Together in Christ is published by the Christian Unity

Commission for the Diocese of Southwark

Copyright © 1993. All rights reserved.

Price 60p per copy, Annual subscription £1.80

For postal subscriptions £2.50

Material for publication and all correspondence to be sent to the

Editor: Mrs Una Ratcliff.

(Copy dates: 15 December, 15 April and 15 August for the

February, June and October issues respectively)

The opinions of contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor nor

of the Ecumenical Commission.

Officers of the Area Commissions:

The Rt Rev C J Henderson

S E Area:

Sister Eileen Hewlett (Chair) Mrs. Margaret Moloney (Sec)

S W Area;

Rev. Kevin Pelham (Chair) Miss Mary Hardy (Sec)

Kent Area:

Mrs Dorothy Morris (Chair) Sr Margaret Mary O’Grady (Sec)

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EDITORIAL

Christmas and New Year fill us with

renewed hone and expectations, for the

message implanted within us is

"Emmanuel, God is with us." This is

beautifully expressed in Canon Dawkins

meditations (p3) and can fittingly be

applied to Unity. Past achievements

should also encourage us; welcome to

Colin Davey who indicates the great

measure of progress made, and whose

expertise, kindness, patience and help have enriched so many people (including

your editor). His talk and the article on the Fellowship of Prayer, remind us of the

supreme importance of prayer for unity, which, together with change of heart and

holiness of life are described by Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism (para 8) as

"the soul of the ecumenical movement" and "spiritual ecumenism".

Insight into a very important day on "The Apostolic Tradition" comes from the

special contribution by Canon Richards to whom we give a warm welcome and

our gratitude; also to David Carter for his interesting approach to this topic, and

thanks for his ever-faithful support. Varied aspects of endeavour come from AIF;

"Lights for Christ"; Council on Ageing; and the efforts of two young stalwarts for

CRISIS. Thank you all. Don't forget to come to the Course on Christian Unity

(p5) it should be well worthwhile.

May you be blessed with a holy, happy and fruitful New Year

Una

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THE FELLOWSHIP OF PRAYER FOR UNITY

Three hundred people around the country belong to a lovely and a widely

ecumenical organisation, bound together primarily by constant prayer for

Christian unity, but also by meetings, quiet days, or retreats.

The Fellowship of Prayer for Unity (formerly the Farncombe Community with the

Companions and other friends) has been under guidance of its chaplain, the Rev.

D. Mary Holliday, who has done an enormous amount of work, both spiritually

and practically - in conducting retreats and spiritual occasions, in building up the

links between members and visiting regional groups, arranging the A.G. M. and

circulating literature to members, including helpful meditations. Some members

of the Fellouship (including myself) have responded to Mary's invitation to supply

Advent meditations, a task which is a privilege and joy. The excellent Advent

1992 meditations were written by the Rev. Alan Dawkins, who is well-known in

our diocese, especially in Kent in his capacity as Ecumenical Officer.

In addition to her work for the Fellowship, Mary has continued ta be on the

Committee which produces the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity leaflets (used

by so many churches in the January Octave of Prayer or at Pentecost) ; she has

also been involved in the National Retreat Association, and has tutored spirituality

courses.

Mary now feels the time has come for her to retire as Chaplain to the Fellowship

of Prayer, and heartfelt gratitude is offered to her for all she has done with

unstinting dedication and love. At the A.G. M. of the Fellowship last October, it

was announced that her successor as Chaplain will be the Rev. Paul Renyard

(previously a Companion), an Anglican priest very much involved in ecumenical

affairs in his area, and currently Secretary of the Bournemouth Regional

Fellowship group.

Rev, Mary Holliday will be leading a Retreat in March, at St. Columba's,Woking,

for which some places are at present available. If you would like to participate in

the Retreat (which is open to non-members of the Fellowship), please apply as

soon as possible. Other Retreats are also planned. Chester in May and

Glastonbury, which will be led by Bishop John Neale, in June. If you would like

to join the Fellowship of Prayer for Unity the subscription is only a nominal £1 a

year as a minimum. If you do wish to join, you will find you are in excellent company including Bishop Charles Henderson, the Rev.Michael Jackson

(Secretary of the Bishops' Conference Committee for Christian Unity), and many

others whom you can enfold in your prayer, as you pray too, for that unity which

is the will of Christ.

