News and events
ICF Sends Message of Solidarity to Samoan Congregationalists
Following the disaster caused by earthquakes and tsunamis in samoa and American Samoa, where Congrregatuionalists are the largest Christian presence, ICF Co-Moderators, Phaedon Cambouropoulos and Val Price have sent messages with assurances of our prayers for our sisters and brothers in Christ.
The ful text of the message and the gracious reply received can be found in the Australia and Pacific section of "Our Regions". To read it you can click here.
Dr Steve PeayWhat is the essence of Congregationalism?
Dr Steve Peay addressed this question in his presentation to the recent Conference. Since all Congregational churches are autonomous this is a valuable, if not essential, question.
After affirming that Congregational churches should be interdependent and not isolationists Dr Peay suggested what he saw as three essential elements.
The first of these is that each church should be Christ-centred since Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. Any church that is not Christ-centred, he asserted, is no church at all.
His second point was the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit, guiding its affairs and enabling the ministry of its members.
His third point was the covenant of fellowship that is the loving cord that binds us together.
Outgoing and Incoming Co-ModeratorsMeet the New Co-Moderators
Val Price from the UK and Phaedon Cambouropoulos from Greece take up the reins of ICF as its new Co-Moderators following the recent Quadrennial Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. They succeed Patrick Shelley and Harding Stricker whose four year period hit a climax at what many have stated as being the best Conference ever.
Phaedon has been an ardent supporter of the ICF since its inception at Chiselhurst, UK, in 1977.n Since that time he has not missed a single Conference and for many years served as Regional
Secretary for Central Europe.
Val Price, a career journalist and broadcaster, is the wife of a Congregational minister. She is the first lay person to be elected to the role of a moderator.
Both chose to open their inaugural addresses with personal testimony to their faith in Christ — an interesting echo of the call to put Jesus Christ at the centre of life in our churches and in
ICF.
Both then went on to speak about their hope for the future of Congregationalism and the role of ICF in helping to give Congregationalists a global identity. Included in their addresses was
reference to Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you ..plans to give you hope and a future”.
The role of Moderator of the ICF is defined not only as presiding over the meetings of the ICF and formally representing the ICF but also of monitoring the work of the ICF Officers.
I suspect that we can expect evidence of increased activity in ICF between Conferences over the next four years.
Post Conference News
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News
ICF Members stunned by death of Steve de Gruchy
On 23rd February news that Steve had been involved in a rafting accident in South Africa and that his body was missing was rapidly circulated around the Fellowship. On 24th February we learned that he was now formally presumed dead and that a funeral service would be held on Saturday afternoon 27th February. Steve's body was subsequently found in the Mool River by police divers. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
ICF Sends Message of Solidarity to Samoan Congregationalists following Earthquakes and Tsunami
Members of the ICF found themselves caught up in the situation in Samoa and American Samoa when the are was hit by earthquakes and a Tsunami. More...
Adding New Languages
The ICF News Sheet is now available in Spanish thanks to former members of the Congregational Church in Herstmonceux, England. It is hoped that the Latin America page of this website will go bi-lingual shortly, with news from the Region included.
We have hopes for translations of the News Sheet into Greek, Arabic and Korean before the end of the year!
African Congregationalists renew commitment to justice
The United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) has renewed its efforts to become a church that stands for justice at its Assembly held in Botswana in August. More...
Find us on Facebook
ICF has a Facebook presence. If you are already registered on facebbok, or intend to be, you will find a group under "International Congregational Fellowship".
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