Since the Harare Assembly, Faith and Order has been exploring a number of issues which have emerged out of our previous work and out of the perceptions by the churches of those questions which need to be addressed before they move towards communion - that is to move beyond their own boundaries. 

Quite clearly from the 180 responses by the churches to the Lima document "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry", there was a perception that an underlying ecclesiological understanding of the nature of the Church had been evident in BEM. Therefore, it was strongly recommended that Faith and Order explore the nature and purpose of the Church in the period after BEM and after the Fifth World Conference on Faith and Order in Santiago de Compostela (1993).

The Commission began an exploration on ecclesiology and produced a draft text. The methodology used was that of trying to determine theologically the nature and purpose of the Church and to identify those issues that define the boundary. Those issues have become regarded as non-negotiable or difficult to negotiate before the churches can move into relationships of full communion or unity. 

This method of working, which involves going back to the biblical and theological resources behind the later disagreements, draws on the methods used in BEM. By going to biblical roots, distinctions were made that enabled churches to move beyond their perceptions of each other and to negotiate the boundaries. Such distinctions included, for example, those between episkopé and episcopacy, or between apostolic succession and apostolic tradition, or the emphasis upon anamnesis and the recovery of that tradition of biblical scholarship - which opened up the possibility of greater agreement around issues like the sacrifice of Christ and the presence of Christ in the eucharist.

When the draft document, "The Nature and Purpose of the Church" (Faith and Order Paper No. 181) was completed, it was sent to churches, theological commissions, councils of churches and other appropriate bodies for initial comment. Some 40 responses have been received, and the text is in the process of being re-drafted. The comments have been substantial and helpful, and the redrafting process is well under way. While it was clear that there was a geographical and confessional imbalance in the responses, steps have been taken to try to address this. Much of our attention is focused on how to provide suggestions for overcoming some of the issues identified as intractable.

Alongside the re-drafting process, it was felt that certain questions that perhaps were insufficiently treated in the earlier document needed to be explored in their own right. Therefore, a series of four consultations has been arranged during this period (1999-2004), namely:

• a consultation on "Ecclesiology and Mission" with colleagues in the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism;
• a second consultation on "Does the Church Have a Sacramental Nature?";
• a third consultation on "Authority and Authoritative Teaching", and
• a fourth consultation which took up the issue "Ministry and Ordination in the Community of Women and Men in the Church".

The second boundary issue is that of baptism. Baptism into the death and rising of Christ is baptism into a reality which is both particular and universal. And yet the churches have found it difficult to appropriate the recognition of each others' baptism. Old tensions still exist between those who baptise on the basis of a personal confession of faith, and those who baptise infants; between those who see baptism as a once-off event, and those who see it as typical of the whole of the Christian life.

In recent work, it has been felt useful to not only explore the theology of baptism, but also to examine the liturgical services of the different churches to elicit what in effect each church does in practice, what meaning is attached to it, and how far baptism becomes the basis for ministry and for sharing in the community meal, and the recognition of ecclesial communities.

The earlier work on BEM led to a number of churches entering new relationships, e.g. Porvoo, Meissen, Formula of Agreement, Waterloo, etc. In these it is very clear that the section in BEM on Baptism provided a foundation for the recognition of each other's membership and church. Some United-Uniting Churches have incorporated multiple baptismal practices in congregations, as also have some Local Ecumenical Partnerships.

In addition, several factors have led to an increase in first-time baptisms of adults - also in churches which practice infant baptism. This has led to a new situation where adult baptism is more of a reality in all churches.

How far are we able to build on this work and extend to that impulse mutual recognition to each other thus crossing the boundaries?

At the meeting of its Standing Commission in Budapest (1989), Faith and Order decided to explore the issue of ethnic identity, national identity and the unity of the Church. It was clear that conflicts throughout the world are more related to internal ethnic conflicts than to international conflicts between nations.

Churches find themselves on different sides of these ethnic conflicts in particular. This may well be a result of the comity agreements made at the beginning of the century whereby churches agreed to have a missionary presence in specific areas, and the map of Asia and Africa in particular was "carved up" between churches - which would not be competing, but would relate to particular peoples in a spirit of co-operation.

Different typologies are used by the churches to explore the different experiences of their communities - the typology, for example, of exile over and against covenant, the typology of victim over and against master, the issue of land. Is land to be owned by a people? Is land given for stewardship to a people and what does this mean in terms of relationships?

An Ethnic Identity study has involved collaboration with councils of churches in conflict situations, particularly Fiji, Sri Lanka, Sudan and an ecumenical institute in Ireland.

The scandal of the situation of the churches' immersion in communities in conflict is that the Gospel is held captive. The boundaries are marked by Gospel paradigms. How can churches overcome these? The project will be further developed through two consultations with biblical scholars, theologians and social scientists who will examine nationalism, ethnicity and unity from their own perspective, but also in interaction with the local self-studies.