Brian
Jolly draws our attention to important ecumenical developments involving
the United Reformed Church, the Church of England and the Methodist
Church
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Rowan Williams and John Sentamu,
will play prominent roles in a service of reconciliation at Westminster
Abbey on 7th February, which will mark a significant step in the development
of a shared relationship between the United Reformed Church and the
Church of England. Dr Williams will give the address and key parts
of the service will also be led by the United Reformed Church’s
Moderators of General Assembly, Val Morrison and Dr Kirsty Thorpe.
Young people from both denominations will also be involved.
The timing of the service is significant, 2012 being the 350th anniversary
year of the Act of Uniformity and the Great Ejection. It will also
be the year of the 40th anniversary of the United Reformed Church
coming into being.
The service arises from a joint report “Healing of Memories”
which has been before General Synod and the United Reformed Church
Mission Council and will be a service of Reconciliation, Healing of
Memories and Mutual Commitment. There will be testimonies about martyrs
of the past and stories of shared work in the present, leading to
an act of commitment for the future.
The Act of Uniformity required all ministers and schoolmasters to
give their "unfeigned assent and consent" to The Book of
Common Prayer of the Church of England by 24 August 1662. On theological
grounds, almost two thousand Presbyterian, Congregational and Baptist
ministers refused to comply. They left their livings and (apart from
some who later conformed) joined those Congregationalists and Baptists
already serving outside the Established Church. This significantly
increased the ministerial strength of Dissent in what became known
as the Great Ejectment or Ejection. Many of these men and their families
suffered much hardship; the United Reformed Church, as well as present-day
Baptists and Congregationalists, are their heirs.
General Secretary of the United Reformed Church, Roberta Rominger
writes:
It has been awhile since we’ve seen any serious progress in
ecumenical relations, but 2012 begins with a service in Westminster
Abbey to express reconciliation between the United Reformed Church
and the Church of England. This is the fruit of bilateral conversations
that resulted in resolutions at United Reformed Church Mission Council
and the Anglican General Synod in 2011. The service on 7 February
will mark the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Great Ejectment by looking
to a future of shared work and witness.
My personal hope is that developments in our relations with the Church
of England will also allow us a proper place at the table which they
share with the Methodist Church under the Methodist-Anglican Covenant.
This will offer opportunities in England to mirror the Episcopal-Methodist-United
Reformed Church (EMU) partnership already established in Scotland.
Similarly there is renewed energy in the life of the Commission of
Covenanted Churches in Wales with October 13 planned as the date for
a major gathering in Aberystwyth in which we and the Methodists will
play a significant part along with our other Welsh ecumenical partners.
By this time next year I expect that significant progress will have
taken place in joint working with the Methodist Church across the
three nations. Conversations these days are determined and practical
and I believe that we are on the verge of a major ecumenical breakthrough.
More details available at:
www.urc.org.uk/what_we_do/ecumenical/WestminsterAbbeyService
The Healing of Memories report can be found at:
www.urc.org.uk/what_we_do/ecumenical/docs/healing_the_past__building_the_future