Rev Andrew Doubleday, UCANZ Ministry Facilitator by Supplied

Change or Die

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What gathered steam as a great idea in the 1960s and almost came to fruition as a form of organic unity in the 1970s, stumbled at the last hurdle and crashed to never rise again. I’m talking about the ‘Plan for Union’.

By the time the final vote was taken, and it was discovered that the numbers weren’t quite there, the whole thing collapsed. My hunch is the result was more out of exhaustion than a lack of desire.

In the meantime, the vision - the dream - had nevertheless caught on. Local groups continued to see their future as being together. Around the country today there remain over 100 Co-operating Ventures (CVs) – parishes of different denominational partnerships – no two looking exactly alike. Although there have been more dissolutions than new such ventures over recent years, the dream remains alive – if not within the partner churches, within the CVs themselves. The reality is that the partner churches have, for reasons of their own, steered away from CVs as a viable option for the future. The forming of new CVs is no longer the automatic default option when faced with the possibility of closure or the possibility of a new church venture in new communities. It seems the general commitment to our current CV model of ecumenism is one of death by attrition.

This is where we are. I have perhaps a unique vantage point, a viewing place that allows me to see differently. I have the privilege of being able to engage with the partner churches (Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian) at national, regional and local levels. I get to see both the best and the worst. I’ve met amazing people! It’s easy to be critical of church leaders – yet it also has become clear to me why so many of them are in their roles – the grace of God in them has so often been so obviously recognised. Yet, it’s not enough. Alone, the future looks dire.

My hunch is that our future will need to be together in some way. Yet we are collectively burying our heads in the sand. All the partner churches are engaged in rear-guard actions hoping that the latest ‘shiny object’ in terms of an overseas programme, throwing money at a problem, or simply magical thinking, will reverse our decline as denominations. It won’t. At some level we continue to look backward to the ‘glory days’ when our churches were full, our Sunday Schools amazing, and fellowship groups fully engaged - imagining that if we can rediscover the essential ingredient of our denominational secret sauce, then all will be well. It may. It’s unlikely.

We may need to move to a more permission-giving model of resourcing parishes/congregations in the future. What I have noticed, is that where CVs are allowed to explore their own way of being church in their specific community – supported, yet unencumbered by denominational strictures – they have a chance of making a go of it. Tragically, we often regard these churches as problematic, as they lack enthusiasm for bowing the knee to denominational priorities.

UCANZ is providing an opportunity for a conversation about our future. We are planning our Biennial Forum for Kings Birthday at the end of May 2025 in Auckland. The theme – Our Future Together. This is not just for those involved in CVs – it’s for church leaders across the board in all our partner churches who have a concern for the Church’s future.