They say that all roads lead to Rome. In May of this year the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle led his fellow Church Leaders on a Pilgirmage to the eternal city. Here our own moderator reflects on the experience.
Whatever our churchmanship, and however we locate planning strategy and decision-making, a good relationship between church leaders enables or, at least, does not prevent creative and imaginative working together.
This is true of local pastorate/parish relationships – and on the wider front where it is possible to work towards, plan and make best use of human, material and financial resources for service, development and mission.
I remember the change that happened in one place where I worked when we replaced the twice-yearly meeting of ministers and clergy – to plan the week of prayer and Remembrance Day, respectively – with weekly prayers.
Currently the Church Leaders in the North East meet regularly to develop a relationship of trust, and to establish a basis of working together.
We generally meet twice a year to eat together, share prayers and discussion about issues of significance. There are occasional informal meetings over a meal. From time to time a group of Church Leaders will pay a visit to a specific area or project to listen learn about the key issues of the community, to show concern and support for pieces of mission or service work that are being undertaken, and to be seen walking together.
An exceptional example of this kind of bridge-building occurred when recently Bishop Kevin, Roman Catholic bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, arranged for a group of eight Church Leaders from the North East to visit Rome. We stayed at a delightful pension run by a community of nuns, overlooking central Rome and within 15 minutes walk of St Peter’s – inf
o available on request, but NB doors close at 11.00 pm!
Our time was divided in three basic ways:
1 We visited a number of holy sites – most especially the burial place of St Paul in the Basilica of St Paul without the Walls and the reputed burial place of St Peter in the Scavi excavations under the high altar of St Peter’s Basilica. In both places we were aware of a feeling of their being special locations, invested with the care and devotion of centuries. If these were not actually the right stories, places and bones it was some like them – so there was the sense of earthing of a special story, common to Christians of all traditions.
2 We met with and heard from some interesting people. The British Ambassador to the Holy See told us of the delicate balance that has to be struck between diplomacy that relates to the state of Italy and relationships with the Vatican. He talked of his opportunity to hear concerns from nations and community groups around the world as focussed and reflected in their relationships with a religious rather than political institution, with its own distinctive interface between diplomacy and human and spiritual values.
We spent two sessions in the Council for Promoting Christian Unity. They are responsible for the oversight and organisation of a whole range of dialogues with world-wide confessional bodies from different Christian traditions. These seek to clarify understanding of the faith and its expression from different traditions, unlearning the hostilities of the past, and exploring common themes and features in the faith and spirituality of churches with different background and history.
3 We were part of a general audience with the Pope. Thousands of pilgrims drawn from all over the world gathered in S Peter’s Square. Greetings given and prayers and bible reflection offered in a dozen languages – all in a heady mix of spirituality and circus. And our group on chairs of honour no more than eight paces from the Pope’s chair. It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to bring greetings from the Synod and the United Reformed Church, and to ask him to use his influence to draw together all Christian peoples.
This article was originally written for "Around the Synod"