Una M. Ratcliff

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THE NATIONAL RETREAT ASSOCIATION is promoting a NATIONAL

QUIET DAY on SATURDAY, 31 JUNE 19, 1993.

"Sing, Rejoice, Daughter of sion, for 1 am coming to dwell

In the middle of you — it is YAHWEH who speaks" (sech. 2:10)

Canon Dawkins, in his Advent meditations for the Fellowship of Prayer, offers

sechariah 2: 10-18) as a spiritual focus the Advent theme of expectancy. Here are

a few extracts:

"A keynote of the Gospel is expectation… anticipation.. . and eager hope. We

should always be expecting the unexpected. Our God is a God of surprises."

"Let us pray that we may live as if God were coming at any moment, that Christ

may enter our hearts and lives, renewing our faith and the life of the Church,

opening us up to new end exciting possibilities."

"Our reading from sechariah conveys to us this theme of expectancy as he looks

forward to the reign of Christ. It reminds us that Advent is a time for rekindling

hope, the coming of God's kingdom and the activity of God in the present and the

future. Ours is the God of hope. He will fulfil his promises and save and bless his

people. The blessings of the Messianic age are summed up in the words of

sachariah 'God is with you.'."

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39 YEARS OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

(Report of talk given by the Rev.Dr.Colin Davey at the Annual General Meeting

of the Fellowship of Prayer for Unity, October 17, 1992)

In a personal account, which was also a history of the ecumenical movement

relating to prayer for unity, we heard firstly, of Colin Davey as a student being

introduced to the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius and meeting the concept

of 'spiritual communion' through the pain of being in fellowship but not in

communion. Also Barnabas Lindars, a Franciscan, introduced him to the concept

of the 'Invisible monastery' (Abbe Couturier).

A curacy in Birmingham involved an emphasis on intercession in the Week of

Prayer for Unity; then there was travel in Greece for a year with a deep experience

of another church with its customs - the Orthodox 'Prayer of the heart' and the

Jesus Prayer - "Descend with the mind into the heart and stand there in perfect

attention" (Theophan the recluse).

There followed teaching ecumenical studies; the focus on the Anglican/Methodist

talks which, failing, taught the importance of prayer for unity as we cope with set-

backs. Further insights were gained in the Church of England committee for

foreign relations, and secretaryship of "ARCIC' . A gathering in Windsor in 1971

underlined the possibilities of sharing in worship and prayer as far as possible

between Anglicans and Roman Catholics, not being false to either, nor attempting

to mix the two. A moving moment came with the completion of the Agreed

Statement on Eucharistic doctrine.

Parish life in South Harrow and Paddington included experiences of Prayer for

shared ministry, working together, and a personal experience of freedom to

worship and communicate at a Baptist church where the presence of Christ was

very real. New Traditions were encountered in the New Testament Church of God

(Afro-West Indian Pentecostal) where sermons met with Congregational

responses and a "Brother Colin will now preach to us", (unprepared) was a

challenge!

Other events were: a course on ways of praying, the creation of a meditation

group, the Anglican/Orthodox Commission, and ministry at Paddington station (ecumenical). A charismatic group (difficult because they wanted everyone to be

like them) were 'shunted to Swindon'.

From 1983, Colin Davey's experience has been as Staff member of the British

Council Of Churches, arid now the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland.

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Important things have been: finding appropriate patterns of prayer at all levels;

being an Observer on the R.C.Bishops Conference Committee for Christian Unity;

the Inter-Church process - a process of prayer, reflection and debate; the 1987

Conferences; the change in the Pilgrim Prayer (useful as a mantra) from"may we

be pilgrims together" to "for we are pilgrims together". Then there was the

comment of Alistair Haggart "the speeches articulated changes that had already

taken place in the Chapel", in the silences and the Healing of Ecumenical

memories, in symbolic actions, and at Swanwick in the final memorable

Conference, members of churches other than the one celebrating the Eucharist

were invited to receive a blessing; mutual respect and mutual willingness to

receive created a very moving experience for all.

