Report from the Reformed Church of France’s 2009 national Synod
Report from the Reformed Church of France’s 2009 national Synod
Last month, the the Reformed Church of France convened its national synod meeting. The main item on the agenda was the planned merger between the Reformed Church of France (Église Réformée de France [ERF]) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (Église Évangélique Luthérienne de France [EELF]). These two Churches re-affirmed the commitment made in 2007 to create a united church by 2013 at the latest, the better to bear witness and serve the Gospel.
Forthcoming work will concentrate on finding a name for the new Church, drawing up a statement of union, and setting up a single commission on ministry. Our reflection was deeply nourished by the experience of our sister Churches. In particular, the example of the Leuenberg Agreement, which led to the founding of the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe, was a valuable reference in this process of unification between our Churches.
Other bridges are also being built: in 1938, an attempt to unite the ERF and the Evangelical Protestant Church of France (Église Protestante Évangélique de France [EPREF]) into a single organization ended in failure. For several years now, we have been working towards reconciliation and healing. Here again, we have been stimulated by the process of union between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC), since the ERF is a member of the former, and the EPREF is a member of the latter.
The national synod this year saw the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. Some thirty guests representing sister Churches and ecumenical organisations were able to attend, including the President of the WARC, the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, whose talk at the public event organized for the occasion was extremely well received.
Throughout the synod, the ERF has been supported by the ecumenical movement, a blessing for which we are grateful.
*The Rev. Didier Crouzet is the Reformed Church of France’s staffperson for International Relations.