ACTS recently organised two events for a WCC (World Council of Churches) staff group visiting Churches in Scotland. On St Andrew’s Night (Monday 30 November) ACTS welcomed the group to a meal at Over-Seas House on Edinburgh’s Princes St. The Homecoming fireworks display over the castle provided a stunning opening for a very pleasant and informal evening.
Over the next couple of days the group met with the Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church and United Free Church. Together they were looking at issues around WCC programmes and funding priorities.
On Thursday 3 December, the group had a brief visit to the ACTS office in Alloa before going on to Scottish Churches House, Dunblane. There they met with representatives of seven of ACTS Member Churches to discuss the ACTS’ experience and model of working as ‘churches together’.
The group remarked upon the quality of relationships and engagement among the Churches in Scotland. They were particularly interested in the structures set up by ACTS to support those relationships and the work of ‘being churches together’.
The metaphor of pilgrimage featured highly in the conversation. One important challenge was how to address the difficult as well as the cosy issues.
There was some discussion about how national bodies like ACTS might work more closely with the WCC, particularly in helping develop new models for working together. Better communication among groups and individuals will be key to future developments.
During their visit the WCC group also outlined four major factors affecting the world church today:
- A change in the ecumenical agenda: moving away from ‘physical unity’ towards more relational and witness issues.
- A shift in the focus of global Christianity from the Northern to the Southern hemisphere
- The development of new churches (Pentecostal, Independent) and the question as to how the traditional churches relate to them.
- Fundamental changes in global political and economic power balances
