First Reformed Ecumenical Liaison Officer in Rome is Installed

On Sunday 5 November 2023, the Revd Tara Curlewis was installed as the first Ecumenical Liaison Officer in Rome for the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The installation ceremony took place in the Waldensian Evangelical Church in Piazza Cavour, during a worship service led by representatives of the WCRC, the Waldensian Church and the Church of Scotland, the three bodies sponsoring this new role. Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Fr Martin Browne OSB, Official of the Western Section, also attended the service. The sermon was preached by the Revd Dr Hanns Lessing, Acting General Secretary of the WCRC.

Revd Tara Curlewis is an ordained minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. She has served congregations in rural and urban locations in New South Wales and most recently has been serving as General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia. As well as her role as Ecumenical Liaison Officer for the WCRC, she will also serve as Minister of St Andrew’s Church of Scotland congregation in Rome. On Sunday 4 November, she was greeted by Pope Francis in the context of the visit of the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Right Revd Sally Foster-Fulton.