If charismatic renewal is being tested for its ecumenicity, where and how might charismatics (and especially the leaders) impact the ecumenical movement? Charismatic Renewal by definition, is the appearance of Pentecostal phenomena within historic denominations. So there is some inevitable engagement of charismatics and non-charismatics, whenever individuals experience Spirit Baptism and remain within their denominations. If charismatics are to make an impression, they will certainly have to engage in the normal denominational pastoral and management processes. This is discussed in detail for the Catholics in chapter 2. But in general charismatics may need enlightening, not only to recognise their unique potential to make an ecumenical impression, but even prior to this, of the importance of engaging ecumenically at all.
So where might one locate the areas where charismatic renewal could have an influence upon the official ecumenical processes? I suggest five immediate locations: a.‘Professional’ ecumenists (in the sense that working ecumenically is part of their official job description), who happen to be charismatics. There are undoubtedly many whose commitment to the search for unity is born out of a sincere inner conviction which could be engendered by a call of the Spirit. I have not attempted a survey on this, but know from first hand contacts that many County Ecumenical Officers would identify themselves as ‘charismatic’. There would be others who would decline the label but still acknowledge a spiritual motive in engaging ecumenically. Owning the label ‘charismatic’ for a particular individual, may not mean much more that it being one ingredient among many that seemed important, but
that is not to deny the real authenticity and importance of the charismatic ingredient in the particular individual’s total theological outlook.
b. Theologians. There are undoubtedly individual members of the key international ecumenical dialogues who would have been happy to be labelled: ‘charismatic’. e.g. in the Vatican/Pentecostal dialogues there were participants on both sides who were influenced at first hand by their charismatic experiences; and given the several international dialogues that are or have been recently current, one can be sure that there has been a great deal of serious theology done by those of a charismatic spirituality. The reshaping of their theological approaches as a direct result of charismatic renewal is looked at in greater depth in Chapter 5.
c. Actual churches ‘signed up’ to Churches Together in England, which are charismatic in ethos. These would include the Icthus Fellowship (sought membership of CTE and were accepted in 1995). This latter church is the first of the newer independent Restorationist churches to sign up. Some of the Black Majority churches joined CTE at its inauguration. For example: the Cherubim & Seraphim Council of Churches (whose leaders are styled ‘bishop’), the Council of African & Afro-Caribbean Churches, the International Ministerial Council of Great Britain, the Joint Council for Anglo-Caribbean Churches, the New Testament Assembly. In recent years the Southam Road Evangelical Church Banbury has signed up to CTE. This latter single independent church may or may not be charismatic in ethos, but I include it here to illustrate that Churches Together in England is intended to link not only the large denominations but also the single congregation.
d. The charismatics within the main denominational churches. All the main denominations will have within them a fair number of charismatically styled Christians. I estimated that the ordained ministries of the main denominations might
well have something between 10-20% of their ministers who might identify with charismatic renewal. This estimate is based on personal encounters with many ministers of several denominations over many years. In the early days of charismatic renewal, (1960s to 1970s) there seemed a tendency to be more self –conscious and enthusiastic when owning charismatic experience. In the last thirty years it has tended to become ‘one component among others’ for individuals’ spirituality.
The influence of these ministers, as far as promoting the unity of the church is concerned, will be significant, and likely to be centred at the local level. In the gatherings of local churches in towns, it is likely that ‘unity in the spirit’ will be the prior spur to any local theological work. Local unity is likely to be both ‘spiritual’ and ‘institutional’.
e. The religious ecumenical communities. These contain people from a spread of theological and ecclesiastical traditions but who seem drawn into community by a conviction of God. They have a particular witness to unity. Some have grown up contemporaneously with Charismatic Renewal, some as a direct result of Charismatic Renewal like the Bugbrooke Community in Northants. (now closed). Rostrevor and Corrymeela in particular in Northern Ireland have significance in that they bridge the Protestant-Catholic divide in a land split along sectarian lines of the same name. Maranatha as a ground movement is an attempt to hold together a focus of Renewal, Mission, and Unity mainly in Prayer Groups. Other communities such as Iona and Taize make interesting comparisons.
The importance of the communities is that they provide microcosm ecclesial models of unity being worked out in small groups. By observing the dynamics and theological integration and/or tensions of smaller groups it will be possible to draw some conclusions about how Christian unity might look on a macro scale.
Any one of these five areas could provide a subject for more detailed study, but they are grouped together here to sketch the wider scene. Measuring the ecumenical effect of charismatics in these five areas is not an exact science, but observation over time may be significant.
2.7 Summary
This chapter has traced historically the ecumenical inclinations of some Anglican Evangelicals from the mid 1960s, focusing on their alternative ways out of the collapse of the original Anglican–Methodist Union scheme, and the collapse of the Ten Propositions for Unity. The post Keele 1967 Anglican Evangelicals not only committed themselves more fully into the wider denomination, but they also developed a positive ecumenical attitude, developing fresh theological thinking. Furthermore they began to see in the Charismatic Movement a serious contributor to ecumenism.
The thinking and energy that seemed initially to have been wasted in the collapsed schemes, provided the groundwork for the inauguration in 1990 of the New Ecumenical Instruments. These instruments have moved the ecumenical movement in the British Isles on to new frontiers beyond anything previously achieved; and evangelicals have played a major part in them. But even these new frontiers have a large gap between themselves and the final goal of a visibly united church. How far charismatics themselves, will self-consciously play a major part in ecumenical advance is still an open question. The next chapter will look at this specific question in relation to the Roman Catholic Church