Synod Life
URC Wales Synod Report March 2012
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- Category: Synod Life
- Created on Thursday, 19 April 2012 12:47
Churches from all over Wales were represented at the Spring gathering of Wales Synod Meeting, held in mid-Wales at Newtown early in March. As there is a vacancy between Wales Synod Moderators, the Revd Adrian Bulley, minister at City URC, Cardiff, and former Moderator of Wessex Synod, was asked to chair the day and lead the opening worship.
Anniversary of 1662
Synod started with worship focused on the 350th anniversary of the Great Ejection of 1662, a date that marks the birth of modern Nonconformity, and a date being widely celebrated throughout the United Reformed Church and wider Nonconformity this year.
The year 1662 – as most of us must surely know something about by now! – was when the Act of Uniformity forced all ministers to ‘conform’ to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Naturally, many of our spiritual forefathers could not do that. And ‘for conscience’ sake’, they refused to conform.
As a result, some 2,000 ministers were ejected from their livings to face poverty, hardship and persecution – and to become the first ‘Nonconformists’. A long period of persecution, harassment and civil discrimination followed and the service celebrated the Courage, Conscience and Conviction of those early ministers.
In an entertaining anecdote that made the serious point, Adrian told us how he had, himself, been brought up in a church where the minister of this time had been ejected. Then the Rev Dr Robert Pope gave us a splendid talk on how events surrounding The Great Ejection still reverberate today. (Text on Wales Synod website.)
Radical Welcome
There was a presentation on Radical Welcome and the Zero Intolerance initiative. We were told of the – often difficult – discussions that had centred round it and the current progress. A booklet to help congregations to understand the Commitment on human sexuality agreed at General Assembly in 2007 was distributed. It’s called Living with Difference: Deepening Dialogue and copies were distributed for each church.
(Note: The whole discussion on Radical Welcome and Zero Intolerance has since been overtaken by decisions in Mission Council later in March to terminate ZI with immediate effect. It is no longer a URC project. Mission Council, however, ‘strongly encouraged’ churches to continue to develop Radical Welcome. An adapted scheme for external Companions will be offered.)
A Gathering for Unity?
A highly ambitious meeting of five church denominations will meet in the Autumn to discuss nothing less than a proposal for a uniting church in Wales. For a meeting with such a challenging agenda, there has so far been little communication about it or its proposals. But it is expected to be significant.
Called the Gathering, it will be held in Aberystwyth on Saturday 13 October. Meeting together will be the five denominations of the Commission of Covenanted Churches (a sub-set of Cytun): Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Covenanted Baptists and our own United Reformed Church.
Each church is invited to send 50 people. In the URC, each Region will be represented by three people. Suggestions for representatives can be passed to the Synod Clerk.
Occupy Movement
Synod Meeting passed a resolution to ‘listen to the witness … especially for the Gospel resonances’ and ‘engage wherever possible with’ the Occupy Movement. This resolution will now go to URC General Assembly. It was the most contentious debate of Synod Meeting and strong opposition was voiced.
It began with a DVD film of the Occupy Movement. The film and many contributions to the debate showed positive support for Occupy but there were also voices of dissent about associating the church so expressly with the movement. An amendment to take out specific reference to the Occupy Movement and insert ‘various movements calling for social justice’ was proposed. It was lost. The original motion was then passed overwhelmingly.
Westminster College Appeal
Synod Meeting repeated its call to all churches and ministers to respond as generously as possible to the appeal of Westminster College. The College, which belongs to the URC and is the heart and centre of much of our ministerial training, has launched an appeal for £7million.
The money is needed to re-develop and re-equip the College for the next stage of URC life and it has been called ‘a visionary and imaginative plan for the mission of the United Reformed Church’. One of our Synods (East Midlands) has pledged £120,000.
Wales Synod, however – looking at an £80,000 deficit and heavily depended on Inter-Synod Sharing – felt it could not, itself, pledge any money. But it did change the terms of reference of the Mission Development Fund, with the thought some money for the College might come from that source. Even so, the main hope of money coming from Wales will probably be in the response of individual churches.
Schools and the Church
A lively account of a school visit to Plough URC, Brecon, was given by its minister, the Rev Michael Hodgson. He told how he had worked with the school to develop a visit in keeping with the school curriculum that brought history alive for the youngsters. And led to a big picture in the local newspaper.
This was warmly applauded and it was generally felt many of our more historic churches could work in this way to link more closely with their local schools and communities. Since the newspaper article, the Minister had arranged several visits for community groups and been asked to give a number of talks. Something your church could think about?
Synod Day 2013
It was hoped to hold a Wales Synod Day in 2012 but this has not proved possible. A Synod Day 2013 has now been agreed on Saturday 8 June at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, near Brecon. It is hoped coaches will converge on the Showground from all URC points. Admission charge: £5; family ticket: £15.
Jean Silvan Evans