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HotlineWelcome to the 2005 edition of Assembly Hotline. You will find here a record of the main events and some of the background to the meeting of General Assembly at the University of Warwick from July 2nd - 5th, 2005. Select the day's business you would
like Sunday evening, July 3rd 2005Make Poverty History
Read the full text of his speech here He praised the work of the United Reformed Church through Commitment for Life and ecumenical action through agencies such as Christian Aid. They were examples of people of faith making a difference. Amidst all the attention paid to the G8 and Live8, we should not forget that people of faith have been working for justice and change – if people had listened to their voices over many years, we could already have made poverty history. The G8 would come and go but the inspiring work of people of faith must go on. He reminded Assembly of the Accra Confession, which arose from the recent Assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches with its emphasis on Jesus’ statement that he had come so that all might have life in fullness and consequent rejection of the current world economic system. He encouraged al his listeners to study the Confession (link). The kings of this world will never be the ones to identify the injustice of this world. It will be, as in the parable, fellow debtors like us who point it out. The call was to act so that fellow human beings might not languish in the prisons of hunger and injustice. Let us bring fullness of life to all human beings.
ZimbabweAssembly stood to signify its support for a resolution expressing outrage at the action being taken against the people of Zimbabwe by their own government. The resolution reaffirmed the Church’s support for its partners in Zimbabwe and its determination to explore with partners ways to end the injustices being committed against the Zimbabwean people. Finally the resolution called on the UK government to recognize the the claims of refugees and asylum-seekers from Zimbabwe and to offer them shelter in the UK. The only voices raised in response to the resolution were calls for its wording to be toughened, both in relation to actions in Zimbabwe and the attitude of the British government to those who have fled the country. Ethical investmentThe Treasurer introduced a resolution supporting the ethical investment policy currently operated by the Ministers Pension Fund. He told Assembly that the pension fund was £1m worse off over last five years as a result of investing ethically. Any deficits in the pension fund compared to its potential liabilities have to be made up so the deficit made up after the last triennial review of the fund will have included the £1m due to observing ethical restraints. In addition, however, trustees are legally responsible to get the best return available and they cannot avoid their responsibility legally. For that reason the resolution provides not only for deficits but for compensation from the Church if performance falls short of what it might have been. John Ellis, speaking in a personal capacity, questioned the basis of the motion, though he acknowledged that it might be necessary in the short term. Shortfalls might well arise from the restraints imposed by an ethical fund but they might also result from the fact that the fund mangers were performing poorly. His understanding was that the current fund performed poorly compared to other ethical funds Assembly should make its preference clear for fund managers who specialised in ethical investment. The resolution was passed. John Ellis, now speaking as a member of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group, introduced a resolution relating to the investment policy for the church main investments. The policy precludes investment in the manufacture or supply of weapons of destruction or in companies with significant earnings from the supply of alcohol or tobacco products, military equipment, the provision of gambling facilities or the publication or distribution of pornography. The resolution tightens up the definition of what ‘significant’ means, reducing it from around a third to ‘around 10-20%’. The resolution was passed. Sunday afternoon, July 3rd 2005Pastoral ReferenceThe Assembly Pastoral Committee considers a wide range of pastoral issues affecting ministers who are referred to it and its report is not subject to debate. Former Moderator Keith Forecast, introducing the report, spoke of the concerns raised by the fact that sources of funds on which the Committee drew for welfare purposes were drying up and he appealed to members of the Church to think of the committee, and particularly its welfare work, when making a will. Training Committee
Moderator ElectThe Revd Elizabeth Caswell, Moderator of the Eastern Synod, was elected Moderator of General Assembly for the year 2006/7 A safe churchNorthern Moderator Peter Poulter introduced the resolution calling for the Church to accept the Declaration of a Safe Church, responding to the ecumenical report Time for Action: on sexual abuse and the church. He acknowledged the difficulties of
presenting an issue with which many had had only too painful experience. He
encouraged members of Assembly to read the report, which revealed the depth