The last two years have underlined the joy of fulfilled promises through the

participation of the Roman Catholic and the Pentecostal and Holiness churches;

the importance of consensus decisions at the Church Representatives' meetings,

and of prayer for unity at ail levels.

There are different ways of Prayer for Unity:

as intercession — joint prayer

prayer in real but incomplete unity, being at home in other churches

in unity — linked to joint ministry and Mission

unity in prayer

and all to be seen rather like prayer for healing as we go further on in the

pilgrimage.

******************

.

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CATHOLIC/METHODIST STUDY DAY "THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION"

(A report of the Joint Commission between The Roman Catholic Church and the

World Methodlist Council)

A very interested group of Catholics and Methodists gathered at Christchurch &

Upton Chapel, for a study Day which included two excellent talks by our speakers

Canon Michael Richards and David Carter, group discussions, questions (and

answers!) and a specially prepared service of worship related to the theme of the

day. The event was supported by the S.E and S.W. Area Christian Unity

Commissions, with members of those two Commissions chairing the sessions

(Mrs Una Ratcliff and Mr Joe Farrelly. Fellowship and refreshments added to the

enjoyment of the day.

The first speaker was Canon Michael Richards, a Canon of Westminster

Cathedral, a member of the Forum of Churches Together in England, former

member of ARCIC and a member of the international RC/Methodist Commission

which produced the Report and so he has expert knowledge of it which we were

privileged to share.

The second speaker was Mr. David Carter, a Methodist lay preacher, a member of

the national RC/Methodist Committee, and an observer on the S.W. Area

Christian Unity Commission.

We are pleased to publish the substance of the talks.

THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION — by Canon Michael Richards

1. The Joint Commission and its work

Canon Michael guided us through the document under six headings. He told us of

how the Commission had been invited to consider the topic of Apostolic Tradition

and they had met in Lisbon to launch the discussion. The result had been

presented in Singapore last year. The Canon then gave an interesting "mini-

biography" of each of the participants of the dialogue - to put faces, as it were, on

the names inscribed in the document. We heard - just to give one example - of

"the only Bishop I know who has been set upon by an emu, and had to fight it off

in the forests of N.E. Australia. (The Bishop referred to was Bishop (now

Archbishop) Battersby) .

(The Canon's talk continued as follows: )

2. A single source of Faith

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The document, The Apostolic Tradition, focusses on a topic which is very dear to

me, and which is so important and central, because we're focussing on the very

source of faith itself. Without having a common understanding of the source of

faith, you're going to make all sorts of mistakes and get in all sorts of byways

further down the mountain, so to speak. You must go back to the source, so that

we are all looking in the same direction and have got the same inspiration in mind.

The idea of' discussing the apostolic tradition is not by any means a study of

history, of the past, or of part of Revelation. We've now got beyond the time when

we thought of Scripture, on the one hand, and Tradition, on the other hand, as

being two sources of faith. For a very long time, Protestants followed the Bible,

and Catholics and Orthodox follow Tradition, and we would be suspected of

adding all sorts of things which were not in Scripture, and so the basis of our

discussion wasn't established. we were regarded as having brought in from some

source which couldn't generally be recognised, all sorts of extra things, and the

only way to unity would be to shed these accretions and go back to the pure word

of the Bible. Well, I think that this Report shows that we realise now that this is a

far too simplistic and one-sided way of looking at the way in which the faith has

come to us; this is brought out especially in paras 4 and 5. the Report.

We realise now that there is one source of all that we believe, one source which is

the Gospel itself, one source which is the Person of Our Lord himself. The

Council of Trent in fact said this, but we hadn't realised it rightly; we jumped to

the conclusion it was saying something different. The Council of Trent did say

that the Gospel is the unique source and it comes in two ways - written and

unwritten. The important point we hold is that there is one living source, and that

source was given to us orally, by word of mouth. Our Lord didn't write anything;

He deliberately chose to communicate with His generation and every later

generation, through a people who were held together by a common understanding

of the Word of God given to them orally. That is the only way which is consonant

with, and which really fits the nature of the message itself, because the message is,

of course, that the barriers are broken down between God and man. God has

forgiven and wiped away our sins and we speak to Him face to face. It is right

then, that the Gospel message should be transmitted in the same way, through

people, through knowing people who are witnesses to what has happened in

Christ. To speak of the apostolic tradition is to speak of the whole message; what

the people are handing on is the complete package, so to speak, with themselves a part of it, because they are believing what they say; they are believing their

witness to the truth, The Church, ever since the beginning, has been the society

which has heard that Word from the previous generation which has believed It, it

has come to understand it. it in its oun way, express it in its own way, and then

pass it on.

