Events – Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome

Online Event – “One in Ministry to All the World” on 19 October

September 14, 2026meorome

You are warmly invited to join us online on Monday, 19 October, for this event organized by the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church (MERCIC), the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, and Wesley House Cambridge.

The international Methodist-Catholic dialogue will publish a new document “One in Faith and Ministry to the World” in September 2026 following its 12th round of theological dialogue. The document focuses on unity and diversity in the church and its implications for the mission of the church.

In this 90 minute program, the Rev. Dr. Edgardo Colon-Emeric, dean of Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC, USA, and the Most Rev. Shane Mackinlay, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia, will present the new document and offer their personal reflections on unity and diversity for mission from Catholic and Methodist perspectives.

The event takes place on Monday 19 October 2026 at 15:00/3pm (UK Time) online.

Register on EventBrite

Public Conversation on “Ecumenical Relations on the Journey of Synodality” by Abp. Shane Mackinlay on 25 June 2026

June 2, 2026June 19, 2026meorome

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Caravita Community invite you to a public conversation with Archbishop Shane Mackinlay of Brisbane on Thursday, 25 June 2026 at 7:00 PM/19:00.

The event will be held in a conversation-style format as Archbishop Shane shares on the topic “Ecumenical Relations on the Journey of Synodality,” sharing about the role of Christian unity in the Catholic Church’s ongoing process of more synodal church.

The event will be one hour and will be held in English.

The event will be held on Thursday, 25 June 2026 at 19:00 (Rome) at the Via Venti Settembre Methodist Church, located at Via Venti Settembre 122, 00187 Rome.

Via Venti Settembre Methodist Church

About Archbishop Shane Mackinlay

Archbishop Shane Mackinlay was born in Melbourne in 1965 and attended the local government school until his family moved to Ballarat in 1975. In Ballarat, he was a student at St Francis Xavier Primary School and St Patrick’s College, where he was dux in 1982. He has two siblings and is the uncle of five nieces and nephews.

He studied for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College, Clayton, completing theology studies at Catholic Theological College and a degree in physics at Monash University. As a deacon, he served in the parish of Warrnambool, before being ordained as priest for the Ballarat Diocese in 1991, and serving in the parishes of Hamilton, Colac and Ballarat Cathedral. He then undertook graduate studies in philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, where he completed a Master’s degree and a doctorate. His doctoral thesis was published by Fordham University Press.

Archbishop Mackinlay was administrator of the Casterton parish for six months and parish priest of the Sebastopol parish for four years. He was parish priest of the Bungaree parish from 2005 until his appointment as bishop; from 2009, he also provided weekend sacramental ministry for the neighbouring parish of Gordon.

For several years, he taught philosophy at Australian Catholic University, Ballarat. Most of his teaching has taken place at Catholic Theological College, Melbourne, where he was appointed Master in 2011. The following year, he was appointed Associate Professor by the University of Divinity.

He was secretary to the Bishop of Ballarat from 1998 to 2001 and was the Chairperson of the Bishop’s Advisory Council of the Ballarat Diocese from its establishment in 2009. He was a member of the College of Consultors of the Ballarat Diocese on two occasions and also served as chair of the two funds that provide support to the active and retired priests of the diocese. From 2012 to 2014 he was the spokesperson for the Catholic Church during the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Mackinlay as the eighth Bishop of Sandhurst on 23 July 2019. Since then, he has been elected as Vice-President of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia and as one of the Australian members of the Synod for a Synodal Church. In 2019, he was asked to join the Methodist–Roman Catholic International Commission, and in 2022 was appointed as its Co-Chair.

Archbishop Shane Mackinlay of the Sandhurst Diocese succeeded Archbishop Mark Coleridge and was installed as Archbishop on September 11, 2025, thus commencing his episcopal ministry in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Ecumenical Prayer Vigil of Peace – 20 March

March 16, 2026April 2, 2026meorome

Responding to the recent commitment of four General Secretaries of Christian world communions to “continue to pray for the victims of war, to advocate for justice before political leaders, and to serve those affected by conflict through our diaconal ministries,” the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, the Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office in Rome, and The Anglican Centre in Rome with the Taize Community are together holding an ecumenical prayer vigil for peace in troubled times on Friday.

