COMMISSIONER Betty Matear (Territorial President of Women's Ministries, UK Territory) has become the first Salvationist to hold the office of Moderator of the Free Churches in England and Wales. She was inducted to the position at a public ceremony at The Salvation Army's William Booth College in London and will hold the post for four years.
The Free Churches Moderator represents 21 denominations with a shared basis of Christian faith which collaborate with each other and promote fellowship and united action. The Moderator is also one of four presidents of Churches Together in England. The other presidents are the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, and a fourth nominated by other churches in England including Orthodox, Black Majority, Lutheran and Quakers. The fourth president is currently Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain.
During the induction service, which was attended by senior representatives of the constituent denominations of the Free Churches Group, Commissioner Matear was invested with a medallion of office by the outgoing Moderator, the Rev David Coffey, who is President of the Baptist World Alliance.
Rev Coffey led the meeting and testified that the Christian gospel came to his family through The Salvation Army. His grandfather was saved after attending an open-air meeting in Consett, County Durham. He said: ‘I also thank The Salvation Army for the gift of Elizabeth Matear to us as our new Moderator. We gladly receive her as your gift to the wider Church.’
The newly-inducted Moderator was invited to sign a Bible, after which Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian invited Commissioner Matear to sign the Churches Together in England Presidents Covenant that was originally signed in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in 2002.
Rev Pam Cram, Moderator of the Free Church Council of Wales, read from Ephesians 4, before Commissioner Matear delivered an address based on the passage, encouraging Christian love and unity.
Her sermon spoke of the need for the Church to pull together, to publicly show how Christians of different denominations love one another. She also warned of the dangers of diluting the Christian message in a world which seeks to 'squeeze God's word into a man-made mould'. Demanding a bold response, Commissioner Matear urged: 'We have to be people of God who speak the truth, speak out the truth; hold the truth and hold out the truth. The Church ... has to be much more than a silent witness.'
Musical support for the occasion was provided by the cadets' band and the International Staff Songsters.
Speaking prior to the induction service, Commissioner Matear outlined her personal agenda. 'I wish to emphasise that which unites rather than that which divides Christians.' she said. 'I want to focus on the strengths of particular denominations and how we can enrich each other. For example, while I firmly believe in the particular ministry of The Salvation Army, I also believe in the particular ministry of other denominations. Every Christian needs to be confident in who they are and willing to tell society about their confidence in God.
'It is a huge privilege working with these other leaders. I feel very humble, particularly in the light of the rich heritage of the British Free Churches. I hope that we can build on this heritage in the next four years. In these days one major evil is human trafficking and I believe the churches must speak and act to combat this.'
Report by Captain Dean Pallant