At the last two meetings of RSW we held wide ranging discussions on the character and operation of the fraternal. In March 2010 we agreed that we would continue to be a reformed fraternal, i.e. we would be clearly aligned with the Historic Reformed Faith. This means we continue to be committed to reformed doctrine, reformed worship and reformed evangelism. In October 2010 we agreed that we would seek to encourage others to appreciate the merits of the Historic Reformed Faith by opening up the afternoon sessions to a wider audience. We therefore need to address the following.

1.Firstly we must re-establish the fraternal as one which is of the above character. ‘Members’ would be those willing to confirm agreement with one of the recognised historic reformed confessions, and with the Affirmation 2010 Statement, at least in principle (i.e. with the overwhelming majority of it). New members would be always very welcome to join us but only if they first demonstrate agreement with these statements/documents.

Men who preferred not to confirm such agreement would be made most welcome to join us for the afternoon session. A suitable speaker would address a particular subject bearing in mind that there would be some present who might not be wholly in sympathy with the Historic Reformed Faith. Effort would be made to commend our position to all present. Hopefully many will be persuaded to consider again the worth of the Historic Reformed Faith.

2.Secondly we need to confirm a time and a format for the day. The next meeting (19 March 2011) will start at the usual time of 10.30am with lunch at the earlier time of 12.30pm. If we all tried to send written notes of news and items for prayer to the Secretary before the meeting, then the time taken in verbal ‘reporting’ could be a little reduced and so more time would be available for prayer, necessary planning and discussion.

3.Thirdly, we would need to specify a start time for the afternoon session. If we commence at 1.30pm, members could take lunch following the morning session and be in a position to welcome visitors to the afternoon session. The afternoon session would aim to finish at 3.30pm. The afternoon speaker would of course be briefed appropriately, i.e. that there should be an emphasis on commending the Historic Reformed Faith to all present.

I would be very grateful for as much feed-back as possible on these proposals please. Although I do not think we need re-visit our decision to move in this direction, the way in which we implement that decision needs great sensitivity.

Richard Clarke

March 2011