A story of St Andrews

John Birkbeck ¹

To share rather than to declare. This brought some 200 participants from churches in 43 countries to the centennial consultation of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches gathered in the ancient and academic town of St Andrews, Scotland. In this centuries' old cradle of the Reformed faith, amid the ruins of abbeys, monasteries, churches and a castle, and within the precincts of the oldest university in Scotland, men and women from differing strands of the Alliance mustered to pray and think through the inspired and necessary theme of "the glory of God and the future of man". As that dedicated spirit, Marcel Pradervand, makes plain in the record of the Alliance over the past 100 years, the assembling of participants hardly called for nostalgia and certainly not for boasting. Cardinal John Willebrands, president of the secretariat for promoting Christian unity of the Roman Catholic Church, stated in his letter of congratulations that the theme, "puts us straightaway into an atmosphere of thanksgiving. Indeed, all the good that the Alliance has done during the century of its existence is the reflection of God's glory, manifested and communicated in Christ, the only future, because the only prospect of true life for all humanity". And yet, we did look back with proud thanksgiving and with humble confession: but there was the spur to look forward to the glory of God and the future of man.

Dr R Stuart Louden, the consultation chairman, in his welcome to all, put forth the reasons why we had come from near and far. It was to search after the will of God for his church, and prayerfully to think together in Christian fellowship on the agreed theme. We came to give God thanks at the remembrance of the first general council of the World Presbyterian Alliance which met in Edinburgh in July, 1877. And further, to rejoice that this fellowship now includes a much wider company of churches of the Presbyterian and Congregational orders, along with Reformed churches from every continent. We have come, he continued, to acknowledge that it is within the family that each of us was joined to Jesus Christ as a member of his Body, the church, one, holy, catholic and apostolic; and so in humility and gratitude we affirm God's particular gifts within our Reformed heritage, which we hold in trust for the coming great church for which we all pray and strive. We came to wait upon God and his word, that in faith and prayerfulness we may discern what God the Lord will speak.

Since the reports of the various groups and workshops, plus some of the addresses given, are fully set out on other pages, your reporter may be excused from referring to this fruit of much mental probing, spiritual insight, personal experience, and honest scholarship. It now belongs to the church throughout the world to take and read and think and act of what has been found in the sharing. Serious and concerned thought warrants serious and concerned action. This is the plea that arises from every report. Each day started with the rich benediction of devotions prepared by women from different continents. The Bible studies guided by Dr Paul Minear (USA) on the subjects of Open Your Eyes, The Hour and the Gifts, The Mystery, the Grace and the Power, and God's Glory in Man's Story, these were unforgettable and edifying moments spent with a lover of the word of God, a poet and a scholar with the genius to convince all that there is "no act more revolutionary than praising God', that "God is in the sun that never sets" and that "the width of a gate is the difference between devastation and salvation".

In his presidential report to the consultation participants, Dr William P Thompson, reiterated his belief that the need for the Alliance was greater today than when he first was associated with it. "I anticipate that its useful service will be needed for many years. While I cannot foresee specific future opportunities, developments already evident in connection with the present programme will require an even more effective WARC for the predictable future". He strongly emphasized the commitment of WARC and its member churches to the unity of Christ's church, and to the ecumenical movement. He observed a fact not always recognized, that the department of theology is occupied by engaging not so much in direct theological work but rather by stimulating such work within the member churches. It has also readily and happily coordinated such efforts and collated the results. " The familial relationships within this confessional body can, in my judgement, be nurtured best by personal contacts... It can equip us for the service of reconciliation and liberation in his world."

In his opening address, Dr James I McCord, president of Princeton Theological Seminary, USA, made many pertinent and erudite observations on the consultation theme. " The notion of the glory of God appears to constitute something of an embarrassment to certain strands of the contemporary thought." He countered this tendency by affirming that" however thouroughly the transcendent God may have been replaced by the religion of humanity, the old theme of the glory of God still abides". Speaking of the quality of life as it relates to the future of man, he stressed that this "quality" cannot be fulfilled without the corrective that glory belongs to God alone: " I t serves to correct social optimism by remembering the fact of sin and corruption, which keep even the best designed schemes from attaining full success... and it balances social pessimism by noting that sin itself is not ultimate and carries seeds for its own destruction". And, having marshalled his cogent and convincing evidence, Dr McCord concluded with this timely and timeless reminder. The Christian hope is a glorious hope. "This is the strong affirmation that stands over all history, that creation and humanity "will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21 )".

