Category: News

Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, Geneva Secretary of the World Methodist Council, extends a new year’s greeting to Methodists around the world.

We have to take many hardships with us as we are facing multiple crises: wars and violent oppression all over the globe; an ongoing pandemic in several world regions and post-pandemic struggles in other places; food insecurity and hunger for millions of people; and foremost the climate crisis and the ongoing exploitation of mother earth, which is a main root cause for armed conflicts, hunger, and forced migration. What gives us hope? In Germany, where I live, an ecumenical working Group selects a watchword for any particular year. The watchword for 2023 is taken from Genesis 16:13. Hagar said: “You are the God who sees me.” Look at this painting done by the German artist Stefanie Bahlinger me.”

Hagar is crouching at the floor. She was in a crisis. She had been forced to become the biological mother of the far to long-expected offspring of Sarai and Abram. Hagar was Sarai’s slave. Hagar’s pregnancy caused troubles between her and Sarai. When Sarai decided to use her power, Hagar ran away straight into the desert. Here she is: Somewhere in the wilderness, alone, in disparity. Yet, in Stefanie Bahlinger’s painting, we don’t see Hagar in a dark environment. There is a bright ray of light over her. Hagar doesn’t seem to realize it. Yet she is seen. More so: Hagar, a sexually abused slave, and a refugee, is the first woman in the Bible to whom God speaks through an angel. Hagar is listened to, and she receives God’s promise: “I will multiply your offspring.” And her son shall be named Ismael – this means “God hears.” This did not end Hagar’s crisis. She had to go back to Sarai and Abram. But Hagar knew she was found by God. Like on Hagar, God has an eye on the oppressed and sees billions of people who are overlooked, misused, rejected, and kept in all kinds of precarious circumstances.

God is a God who sees. What a promise for 2023. And what a calling to recognize the image of God in the faces of others. We – the people called Methodists – live in very different places. Some are rich; many are poor. Some are powerful; many are struggling for dignity and basic human right to be kept. We are called to share God’s love with all, yet we are often caught up in unjust structures and are causing harm to one another instead of becoming agents of healing and hope. But God has not given us up. God sees us, hears us, speaks to us, becomes our friend in Jesus, and transforms us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can stand up and become ambassadors of justice, peace, and reconciliation. The colors used in the painting of Stefanie Bahlinger remind us of the rainbow colors. God, who became human, is with us. Making space for God’s transforming grace, we begin our journey through 2023 with hope. Seen by God, we can sing with Charles Wesley:

Come, let us anew our journey pursue,
Roll round with the year,
And never stand still till the Master appear.
His adorable will let us gladly fulfill,
And our talents improve by the patience of hope and the labor of love.

STATEMENT TO HEADS OF STATES, CHURCH, AND BUSINESS LEADERS

Following intense weeks of negotiations, protests, and actions COP27 had come to an end.

As Methodists, Wesleyan and Uniting Churches in Europe, we are calling on leaders and Head of States, to listen to our voices as young people.

The realities of global climate change, resulting from the impact of accumulated human activities, make the renewal of the way we inhabit the Earth an urgent imperative. The damage caused to the environment cannot be addressed justly, adequately, and sustainably without the implementation of climate justice policies.

The challenge of caring for the environment, our common heritage, is a collective and universal duty that belongs to all of humanity. For John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, God who created heaven and earth never abandoned his creation. God is the origin of all things and doesn’t only preserve them but also redeemed them all. The love of God doesn’t exclude a single form of life (John Wesley’s Sermon 67: On Divine Providence). The creation is the ultimate act of love, God is in all things and we must “see the Creator in the glass of every creature” (John Wesley’s Sermon 23 I. 11). As Methodists we can’t pursue a life of sanctification without care for the environment, for justice, for education, for inequality.

COP27 is over, we strongly urge our leaders to strengthen their commitments to a just recovery from the climate crisis. Time is running out, we need to act NOW.

We need to use this opportunity to seek equity and prioritise the need to equip those who are at the forefront of the crisis, so that no one is left behind in this journey towards achieving climate goals.

As Methodist young people from around Europe we know that we are in a position where we need to empower and sustain our brothers and sisters who are disproportionately affected by this crisis.

We call upon leaders and stakeholders to establish loss and damage as a permanent point on the negotiation agenda, and ensure the establishment of a dedicated loss and damage finance facility.

As people of faith, we cannot let this moment pass by without doing everything that we can to seek climate justice. We hear the lament of our global family and the fear of future generations, as we face a crisis that brings us all together in its urgency. We must act now, in collective hope that enough can be done to enable God’s creation to thrive once again. 

We pray that you would hear our voices and in turn, act with urgency and passion after COP27.

