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Action of Churches Together in Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) is an ecumenical grouping of churches and associated organisations in Scotland, founded in 1990. It is the successor to the former Scottish Council of Churches. Formerly based in Dunblane, its office has recently been relocated to Alloa.
ACTS is one of the four national ecumenical bodies in the UK, with equivalent bodies being Churches Together in England, Cytûn in Wales and the Irish Council of Churches, plus Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
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- Church of Scotland
- Congregational Federation
- Methodist Church
- Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
- Roman Catholic Church
- Salvation Army
- Scottish Episcopal Church
- United Reformed Church
The current General Secretary (since 1999) is the Reverend Dr Kevin Franz (of the Scottish Episcopal Church), but he will move to work for Quaker Peace & Social Witness in 2007. The Deputy General Secretary is the Revd Lindsey Sanderson of the United Reformed Church. There are also two Network officers to support the work of the four Networks of ACTS.
ACTS is a place where churches meet, experience, reflect and share together. It is not intended that ACTS should develope into a "superchurch". Prior to 2003, four member churches of ACTS were part of the "Scottish Churches Initiative for Union" (which sought institutional unity), but a negative vote at the General Assembly in 2003 entailed the withdrawal of the Church of Scotland from SCIFU. Henceforth, greater emphasis has been placed on the development of Local Ecumenical Partnerships.
The principle of being Churches Together is of central importance to the work of ACTS. Essentially, this is known as the "Lund Principle" (which was adopted in Lund by churches at the third world conference on Faith and Order in August 1952.) This states:
"the churches should act together in all matters ... except those in which deep difference of conviction compel them to act separately"
The agenda of ACTS is set at a national level by the church denominations through their representatives on the "Scottish Churches’ Forum". The Church of Scotland and Catholic Church each have four representatives on the Forum; other member churches have two representatives each. The Forum has a Convener and two Vice Conveners.
ACTS has four Networks, which are central to the work of ACTS. These are:
- Church Life (focusing on worshipping together)
- Church and Society (serving the community together)
- Faith Studies (studying together)
- Mission (proclaiming together)
The Associated Ecumenical Groups (AEGs) are bodies of the Scottish Churches’ which each have a specialist subject area and remit. There are currently seventeen.