant paid leave where absence was unavoidable.

Some members felt the demand was unrealistic and even that it was in danger of seeming to reduce the cost of discipleship and place what should be church’s burden onto employees. An amendment was passed calling instead for flexible working arrangements so that time could be made up and loss of wages avoided. However the new form of the motion displeased its original mover and Assembly gave permission for it to be withdrawn.

View the original Resolution 1

Resolution 49

‘We are all going to die’ announced Church and Society convener Martin Camroux from the platform. Fortunately it was not a prediction of imminent doom but rather a reminder that the discussion of what are known as ‘end of life’ issues, from the care of the dying to the nature of funerals in a multicultural society were, in the end, relevant to all of us. Assembly passed a motion welcoming the working of a group appointed to examine the issues. A report has reached the draft stage and will be presented to the church in due course.
View Resolution 49

Someone else’s shoes

The Equal Opportunities committee staged a ‘committee meeting’ where four members discussed the problems and prospects they faced. The principle was clear – it was to put ourselves into the shoes of others who were different from us and understanding their experience of the church. There had been progress in some areas, such as access, but in others such as monitoring the gender and ethnic origin of members, there was still a long way to go. It was important to realize that everyone had gifts to offer the church and discrimination therefore damaged the church by depriving it of a large part of the pool of talent available.

There should be no barriers to the sharing of the gospel, they concluded, for we are all one in Christ.
View the Equal Opportunities Report

A first for justice

The first presentation to a General Assembly by the new Racial Justice Committee described their task as one of the church’s great items of unfinished business. In an age when racial injustice was still so widespread, both nationally and internationally, the committee saw it as their task to enrich the life of the URC through the wonders of multicultural ministry, to enlighten minds across the URC, to enable action and, ultimately to enliven the whole church. The Committee brought no motion on this first occasion but they assured the church that people would be hearing from them!

View the Racial Justice Report

The Agenda Before Us

General Secretary David Cornick sets this year's Assembly in context.

Read the Address

Previous Days' Business

View items from the opening day