June 14, 2003
by Matthew Davies

Members of the Scottish Episcopal Church's annual General Synod, meeting 12-14 June, voted today to press on with plans for a Scottish 'super-church', despite the Church of Scotland's decision to back out of the discussions last month. Talks will now continue over a possible merger with the Scottish branches of the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church (URC).

The proposals drawn up by the Scottish Church Initiative for Union (SCIFU) will now go out to the church's seven dioceses for further debate and a final vote will be cast at next year's General Synod.

If the plans go ahead, congregations will be grouped together in a geographical area to form a 'maxi-parish'. This is at the very heart of the SCIFU proposal. The vision is of a group of Christians from a variety of traditions coming together to form one 'parish' in a given location. Some of the areas that will be organised at parish level will be:

- the initiation and co-ordination of outreach and mission - preparation for admission to membership or confirmation - the deployment of the maxi-parish ministry team (lay and ordained) - the encouragement and training of lay ministries - managing the finances of the parish

Dr Richard Crockett, an Edinburgh-based church member in favour of the motion, said, "I make a plea that we in the Scottish Episcopal Church give our Methodist and URC friends the assurance that we are committed to bridging the gaps between us."

Dr William Reid from the Methodist Church in Scotland, asked Synod members to put the Church of Scotland decision behind them and confirmed that the Methodists wish to continue dialogue. He said, "Do not throw the baby out with the bath water. That would not advance right relations in the Kingdom of God, nor would it lead Scotland's churches forward to greater unity." He added that the report is a genuine, honest and maturely negotiated discussion.

The Revd Alison Fuller, Diocese of Edinburgh, was in favour of withdrawing from the SCIFU proposals. "I am one of many who is passionate about ecumenism but not SCIFU," she said. "Without the Church of Scotland the maxi-parish is no longer workable. We should be more dedicated to supporting local ecumenical partnerships."

Concern was raised about the impact that this decision could have on the global church. The Revd James Milne, Diocese of Brechin, said, "We need to know our status in the Anglican Communion if this were to go ahead. Would the SEC remain as full members of the Anglican Communion as we are now. If not, we would be sacrificing membership with every province. That would not be moving towards one Holy Catholic and apostolic church."

The Rt Revd Robert Halliday, retired Bishop of Brechin, reaffirmed the concerns of James Milne, saying, "Lambeth sees beyond the Anglican Communion to what they call 'wider episcopal fellowship'. I hope that we would not enter into an agreement that Lambeth gave the thumbs down to."

The SCIFU proposals, released earlier this year, are the result of seven years of talks between leaders in the four participating churches.

The full SCIFU document can be found at: www.scotland.anglican.org/SCIFU_report.htm

Anglican Communion News Service