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NCCA FAITH AND UNITY COMMISSION - FURTHER STUDY ON AUSTRALIAN CHURCHES COVENANTING TOGETHER
Following the recommendation from the 2007 Forum of the NCCA, the Faith and Unity
Commission has continued to study covenanting with a view to assisting the churches to
further engage in the covenanting process begun in 2004. To help focus our work we
sent to the churches and to the state councils of churches two questions for consideration:
What is it about our churches which makes the process of implementation of the
“Australian Churches Covenanting Together” difficult? What makes it work when it
does happen? Responses to these questions came through the members of the
Commission on behalf of their respective church. From among its members the
Commission received papers from the Anglican Church, the Churches of Christ, the
Lutheran Church, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Roman Catholic
Church, the Salvation Army, and the Uniting Church; and input from the General
Secretary on the roles of councils of churches, and from NATSIEC. One comment was
also received from a state council. This material has enabled the Commission to reflect
further on Australian Churches Covenanting Together, and to offer these reflections to
our churches. Our hope is that this report may assist churches to keep thinking about
covenanting and to better understand the possibilities the covenanting process provides
for deepening relationships with each other in practical ways.
Stories of Covenants
We heard stories of some recently formed covenants, the most prominent of which were
those between the Anglican and the Roman Catholic Churches at a diocesan level. In
NSW there is the tri-diocesan covenant between the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle and
the Roman Catholic dioceses of Maitland-Newcastle and Broken Bay. A feature of this
diocesan covenant is the conscious attempt to have local Anglican and Roman Catholic
parishes enter into a local covenant. More recently the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Toowoomba has become part of the long-standing covenant between the Anglican
Diocese of Brisbane and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Other stories of covenanting focused on rural and remote Australia. Two examples were
considered, involving the Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory and the Lutheran
Church of Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory District. These covenants
reflect the special situation of rural and remote areas, especially in the provision of
ministry. Among other things, they enable the minister of one church to provide pastoral
care to the members of the other church, and to lead worship – usually according to the
rites of the minister’s church.
The South Australian Council of Churches indicated that it was focusing on
baptism/initiation as a way to look more deeply at covenanting. The purpose was to
arrive at concrete and practical ways for the churches to implement Australian Churches
Covenanting Together.
From these stories there emerged certain elements that seemed to facilitate covenanting.
· The importance of church leadership was crucial. This seemed to work well when
the respective leaders had a close personal and professional relationship and had
already been engaged together in a variety of activities and projects in the church
and in the local community. The diocesan structure of the Anglican and Roman
Catholic churches seemed to facilitate this sort of leadership, especially where the
local bishops had been resident for some years and had been able to gradually
develop good relationships.
· Another element that facilitated covenanting was the support of the local clergy.
A commitment to regular joint clergy meetings also seemed helpful. This not
only enabled clergy to get to know each other, but also to consider together the
pastoral needs in their local area and then to seek ways of jointly responding.
· A further element that facilitated covenanting was good formation at all levels of
church life. When this happened the covenant was not something that came out
of the blue, but was seen as a natural step in the relationship between the
churches. Moreover, good formation helped people understand both the scope
and the limitations of the covenant.
The situation in rural and remote communities brings out more clearly the link between
covenanting and already existing inter-church relationships. In these places the natural,
local community that exists in a town or district contributes to the good relationships
between churches. Further, the fact that these church communities are often responding
to pastoral needs (and often a crisis in the provision of ministry) highlights the concrete
nature of a local covenant.
Covenanting has both theological and existential dimensions. The theological basis is the
common faith that the churches can recognise they share. The existential dimension is
the concrete way in which that faith is shared – sometimes out of necessity, to help sisters
and brothers in need, and sometimes as an aspect of a shared civic life. When two or
more churches enter into a covenant it comes to expression in a concrete, existential
form.
It was noted that among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christians there was
already a highly developed capacity to work across denominational boundaries, because
their sense of communion as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was stronger
than their denominational identity. A concrete example of a commitment to a practical
goal is the Make Indigenous Poverty History campaign.
Some Questions and Difficulties Arising in the Churches
Our study has shown that many churches still face difficulties with the idea of
covenanting. In some cases there are conceptual difficulties, especially when there could
be a variety of meanings of covenant. Some may expect too much from a covenant, as if
it represents full church union. Others who regard it as a solemn act feel that some acts
of covenanting appear rather trivial. For all of our churches, our self-understanding as a
church affects our understanding of the nature and purpose of covenanting.
The structures of authority in some churches have resulted in a questioning of the
significance of a national church body entering into covenant. Is this done on behalf of
the local congregations? In other words, it would seem that the significance of the
original act of covenanting is interpreted differently in different churches. Some have
interpreted it as paving the way for similar covenants at the local or congregational level.
Others have appreciated the significance of the original event and are happy to live within
the spirit of that original act of covenanting without seeing the need for more local
expressions of the covenant.
It is quite clear that there are many local initiatives involving prayer together, joint
pastoral care, joint public advocacy etc that have never been formalised in an act of
covenanting. The question posed by some is what difference a formal covenant would
make. Or again, could these instances be seen as concrete expressions of the national act
of covenanting. While it is true that these situations should be considered in relation to
their respective church’s engagement in the national covenant, the argument for a local
covenant is that by covenanting together the participating churches bring before God in a
solemn act a commitment to unity and common mission.
