Wither ecumenism?

Wither ecumenism?

This, of course, is not a spelling mistake!

I ask this question, for having been involved in most things ecumenical for many years, and I hope been a passionate advocate wherever I have found myself, lay or ordained, I now question where the ecumenical movement is going. Indeed, is it going anywhere at all?

As some one who is a “detail person”, having spent years finding it strangely gratifying to grapple with constitutions and sharing agreements, I want to take a step back and ask “what are my expectations regarding ecumenism?”

If you had asked me that question say twenty to thirty years ago, I would have answered by saying “some sort of united church”. I would have pointed to my formative church upbringing in the United Reformed Church, a denomination created in the hope of starting a uniting church process; the example of the Church of South India; and being part of a recently formed Local Ecumenical Partnership in Leicester, where Baptists and Methodists had come together, creating a united church, where most saw themselves first and foremost as members of the united church rather than wearing a denominational badge.

I remember attending a Churches Together in England event in Leeds some 15 years ago, when three church leaders from Cumbria - Church of England, Methodist and URC – announced what effectively was a united county, with inter-operability of ministry a key factor within a mostly rural area. There were some, in my opinion, key factors in the creation of this covenant e.g. relationship between church leaders and the close approximation of the geographical areas of diocese, synod and district. There were those who whispered “it’ll never survive, once the leaders move on” but as far as I know it has, and in my view, shows what is possible, even in England.

This Cumbrian covenant was preceded by their Celtic cousins in Wales, where, in 1975, the Church in Wales (Anglican), the Methodists (represented by both the English speaking Synod and the Welsh speaking Synod Cymru) the Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW), the United Reformed Church and some Baptist chapels entered into a covenant, known as the 1975 Covenant or Eglwysi Ynghyd yng Nghymru, in order to work together on issues of faith and worship.

In 2012, “The Gathering”, an ecumenical assembly of the covenanted churches, met at Aberystwyth University to “hear the recommendations of the Commission of the Covenanted Churches in Wales for the formation of the Church Uniting in Wales”, presumably along the models of similar projects in Canada and Australia. These recommendations were not accepted for a number of reasons but having served the Methodist Church in north Wales I know there is still a number of people who continue to move for a “uniting church” in Wales.

This failure towards a more intrinsic unity seems to be the pattern of recent times, with attempts at a greater unity between the Church of England and the Methodist Church floundering on the reefs of understanding and practicalities of episcopacy and, more latterly, the sharp rocks of sexuality and same-sex marriage.

So “what are my expectations regarding ecumenism” now? It seems, at least to me, that the understanding of Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) has changed in recent years. One senior Methodist leader, much involved in ecumenical work, told me that LEPs are not united churches, they are individual churches who have come to work together in partnership. This may be true in some cases, but where a church has been “planted” by denominations working together, or where churches have been LEPs for so long that they now see themselves as a united church which belongs to more than one denomination, this statement doesn’t seem to hold up.

It is true that creating new LEPs is now more complex a process than it once was, mainly due to the Charities Act of 2006 and its subsequent offspring. This legislation required that churches with a gross annual income in excess of £100,000 become registered charities but this requirement was also placed upon those churches belonging to more than one denomination, that is, LEPs. Gone were the days of an LEP constitution being on two pages of A4, mostly containing a Sharing Agreement covering property and the definition of the role of an Ecumenical Church Council. The latest version is over 20 pages, without the Sharing Agreement or Vision Statement, and can require professional legal services being involved.

Another recent change has been the role of the county, intermediary or sponsoring bodies, such as Churches Together in Oxfordshire. Many counties no longer have a county ecumenical officer or active county groups – Oxfordshire is surrounded by counties, with the exception that is Milton Keynes, who do not have county officers and therefore, I assume, county level “churches together” groups. This places a burden on church leaders to get involved in the minutiae of the issues that can arise within LEPs or ecumenical working.

I also believe that COVID accelerated the decline of local groups that had been quietly going on for some years. Mostly supported by congregations from the traditional churches, whose membership is generally getting older and declining, less energy was available to expend on ecumenical work, at least in terms of formal meetings. I need to remind myself that the great work within such activities as food banks and Street Pastors is the fruit of much ecumenical labour and shouldn’t be dismissed lightly. However, we have seen a significant change in the move from formal ecumenical strictures at local level to much lighter touch, informal mechanisms for organising ecumenical events, which has an impact for us at county level in terms of communication and finance.

So am I being old and grumpy, wishing for the good old days? Yes, probably; they weren’t as good as I think they were, but at least I felt comfortable within the formality of organisation and my clear vision of where I thought ecumenism was going. I need to change my expectations, explore new ways of communicating, work out what those who are involved at the ecumenical coal face need from us at county level (and be prepared to admit that the answer might be “not much, thank you”). I need to recognise the implications of falling numbers and ageing congregations within those denominations that have traditionally supported the ecumenical work and also recognise that the “energy” within the body of Christ in this country lies more within the independent churches or within the so called “new” denominations such as the Redeemed Church of God (RCCG).

One thing, however, remains unchanged. Given the world we live in now, the good news of Christ and God’s love for God’s world and people, and what that means for “the common good” must be our focus in all that we do, from churches working together at national, county or local level, or as individual disciples. In our conversations, we must never lose sight of what the kingdom of God means for all.