November 2022

European Methodist Youth Climate Team

Irene O. Abra – Methodist Church in Italy (OPCEMI)

Filipa Teixera – Methodist Church in Portugal

Daniel Steinvig – United Methodist Church in Denmark

Julia Sjöström – United Methodist Church in Sweden

Magdalena Gnigler – United Methodist Church in Austria

Sarah Bach – United Methodist Church in Switzerland

The European Methodist Youth Climate Team is part of the work of the European Methodist Council.

November was a busy month for Director Matthew A. Laferty.

The Director attended the North Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church, meeting 2-5 November 2022 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

He participated in a special meeting organized by the brothers of the Taize Community on the theme of synodality from 13-15 November in Taize, France.

On 16 November, Director Matthew A. Laferty chaired a session of the academic conference “Roma (a)cattolica. Pluralisation of Religion in Rome between the End of the Papal State and the Beginning of Fascism (1870-1922)” sponsored by the German Historical Institute in Rome, Centro Melantone (Institute for Ecumenical Studies), the Waldensian Faculty of Theology, the Anglican Centre, and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

The Forum – the MEOR oversight committee – met on 18-19 November in Rome. During the annual meeting, the Forum received the Director’s annual report, reviewed MEOR finances, and developed strategic plans for the future.

The Director preached at Christ Church Lutheran in Rome for Eternity Sunday (Ewigkeitssonntag), 20 November 2022. The congregation remembers those who dead in the past year on the last Sunday before Advent, a German Protestant tradition dating back to 1816.

The Director is a member of the national dialogue commission between the Methodist Church in Britain and the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England & Wales and Scotland. The commission met in Crewe, United Kingdom, from 22-23 November 2022. The subject of the meeting was ordained ministry and authority. Director Laferty presented an overview of the recent report of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission – God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Commission in Faith, Sacrament, and Mission.

The Director attended a Solemn Mass for the Feast of St. Andrew at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome on 30 November 2022. Cardinal Arthur Roche preached and presided.

by Christopher White
National Catholic Report
14 November 2022

When Pope Francis celebrated the 60th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II on Oct. 11, he paid tribute to the ways the council led to an opening of the Catholic Church’s relationships with other Christian churches.

But only one of those groups has been in official continuous dialogue with the Holy See since the council: the Methodists.

At the end of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI invited a number of churches to formal theological dialogue. In 1966, the worldwide communion of Methodist and Wesleyan churches were invited and they held their first formal meeting a year later.

“We received the invitation with great enthusiasm,” the Rev. Matthew Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome, told NCR, recalling the response of the Methodists at the time. “And we’ve never taken a break in our work.”

Just before the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, from Oct. 2-8, members of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, which is the official theological dialogue body between the World Methodist Council and the Holy See, met in Rome to begin a new cycle of dialogue under the theme “unity and mission.”

According to Laferty, co-secretary of the commission, the dialogues take place in five-year cycles under different themes and provide an occasion for a theological exploration of certain issues, and social and moral concerns “within the broader context of how our two churches might respond to those issues.”

During this year’s Rome gathering, the commission spent time hearing papers and discussing a range of topics, including synodality and each other’s understanding of the hierarchy of truths.

Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst, Australia, co-chair of the commission, told NCR that while much ecumenical work, such as the recent meeting between Methodists and Catholics, may go unnoticed, it is essential for the shared goal of unity.

“Jesus established one church. And anything that we do that diminishes that unity takes us further away from that mission,” said Mackinlay.

On Oct. 5, Pope Francis received the members of the commission — who hail from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States — in a private audience, where they presented him with a copy of the report from their recently completed 11th round of dialogue.

The report, “God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments and Mission,” discusses the ways the two churches understand the work of reconciliation.

Mackinlay said that when Francis was presented a copy of the report, which uses the parable of the prodigal son, the pope noted that the father in the story has two sons and both Catholics and Methodists alike need to repent for their divisions in order to return to the father. 

“Ecumenism is not about one party returning because they’ve wandered off, while the other stayed home,” Macklinay said. “It’s about all the parties recognizing the ways in which each of us have moved away from the father’s house and need to recover.”

Fr. Anthony Currer, the commission’s outgoing Catholic co-secretary, told NCR that the report is the first ecumenical dialogue in the Catholic Church’s relationships with other Western churches that examines the question of sacramental reconciliation.

“We might think we were a long way apart but under closer examination some of that distance collapses and we find real convergence,” he said.

“Catholics can recognize that Methodists do celebrate liturgically the forgiveness Jesus made present among us, some in forms close to Catholic sacramental reconciliation, but all in forms that are based on what we know as the penitential rite at the beginning of Mass,” Currer said.

