THIS time last year as Councils and Committees readied themselves for the General Assembly there was little hint of the storm that was brewing in the ranks. The General Assembly, however, is an extraordinary phenomenon and while it is easy to criticise, it is never easy to predict. As a gathering the General Assembly has the ability to conjure up all manner of feelings and emotions. I have seen it act with great compassion and grace. I have witnessed it reaching compromises that, at one and the same time, have perplexed the firebrands of the left and the right.
And just occasionally I have seen it act with frustration and force. Last year’s Assembly fell into that latter category. It jettisoned the Council of Assembly’s strategic plan for 2018 – 2028 and it ordered up something more far reaching. Indeed, for better or for worse, it ordered up a Radical Action Plan which, over the period 2019 to 2022, would have the effect of bringing about “much needed reform within our Church”. I was once advised that one should never over-promise in case one under-delivered, and I do hope that on this occasion the General Assembly has not set that trap for itself.