The Accra preparatory committee met in Torre Pellice, Italy in July, just before the annual meeting of the Alliance's executive committee. This was its last opportunity to discuss the 24th general council, which will meet in Ghana at the end of July 2004.

Accra logo As the preparatory committee sought to envision ways to increase broad ownership of the council's actions, it found the experience of the Uniting Church in Australia and other churches with more participatory styles of discussion and decision-making helpful. With expert assistance from Jill Tabart, the committee experimented with consensus decision-making.

The whole executive committee, which met immediately afterwards, tried out what it decided to call "indicator cards" (orange cards to show agreement or warmth towards an idea, blue cards to show coolness or a sense that there is more to be said), and was impressed. But the committee also noted the lengthy period of preparation in the Uniting Church of Australia before the new style of decision-making was adopted.

In the end, "consensus" got an emphatic blue card for precisely the reason Jill mentions in her article: too many committee members felt consensus suggested decision-making by compromise and the avoidance of radical debate. "Discernment" and "participation", however, were warmly affirmed.

The rules of procedure are agreed at the beginning of each general council, which gives the delegates in Accra freedom to manoeuvre.

The report accepted by the executive committee suggested "opening up the rules of procedure to allow for greater flexibility, to increase participation and to avoid tedious and technical debates... The purpose of the council is community-building and discernment of God's will for the council... Robert's rules do not help culturally and can be misused."

The committee agreed on a set of principles that would enable new rules of procedure to be drafted and presented for approval in Accra:

intentional community-building
more transparency
more mutual accountability
respect for dissent
respect for minority views, to avoid domination by the majority
use of indicator cards (for voting members and those with the right to speak) to help the flow of the meeting. Cards will have instructions written on them in all languages.
voting by show of voting card, not using "Aye" and "No". (Is a simple majority enough? Would it be better as we move towards a discernment/participatory method to ask for a greater majority - two-thirds?)
support for the chair and council members in using these procedures

The report emphasized that presentations and reports should include the whole spectrum of argument (eg reports should state both majority and minority viewpoints). If the house is divided, it suggested that small groups might be used to explore the issues, to listen to one another, and discern a way forward, respecting all views.

The committee was clear that this was not just a technical discussion about procedure but raised fundamental questions about what it means to be the church and to be a church assembly. This theological framework was important in discussing the practicalities.

The committee was also clear that whatever rules of procedure are eventually agreed for Accra are likely to be just the first step in a long journey towards a different and better way of working.

Páraic Réamonn