The Beginning of Tomorrow: Call to the North – Churches Working Together in Mission
Ebook
Call to the North was a unique initiative of Evangelism in the North East of England in the early 1970s. Against the background of increasing secularization of society and the gradual breaking down of historical barriers between denominations, it was of its time but also ahead of its time. Written by the Secretary to the group, this book is an important contribution to the study of the history of Christianity in England.
It is a story of hope, energy, frustration, patience and determination, in which deepening fellowship, prayer, study together and a commitment to share ‘a word which the world would listen to’ enabled former foes to become friends and share the gospel of the kingdom with the north of England despite the reserve of more conservative Christians within the participating denominations.
This book is much more than a historical recording of an event, a process or how we have taken some huge steps towards unity. It is a narrative of ecumenical meetings and planning from 1968 in the north of England, including a focused week of mission. The story tells of significant strides forward in relationships and working together, and the significant considerations of mission and leadership are well worth reviewing in our time. It raises stimulating questions of mission and leadership.
The book … is not an academic account, but that of an insider. The author … was involved from the beginning, and present at the key meetings with access to the relevant papers. This is the book’s strength.
For a reader today, it prompts a whole series of questions, to which the writer gives some answers. Why at this moment? What motivated the Churches to work together? Did it have a lasting impact?
It is hard to grasp now how unprecedented it was to have this degree of ecumenical co-operation.
As Canon Missioner for Liverpool and Secretary to Call to the North, John Gaunt Hunter was well placed to write about a unique initiative in ecumenical witness and mission in the context of northern English Christianity. This book makes an important contribution to the study of ecumenism and mission in their shared significance; and it sets out very well the challenges and the perseverance required for anyone interested in the working of churches together locally and regionally.
This is a timely and important book. The “Call to the North” remains unique as a province-wide ecumenical mission spearheaded by the denominational leaders involved. Canon Hunter is uniquely qualified to provide this closely observed account of it, one which reveals the difficulties of the enterprise and the ways found through them. CTN’s interlinking structure of small working parties in every parish, deanery and diocese, and their ecumenical equivalents, underlies much ecumenical life today. It also offers powerful evidence that shared mission is the key to unity. Was it a child of its time or of the future? Surely both.
Canon Hunter gives us a fascinating day-by-day insider’s account of the birth pangs of today’s ecumenism in the North of England. A procession of worthy individuals of very different temperament and conviction invites us to join in their fifty-year journey to the focus that is ‘no longer on doctrinal uniformity or denominational loyalty, but on the Lord of the Church, on Jesus and his gospel, and on commending him to the people of the North’ (p. 38). We who are the latest to join this procession are indebted to Canon Hunter for his lively chronicle.
This is a magisterial account of a unique time in the life and witness of Northern English Christianity. Ecumenical mission then was daring and brave, and this vivid, colourful and detailed narrative illustrates how hard it is to turn an idea into practice. Much can be learned from this past about how to do mission in the present.
- Title: The Beginning of Tomorrow: Call to the North – Churches Working Together in Mission
- Authors: John Hunter, David Bebbington
- Publisher: Sacristy Press
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781789590319, 9781789590296, 1789590299, 9781789590302, 1789590302, 1789590310
- Resource ID: LLS:9781789590319
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-06-15T01:09:07Z
John Gaunt Hunter was ordained in 1951 and served in a variety of settings in England and Uganda. As Canon Missioner for Liverpool, he was Secretary to Call to the North.