International Theology and Ethics Symposium

From the blog of FSAOF (Former Salvation Army Officers Fellowship

THE anticipation was palpable as 49 officer and soldier delegates from 26 Salvation Army territories gathered in the historic mansion of Sunbury Court near London in the UK for the commencement of the International Theology and Ethics Symposium, a global gathering of Salvation Army theological thinkers and ethicists.

A symposium is defined as 'a formal meeting where several specialists make presentations'. In that purposeful regard this gathering of Salvationists is accurately convened.

This is the third in a series of symposia, following on from gatherings in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2001 and Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2006. Collectively they have produced a collation of doctrinal and theological papers that articulately convey Salvationist scholarship. Sunbury Court 2010 will augment this collection.

Called by the international leader of The Salvation Army, General Shaw Clifton, and steered by the International Doctrine Council (IDC), these appointed delegates, representing a wide array of appointments and ministries, communicated a collective sense of privilege for the opportunity to attend and participate.

'We come as Salvationists, [as part of] God's divine design,' observed Commissioner William Francis, Chairman of the IDC, in his opening welcome.

The central theme of the presentation of theological papers during the ensuing days is the doctrine of holiness. This will be 'studied carefully' said the commissioner, 'for when we focus on holiness, we study the very character of God.'

During the opening evening delegates saw a documentary video of the historic first High Council convened at Sunbury Court in 1929, culminating in the election of General Edward Higgins, the Army's first elected international leader.

Commissioner Robert Street, vice chair of the IDC, presented the opening paper by General Shaw Clifton: 'Our Holy Heavenly Father – Characteristics of a Holy God'. The tone for the symposium was set with a cogent, scholarly and forthright treatise that arrayed essential attributes of the first person of the Trinity.

The opening hours could not have concluded more poignantly than under the devotional leadership of Lieut-Colonel Karen Shakespeare, who asked delegates: 'What are you bringing to the Symposium?' and 'What will you take back from the Symposium?'

The words of Salvationist writer Colin Fairclough outlined in the closing song beautifully summarise the shared aspirations of the Symposium:

Gracious Lord, thy grace apply,
Both to save and sanctify;
All my life wilt thou control,
Calmly ordering the whole,
That the world may ever see
Christ, and only Christ, in me.

Report by Lieut-Colonel Richard Munn