Adopted by the Leuenberg Church Fellowship at its fourth assembly (Vienna, 1994), it is the most important text approved by the fellowship since the Leuenberg Agreement of 1973.

It describes the church as the "people of God". Since the people of Israel also understands itself as the people of God, this naturally raises the question of the relation between Christians and Jews.

Not surprisingly, then, Vienna commissioned a further study on The Church and Israel, and the result was submitted to the fellowship's fifth assembly, which met in Belfast in June.

The study surveys past efforts to understand the relationship between the two "peoples of God" and offers its own thoughts. But in the end it falls back on assertion and a confession of failure. It is "fundamentally inappropriate" to say that the church has replaced Israel as the people of God. The title must not be applied to the church "in a way which denies it to Israel". Until the final goal of "all of God's history with the world" has been reached, however, Christian theology "will not be able to solve the mystery" of the relation between the church and Israel. Only then will the people of God appear visibly "in the way God has predetermined for it".

Socratic wisdom or eschatological copout? Only the end of time will tell.

"Christian preaching is public and is addressed to all people," the study says. It urges churches, however, to refrain from activities "directed specifically to converting Jews to Christianity". Since Jews generally regard such activities as proselytism, or even cultural genocide, this is an understandable position. But the theological arguments offered for it seem weak, and unlikely to convince those earnest 19th-century evangelicals who created the Jewish mission precisely on the ground of God's unfailing love for his people - or their successors today.

The study is written against the background of the shoah - the Nazi genocide - and may be seen by Christians elsewhere as a rather European text.

It was read in Belfast, however, against the background of the al-Aqsa intifada. Rightly, it says that Christians are "united in solidarity" with Jews, and that this applies also when churches take a stand on the Arab-Israeli conflict. But it fails to ask how Christians may speak a word of critical solidarity in the face of the current murderous policies of the state of Israel.

The Leuenberg Church Fellowship unites in communion more than 100 Lutheran, Reformed, United, Methodist and Hussite churches in Europe; it also includes five churches in South America.

The Belfast assembly agreed to open a theological dialogue with Baptists in Europe to discover whether it is possible to "deepen and extend" the communion which already exists with them. Such a dialogue, it said, need not confine itself to the obvious topic of baptism. It should include any issues standing in the way of full church fellowship.

Queen's University, Belfast

The fifth assembly met at Queen's University, Belfast, at the invitation of the local member churches: the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland and the Lutheran Church in Ireland. It took place at a critical moment in the Northern Irish peace process - politicians invited to attend the opening service pulled out at the last minute because of the need to engage in talks. During the meeting there was rioting and sectarian violence in North Belfast.

In small groups, delegates visited local projects where practical steps are being taken towards reconciliation, often across church and community divides. They were impressed by what they saw.

The assembly issued a statement:

extending deep sympathy to all who have suffered as a result of the conflict in Northern Ireland;
supporting all grassroots activities which foster trust and confidence, "because no political settlement can ever work without the building of bridges between the traditions"; and
encouraging political leaders to continue the hard work to develop a peace process where people of all traditions may feel at home in this land.

Modestly, it offered its hosts the Leuenberg model of "reconciled diversity". Simply put, this says we can be one in spite of our differences; we can live together without killing each other. It is a lesson the Irish - and others - have found hard to learn.

Páraic Réamonn