Panel on Review
and Reform |
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CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS
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The Panel on Review and Reform Panel
listens to change in the local church, especially
developments inspired by the Church without Walls
report which was received by the General Assembly
in 2001. |
The following offers an overview of that original report
and the action taken.
The 2001 report Church without Walls report
Church without Walls,
a report accepted by the General Assembly in 2001, aimed
to provide a 'big vision' for the Church, relevant to
every part of the Church and over many years. The 2001
report restated the primary purpose of the Church is to
follow Jesus Christ. We are his people, travelling where
he leads us. We are invited to risk this way and break
our addiction to security.
| The report went on to explain that
a church which hears this call will be shaped by:
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- the Gospel - a rediscovery of the grace of God;
- the locality - responding to the varieties of our
changing contexts;
- friendship - with fellow members, the next generation,
the searcher, the community, other churches, rich
and poor, the world church, God's creation;
- the gifts of God's people - growing the church around
the gifts we have been given.
It offered the following key proposals for change:
- live with a Gospel for a year;
- review community, worship and leadership;
- integrate children and/or create new churches;
- develop paths for the journey of discipleship;
- plan strategically to develop leadership in congregations
in worship, pastoral care and mission;
- work in teams and partnerships;
- recover the role of the evangelist;
- turn the church 'upside down'- priority to the local;
- renew prayer life;
- encourage sabbatical time from church activities;
- fund new initiatives through special funding;
- review overall financial strategy;
- dare to take risks.
Visit our resources page to download a copy of the
2001 General Assembly report, and subsequent reports
and updates approved by the Assembly.
Recent work
In 2005 the whole Church celebrated our journey of discipleship
and explored what it means to be shaped by the four themes
of Church without Walls:
- the Gospel;
- the locality;
- friendship;
- the gifts of the people.
The celebrations had three distinct elements:
Local
Each congregation was encouraged to celebrate the Feast
of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Christian
year, on 20 November 2005.
Regional
Every presbytery, or group of presbyteries, was invited
to find an imaginative way of celebrating Church without
Walls, and small grants were made available.
National
A one-day event took place on Saturday 28 May 2005 in
Edinburgh at which representatives from every congregation
came together for shared worship, storytelling, learning,
inspiration.
Further information about these events and the Church
without Walls initiative are available on our
dedicated pages online here.
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