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Ecumenism in Retreat
In his enthronement sermon as archbishop of Canterbury in 1942 William Temple famously declared the ecumenical movement to be "the great new fact of our era." In this book Martin Camroux tries to face honestly how hope met reality. By the end of the century the enthusiasm had largely dissipated, the organizations that represented it were in decline, and organic unity looked further away than ever. One significant ecumenical merger took place in Britain--the creation in 1972 of the United Reformed Church, which saw its formation as a catalyst for ecumenical renewal. Its hopes, however, were largely illusory. With the failure of its ecumenical hope the church had little idea of its purpose, fo...
The Quest for Authority
Authority lies at the very center of what it means to be called together in an ecclesial community and shapes how the Church understands its purpose and orders its activity. It can manifest itself as something owned and used by those in power, yet it is something fundamental to the entirety of Church life. However, while some polities exude authority in every pronouncement and every action, other ecclesiologies find it more difficult to locate and express authority, often needing a quest to explore and discover the authority that shapes the Church’s life. Focusing on the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom, this book explores the particular shaping and bringing together that is a characteristic of a United and Reformed ecclesiology and examines how this influences ecclesial polity and practice. Matthew Prevett argues that authority in ecclesial life can be understood historically and empirically, drawing deeply from the well of tradition and history yet inspired by the social, political, and technological challenges of the twenty-first century.
The Story of the Moderators
David Peel, a leading United Reformed Church theologian, writes in his introduction: This is a study of a translocal ministry. The ecclesiologies of the churches which have united in the United Reformed Church (URC) have placed a great deal of emphasis upon local ministers, those who are set apart to serve discrete pastorates made up of one or more congregations. Only scant attention in our ecclesiological thinking has been paid to those whose ministries are not locally based. He continues: The focus of my interest in this study... is not translocal ministry in general, but one form of it in particular, namely, that by which churches exercise oversight (episcope) over their congregations and those who serve them. This well timed study explores what it means to be a synod moderator in the United Reformed Church, exploring the nature of what it means to be a moderator and offering a clear way forward. Essential reading for those interested in the state of the modern Church. David Peel is the author of Reforming Theology: Explorations in the Theological Traditions of the United Reformed Church (London: The United Reformed Church, 2002).
Rejoice and Sing
Rejoice and Sing is a completely new collection of hymns and songs for the United Reformed Church. It is the first major hymnbook to draw together the three traditions within the URC and as such represents a significant landmark in the history of the denomination. The editors and compilers have aimed to offer a worship tool or use by today's Church. The material included ranges from the traditional and familiar to those pieces with a more contemporary feel. In addition to hymns and psalms Rejoice and Sing contains a number of liturgical items, including responses and prayers for congregational use. Although intended primarily to reflect the distinctive character of the URC, Rejoice and Sing is also offered to Christians in wider ecumenical circles as an important new resource for sung worship.
Reforming Worship
The Reformed tradition of worship in England has given the English-speaking world the Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God, and the hymns of Isaac Watts. In this collection of essays, scholars and ministers who are inheritors of this tradition reflect on the continuities, innovations, and tensions in Reformed worship and their lived expression in contemporary church life. Among the tensions explored is that between order and freedom in worship, and the bold contention is made that "ordered freedom" is the scriptural mark of the church's worship and the character of all good liturgy, for "order is love in regulative operation" (Anglican- Reformed International Commission). This collection of essays on the theology, history, and practice of Reformed worship also includes examples of psalmody, liturgy, and a sermon.
Reforming Theology
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