The residential conference of the Ecclesiastical Law Society returned to the perennially fascinating topic of establishment and the relationship of Church and State, looking back to the experiences of churches in years past and forward to how these relationships might appear in the future. Inspired by the collegial and hospitable surroundings of Cumberland Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, participants were united in their interest in and engagement with the topic in hand. As is customary at such conferences there was a conference dinner, at which the Right Reverend Graham James, recently retired as Bishop of Norwich, gave the after-dinner speech.
The quality of input by speakers was outstanding. Papers by Norman Doe and Colin Podmore set the scene, looking at the history of the Church in Wales (approaching the centenary of its disestablishment) and the Church of England (Dr Podmore's paper is published above at pp 312–328). Malcolm Brown, Director of the Mission and Public Affairs Division of the Church of England, offered theological reflections on establishment rooted in the contemporary British experience (also reproduced above, at pp 329–341). Robert Blackburn, of Kings College London, gave an overview of the establishment as it fits into the broader constitution of the United Kingdom. Sir William Fittall, who has been both a senior civil servant and the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, gave a fascinating and stimulating series of reflections on the workings of establishment from the perspective of Parliament, Government and Church. Bishop Graham returned to give a paper focusing on how establishment is experienced at parish level.
Perspectives from outside the Church of England were very valuable. Paul Goodliff, a Baptist minister and newly appointed General Secretary of Churches Together in England, and Imam Monawar Hussain, who accepted the invitation to speak at very short notice, provided perspectives from ecumenical and inter-religious viewpoints. Grace Davie, characteristically insightful and comprehensive, gave a stimulating paper on the benefits of ‘weak establishment’.
The weekend concluded with the Passiontide service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park, attended by Her Majesty The Queen: a first for an Ecclesiastical Law Society conference.