Mackinlay noted that the new report is not just inward looking, but also has a missional element focusing on the needed role of reconciliation in the world today.

It also includes a liturgical text for Methodists and Catholics to join together in a service for “renewing our commitment to reconciliation as churches.”

During the commission’s week in Rome, members also met with officials from the Vatican’s synod office, the department responsible for overseeing Pope Francis’ ongoing consultation process with the world’s Catholics.

Both Laferty and Mackinlay noted that synodality has a role to play in the work of ecumenism through listening to and integrating the perspectives of other Christian communions, as well as hopefully healing divides between churches.

“It is clear that Catholics need to continue to walk with and explore these questions learning from our ecumenical partners,” said Currer, referring to what he called a “receptive ecumenism.”

“We recognize that these Christian communities are used by God and have therefore been blessed and gifted by the Spirit,” he added. “What the Spirit has given to them needs to be received by us for our own ecclesial healing.”

Macklinay said that after 55 years of nonstop dialogue, the two communions are committed to the ongoing work of shared prayer, thoughtful listening and engagement  to continually ask “What can we learn from one another to bring us closer to being the church that Jesus wants us to be?”

Photo: Pope Francis accepts a report from Fr. Edgardo A. Colón-Emeric, the new Methodist co-chair of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Catholic Church, during an audience with members of the commission at the Vatican Oct. 5. Colón-Emeric is dean of Duke University Divinity School in Durham, N.C., USA (Vatican Media)

The story is reposted from National Catholic Report. The original story can be found on the NCR website.

ROME (MEOR) – The Rev. Prof. Jong Chun Park and Ms. Gillian Kingston, respectively the president and vice president of the World Methodist Council, made a visit to Rome from 20-25 October 2022, on mission to promote peace as well as support the ministry of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome.

On Thursday, 20 October, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston paid their first visit of the trip to the Rev. Luca Anziani, president of the Methodist Churches in Italy (OPCEMI). During their visit, the World Methodist Council leaders congratulated Rev. Anziani on his recent election as president, thanked Rev. Anziani and OPCEMI for their continued support and partnership with the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, and discussed the Italian Methodist commitment to migrants and refugees. Rev. Anziani shared the importance of dialogue and the role played in such dialogues by minority churches like the Methodist Churches in Italy (OPCEMI). Rev. Anziani presented Prof Park a copy of the new liturgical texts published jointly by the Methodist and Waldensian churches. OPCEMI received the World Methodist Peace Award in 2018. Following their meeting, Prof. Park and Ms. Kingston met with Rev Luca Baratto, Ms. Marta Bernardini, and Ms. Fiona Kendall of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI). Rev Baratto overviewed the Federation’s work and Ms. Bernardini and Ms. Kendall gave an in-depth presentation on ‘Mediterranean Hope’, an FCEI project supporting migrants and refugees through a number of programs including humanitarian corridors from Libya, refugee reception in Lampedusa, and migrant worker support in Abruzzi. Prof Park and Ms. Kingston were impressed by the project and were particularly interested with the connection to the 2024 World Methodist Conference theme ‘On the Move’.

Later on Thursday, 20 October, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston also attended a special symposium, co-hosted by the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and Centro Pro Unione, on the late Methodist theologian Revd Prof Geoffrey Wainwright. The event, titled “The Heritage of Geoffrey Wainwright as Liturgist, Theologian, and Ecumenist”, highlighted the various aspects of Prof Wainwright’s academic work and was attended by over 40 people. There were three main speakers for the event – Rev Prof Bryan Spinks (Yale University), Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck (Wesley House Cambridge), and Rev Dr William Rusch (New York Theological Seminary). Following the main lectures, there was a special panel of Prof Wainwright’s former colleagues and friends who spoke about personal aspects of Prof Wainwright’s life; the panel was comprised of Rev Prof Bernhard Eckerstorfer OSB (Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo), Ms. Gillian Kingston (World Methodist Council), and Archbishop Don Bolen (Catholic Diocese of Regina). Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, attended the symposium and greeted Prof Park and Ms. Kingston after the program. Along with Rev Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, Rev Prof James Puglisi SA, director of Centro Pro Unione, and Rev Martin Browne OSB, the new official for Methodist relations at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston joined the event speakers for dinner afterwards.