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So, tradition is not that bit that we get looking back at the past; tradition is the

living process of transmission to the generation, and so it can be said to be

forward-looking even more than it is backward-looking. Believing now what we

have received, above all, we're living in hope, passing on to the next generation.

We have now unified the process of growing together; we've agreed that we're

attempting to hear, keep, and obey the one Word of God which has been

transmitted to us in this particular manner.

3. Listening to the Word of God

We then went on to reflect a little more on this nature of Gospel tradition - here I

refer to paras. 15 -18 of the Report. Our understanding of the Word of God, given

through Christ, is not to be seen as philosophical distraction, not just as words, as

talk, but is the term used for the whole dynamic action of God. It is by His Word

that He made the world, so Word and action are one for Him. When He speaks,

things happen, when He does things they are full of meaning, they reveal His

nature to us and reveal our lives to us. Christ's Word sums all that up - He is God's

action for us, He is God's message to us. That is how we must understand the

process of transmission and communication. We must put much more stress on

the spoken character of the message.

When we're studying Scripture, we're studying not just a written text, we're

studying the most important document giving us access to the life of a people who

spoke a particular language - that language was Christ; that language was the

Word of God. It is failure to see this is precisely how Christ communicates with

us through other people, through the Church - the Church being integral to the

Gospel -- which leads to writings like A. A. Wilson's book and many others. They

just take the sources as if they were a purely written source which they then tend

to select, picking here and there, But Christianity has to say 'Sorry, there's not a

written source', a written source helps us to get to the real source, but the real

source is Christ with His Church, and you have to find them and listen to what

they have to say as witnesses to the message. That is the only credible way of

having access to, and eventually accepting the message.

And this was Our Lord's own message of teaching, of teaching who He was, and

of teaching so that people would really come to believe and take in who He was. We don't pay enough attention to the fact that the titles of Christ are corporate. We

tend to think of Him as an isolated person, but He revealed who He was precisely

by the people He got around Him. He showed us He was a Good Shepherd

because there was a flock following Him; He showed He was an Apostle at the

same time that He chose Apostles to represent Him, and we could go through all

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the titles of Christ and see that corporate dimension. And when St. Paul writes, he

uses the term Christ to mean both the Person of Our Lord and the persons who

were joined to Him in His Body, the Church.

That is the way in which Christ showed who He was and also the way He taught

those who received the message. He has immense confidence in the fact that His

words given to us will eventually sink in. The Apostles were slow to understand

right up to the time of the Resurrection - they were still not getting the point, but

Christ is quite content to let the message sink in and for the penny to drop. The

history of the Church is the history of pennies dropping, and of people suddenly

realising Our Lord! s teaching applies this or applies that, because the Word in His

power doesn't force us; He always takes us where we are, and gently, gradually

teaches us. This is appropriate to our human nature. The law of Christ is no longer

an external law written on tablets of stone, but it is something taken in, and it

transforms us from within, written on hearts of flesh. St. Paul said his letter was

written in the hearts of the Corinthians to whom he was talking.

4. The Work of the Spirit

This leads us on to the work of the Spirit of God. In our Report there is a

substantial section on the work of the Spirit because Tradition is not just the

handing on of the message orally - essential as that is to the nature of the message,

but we're also given the Spirit. Through the Spirit we come to understand the

Word and then live by the Word in uniquely different and individual ways. If we

had just been given an institution or an organisation, if we had just been given

words to speak, there would still be the danger of stereotyping or imprinting, as a

dictator seems to imprint his personality on his followers, but that is not the case

with Christianity. Communication by the word is a material form of

communication; we're using matter to hear one another and transmit the message,

but now we have also the (non material) Spirit. The Spirit of God begs us to be

one while remaining extremely diverse. We share one Spirit, and our unity is

spiritual, and so in variety and diversity the Spirit can bring out in each one of us

different fruits - the fruits of the Spirit.

