A new ecumenical conversation was launched in Birmingham at the end of October when the newly formed Church of England/United Reformed Church Link Group met for the first time.
The group is made up of six representatives from each Church. The group will be co-chaired by the Revd Steve Faber, Moderator of the URC’s West Midlands Synod, and The Right Revd Anne Hollinghurst, a Church of England bishop currently serving as Principal of The Queen’s Foundation, where the meeting was hosted.
For the United Reformed Church, the other representatives on the team are the Revd Dr Susan Durber, the Revds John Grundy and Tim Meadows, and Philippa Osei, a former Moderator of the URC Youth Assembly. Lindsey Brown, the URC’s Head of Ecumenical Relations and Evangelism has been appointed Co-Secretary with the Revd Tim Norwood, National Ecumenical Officer for the Church of England.
The initial gathering revealed an inspiring and varied breadth of interests and experience, and a real commitment to working together at all levels, Lindsey said. “This first meeting was a great start to what promises to be a series of lively, constructive conversations, which we hope will lead to greater understanding and cooperation between our two Churches in working for God’s kingdom locally.”
Tim Norwood added: “Historically, our churches were once deeply divided but we have grown closer in recent decades. Previous dialogues have revealed a lot of common ground, but we could do more together at local, regional and national level.”