Churches

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Join new ecumenical process
by Kasia Giedroye TWENTY TWO churches in Scotland, Wales and England have so far agreed to take part in a new ecumenical venture to explore together what the Church is and what it is for.
The new inter-church move is described as a "process of prayer, reflection and debate together on the nature and purpose of the Church in the light of its calling in and for the world."
The process will have three main strands: nationally, church headquarters and other bodies will explain to one another and write down how they understand the Church and its purpose; locally, churches, especially councils of churches and local ecumenical projects will discuss these issues, partly in cooperation with each other through a Lent course in 1986, and, internationally, insights will be sought *from churches overseas and from the work of international theological dialogues.
In the Spring of 1987 there will be three widely representative regional meetings to consider the responses of the churches, and to look at the consequences in terms of commitment and action. A conference at Stanwick in September 1987 will then have the task of clarifying the way forward on this basis.
Monsignor Vincent Nichols, General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said that the move should not be seen as a formal programme. "It is important not to see the next two years simply as preparation for the conference in 1987," he explained. "This is a process which will grow, taking on its own momentum, and culminate in a series of quite specific proposals based on a shared understanding of the essential features of the Church."