ROME – The Methodist Ecumenical Office welcomed a group of students from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on 26-27 May 2025. Candler School of Theology is a seminary of The United Methodist Church.
The students were in Italy’s Tuscany region and later the City of Rome, studying the intersection of food, migration, and religion. As part of the program, the students sought to understand the ecumenical dimensions of the topic and the role of dialogue and encounter for fostering a shared witness of Christian faith and joint action for peace and justice. The group spent 10 days in Tuscany exploring the topic prior to their two-day program in Rome.
The students come from a variety of Christian communions – Methodist, Reformed, Baptist, and Catholic.
MEOR organized several meetings and site visits in Rome for the Candler students, including:
- the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, where they were briefed by Fr. Martin Browne OSB, official responsible for relations with Methodists, on the Catholic Church’s ecumenical engagement, Methodist-Catholic dialogue, and history of the Catholic Church in the international ecumenical movement,
- the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, where leaders of FCEI’s program “Mediterranean Hope” discussed its various projects with migrants and refugees,
- Methodist clergy serving in Rome – Rev. Mirella Mannochio, Rev. Eliad Santos, and Rev. Sarah Mae Gabuyo,
- the Sant’Egidio Community, and
- the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, based at St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome.
Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office, accompanied the group during their stay in Rome.
The group was led by Rev. Dr. Jennifer R. Ayres, L. Bevel Jones III Professor of Religious Education and Director of the Religious Education Program at Candler School of Theology, and Rev. Dr. Arun Jones, Dan and Lillian Hankey Associate Professor of World Evangelism at Candler School of Theology and Director of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute.
The program was organized by the Candler School of Theology and the World Methodist Evangelism Institute with the cooperation of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome.
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 