Home > Articles > 2002 >

In search of Holy Ground

GCT's ecumenical officer, Stephen Smyth, reports from the assembly of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, held in February/March 2002.
Some papers delivered at the assembly are available here.

The 2002 CTBI Assembly in Swanwick brought together 300 delegates from 33 Church groupings in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

Its purpose was to explore current initiatives in individual churches and in the broader ecumenical scene which might offer light and hope to the wider Christian community and to the society in which we live. Hence the assembly's theme of 'searching for Holy Ground' which permeated both the pre-assembly book, Changing Churches*, and the assembly liturgy.

The Scottish Catholic delegation was led by Archbishop Mario Conti, newly appointed Archbishop of Glasgow, and Mgr Henry Docherty, General Secretary to the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. The delegation also included Sr Maire Gallacher, Convener of ACTS, and Paul Chitnis, Director of SCIAF.

The other delegates from Scotland were: Tony Schmitz (Aberdeen); Andrew Brookes and John Cairns (Dundee); Margaret Clark (Edinburgh); John Coultas, Christ Docherty, Noel Donnelly, Gordon McCormack, Irene Patton, Sr Isabel Smyth and myself (Glasgow); Mary-Rose Walker (Edinburgh); Denis Rice (Montrose); and Ray Lunny (Motherwell).

Archbishop Conti has been one of the Presidents of CTBI for several years and chaired part of the Assembly before heading on to Rome. Christ Docherty was elected to the Steering Committee of CTBI and at 30 is one of the youngest members of this important group. Currently Chris is the Youth Officer for the Archdiocese of Glasgow and Convener of Youth ACTS.

The programme of the Assembly was packed with plenary sessions, workshops, worship and small-group work in mixed denominational groups. While most of the worship was in the plenary or the small groups there was also space for denominational groups to hold eucharistic celebrations according to their own traditions.

The small group which I was blessed to be part of was led by a Methodist laywoman from Perth and included a Church of Scotland minister from Easterhouse (male) and laywoman from Edinburgh; a Welsh speaking Baptist minister (male); two ministers, 'Apostles', from a black majority church in London (males); a United Reformed Church worker from Tonga and London (female); an English Quaker (male); two Anglican priests (males) and an English Catholic laywoman.

We had a wonderful time sharing our faith journeys, sharing Scripture and processing the Assembly material together. Along with some quite 'traditional' aspects our group prayer involved Pentecostal praise, Rumanian dance, Gregorian chant, Quaker silence and a bit of laughter - especially at our dancing!

The Assembly was opened by Rev Kevin Franz, General Secretary of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) and Rev Gethin Abraham-Williams, his opposite number in CYTUN or Churches Together in Wales.

They gave snapshots of the religious and cultural state of their respective countries. Kevin spoke particularly about the need for Christians to articulate their underlying value systems. Citing the developing and potentially positive relationship among Scots, our new parliament and our Churches, he argued that it is essential that the Churches and their members become actively involved in the socio-political discourse of our times.

Major input sessions included Professor John Drane of Aberdeen University addressing the issue of the decline in traditional religious practice and the upsurge of interest in other forms of spirituality. John explored the challenge that this situation poses to the traditional churches and stressed the call for the churches to change - a process which we are not very good at either individually or collectively.

A second input was by Professor Grace Davie, a sociologist. She also explored the changing nature of society and religious expression and practice.

A third major input was led by the Bible Society. Over three sessions they offered different ways of people approaching Scripture together. Whatever the particular approach or programme, Scripture sharing provides a rich and inspiring opportunity for Christians from all across the denominational spectrum to explore their common faith in Jesus Christ.

SCIAF, CAFOD and Christian Aid delivered a joint presentation on the ongoing work of their sister agencies. They provided some feedback on the remarkable achievements of the recent Jubilee 2000 Campaign to relieve Third World Debt.

They then outlined the next stage of this action for international change and justice - the Trade Campaign, which is now being launched with a mass lobby of Parliament in London planned for Wednesday 19 June.

So, in our few days searching together at CTBI, did we find any Holy Ground? The answer is very definitely YES. Yes: in the sharing of individual faith journeys.

• Yes: in the growing cooperation and respect among the many different Christian church traditions.
• Yes: in the commitment of all these denominational communities to their faith in Jesus.
• Yes: in the richness of each others' traditions and insights. Yes: in the affirmation of our common Christian faith and its ever-renewing relevance in the lives of individuals and society.
• Yes: in our common desire to move beyond the essential talking towards meaningful action.
• Yes: in the determination to search for this Holy Ground - as Churches in Britain and Ireland - together.

*'Changing Churches - Building Bridges in Local Mission' by Jeanne Hinton, published by CTBI, ISBN 085169-264-8. Price £7.95.