102 Statement of Accord 1984

102 - Statement of Accord 1984

In the common obedience expressed in the Act of Commitment we have 

discovered no insuperable barriers of faith or order and expressed through 1he Faith We Affirm Together,* to becoming at one in understanding and confessing faith centred in Jesus Christ made possible a freedom to join together in Holy Communion

made progress towards accepting that membership in any one Communion is recognised in each of the others prayed together, listened to one another and experienced new strengths in the witness and practice of the various traditions declared to each other as Partners that we accept and acknowledge each other as belonging to the one holy, catholic and apostolic church

accepted each other's ministries as real ministries of Word and Sacrament given by Christ to the church commenced sharing resources of land and buildings, theological education, social services and chaplaincies experienced some of the richness of differing patterns of worship began to overcome the scandal of division within families and communities by establishing Union and Co-operating parishes and other local Cooperative Ventures developed co-ordination through the Forum of Cooperative Ventures and Joint Regional Committees.

Since 1980 the Partners have affirmed that they stand by this Act of Commitment.

We now humbly give thanks to Almighty God for the accord we have reached in these and other significant ways acknowledge that we have fallen short of our statements and intentions. Proposals to unite on the basis of the 1971 Plan and later proposals for a covenant did not gain acceptance.

We recognise that there are some who have reservations about claims to agreement in matters of faith that we have not made real the implications of acceptance of each other's baptism. We do not always accept each other as brothers and sisters in the one body of Christ nor our ministries as equally real and valid that the freedom to share in Holy Communion is still denied by some that our experience of common worship has at times brought frustrations and disappointments that some Cooperative Ventures are not the expressions of unity in mission that were hoped for that some of our Partners now have reservations about encouraging new cooperative ventures.

We affirm that even in our failures God speaks to us that the unity of Christ's church on earth is His will and our hope that the unity we seek is not uniformity but a unity enriched by our diverse heritages, traditions and cultures.

This unity will be marked by an ending of prejudices and hostilities and a lifting of condemnations and barriers a sharing of one faith in God and the Trinity a mutual recognition of one baptism, one Eucharist, and a ministry recognised by all ways of deciding and acting together.

We commit ourselves to continue the search for the union of our five Partners to continue to work for the wider unity of Christ's church to seek better ways of serving pastoral and administrative needs of the Partners to continue to develop ecumenical agencies for cooperation, evangelism and service ABOVE ALL, to seek a unity that will make the church a more faithful and effective sign and agent of the Kingdom in a needy broken world.

*Note: A contemporary version of the statement The Faith We Affirm Together is found in section 501