Reform was a
conservative evangelical organisation within
Evangelical Anglicanism
Evangelical Anglicanism or Evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or Churchmanship, church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "co ...
, active in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
.
Several large Anglican churches in England were members of Reform, such as
Jesmond Parish Church (in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
),
St Ebbe's, Oxford and
St Helen's Bishopsgate (located in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
).
In May 2018, Reform merged with the
Church Society.
History
Reform was started in 1993 to oppose the
ordination of women
The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...
to the priesthood (like
Forward in Faith in the
Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
tradition) but has recently focused on advocating a conservative
view of homosexuality. Reform has also been involved in encouraging people to be involved in the structures of the Church of England and to celebrate what is good about what the Church of England officially believes. Reform is keen to recognise the unique value of women's ministry within the church. Some Reform members support ordination of women to the priesthood, but not their appointment in charge of a parish or similar. Reform members are also divided over the issue of the remarriage of divorced persons and the issue is left out of the definition of marriage found in the Reform Covenant.
Reform stand firmly in the more
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change.
Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
Places
* Reform, Al ...
tradition of the Church of England, but while they disagree of the interpretation placed upon Anglicanism by Forward in Faith (e.g. views about the
Eucharist
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
, the meaning of
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
,
prayers for the dead and to the
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
s) they pledged at their 2006 conference their co-operation with that Anglo-Catholic grouping to oppose the acceptance of women as bishops within the Church of England.
On 19 February 2018 it was announced that Reform, along with another body, the Fellowship of Word and Spirit, was to merge into the organisation
Church Society. In May 2018, Reform and the Fellowship of Word and Spirit merged with the Church Society to provide a united voice for conservative evangelicals within the Church of England.
Leadership
From 2007 to 2015,
Rod Thomas has been chairman of Reform. In 2015, it was announced that he was to be the first dedicated
conservative evangelical bishop, as the new
Bishop of Maidstone
The Bishop of Maidstone is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent.
Canterbury suff ...
: he took up the appointment upon his consecration as a bishop in September 2015.
Thomas's successor as chairman of Reform was Mark Burkill, the Vicar of Christ Church,
Leyton
Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...
.
List of associated churches
*
Christ Church, Westbourne
*
Holy Trinity, Eastbourne
*
St Peter's, Tunbridge Wells
*
St Mary's Eastrop, Basingstoke
*
Sherbornes with Pamber Parish Church
*
Christ Church, Surbiton
*
Emmanuel Wimbledon
*
St Nicholas, Tooting
*
Christ Church, Peckham
*
Christ Church, Mayfair
*
All Souls, Langham Place
*
Christ Church, Leyton
*
Holy Trinity, Lyonsdown
*
St George's, Dagenham
*
Dagenham Parish Church
*
St Helen's Bishopsgate, London
*
Dundonald Church, Wimbledon
*
St Peter's, Harold Wood
*
All Saints, Wandsworth
*
St John's, Great Clacton
*
All Saints, Little Shelford
*
St Andrew the Great
St Andrew the Great is a Church of England parish church in central Cambridge. Rebuilt in late Gothic style in 1843, it is a Grade II listed building. The church has a Conservative Evangelicalism in Britain, conservative evangelical tradition an ...
, Cambridge
* All Saints,
Riseley
*
Christ Church, Matchborough
*
Christ Church, Wyre Forest
*
Jesmond Parish Church, Newcastle
*
St Ebbe's Church, Oxford
See also
References
{{reflist
External links
Reform website
Church of England churchmanship
Anglican realignment
Evangelicalism in the Church of England
Anglican Churchmanship