CHURCHES TOGETHER IN ENGLAND FORUM SWANWICK 2006
“The glory of God…human beings fully alive” was the theme offered for prayer, reflection, conversation, exploration and proclamation.
In a world where people are searching but in so many cases have lost the impetus to seek anything other than the immediate it is good to be able to have time to reflect. It does mean that after this it is important to translate findings into action so that we regard the missionary task of churches in our nation as of prime importance. In doing this it is important that we consider the sort of people our Faith makes of us. So we were asked to ‘discover the energy of God in the creativity of God’s people’.
A few days away can only scratch the surface of themes like these. We had a choice of workshops and seminars on many subjects from the theologically intricate to the practical ones of how to reach out and do various things or to learn about what is being done by churches of all denominations throughout the country. Each of these was linked in with the central theme of being ‘fully alive’.
The worship was wide ranging from Anglican Holy Communion to informal, themed worship and finally the experience of Holy Communion in the Armenian Orthodox tradition. The Archbishop of Canterbury preached and as always gave us much to think about. He likes to use the image of pilgrimage together and to alert us to the changing landscapes of the journey we make together.
We had a very different opening ‘address’ from the Revd Tom Stuckey, President of the Methodist Conference. Here he ranged over the covenants made with Noah, Abraham and in Christ and said that this missionary understanding of the three covenants "emphasises a diversity which expresses unity through dynamic relationships of partners with God: partners who are both Christian and non-Christians. The mission of God is to inaugurate the kingdom of God. The Church is one agent of the kingdom." He then took us through the universal ecological threat to how 9/11 and 7/7 jolted the Western nations out of their comfort zone to dreaming of the future: justice for the planet; covenantal partnerships between the churches; partnerships with those of other faiths and no faith and a celebration of the dancing life of the Trinity. We were left with the challenge that ecumenism must address the gap between the rich and the poor.
The Forum was very open and friendly, more so than I had found it to be on some previous occasions. It is not intended to be a policy making body but rather a coming together of minds where differences can be aired in Christian love and the vision for a way forward explored as we try to live out the Gospel in each others’ company.
Shirley-Ann Williams