of the abuse which had been suffered within the church and questioned the
extent to which our language and practices encouraged such abuse. The
charter seeks to ensure that high standards of protection and care are
implemented throughout the church, so that everyone, but particularly
children and vulnerable adults, can have confidence that the United Reformed
Church is a safe church. The full text of the declaration can be read here. The resolution was passed without opposition and was followed by another calling for Mission Council to prepare recommendations on the basis of actions by the Methodist Church, which appointed a senior member of staff to listen to those who had suffered abuse and felt they had been let down by the church and, where appropriate, offer an apology. Sunday Morning, July 3rd 2005Ministries Committee
In a series of resolutions, Assembly agreed after lively debate to reaffirm the important role of elders and to urge churches to use a selection process which reflects the significance of their appointment, including the involvement of the wider Church in their induction, and to follow this up with regular opportunities to develop their gifts and skills. Beyond the eldership, Assembly encouraged churches and groups to develop collaborative forms of leadership, wherever possible ecumenically. On the thorny issue of the placing of ministers, Assembly supported a resolution encouraging the use of flexibility and imagination in deployment. The resolution recognizes that future opportunities ought to weigh more heavily in decisions than where ministers have been placed in the past and accepting that not every church will have day-to-day leadership from a minister. Another factor to be borne in mind would be the availability of other resources for ministry, such as ministry provided locally by sister denominations, the ministry of self-supporting ministry, the potential contribution of Local Church Leaders and the possibility of using the Special Category Ministry scheme. Recognizing that some churches find it difficult to make the link between their giving to the ministry and mission fund and the health of the local church, Assembly enthusiastically supported a proposal that a clear report of how Ministry and Mission Fund contributions is sent to each church, every year. Finally Assembly passed a resolution ensuring that any minister who is forced to retire early on the grounds of ill-health would receive a pension based on the full term of service they would have completed if they had served till retirement. The measure is a temporary one while parallel changes are made in the rules of the pension fund. Catch the Vision
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HighlightsSearch HotlineCatch the VisionRead all the 'Catch the Vision' material Photo diarySidelights on Assembly in pictures ProfileThe new Moderator The Moderator's AddressDavid Peel calls for a new framework for life and mission. Have your saySend us your comments on this year's business
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In an evening session of worship that was colourful,
imaginative and, above all, reverent and moving, Assembly marked its commitment
to the 
The
evening concluded with a passionate presentation by retiring director of
Commitment for Life, Anne Martin, of a resolution reaffirming the Church’s
commitment to the Make Poverty History campaign
Convenor John Humphreys introduced a
resolution encouraging the Committee to continue in partnership with the
Church of England’s thoroughgoing review of its training provision, known as
the ‘Hind process’. The motion also called, however, for the Committee to
ensure that any steps taken did not negatively affect the Church’s own
training programmes.
Assembly
heard, with the permission of the Moderator, from someone who was introduced
as a victim of abuse within the church: the Revd Moira Kerr, a minister of
the United Reformed Church. She spoke of the devastating effect of such
abuse on individual lives and called for it to be named for what it is – a
criminal offence. She also called for the church to hear the pain of victims
and respond to it. This, she said, had not been her experience of the United
Reformed Church. She called on the Church to treat the issue with greater
seriousness, pointing out that the Methodist Church had given each member of
its conference a copy of the report Time for Action. She hoped that
the debate would represent a new dawn for the survivors of abuse – but there
was much work to be done.
Convener
John Ellis introduced the Equipping the Saints report which, through
a wide range of practical proposals for change, seeks to help churches to
become more active members, focused on the outside world – in other words,
making disciples and then turning them into apostles. The report challenges
every local church to think afresh about its support of its members when
they are dispersed in their daily living. Beyond that the report encourages
the whole church to develop more diverse and imaginative forms of
leadership, supported by more flexible forms of training.
General
Secretary David Cornick set the context for the Catch the Vision debate by
laying out some of the history of the Catch the Vision process and the
challenges facing the Church.