Methodist Conference 2005 Receives First Report on Anglican-Methodist Covenant

The first ever ecumenical report for the Anglican-Methodist Covenant signed between the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain is to be presented on the Methodist Conference 2005 by the end of June.

Prepared by the Joint Implementation Commission (JIC), which is made up of six Anglicans, six Methodists and a participant observer from the United Reformed Church (URC) since 2003, this first interim report mainly focuses on the scriptural and theological reflections on the meaning of Covenant. It then moves on to explore possible practical ways forward, according to a press release from the Methodist Church of Great Britain today.

The report at this stage aims to stimulate discussion and debate in both churches regarding the Covenant, as well as to reinforce the local partnerships that already exist. JIC will continue to take the responses from the churches and is expected to draw another report in 2007-8.

The Co-Chairs of the JIC have warmly welcomed the publication of the first report which has symbolised the ecumenical work in progress within the two churches. They hope that the document will "provoke wide discussion in both churches and with their ecumenical partners".

The Revd Prebendary Dr Paul Avis, Anglican Co- Convenor of the JIC, complimented the report, "the JIC has covered quite a lot of ground in a short time. The excellent working relationships between the members of the group have been a model of what the Covenant is meant to achieve."

The JIC report acknowledges that, despite their historic shared roots, the custom and practice of the two churches has developed in different ways. One very obvious difference is the use of bread and wine in communion services, which is to be addressed in the report. The attitudes of the two churches to lay people presiding at communion services; the factors that would enable those ordained by one church to be fully interchangeable with those from the other, are the other two main areas covered by the report.

Once again, rather than suggesting specific resolutions to these issues, the report will help frame the debate so that members from both churches can understand and respond to them, according to the press release.

An additional issue is the geography of the two churches: Methodist circuits and districts rarely match up with Anglican deaneries and dioceses, and additionally the Methodist Church covers Wales and Scotland as well as England.

The Rt Revd Ian Cundy, Bishop of Peterborough and Co-Chair of the JIC commented the work has been "a challenging but rewarding and exciting process".

"There are still some issues that require further discussion. We have set these out clearly and hope that as we move to the next stage of our work we will be able to make further progress in the light of decisions made by the Conference and the Synod this summer," he added.

Revd Avis echoed, "We hope that it will enrich the discussions that Methodists and Anglicans are having in many places on how to put the Covenant into practice. In the ‘faith and order’ chapters we set out the key elements of some rather sensitive issues so that each church can understand the other better. We put some manageable challenges to both churches. The report is intended as a springboard to further work on practical implementation of the Covenant."

The historical Anglican-Methodist Covenant was signed on 1st November 2003. It commits both the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain to finding practical ways of working more closely together. At the signing, Church leaders including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of the Methodist Conference gave presentations at a service at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The grand ceremony was concluded with prayers of thanksgiving and dedication.

The signing of the Covenant was the fruit of many decades of discussion, as a commitment to a closer relationship and on-going co-operation between the churches. The JIC was formed immediately after the Covenant to help the churches put the principles into practice and to ensure outstanding differences between the two churches continue to be explored. An initial period of five years was set for the work of JIC and it is due to report to the Methodist Conference and the General Synod of the Church of England in the summer of 2008.

Due to the challenges arising in both Churches over recent years since the Covenant was formed, the ecumenical relationship may be threatened in many ways. Sensitive issues such as the ordination of homosexual clergy and authorisation of same-sex blessings in some members of the Anglican Communion worldwide, may have prompted the British Methodists who reject these practice to rethink the meaning of the Covenant.

The Revd Peter Sulston, Methodist Co-Convenor of the JIC, said, "Another thing the report does is to explore, as its title says, ‘the spirit of the Covenant’. It shows very clearly how a covenant commitment, as Methodists recognise in the Covenant Service, can change people and situations. There is a lot here for members of the Methodist Church and Anglicans in the Church of England together to think about, talk about, pray about and then work out in shared life and mission."

The Methodist Conference 2005, the annual general meeting of the Church, will be held in the Riviera Centre, Torquay from Thursday 23rd June to Thursday 30th June. The JIC report will be presented at the General Synod of the Church of England on 8th-12th July in York.

The Methodist Church is the third largest Christian Church in England after the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. There are around 6,100 Methodist churches in Britain with almost 300,000 full members.