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So the Spirit of God is also there, active

in continuing, in supporting and in

fostering the Apostolic Tradition. In all

this, I think,we are supported by

contemporary scholarship in the realm

of archaeology, history and teaching,

where a lot of work has been done on

the nature of oral tradition both in the

ancient world and in the modern world.

We now see it as much more reliable

than we thought it was; we were

hypnotised by the power of print, and

we are now discovering the reliability

of the oral word. From the Scriptural

point of view, we are discovering how

powerful is this understanding of the

word, chewing the cud, so to speak, of

the word, and of the gradual

assimilation of the message into ourselves. We're really transformed by the

hearing of the word and receiving the truth. This general understanding, then, of

the relationship between the Word of God and the Church - the Church handing

on the message - obviously has its impact on the ministry of the Church.

5. Servants of the Word

We haven't gone into a deep study of ministry, but we have indicated at the end of

our Report (para.55) the significance this theme will have, we hope, for further

study of ministry. It is important to real ise for our discussion and for that of the

Anglicans and all churches, that for a long time we had too narrow a perspective

in studying the nature of the ministry of the Church. We tended to look simply at

the Eucharist and at being empowered to celebrate the Eucharist - that was studied

in the investigations into Anglican orders and so on. Now the origin of ministry

which Vatican II had in mind and sketched out - it has had to be filled out a lot by

the Church ever since - has I think rather changed the nature of the discussion. We

now see that the ministry of the Church must focus first of all on the minister

whom we call in Catholic tradition, the Bishop. Already in the New Testament

you've got the indication that the Apostles - each individual person and yet a college with Our Lord - intended there were to be continued in the Church which

Christ founded, clergy who were called both episcopos and presbuteros — bishop

and presbyter (and presbyters were groups of elders) , but already you have

beginning to take shape the idea that there is one person as a focus of unity. It is

all rather fluid at first, but certainly by the end of the century, by the time of the

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writings of St Ignatius of Antioch (whose feast it is today) you have a very clear

picture of one central person ensuring unity, and doing that in a community of

elders with him and with others called of deacons.This group of people are in the

first place "Servants of the Word" that is the term which the Apostles continually

used of themselves in the Acts of the Apostles 6:2 and of Luke 1: 2) in which we

see their concern that on account of administration they weren't able to give

enough time to the Word of God.

We are now seeing ministry as, in the first place, a service which transmits the

message, the Word of God, but the Word understood in the fuller sense that I

mentioned earlier on not just teaching or instruction, but the Word who is

powerful to do what He says, therefore the Word who acts in the signs that we call

Sacraments, and above all in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Our

Lord's Word to us: He says I give you myself" and suits the action to the word, as

we say. Word and action always go together.

So if we're going to get a reconciliation of ministries it's not going to come just

through a common eucharistic belief - though this is part of it, but further back

and more generally embracing, through a common understanding of how the

Church receives the Word of God. Bishops are above all, in the Catholic tradition,

those people who are responsible for the Word. When you think "What does a

Bishop do that nobody else in the Church does for us?", the answer is that it is

precisely to declare what is the Word of God and what is not. That is the Bishops'

function; they have to make the decision, the buck stops there, so to speak, and by

defining what is the authentic Word of God and what isn't, one is defining the

Church, because the Church is that group of people who hear the Word of God

and keep it.

6. One Church for England

It seems to me that the place at which we are now - because of the way we've got

it down to the Word of God itself in our discussion, (and in others) is at a fresh

speaking of the Word of God for our generation. Up to now we've been looking

back, asking how our separate traditions went apart, and what does our separate

tradition say of itself, and realising we're all really quite Christian in all the

different separated churches. We're now on to something new. Past tradition up to

now is what previous generations did in response to the Word of God; they did their running in the relay race, but now they've passed the bat on to us and we've

got to do our bit of running in the race and that's going to be different. In the past

the word of God seemed to say to us that we must be apart in order to safeguard

this or that principle. The Word of God today is saying to us that in order to

safeguard the whole Gospel we've got to be together we've got to be one. So we

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won't be denying the past, that was their generation, that was their decision before

God. Our decision before God has got to be that we shall be one Church, and that

one Church will be able to speak to our country in a way in which separated

churches are manifestly unable to do. We are to do new work for God in creating

a new society in this country, which is diverse, and do it in unity in the Spirit, in

faith in the Word, and do it all together.

