News

Former Moderator offers models for ecumenism

October 27, 2005

Speaking at the joint Church of Scotland and ACTS Autumn Conference in Perth, the former Moderator of the Church of Scotland and Scottish Churches Forum Convener, Dr Alison Elliot, offered participants three models for ecumenism.

The churches could consider ‘Constructing Unity’ by demolishing old structures and building up a new church. The barriers which exist between us need to be broken down before we can all be built together as a spiritual dwelling for God. Within this model there is the space for thinking about benign walls which keep things ordered and hold chaos at bay.

Alternatively the churches could ‘Model Unity’, respecting the richness of Christian revelation as found throughout the totality of the Church and allowing communication between the traditions. This is the principle by which the present Churches Together model works and Dr Elliot encouraged people to think about whether this was a staging post to a more unified church or an opt out of the real task?

Finally she encouraged people to ‘Discover Unity’, finding the impetus within Jesus' prayer in John 17 that ‘they may be one as you and I are one’ . Unity is God’s gift to the church and we must discover what that means through strategies which involve learning from the past, taking action as churches together and going beyond the church to learn from the witness and spirituality of others.

The full text of Dr Elliot’s presentation will be available on the ACTS website next month.