A United Reformed Church minister was elected one of three presidents of the General Assembly of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) in Switzerland, last week.

The Revd Dr John Bradbury, Minister of Duxford URC, Duxford, Downing Place and Whittlesford LEP, all in Cambridgeshire, will serve for six years alongside Professor Miriam Rose, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Jena, and the Revd Dr Gottfried Locher, President of the Council of the Swiss Federation of Churches, who was appointed Executive President.

Speaking about his election, Dr Bradbury said: ‘It’s a real joy, that as we move further away from Europe politically, I’ve been entrusted with a role at the heart of the URC’s very own European Church family; a family who remind us we’re not just a small non-conformist denomination on an island, but part of a vast communion of churches who find their roots in the Reformation.’ 

The CPCE is the Communion of Lutheran, Reformed and Methodist Churches across Europe, and comprises 95-member churches from more than 30 countries which represent about 50 million Christians.

The Assembly explored the work done since it last met six years ago, and discussed included: the plurality of religious life in Europe; what it means to be in communion with different faiths; and the results of initial conversations to reach a historic agreement for the first ever formal dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and an ecumenical communion.

The URC was also represented by Miss Sarah Kissack, a member of URC Youth, the Revd Sarah Moore, Cumbria Area President, and the Revd Prof Neil Messer, Professor of Theology at the University of Winchester. 

Prof. Messer presented a resource document on the ethics of reproductive medicine, which had been prepared by the CPCE's expert group on ethics. The document was discussed in a group session focusing on the pastoral aspects of these new and complex bioethical issues.

Miss Kissack, who was part of a team of young stewards, spoke about how much she enjoyed the Assembly, saying: ‘It was an amazing experience to meet people from all over Europe. We’ve been able to discuss things we really disagree about, but in a spirit of friendship.’

^{Picture one: The Revd Dr Gottfried Locher, Professor Miriam Rose and the Revd John Bradbury, the CPCE's three presidents. Credit: CPCE}

^{Picture two: The Revd Dr John Bradbury, Ms Sarah Kissack, the Revd Sarah Moore and the Revd Prof Neil Messer. Credit The Revd Dr John Bradbury}