QUESTIONS FOR GROUP DISCUSSION (suggested by Canon Michael Richards)

1 Do we agree that transmission by word of mouth is the method most

appropriate to the Gospel message?

2 Which biblical image best sums up the work of an ordained Christian

minister?

3 What part does the Church play in the life of faith

QUESTIONS FOR GROUP DISCUSSION (suggested by David Carter)

1 How do we understand the relationship between our differing

denominational conversations with God?

2 Do Methodist's under-emphasise the authority the Church, and do

Catholics over-emphasise it?

3 If we agree on the effect the Eucharist in building up the Church, do we

need to agree on all the other details of our understanding of the Eucharist?

******************

13

REFLECTIONS ON THE CATHOLIC/METHODIST REPORT -THE

APOSTOLIC TRADITION

In this session I want to do two things; first, very briefly, reflect on two concepts

that are central to our Catholic/Methodist dialogue, Viz. the Apostolic Tradition

and the nature of the Church as communion; secondly, to raise four fundamental

questions arising out of the Report.

All Christians agree that the witness of the apostles is central to the Christian

faith; as St. Paul puts it (Eph. 2:20), the church is "built on the foundation of the

apostles and the prophets". We note in passing that Paul brackets with the

apostolic witness to the Resurrection, the ministry of prophets within the Church;

this, perhaps has some interesting ecclesiological implications in terms of our

understanding of both institutionally transmitted and charismatically given

ministry within the Church.

It is important to emphasise that the Apostolic Tradition is more than just a list of

doctrines; rather, it is the whole way of life of the Church in teaching, service and

worship, inspired, enabled and renewed by the Spirit from Pentecost to the present

day. The quoted passage in Acts 2: 37-41, reflects this continuum of life and

worship in the Church. The Tradition is the whole glorious experience of

Christian life within the fellowship of the Church. As two stanzas of a Wesley

hymn put it;

"All praise to the Lamb,

Who gives us to meet."

The Tradition is not static, but something that is constantly growing. This is

emphasised in paras.15 and 18 of the Report especially in the latter which refers to

"the growth of the Church through a

continued assimilation of the Word of God."

Yet each new development can be authenticated in terns of its consistency with

the original Apostolic Tradition as enshrined in Scripture. We Methodists would

claim our hymns, our liturgies, patterns of fellowship are all authentic

developments of such a tradition. Let us end with a quotation from Fr. Jean

Tillard:

"As the memory of the Church, Tradition represents the permanence of a Word

that is always alive always enriched and yet radically always the same."

A key current emphasis in ecumenical dialogue is on the nature of the Church as

communion. The fundamental Christian understanding is of God as eternal

communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and of Christian life as Christ's

invitation to us to share in that life. As Christ Himself says "if a man loves me, my

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Father and I will come and live in him." This emphasis coheres especially well

with the traditional Methodist emphasis on fellowship in the joy of Christ:

"The gift which He on one bestows

We all delight to prove."

We now turn to four fundamental questions (but far from the only ones we can

ask) that a reading of the Report raises.

The first relates to the Church's growth in understanding of the Tradition and how

we verify the authenticity of new developments.

The Report has some very striking things to say. It grounds the development of

the Tradition in the very nature of God and man when it says in para.15:

"Christ was content to speak with later generations through those who became his

first disciples. Only this degree of confidence could match the free self

communication of God to the world and those made in His image . . .He gives us

the words and waits patiently for us to understand."

A little later is added:

"To be sure that we are hearing the word we must maintain communion with those

who have heard and obeyed before us".