Closely connected to this is the question of whether the act of covenanting is more about
affirming an already existing unity, or more about a stage taken on the way and a means
to reach the final goal. Our Commission does not opt for one or other of these alternative
interpretations, and suggests that the act of covenanting involves both an ontological and
a functional dimension. In the act of covenanting, churches acknowledge before God the
unity already received as gift, no matter how strong or weak that unity may be. At the
same time the covenanting churches make a commitment to each other to act together to
the extent that they are able. They also commit to using this present situation as the basis
for deepening their unity. The very nature of their act of covenanting means that it is
always dynamic and should be renewed periodically.
These different responses have also highlighted a question about the role of the NCCA
and local councils of churches in the covenanting process. Our exploration of this
question reminds us of the aims of councils of churches to keep before the churches the
imperative of unity and to help them find ways to express the unity they already share. A
council of churches provides a forum where churches take seriously their commitment to
each other.
Our study also suggests that the structures in some churches are less conducive to acts of
covenanting. For example, the Uniting Church in Australia wonders if the relatively
short tenure of its leaders makes it difficult to develop the sort of interpersonal
relationship with the leaders of other churches that will lead to a solemnising of its
ecclesial relationship with other churches. Moreover, the different territorial
configuration of the churches (diocese, district, presbytery etc) could make it more
difficult to enter into a covenant relationship beyond the congregational or parish level.
It was also observed that some smaller churches feel that the Anglican Church, the
Roman Catholic Church and the Uniting Church do not often make it easy for smaller
churches to enter into these covenanting relationships. Perhaps a slightly different form
of covenanting might be possible.
It is well known that a change of leadership can bring a different set of priorities for a
church. Without the commitment either to enter into a covenanting relationship or to
reaffirm an existing covenant any acts of covenanting will be weakened. It was observed
that for some churches, especially those with a strong evangelical focus, acts of
covenanting would be a low priority.
It was also noted that the issues facing a particular church and its internal life could make
any acts of covenanting impossible for the time being. Pressure can come from within
the membership of the church to resist the idea of covenant. On another front, some
churches have resisted entering into a new relationship with a church that is debating
doctrinal and moral issues.
Some Practical Suggestions
Several churches have indicated that it would be helpful to see articulated the various
levels and forms of covenanting relationships. A useful resource could be the small
document “Australian Churches Covenanting Together Locally”. This is available on the
Faith and Unity website. It gives some practical examples as well as a brief theoretical
overview.
The possibilities for covenanting are numerous, and it will be for local churches to work
out what they can do together and commit to together. The list below gives some
examples:
· On the local level covenanting could draw churches into regular prayer for each
other at Sunday worship.
· On the local level covenanting could see churches commit to some joint action by
way of outreach to the needy or marginalised.
· On the local level a covenanting relationship may involve churches being
committed to a joint analysis of the pastoral priorities in that area.
· In a rural area a covenanting relationship may see two or more churches make a
commitment to offer pastoral care to the other when one of them is no able to
offer ministry in a small community.
· At a regional level two or more churches entering into a covenanting relationship
may make a commitment to hold an annual meeting of clergy and ministers.
· At a regional level two or more church leaders may enter into a covenanting
relationship that commits them to promote some degree of joint theological
formation and/or on-going formation for those preparing for ministry or already in
ministry.
Recommendations
At the 2007 Forum of the NCCA new members were invited to sign Australian Churches
Covenanting Together in those places where they were able.
1. We recommend that this become the accepted practice for new member of the
NCCA. In this way, Australian Churches Covenanting Together becomes for the
NCCA an instrument by which it assists the churches to enter into deeper
relationships with each other. For the churches, the multilateral act of
covenanting concretises their commitment to each other and to the unity of the
church.
Australian Churches Covenanting Together was always intended to by a dynamic
document that reflected the growth in unity among the churches. National heads of
churches signed it on behalf of their church.
2. We recommend that churches be encouraged to regularly evaluate their
ecumenical relationships at all levels of church life in the light of their
commitment to each other at a national level.
3. We recommend that the Faith and Unity Commission be asked to monitor
international agreements between churches with a view to helping Australian
churches commit to equivalent agreements at the local level.
4. We recommend that the various dimensions of Australian Churches Covenanting
Together be reviewed at each Forum of the NCCA, with a view to broadening
them when member churches can recognise new developments in their
relationships.
There are many instances across the country where local congregations join each other
for such things as prayer, bible study, and support for the poor and marginalised. There
are instances where they share buildings and other resources.
5. We recommend that the churches invite those at parish level to acknowledge what
they are already doing and to bring this before God in a solemn act of
covenanting.
6. We recommend that these local covenants or local agreements be renewed
annually, perhaps at a time of the year that is significant for all the churches
involved, or else during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Most of the stories we have heard of covenanting have involved bilateral relationships.
7. We recommend that covenanting be a topic for consideration at the next Forum
on Bilateral Dialogues. The aim of such a consideration would be to help the
churches recognise the agreements that have been reached with their dialogue
partners and to prompt them to look for ways to bring the unity they already share
to concrete expression.
NCCA Faith and Unity Commission - March 2010