This time of ecumenical prayer will take place on Friday, 20 March 2026 at 20:00, in the Church of Santa Lucia of Gonfalone, located at Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 12, 00186 Roma RM.

Church of St. Lucia of Gonfalone

Read the statement from the General Secretaries.

On-site parking is not available.

Please note that there will be a photographer/videographer present for communication purposes.

Concert by Renowned Organist and Composer Mark A. Miller

January 8, 2026January 8, 2026meorome

Renowned Methodist organist and composer Mark A. Miller will be in concert in Rome on Friday, 9 January at 19:00/7:00 PM.

The concert is organized by the Methodist Ecumenical Office and the Caravita Community.

The concert will take place on Friday, 9 January at 19:00/7:00 PM at the Oratory of Francis Xavier of Caravita, located at Via del Caravita 7, 00186 Rome.

The concert is free and open to the public.

About Mark A. Miller
Mark Miller believes that everyone is a child of God and that music is instrumental in healing the world. He also adheres to Cornel West’s belief that “Justice is what love looks like in public.”

Since 2006 he has been a Lecturer in Sacred Music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School. Mark is Professor of Church Music, Director of Chapel, and Composer In Residence at Drew University in Madison NJ, and is the Minister of Music of Christ Church (UCC & American Baptist) in Summit, New Jersey. Mark believes that music, social justice, and the beloved community are inextricably tied.

His hymns and anthems are sung by communities of faith throughout the world and are published by Choristers Guild, Hal Leonard, Hinshaw, Abingdon Press, Santa Barbara Music Publishing and others. Mark’s popular compositions for pipe organ are published by GIA and Morningstar. His songbook “Roll Down Justice! Sacred Songs & Social Justice”, was published in 2014 by Choristers Guild. His album, “Imagine the People of God”, is available on itunes.

In 2017 he was appointed to serve on the Hymnal Revision Committee of The United Methodist Church. Miller spends a portion of the year traveling the country, often with his band S2C (Subject to Change), leading worship and workshops, preaching and presenting concerts focused on creating community and advocating for social justice. Overseas he has led choirs and performed in Sweden, South Africa, Austria, Russia, and the Baltic states.

Mark is a lifelong United Methodist. He is the grandson, son, brother, uncle, and cousin to clergy in The United Methodist Church.

Mark is a graduate of Julliard (M.Mus. in Organ Performance) and Yale University (B.A. Music) and was Assistant Organist and Music Associate at The Riverside Church from 1999-2001 and Director of Contemporary Worship at Marble Collegiate Church from 2002-2007, both in the city of New York.

When he’s not working, Mark is home in Plainfield, NJ, with his husband Michael Murden. They have two adult children – Keith and Alyse.

Public Conversation with Bishop Knut Refsdal of Norway on 26 November

November 17, 2025November 17, 2025meorome

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Caravita Community invite you to a public conversation with Bishop Knut Refsdal on Wednesday, 26 November 2025 at 7:00 PM/19:00.

The event will be held in a conversation-style format as Bishop Knut shares on the theme “the Church in Search of New Vitality, Purpose, and Hope,” sharing how Methodists in northern and eastern Europe are discerning in the Holy Spirit their future and working for a church with a witness marked by renewed vibrancy and hope.

The event will be one hour and will be held in English.

The event will be held on Wednesday, 26 November 2025 at 19:00 (Rome) at the Oratory of Francis Xavier of Caravita, located at Via del Caravita 7, 00186 Rome.

About Bishop Knut

Born in Porsgrunn, Norway, Bishop Knut is the bishop of the Nordic, Baltic, and Ukraine Area of The United Methodist Church, overseeing Methodists in 6 nations in northern and eastern Europe. He was elected and consecrated bishop in April 2025. Bishop Knut was the general secretary of the Christian Council of Norway (2012-2018) and UMC district superintendent in eastern Norway (2018-2023). He was the pastor in the Church of Norway parish in Jeløy, Norway, immediately prior to his episcopal election and consecration; The United Methodist Church and Church of Norway have a full communion agreement which authorizes the interchangeability of ministers between the churches.