But, a very big question arises - how, in our separation as divided churches, do we

understand our differing denominational Conversations with God? I am thinking

here of how we are to receive developments that have taken place in our

separation. Perhaps we might take as an example the developments in Marian

piety and doctrine that have taken place in the Roman Catholic Church, but which

have scarcely (as yet) affected Methodism. Do we say that they are legitimate for

Roman Catholics, but not necessary for us? Or do we say that in the universality

of the fellowship of Christ's church, what we have learnt in separation is now to

be shared with others? There is much to think about here.

A second question relates to confidence in the Church. Traditionally Roman

Catholics have tended have to a very "high" doctrine of the Church, Whereas

Methodists have tended to emphasise its ability to fall into error. Yet Wesley

could emphasise a high doctrine of the Church and write:

"Fortified by power divine, The Church can never fail."

Here he comes very close to the Roman Catholic doctrine of indefectibility.

The Apostolic Tradition presents a very nuanced and balanced doctrine of the

Church which seems to do justice both to its divine promises and to its empirical wavering. Para.31 speaks of "The Spirit's abiding presence in the Church" and yet

also talks of "periods when it seems as if the Church is living through a new

Pentecost" and "periods when it is necessary for the Spirit to lead the Church to

reform and self-criticism". We might find a balance in these considerations:

15

l. that the Church on earth is a pilgrim Church and it Will not achieve that

final purity "without spot or stain" (Eph. 5:27) till the end of time.

2. Within the Church there are always imperfect leaders and members.

3. Yet God's promises to her are sure.

4. Christ loves His Bride so much that there will always be those living in

her who respond fully to His holiness. (I owe this reflection to Fr. Francis

Sullivan).

A third area for reflection is the Report's teaching on the Eucharist. I believe that

para.44 represents a significant convergence in our understanding of the Eucharist

and one which is rich in promise for the future. I believe the reconciling factor is

the shift away from the rather abstract questions about sacrifice and presence to

the more concrete question of the place and effect of the Eucharist in the totality

of Christian experience and living.

The Report says, in para.44, "the Eucharist remains the focus where the pattern of

life specific to Christians is shown forth". It is the place where we come in

absolute dependence on the Lord to receive Him and all His benefits. We kneel

together, symbolising our common unity in Him, receiving the one bread that

represents and conveys His self-giving to us, His glorified Body into which we are

incorporated as members. It is the feast of celebration, foreshadowing the great

banquet of the redeemed at the end of time. It is the place where we learn absolute

dependence on God and absolute commitment to each other; it is the fellowship

meal in and of the local church, which yet expresses the universality of the

Church; it is the expression, par excellence, of the communion of the whole

Church, past and present. It is when we consider what the Eucharist dynamically

and really effects in terms of the life of Christ in His Church that we have the

basis for a reconciled understanding of it as the action of the risen Christ in His

Church, eternally representing ever anew before us His one eternal sacrifice and

ever anew Himself under the sacramental species. The Eucharist. is at, one and the

same time the gift of the Lord to His church and the Church's celebration of its life

as gift of the Lord.

Finally, 1 think the Report. says valuable things about the traditionally vexed

question of ministry. The Report looks at the teaching and enabling functions of

the Christian ministry. It defines ministers as "servants of' the Word" specifically

charged with responsibility for faithfully transmitting the Apostolic Tradition, and with discerning and promoting the gifts of the Spirit given to individual members

of their congregations. The central function of the ministry is thus seen as one of

maintaining and deepening the life of the Church as communion, which is the

central essence of its existence.

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The teaching of the Report here resonates with both contemporary Roman

Catholic and Methodist thought about ministry. In 1976, the Methodist

Conference statement on the representative function of presbyteral ministry said:

"In their office, the calling of the whole Church is focussed and represented and it

is their responsibility as representative persons to lead the people to share with

them in that calling. In this sense, they are the sign and presence of the ministry of

Christ in the Church, and through the Church to the world."

In his recent studies, Fr. Jean Tillard sees the ministry of the Church as essentially

guaranteeing and maintaining its communion. He sees the Catholic bishops as

overseeing the integrity of their churches and ensuring that the various local

churches can recognise in each other - despite legitimate local differences - the

same mystery of life in Christ. At the apex of the structure he sees the ministry of

the Bishop of Rome as a final focal point of communion.

