Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome

Ms. Gillian Kingston, vice president of the World Methodist Council, visited Rome from 21-24 May 2024, in conjunction with MEOR’s Wesley Day celebrations. A lay member of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Ms. Kingston has been vice president of the World Methodist Council, the Christian world communion of Methodist and Wesleyan churches, since 2014 and will conclude her service in August 2024.

At the beginning of her visit, Ms. Kingston met Pope Francis for a brief exchange following the Pope’s weekly audience (see photo above). She was accompanied by Director Matthew A. Laferty and Fr. Martin Browne OSB, the Vatican official for Methodist relations.

Ms. Kingston also met H.E. Archbishop Flavio Pace, the newly installed secretary at the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. During the visit, Ms. Kingston and Abp. Pace spoke of the ecumenical witness of the World Methodist Council and the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, as well as Abp. Pace’s vision for Christian unity. Ms. Kingston served as a member of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission from 1986-2006.

Ms. Kingston also made several other courtesy calls during her brief Roman trip. She met

• H.E. Ambassador Frances Collins, the Irish ambassador to the Holy See
• Deacon Alessandra Trotta, moderator of the governing board of the Waldensian-Methodist Church in Italy
• H.G. Archbishop Ian Ernest and Mme Kamla Ernest of the Anglican Centre in Rome
• Rev. Sarah Mae Gabuyo, pastor of Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church in Rome

MEOR’s annual garden party to commemorate the conversions of Charles and John Wesley was held on Thursday, 23 May in the garden of Christ Church Lutheran in Rome. Ms. Kingston addressed the 50-person gathering, thanking them for their support of MEOR and sharing the theme of the upcoming World Methodist Conference – “On the Move”.

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.

Photos: left – Ms. Kingston with Deacon Alessandra Trotta. Photo by M. Laferty/MEOR; center – Ms. Kingston (second left) with Abp. Flavio Pace (second right) with Director Matthew Laferty and Fr Martin Browne. Photo by DPCU; right – Ms. Kingston (right) with Ambassador Frances Collins (center) and Director Matthew Laferty. Photo by Frances Armstrong/Irish Embassy; top – Pope Francis greeting Ms. Kingston, Director Matthew Laferty, and Fr. Martin Browne on 22 May 2024 in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Photo by Vatican Media.

The 4th Global Gathering of the Global Christian Forum – an international Christian ecumenical platform – met in Accra, Ghana, from 16-19 April 2024, under the theme “That the World May Know,” bringing together over 250 leaders from all major Christian confessional families. The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, was an invited participant.

The Global Christian Forum is a unique gathering of global Christian churches and organisations bringing together all the major streams of world Christianity. The GCF is an open space where all Christians can meet to nurture unity by fostering mutual respect and understanding as well as by addressing together common challenges. It creates ‘space’ where participants all meet on an equal basis, to foster mutual respect, and to explore and address together common concerns. The Global Christian Forum is built on four pillar partnerships with the World Council of Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the World Evangelical Alliance, and the Pentecostal World Fellowship.

Read reports about the 4th Global Gathering on the news website of the World Council of Churches.

Read the statement of the 4th Global Gathering.

Photos by Albin Hillert/WCC and Comfort Woode/GCF.

On behalf of the World Methodist Council, General Secretary Ivan Abrahams offers prayers and condolences to the people of Taiwan and their loved ones following the severe earthquake there on 3 April 2024. He calls on all people, and especially the Methodist family, to remember those affected by this 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Death and destruction are widespread on the Islan, but the severest destruction was near Hualien, which was closest to the center. Following the earthquake, Taiwan has experienced more than 100 aftershocks.

Prayers for comfort for the injured and bereaved will continue as well as calls for assistance to those needing help with places to stay, reconstruction, and day-to-day supplies. 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam, and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)

The management team of the World Methodist Council, comprised of President Rev. Prof. Jong Chun Park, Vice President Ms. Gillian Kingston, General Secretary Revd Ivan Abrahams, Geneva Secretary Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, and Treasurer/CFO Mr. Kirby Hickey, issue the following statements on 17 March 2024.

Statement on Situtation in Middle East

The Management Team of the World Methodist Council, meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, on 11-12 March 2024, calls on Methodists world-wide to join in prayer for the people of Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel at this time of unprecedented and deepening crisis.

We condemn unequivocally the indiscriminate killing by Hamas of innocent Israeli civilians and the taking of hostages, men, women and children, which has precipitated the current situation. We are appalled by the killing of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza in the continued and intensive bombing of the enclave and its cities by Israeli forces. While affirming the right of the State of Israel to defend itself, we urge the immediate recognition of international law in respect of civilian populations and occupied territories.

We join the many calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities in order that adequate humanitarian aid may reach the people of Gaza who are without power, water, food and medical supplies and are living in increasingly desperate conditions, now amounting to famine.

Ps 130.1 “Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord; O Lord, hear our voice.”

---

Statement on Ukraine and Russia

The Management Team of the World Methodist Council, meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, on 11-12 March 2024, has noted with deep concern the second anniversary of the war initiated by an unprovoked attack on Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.

Recognising that the history of the region is long and complex, and that nothing but suffering and destruction can be achieved by armed conflict, we call for an immediate cessation of fighting and the withdrawal from occupied territory. We further note with concern that the ongoing war continues to cause food deprivation in parts of the world which have been heavily dependent on grain from Ukraine for survival.

The Team remembers that there are Methodist and other Christians on each side in this conflict and prays that they may be blessed as peace-makers.

We ask for prayer for ‘the people called Methodist’ and others in the region, for Bishop Eduard Khegay of the Eurasia Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church, for Bishop Christian Alsted of the Nordic and Baltic Episcopal Area as he travels to and from Ukraine and for all local and regional church leaders as they minister against this backdrop of war.