Minority churches

A healthy and inquisitive press asking questions on the plight of minority churches was reminded that WARC always had a passionate concern for the witness of such minority churches. Those who spoke freely to the journalists told what they knew and heard and had felt. They told how in east European countries the churches were now all equal irrespective of numerical size, so that there is now no majority church. They heard how in some countries the majority church was strongly welded to the government and that they were reluctant to accept the challenge of change in changing days. Minority churches become victims of a system and this gave rise to tensions. Some areas were such that an independent ecclesiastical structure was impossible since the minority church had to depend financially upon the help of the majority church which, in return, dictated policies. And, having cited something of the sufferings of his church, one defiantly assured: " Brutalities affect us but do not discourage us in our witness." And, as another claimed: " I am convinced that to belong to a minority church is a blessing. We are minus the problems of majority churches."

What does it mean to be Reformed in an ecumenical age? was the question levelled at a panel of five, representative of the participants. The logic of events and thought and no levity came out of the brief reflections. Some averred accident of birth into a Reformed home and culture; others claimed the earnest of theological studies providing no other way. One, recognizing that he was in the homeland of PT Forsyth hastened to express a deep indebtedness to that theologian's writings. The reasonableness of the Reformed faith and its amenability to continuing reformation appealed to another. All agreed that the church needs even more reformation and had an obligation to manifest a fuller unity since this was the gift of Jesus Christ to the whole church. The place of the laity in the government and service of the church likewise appealed, and warranted approval. A further unanimity was that there ought to be more thorough training for the laity, so that greater knowledge and experience might yield greater service to the glory of God. Other opinions ranged from: what could be learned from other patterns of worship, and, concerning bishops - what is meant by the office, what do we object to in that office, and, what value is there in a bishop? The need for the recovery of a reasoned evangelical faith was advocated by the African voice on this panel. Concurrence came from all when it was urged that in this ecumenical age there should be improved relationships between the churches, a cessation of competitiveness, and respect for one another. The possibilities of an organic union should not be discounted. Regarding the relation between church and state it was imperative that there exist an articulated separation of the two. There must be free exercise of religion unhampered by any ruling party or state. The church had an undiminished obligation to testify to its convictions when a state's policy ran athwart the right to worship and against social injustice. Since the Lordship of Christ concerns the whole of society, the church is justified in speaking boldly in God's name. To the poser, can we look at the flaws in the Reformed family and ask how do you visualize its future? The views opined were: Its witness will be in one church - the church of the future will be a re-formed church, in open dialogue with others in the faith - It will be a pilgrim church and not a nomadic church wandering aimlessly, but moving slowly, surely, expectantly, in the living and coming Christ. And, it will be a church where labels will disappear, one eucharistic fellowship will be utterly employed in doing God's will in the world.

The glory of the future

Some significant statements were added to the printed report of the groups as they were presented in plenary session. "The glory of God is seen in the whole life of Jesus - equally in his desolation as well as in his triumphs"...."We need a fresh study and understanding of eschatology"...."We see God's glory in persons committed to the concerns of others; in people who take upon themselves the burden of the burdened and oppressed"...."God is active in the world, giving blessing as its creator, goodness as Lord, hope as its rightful King"...."God has in Christ shown He participates in the suffering of the world"...."God is completely revealed in Jesus Christ and mysteriously present in the world. Present but not known in the world"...."If there is no creator God then there is no Kingdom at the end".

Amid the myriad memories and the spiritual inspirations of this consultation these, among others, remain vivid and challenging. The pregnant silence when all stood to remember the prisoners of conscience in al parts of the world and, when invited to cite names and needs, thought took on flesh and words became identification. The communion service in St Mary's Chapel which linked us to the Upper Room and the lesson in humility and in sacrifice - the service conducted by young people of all nations. The happy yet emotional farewell to Paulette Piguet retiring from her associate secretaryship after years of unstinted, unrivalled dedication, making her gifts an offering to God, her winsomness, patience and knowledge, a blessing to many all over the family of the Alliance and beyond.

The closing worship service in the historic Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh was - as a Dutch participant described it - "quite an event, in which the new worship material prepared especially for it by Workshop V beautifully counterbalanced the classical form of the service". At that service of word and sacrament, the newly elected officers of the Alliance were duly inducted, and with them, the whole gathered congregation committed itself afresh to follow in the footsteps of Christ.

Fresh thoughts, new hopes, high resolves, new fellowship in the faith, priorities set right, and a host of unmet experiences befell all at this consultation. And a new song written by Fred Kaan for the heart to sing and thrill over, and wed to a tune especially composed by Douglas Galbraith - all that was sought, half-found and fully grasped at St Andrews is embraced in what it claims:

As the glory of the future, and the teaching of the past, as the challenge of the presence and the here-and-now of Christ, higher still, uncaught in word, is the glory of the Lord.

And the people of the Lord said "Amen".

Notes