Fr. Tillard sees these ministries in what we might call a very "Methodist" way, as

arising out of the Church; as he puts it, the bishop is chosen as one on whom the

local church recognises its own faith and in whom It can repose confidence for its

continued maintenance.

All this, I think, sets the question of ministry in a new light. The Report hints that

as a result of increasing agreement on the function of ministry, It will eventually

become possible to reconcile our ministries through "a creative act which

acknowledges the manifold yet unified activity of the Holy Spirit throughout the

ages. will involve e joint act of obedience to the Word of God." The Report

represents a major step in RC/Methodist rapprochement, and confidence in future

progress.

David Carter

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"CRISIS" UPDATE

In our June 1992 issue we were pleased to publish news of the ecumenical

CRISIS PILGRIMAGE in aid of the homeless. Colin Fromings graphically

described the experience of walking sixty miles in two days from Canterbury to

London, and many readers were especially moved to read about Colin's

granddaughters, Polly (aged 6) and Sarah (aged 9) who took part in the walk. One

Benedictine Sister wrote "I've taken Polly and Sarah to my heart" -- and that

means to a place of love and prayer.

The CRISIS PILGRIMAGE, including people of many religious traditions, took

place again last October, and Polly and Sarah were among those of all ages who

braved the wet and gloomy weather at the start to walk as far as they could to help

the homeless. The girls heroically completed the whole distance of sixty miles.

Once again, their parents, grandparents, and great-grandmother, Mrs Maud

Humphreys, were involved either as walkers or at Welling check-point serving

meals and washing up in the kitchen for five hours non-stop. it was a fine

Methodist/Catholic contribution.

A CRISIS fundraiser wrote in November last, stating that the total pledged was in

excess of £90,000, and hoped the target of £100,000 would eventually be reached.

CRISIS provided an "OPEN CHRISTMAS", a sanctuary for nearly 2,000 people,

all homeless, who are then looked after by 1,500 volunteers. CRISIS has also

organised emergency shelters for the homeless, and funded day centres,

counselling and resettlement centres. The need for CRISIS is ever-present, and its

work must continue. So, come on, get into training, buy some stout walking shoes,

book the dates OCTOBER 9/10, 1993, and be prepared to walk any part of those

sixty miles, enjoying the fellowship of fellow Christians and others!

CRISIS celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1992. One of the events was a colourful

event of great beauty a flower festival at St.George's Cathedral, Southwark,

organised jointly by CRISIS and the Cathedral. There were 10,000 flowers

arranged in 56 displays.

For young Polly and Sarah it was a thrilling day. In recognition of their past

achievements, they were invited to present a bouquet to Princess Margaret at the

Festival, and to have tea with her afterwards in the restuarant.

Ue ate glad publish a photograph of that occasion, showing the Princess with

Sarah and Polly and their father, Michael Westergaard, and the "Thank you" letter

by the girls to all who sponsored and supported their efforts which raised over

£600.

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INTERCHURCH FAMILIES — THE VIDEO

"What happens if you marry a person from another Church?

What do you do about the children?

Do you stop going to church altogether?"

This new video shows some of the opportunities and problems arising out of the

experience of Interchurch families as members of these families tell their story.

Made by members of the Association ot Interchurch Families (AIF), it discusses

frankly the issues confronting anyone who marries across the boundaries of the

Churches. It is suitable for individuals and their families, ecumenical groups,

school groups and parishes. AIF could also arrange video showings for local

groups.

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"THE LIGHT OF CHRIST FELLOWSHIP" we shall be delighted to hear from

anyone with a sincere desire to become a light for Christ. We are a new

ecumenical group, sponsored by "The Lamplighter Trust" an organisation with an

aim to help those who are disabled to make a retreat, or join a Conference. Our

first prayer- support group took place in Somerset in November. The cost of

belonging to our Light of Christ Fellowship is the cost of postage for newsletters.

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CHRISTIAN COUNCIL ON AGEING

The Tenth Anniversary Conference of the Christian Council on Ageing, with the

theme : Ageing and Good Practice, will take place from April 20-22 1993.

On April 22, at a.m. there will be a Service and an address by Dr. Donald English.