The Roman Catholic / United Reformed Church Dialogue Group is completing its third quinquennial with the publication of a practical resource pack for local churches. It includes reflections on the journey the group has been on, materials for local groups and lots of ideas for further things to do together. In the words of one member of the Group: “(this journey) has been a joy and a blessing, carried out in the true spirit of receptive ecumenism.”
The Roman Catholic / URC Dialogue Group’s journey began in December 2006. Given the Reformation, the churches were not the most obvious dialogue partners. However, they quickly discovered that living as Christian communities outside the Established Church was something they had in common.
The Group is co-convened by the URC’s Deputy General Secretary (Mission), Rev Philip Brooks, and Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop for the Kent area of the Catholic Diocese of Southwark and member of the Department of Dialogue and Unity of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
The theme of the last few years has been ‘Journeying Together’, with the group making several visits to look at ecumenism in local contexts: in Milton Keynes, Cumbria, Cardiff and Edinburgh, as well as journeying online together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of a conventional report, the Group offers churches a practical resource that they can use locally to foster greater understanding and collaboration, and to demystify one another’s beliefs and practices. There are thematic sections on
- Friendship
- Saints
- Communion
- Citizenship
- Journeying Together
The sections focus on what the two churches can do together. They offer ideas for further study, activity, pilgrimage, worship, chaplaincy and joint engagement with civil society and local government. Each section could be used as a stand-alone small group resource. There is also a list of prompts for further ways of praying, studying, worshipping and working together at the end of the pack.
URC Deputy General Secretary (Mission) Rev Philip Brooks said: “Growing up in the North-West during the late 1960s, I would occasionally hear my staunchly non-conformist grandparents say some less than kind words about their Roman Catholic neighbours. Their fears were a symptom of societal divisions which hopefully have moved on considerably. Over the years, my direct experience locally, regionally and now nationally has only underlined the warm and gracious relationships which exist between our two churches. In the context of Britain, you might even say we share an interesting history as non-conformists.
“Our new resource underlines just how much we hold in common. On a practical level, it outlines many ecumenical possibilities, encouraging local churches to discover the same joy we found at a national level, by walking together in friendship, united in Christ.
Auxiliary Bishop RC Archdiocese of Southwark, Rt Rev Paul Hendricks said: “I’ve loved being a part of this conversation over the past five years, particularly the depth of personal sharing of what faith in Jesus means to us and (for those of us who are ordained) how we exercise our ministry. It has taught me a lot and helped me to deepen my own faith. I have long had a desire to get a sense of how members of other denominations feel about their faith tradition and what it is about it that they love. Our dialogue group, meeting and reflecting over an extended period, building up trust and friendship, has been an ideal opportunity for this.”
The Group is currently planning this stage’s final journey together to Rome, where the resource will be received by the Catholic Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and by officers of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Roman Catholic/United Reformed dialogue pack (pdf).
The United Reformed Church and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales were both founder national Member Churches of Churches Together in England in 1990.
Read more about international and national ecumenical dialogues.