Survey of Church Union Negotiations 1996-1999

Ecumenical Review, The, Jan, 2000 by Thomas F. Best

However, there is at present no forum where all the negotiating partners meet on a regular basis to converse on issues relating to ministry, doctrine, mission or structures. There has been between the Methodist and Presbyterian churches an increase in coordination of, and cooperation in, everyday issues such as the joint newspaper, Crosslink, public issues, overseas mission, ethical standards, sexual harassment procedures, insurance and other matters.

Alongside this there has been the development of the Forum of Cooperative Ventures, which now has the role of oversight of the cooperative ventures throughout New Zealand. There is a vitality here which has grown out of grassroots participation in an organization that has as its focus unity in the local area, expressed best by joint regional committees, where representatives of the regional courts of the negotiating partners meet along with representatives of the local cooperative ventures. The oldest parish of this kind is Raglan Union Parish, formed in 1943 by the Congregational Union, Methodist and Presbyterian parishes, and even today there are a number in formation. One-third of Presbyterian congregations are now in some form of cooperative venture. The reasons for such formation are varied, but in all cases there is a will at the local level to do what the churches nationally seem unable to do, that is, to present the gospel of Christ as a united witness to the wider community. This year, a fresh challenge has come from this movement to the negotiating partners to reconsider their present stance, and to work once again to make the act of commitment a reality in the life of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Correspondent: Rev. Alistair McBride, Co-Convenor, Church Union Committee, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, 43 Vardon Road, Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand, tel. 64.7 849.3665, fax 64.7 849.2685, e-mail almac@wave.co.nz.

AUSTRALIA

Uniting Church in Australia and the Anglican Church of Australia; Uniting Church in Australia and the Churches of Christ in Australia; as well as dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church in Australia

JAMES HAIRE

The Uniting Church in Australia and the Anglican Church of Australia began a very significant new stage of dialogue in early 1999. Although there has been dialogue between these two churches for many years, this new stage of the discussions is moving forward in the quest for unity by focusing on the recognition of each other's ministries.

We are beginning by dealing with the issue of oversight (episcope). This corresponds to our approach in recent dialogue processes, where the Uniting Church in Australia has taken the view that it is often appropriate to begin with the most difficult and contentious issues rather than to end the dialogues with them. This is particularly so when both churches are long-term members of the WCC, and even more so of Faith and Order, as in this case both churches own the ecumenical movement as theirs and accept much of Faith and Order's general interconfessional work. Thus we can build on the work already done in the wider ecumenical movement, rather than "starting over again" locally.