On Friday, 21 October, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston visited the Basilica of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls, where the tomb of the Apostle Paul is located, followed by a series of meetings with Vatican officials and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. The World Methodist Council leaders met H.Em. Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, to discuss Methodist-Catholic relations, the recent publication of ‘God in Christ Reconciling’ by the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, and recent developments in the World Methodist Council. Prof Park thanked Cardinal Koch for his support of and the Dicastery’s collaboration with the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome. Prof Park and Ms. Kingston also met with H.E. Frances Collins, ambassador-designate of the Republic of Ireland to the Holy See. Ms. Kingston and Ambassador Collins hail from the same county in Ireland. During their meeting, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston shared with Ambassador Collins about the World Methodist Council’s peace-related projects and discussed the role of Methodists in peace-making in Northern Ireland. Following this encounter, Prof Park and MS Kingston met H.Em Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and several members of his staff. Cardinal Czerny explained the new configuration regarding the work of the Dicastery, which is charged with implementing activities and projects related to the social teaching of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery has shifted to responding to requests from national Catholic bishops’ conferences for accompaniment and expertise on social issues (a bottom-up approach), as opposed to mandating the activities of the national Catholic bishops’ conferences (a top-down approach). Prof Park and Ms. Kingston affirmed the Methodist commitment to peace and to migrants and refugees and encouraged Cardinal Czerny to foster ecumenical encounter as part of the Dicastery’s initiatives. The last meeting of the day was with H.E. Choo Hyo-ho, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See, at his residence in northern Rome. Prof Park and MS Kingston shared with Ambassador Choo regarding the Council’s peace initiatives and spoke in detail about the WMC Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula. Prof Park also shared his desire for a delegation from North Korea to attend the World Methodist Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, in August 2024.

Ms. Kingston was received by H.G. Archbishop Ian Ernest, personal representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See, on Saturday, 22 October.

On Sunday, 23 October, Ms. Kingston met Prof Mario Cignoni, secretary general of the Bible Society of Italy, accompanied by MEOR administrator Stefanie Gabuyo. Ms. Kingston is the president of the National Bible Society of Ireland. The World Methodist Council leaders worshipped at Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church where the congregation celebrated Harvest Sunday; the service was led by the Rev Dr Daniel Pratt Morris-Chapman. Ms. Kingston preached and Prof Park offered special prayers for peace and reconciliation. Following the worship service, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston met H.E. Jean Jude Piquant, ambassador of the Republic of Haiti to the Holy See, and discussed the work of the World Methodist Council and the importance of religious leaders promoting peace. Prof Park and Ms. Kingston visited the Abbey of Three Fountains, the historic execution site of the Apostle Paul. Later that day, the Sant’Egidio International Meeting of Peace opened in Rome under the theme ‘The Cry of Peace’, with Prof Park, Ms. Kingston, and MEOR director the Rev Matthew A. Laferty as members of the Methodist delegation. Prof Park was extended a place of honor during the opening ceremony. Mr. Sergio Matterella, president of the Republic of Italy, and Mr. Emmanuel Macron, president of the Republic of France, addressed the audience.

On Monday, 24 October, the Sant’Egidio International Meeting of Peace held various plenary sessions on the meeting’s theme. Prof Park spoke on a panel on “The Word of God Generates Vision” and Ms. Kingston spoke on a panel on “Mother Earth: One Planet, One Humanity.” Rev Laferty was a discussant on the panel “The Great Opportunity: Migrations and the Future.” Throughout the day, the delegation met a number of religious leaders from various faith communities and built new friendships.

On the morning of Tuesday, 25 October, the Sant’Egidio International Meeting of Peace continued, with Prof Park and Rev Laferty attending. Ms. Kingston was unable to extend her trip to attend the proceedings on Tuesday and returned to Ireland. Rev Dn. Alessandra Trotta, moderator of the Waldensian Evangelical Church, also joined the Methodist delegation. Prof Park met Rev Ki-seok Hong and Rev Jong Kim, pastors of the Korean Methodist congregation in Rome, accompanied by Rev Laferty and Ms. Gabuyo, for luncheon to learn about the ministry of the Korean Methodist congregation and the broader Korean-language Methodist work in Italy. Following the luncheon, Prof Park and Rev Laferty were joined by Rev Anziani at the Colosseum for Christian prayers for peace. Prof Park was among a small group of senior church leaders from various Christian confessions to lead the prayers alongside Pope Francis. Prior to the prayers, Pope Francis personally greeted Prof Park. After the prayers, the delegation joined other leaders from various religious traditions for the closing ceremony of the Sant’Egidio International Meeting of Peace. A special dinner was held in the Palace of Exhibitions in central Rome for invited participants. The Methodist delegation was seated with brothers of the Taize Community and engaged in a rich conversation of the importance of outreach to young people and trends among this demographic.

Throughout the entire trip, Prof Park and Ms. Kingston were accompanied by Rev Laferty. Additionally, Ms. Gabuyo, MEOR administrator, supported the visit and accompanied the delegation during several appointments.

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome is the presence of the World Methodist Council in Rome for ecumenical dialogue, joint action for peace and justice, prayer and reflection, and hospitality.

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