The Methodist Church will not consider a statement aimed at potentially redefining marriage to include same-sex couples at its forthcoming conference after a working group was hit by unexpected delays.
The Methodist Conference is the highest decision-making body of the Church. A resolution at the 2016 conference directed that a 'statement of the judgment of the Conference shall be prepared', with a view to a two-year consultation period among churches before a definitive statement was agreed in 2020.
However, an interim report to the 2018 conference says the timetable has slipped because the group's chair changed, there was 'significant ill-health' among its members, and there was 'significant disruption' because of the relocation of four of its eight members.
In a video posted by the Methodist Church, task group chair Rev Kenneth Howcroft said another factor in the delay was the complexity of the issue, which was 'not just about same-sex marriage'. 'If it was only that issue it might have been easier to bring something,' he said. 'But what we were asked to do was bring something that talked about marriage in general and relationships in general, including the marriage and relationships of heterosexual people.'
Among the issues at stake were cohabitation and sexual intimacy, and the relationship between marriage as understood under the law of the land compared with the Church's understanding of Christian marriage.
The task group also had to consider the implications of deciding not to provide a liturgy for same-sex marriage, when the Methodist Church had already decided not to take any action regarding ministers or members legally entering into such marriages, a situation Howcroft described as 'living with a slightly unhappy compromise'.
He also referred to the question of a 'conscience clause' if the Church did decide to allow same-sex marriages, for Methodists unhappy with this, and its implications for 'connexionalism' – the principle that decisions made by the Conference are binding on all Methodists. 'It is an immensely complicated thing,' Howcroft said.
However, he said a draft statement could be brought to the conference in 2019, with a one-year consultation period instead of the original two-year period meaning a decision could still be made in 2020.
