02 Jul GS 2019 art 21
GS 2019 Article 21 – FCS (Free Church of Scotland)
1. Material
- 1.1 Report of the Committee on Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA) regarding the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) (8.2.2.1)
2. Observations
- 2.1 GS 2016 (Art. 46) decided concerning the Free Church of Scotland (FCS):
- [4.1] To continue Ecclesiastical Fellowship (EF) with the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) under the adopted rules;
- [4.2] To mandate the Committee on Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA):
- [4.2.1] To continue personal contact with the FCS whenever that is feasible (e.g., at meetings of the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC), mutual presence at assemblies of sister-churches, and to send a delegation to their assemblies at least once every three years.
- [4.2.2] To encourage the congregations to seek out and strengthen ties with local FCS congregations in North America.
- 2.2 There are no FCS congregations in the vicinity of CanRCs; there are several congregations on Prince Edward Island.
- 2.3 The CRCA reports that they have visited the General Assembly (GA-FCS) of May, 2017, and reviewed the materials for this GA. On the basis of that review and visit, they conclude that “the FCS desires to be a faithful church of Jesus Christ.”
- 2.4 There is no report concerning the annual GAs of 2016 or 2018.
- 2.5 The CRCA recommends to continue the relationship with the FCS.
3. Considerations
- 3.1 There is no point in continuing the mandate “to seek out and strengthen ties with local FCS congregations in North America,” given that there are no FCS congregations near CanRCs.
- 3.2 The committee is positive about the faithfulness of the FCS. However, for synod to be able to evaluate the CRCA’s assessment, it would have been helpful to receive more information. For example, there is no information concerning the GAs of 2016 and 2018.
4. Recommendations
That Synod decide:
- 4.1 To continue the relationship of ecclesiastical fellowship (EF) with the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) under the adopted rules;
- 4.2 To mandate the Committee on Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA):
- 4.2.1 To continue personal contact with the FCS whenever that is feasible (e.g., at meetings of the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC), and mutual presence at assemblies of sister churches);
- 4.2.2 To send a delegation to their assemblies at least once every three years;
- 4.2.3 To submit its report to the churches 6 months prior to the convening of the next general synod.