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NEWS – World Methodist Council Statement on the Volcanic Eruption in the Pacific Ocean

January 17, 2022January 18, 2022meorome

On Saturday, 15 January, an underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami at Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai, 65 km north of the Kingdom of Tonga’s main island Tongatapu, caused waves of 1.2 m to force residents to flee to higher ground. The eruption caused shockwaves worldwide. It could be heard more than 10,000 km away in Alaska.

The World Methodist Council (WMC) officers stand in solidarity with the people of Tonga and the Pacific Islands who have been affected by the tsunami. Bishop Ivan Abrahams, General Secretary of the WMC, noted the concerns of Tongan government officials who did not want another wave – “a tsunami of Covid-19” to accompany aid to the island. He, however, encouraged the Wesleyan/Methodist family to keep the Tongan people in their prayers and mobilize the Methodist relief agencies to work together with the government and churches in Tonga. Abrahams also encouraged Methodists to consider giving to UMCOR and other church agencies in New Zealand and Australia as they respond to the situation in Tonga and the Pacific Islands.

We continue to pray for the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga and all people in the Pacific Islands in the day ahead as they deal with the tsunami’s impact.

Donations to support disaster relief can be given through the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

WEBINAR – “Voices from Bethlehem: Christian Unity in the Birthplace of Jesus” on 21 January 2022

January 5, 2022January 5, 2022meorome

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem invite you to the webinar “Voices from Bethlehem: Christian Unity in the Birthplace of Jesus” on Friday, 21 January 2022 at 09:00 Rome/10:00 Jerusalem.

The webinar celebrates the theme of the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – “we saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him” from Matthew 2 – which was selected by the Middle East Council of Churches. In this webinar Christian leaders from Bethlehem and environs will discuss the importance of Christian unity in contemporary times in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.

Speakers for the events are:

Daoud Nassar (Lutheran) is the director of Tent of Nations, a receipent of the World Methodist Peace Award
Zoughbi Zoughbi (Latin-rite Catholic) is the founder and director of Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center
Fr. Issa Michael Thaljieh (Greek Orthodox) is the parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Nativity Church in Bethlehem
Dn. Ashot Ghazaryan (Armenian Apostolic) is the secretary of the Armenian Theological Seminary of Jerusalem
Revd Angleena Keizer (Methodist) is a mission partner assigned to the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem and a resident of Bethlehem.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, will moderate the webinar.

The webinar is free and will last 90 minutes. The webinar will be conducted in English on Zoom.

Please register online to receive the Zoom link. Click here to register.

Photo: The Adoration of the Magi. Image in public domain.

NEWS – World Methodist Council Mourns Death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

December 27, 2021January 3, 2022meorome

With great sadness, the Officers and members of the World Methodist Council received the news about the passing away of Archbishop Emeritus Mpilo Desmond Tutu (7 October-26 December 2021).

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Mama Leah, the entire Tutu family, and the global Anglican communion.

We give thanks to God for the life and witness of Archbishop Tutu, a transformative leader, a priest, a prophet, and a pastor who listened to the voices of the marginalized and fearlessly spoke truth to power in apartheid South Africa and many other places around the globe where injustice prevailed.

We were privileged to have “the Arch” as the keynote speaker at the Fifteenth World Methodist Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1986.

We mourn the loss of this stalwart of justice, peace, and reconciliation, a global icon whose legacy lives on and leaves an indelible mark on the lives of many.

May he rest in peace and rise with all the saints in Glory.

Bishop Ivan M Abrahams
General Secretary
World Methodist Council

NEWS – Merry Christmas from the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome!

December 24, 2021December 26, 2021meorome

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, and the MEOR staff wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas. May God richly bless you in 2022!

“Come, let us with speed to Bethlehem go,
The house of that Bread which God doth bestow:
To all He hath given and sent from above
The Banquet of Heaven, the Son of His love.”
Methodist hymnographer Charles Wesley

VIDEO – Methodist-Salvation Army Dialogue Marks 10 Years Since Completion with ‘Working Together in Misison’ Webinar – 22 November 2021

December 8, 2021meorome

Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, Geneva Secretary of the World Methodist Council, reported:

An audience of about 80 people attended a webinar jointly organized by the World Methodist Council and the Salvation Army on 20 November.
Salvation Army General Brian Peddle and the WMC General Secretary Ivan Abrahams both challenged the participants to take up the Wesleyan call to holiness and to witness Christ in the current age Looking back to the dialogue with the Salvation Army which ended 2011, the Methodist co-chair Rev. Paul Chilcote said: “Talking with Salvationists was like a reunion with cousins around the table.” He highlighted that the report which was adopted 2011 is “action oriented”, underlined by the remarks of Lieut. Colonel Karen Shakespeare, who was one of the Salvationists in the dialogue team. She said: “We have learned that entering into partnerships sometimes allows us to more fully and effectively serve with love and compassion, teach the truths of the gospel clearly, and work to bring about God’s mission in a wounded and broken world.”
According to the theme of the dialogue report: “Working Together in Mission: Witness, Education, and Service”, we were introduced to a joint work with migrants at the Mexican/US border. “We put the learnings of the dialogue into action before we knew that there was a dialogue”, Bishop Felipe de Jésus Ruiz Agui- lar from the Methodist Church in Mexico said. Together with the Salvation Army, Methodists distribute food and clothes, offer legal assistance, and accompany those who got stranded at the border. He and Major Gerardo Ortiz were convinced: “We can do more because we work together.” Rev. Glen O’Brien from the Uniting Church in Australia serves as researcher at an institution of the Salvation Army, Eva Burrows College in Melbourne. He reported of several colleges and universities where the WMC member churches and the Salvation Army are cooperating in the field of Theological Education.
An inspiring example of witnessing the faith is “Oasis Recovery Church” in Sheffield, UK. Andy Parkinson and Paul Huggins, both working within the Salvation Army, told us that the cooperation with the Methodist Church and other partners bears fruits: People feel at home at Oasis: “We all need recovery, …not only from substances, but from all areas of our lives including the ef- fects of COVID-19.” Oasis proves: Creating one congregation with members of different churches is possible, if there is a com- mon vision and a commitment to build up the kingdom of God, not just a denomination. The webinar was organized to recall the dialogue and share best practices for working together in God’s mission.
First Friday Letter, the World Methodist Council, December 2021