Churches Together Enabling Group Meeting - September 17th - 18th
Churches Together in England (CTE) has several groups responsible for its functioning. The largest of these is the Enabling Group which meets three times a year and is made up largely of representatives of the many denominations which are members of CTE plus others. It is one of the places where the sometimes subtle and sometimes not so subtle differences between Christian traditions can be explored and new pathways of ecumenical working discussed and tested.
On September 17th and 18th the group met in London and coincidentally it coincided with the visit of Pope Benedict. The agenda therefore included attendance at the service of evening prayer at Westminster Abbey led by both the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury (see previous posting).
Although there is a tendency to feel that the agenda of a meeting such as this is dominated by 'large items' of ecumenism it is not the case. The agenda included agreeing the membership of CTE of the Free Church of England ( a small denomination with a most fascinating history more closely linked with the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection than with the Church of England). We heard too, the news of the gradual establishment of the Orthodox Church in the UK which will bring together into one church all the traditionally recognised present ethnic orthodox churches such as Russian, Greek and so on. It is a dramatic if rather below the radar move which is intended to turn the theory of the unity of the Orthodox into a reality.
The group spent some time receiving an early report of the plans for the next Forum meeting of CTE which will take place in October 2012. These Forums take place every 3 years and are an important way of taking the temperature of ecumenism across the country.
Perhaps most interestingly for this meeting was the opportunity to begin to reflect theologically together as a result of the General Secretary's report written very much against the backdrop of the Pope's visit. It resulted, by the end of the meeting, in a pleas that we should create more time to reflect theologically together. It seemed to me as a relative newcomer to the group, like a sign of growing maturity. It is all too easy to hide behind agendas and practical initiatives but in the spirit of receptive ecumenism, we have to be able to listen to and learn from one another.
On September 17th and 18th the group met in London and coincidentally it coincided with the visit of Pope Benedict. The agenda therefore included attendance at the service of evening prayer at Westminster Abbey led by both the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury (see previous posting).
Although there is a tendency to feel that the agenda of a meeting such as this is dominated by 'large items' of ecumenism it is not the case. The agenda included agreeing the membership of CTE of the Free Church of England ( a small denomination with a most fascinating history more closely linked with the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection than with the Church of England). We heard too, the news of the gradual establishment of the Orthodox Church in the UK which will bring together into one church all the traditionally recognised present ethnic orthodox churches such as Russian, Greek and so on. It is a dramatic if rather below the radar move which is intended to turn the theory of the unity of the Orthodox into a reality.
The group spent some time receiving an early report of the plans for the next Forum meeting of CTE which will take place in October 2012. These Forums take place every 3 years and are an important way of taking the temperature of ecumenism across the country.
Perhaps most interestingly for this meeting was the opportunity to begin to reflect theologically together as a result of the General Secretary's report written very much against the backdrop of the Pope's visit. It resulted, by the end of the meeting, in a pleas that we should create more time to reflect theologically together. It seemed to me as a relative newcomer to the group, like a sign of growing maturity. It is all too easy to hide behind agendas and practical initiatives but in the spirit of receptive ecumenism, we have to be able to listen to and learn from one another.
