On Palm Sunday (13 April), the Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson, immediate past Moderator of the United Reformed Church General Assembly, was inducted as the Moderator of the Free Churches Group (FCG), a group of 29 denominations in England and Wales that operates independently of the government, by promoting fellowship, counsel and working together to extend Christ’s kingdom in every part of society. The FCG works with a particular focus on chaplaincy in prisons, healthcare and education.
Dr Henry-Robinson succeeds the Revd Helen Cameron, of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, who has completed her three-year term, and the current President of the Methodist Conference.
The service took place at the American International Church, London, along with a reception for guests from most of the denominations that belong to the FCG, who were welcomed by the Revd James Breslin, Chair of the FCG Federal Council, and the Revd George Watt, Moderator of the URC’s Thames North Synod.
After being formally inducted by the Revd Cameron and presented with the Moderator’s medal of office, Dr Henry-Robinson was greeted by representatives of member churches.
In her address, Tessa challenged all to have the boldness to speak up, to speak out and to speak truth in the public sphere:
“We are met as the Free Churches Group, a diverse body formed by different histories, shaped by different traditions yet united by one unwavering truth, that Jesus Christ the one who emptied self for love’s sake, causes us to walk the same revolutionary path of love.
“We are called to involve ourselves in a love-driven discipleship that is generous, remembering that we are a group of free churches and so we are shaped by freedom, which is about what we have, what rights and responsibilities we have, such as a right to possess priceless, grace-filled independence from state control, and responsibilities to discern and to live the gospel as communities of conscience and to follow Christ outside of rigid structures that too often stifle the spirit’s movement.
“I intend to be sensitive, but I also intend to break open some jars of perfume. I intend to be aware and generous in my conversations and in my exchanges, and in bringing my experience to bear in the movements of my office.
“I’m asking for your help: I need help praying that my impact on the people and situations i encounter will be good. As a descendant of enslaved people, I know something of what freedom means; my ‘freedomness’ is a revolution that is wrapped up with the experiences of my ancestors and this freedom, this liberation, this emancipation has been woven into my faith journey.
“We see the killing of innocent children and whole communities; we see stripping away of dignity; we see criminalising of existence, but these are not new – they are resurgent forces that demand from us a response. And what is our response? But before we can truthfully answer this we must confront this other question: what does it mean for us as the Free Churches Group to live into the humility of Christ, at such a time as this, because as the apostle Paul describes it, humility is an intentional positioning of ourselves alongside those who suffer. Why? Because it is the Jesus way. It is neither comfortable, easy, silent, passive or weak. It is a revolutionary surrendering of self-interest for love’s sake.
“I’m looking around and I see that we are obviously not gathered together because we share the same traditions or the same liturgies or the same theological frameworks, we are gathered because we are committed to a generous gospel that demands justice.
“I bring with me a commitment to be a bold presence as we go forward, determined to do the work we are united to do with a spirit of poured out generosity in faithful abundance. So let us go forward together as a people who do not grasp at power, but who give of ourselves unreservedly in love, knowing that to stand at the foot of the cross is to stand with the crucified peoples of our world, and to stand with the crucified is to stand with Christ.”
The Revd James Breslin, as Chair of the FCG Federal Council, thanked Helen Cameron for her term of office, which included the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.
“Helen came to us as a busy Methodist minister, Chair at that point of two Methodist Districts, now President of the Methodist Conference. In all of that, she has been more than faithful in the work she has done on behalf of the FCG. The moderator is very much the public face of the Free Churches Group, and when Helen took on this office, she did not expect it to be quite as public as it has turned out to be!
“The Moderator is also patron to some 40 charities, we can share just how much work Helen has done with many of those, along with taking part in the work of the board, where she has been a light in a dark place. She has helped us to work through the difficult task of safeguarding, helping us to address this issue and helping address this issue in our member churches.
“Helen has been an exemplary moderator, she has done all of this sometimes struggling with her own health, and we are grateful for all that she has done and for all that she will continue to do during this next couple of years when she serves as previous past Moderator.”
- Photos on Google Drive are available on request. Please credit Andy Jackson/URC.
- You can watch the service on the URC’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/URCUK or on the URC’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/TheUnitedReformedChurch/
Words and photos: Andy Jackson