wfn.org | ACNS3443 European Anglicans set common goals at Madrid

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3443	|	ACNS SPECIAL REPORT	|	20 MAY 2003	

European Anglicans set common goals at Madrid consultation
by James M Rosenthal
Steps toward greater co-operation of the four Anglican jurisdictions were
evident at the 16-18 May 2003 Partners in Mission consultation held in Spain.
Building upon the progress to common mission and witness already experienced
in parts of Europe, the group, complete with representatives of ecumenical
partners and the wider Anglican Communion, set common goals in areas of
theological education, engaging with youth and calling for a rotating
presidency of the four diocesan bishops.
The Roman Catholic Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Old Catholic
Church and the Lutheran Church of Sweden all had representatives at the
meeting, held in a Roman Catholic Retreat House in Central Madrid. The Dean
of Gibraltar, the Very Revd Ken Robinson, chaired the meeting.
Host church, the Spanish Episcopal Church, welcomed the members of the
consultation to its Sunday liturgy in the Cathedral of the Redeemer, Madrid,
for a concelebrated Eucharist with Bishop Carlos Lozano Lopez preaching on
the workings of the Holy Spirit in the church today.
The four jurisdictions, the Lusitanian Church of Portugal, the Spanish
Episcopal Church, the Convocation of American (Episcopal) Churches in Europe
and the Diocese in Europe (Church of England), were represented by their
bishops, clergy and laity, as well as observers and staff from the Missions
Agencies, the Anglican Consultative Council and Lambeth Palace. The Most Revd
John Paterson, Presiding Bishop of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia,
shared insights into the way the church in his province ministers to its
various distinctive constituencies.
The official report stated that the separations felt in the Anglican bodies
"hindered their common mission in continental Europe and that reconciliation
and trust, in the name and for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, be an
immediate goal. It was clear that there was an openness to all people "who
find their spiritual home on our churches" while at the same time upholding
that any form of proselytism would be unacceptable.
The College of Anglican Bishops in Continental Europe (COABICE) and its new
commission are key to the implementation of many of the "next steps" of the
report. Needs to see the Anglican presence in a spirit on Common Prayer,
Common Future, Common Life and Common Funds and Policies for certain projects
were highlighted by the consultation members in the hopes that their churches
have moved from "awareness to trust." It was noted that the different
jurisdictions relate in different ways to some of the ecumenical partners in
"binding agreements." The report made it clear the pluralism of the present
age and indeed the perceived "secularised" environment often found people
"alienated from organised religion."
The work of COABICE was, in part, a response to the call of the Lambeth
Conferences of 1968 - 1998 on parallel jurisdictions. The need to move in a
united way with each other and churches in communion when establishing new
work was noted, as was the desire for the complete inter-changeability of
ordained persons.
The common identity of being Anglican in faith and practice led to a call for
the churches to be "servants churches." The report states that "Our
experience as minority and small churches especially calls us to ministry
among the vulnerable and marginalised in our countries and contexts, as also
to the rich and powerful amidst the diversity of our congregations."
Although there are "converging and diverging" understandings of the Anglican
presence in Europe, the atmosphere of the meeting proved to be one of
enthusiasm for embracing a common future, "building on our rich variety of
God's gifts within our distinctive heritages; gifts which will enrich our
common life, enhance our communion, even as we put behind us differences
stemming from our separated histories."
Although the churches find themselves in environments subject to "powerful
secular pressures," the consultation affirmed the need to be "a prophetic
voice in an evolving Europe."
Photo available at:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/images/acns/3400/3443madrid.jpg

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