with one voice on controversial issues.

The Rev. David Chisling, of Southampton Methodist Church, wants the Island's denominations to set up a new body to present a common Christian view on issues like homosexuality, poverty and even tourism.

At a meeting on gay rights last week Mr. Chisling called for religious tolerance. He said ministers on the Island face "professional suicide'' if they get involved in issues their congregations don't want to know about.

He added a credible church group is needed to deal with such controversies.

But, he told the meeting: "I don't think that Bermudian churches understand getting along together''. And he said "power-playing'' is taking place.

Mr. Chisling told The Royal Gazette Bermuda needs something like a unifying national council of churches, run on the same lines as the World Council of Churches, with an executive director and staff.

And he suggested the present church umbrella body, the Bermuda Christian Ministerial Association, should "wind down''.

"There's some extremely dedicated people on that organisation who come monthly to participate, who take part and who have a vision for the organisation. But it calls out for some form of reformation.

"It doesn't have a broad representation of the churches on the Island. At the May meeting held in my church six ministers attended.'' The association had not been able to get a Bermudian president, which it needed, and a "significant number'' of its members were expatriate ministers.

"Over the four years that I've been here there's been a kind of frustration within the organisation over what you did with this unbelievable group of Christian ministers in putting together an effective organisation that does what it's supposed to do.

"There has to be an organisation in Bermuda that does speak on behalf of all the churches somehow.

"You can't deal with some of these crazy issues out there in the world today unless you sit down and talk.

"You can't live together in harmony and in peace and not understand your neighbour.

"In this day and age, because of what's happening around the world, people have to begin to put down their reactions to difference. You have to look at Yugoslavia and what's happening.

"All this fighting about gay rights or whatever turns people off the Church.

Why should a lay person go to a church that is fighting with its neighbours?'' BCMA president the Rev. Harlyn Purdy said the association represents about 35 congregations. Bermuda is estimated to have around 100 places of worship.

"We basically have representatives of every Christian denomination in Bermuda to my knowledge,'' he said. "Part of the problem with involvement of the clergy is that there is a large percentage of the Bermudian clergy that work full-time jobs as well as pastor their churches.'' They found it hard to come to meetings, held on Tuesday mornings, while expatriate ministers were almost always full-time pastors.

"We're now trying to find ways of making meetings more accessible.'' Mr. Purdy said a national council of churches is not needed, and would need a lot of money.

"I think the BCMA is a very good vehicle to accomplish whatever the Church needs to accomplish.''