During a recent trip to Oklahoma (USA), the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, visited Oklahoma Methodist leaders and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On Tuesday, 12 May 2026, Rev. Laferty visited the headquarters of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of The United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, where he met with Rev. Margaret Johnson, assistant to Bishop Laura Merrill, and Rev. Donna Pewo, OIMC director of connectional ministries. They discussed OIMC’s history, the ministries of the Conference, and Native American spirituality.
First established in 1844, OIMC encompasses 79 predominately indigenous/Native American United Methodist congregations in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
Director Laferty was accompanied by Mr. Caleb Siems who is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Front row: Rev. Donna Pewo and Rev. Margaret Johnson, second row: Mr. Caleb Siems and Rev. Laferty
Rev. Laferty also met the Most Rev. Paul Coakley, Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at his office in Oklahoma City on 15 May 2026 to discuss MEOR’s ministry, Methodist-Catholic relations, and the Catholic Church in the United States.
Archbishop Paul Coakley and Rev. Matthew A. Laferty
The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, shared several moments of prayer and fellowship with the Most Revd and the Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, during her recent visit to Rome and to the Vatican from 25-28 April 2026.
Rev. Laferty joined Archbishop Sarah as she presided at Eucharist at All Saints’ Anglican Church (Church of England) in Rome, preached at Choral Evensong at St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, and installed Bishop Anthony Ball as her representative to the Holy See.
The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, met Rev. Dr. Susanne Schenk, the incoming general secretary of the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe, at the CPCE headquarters in Vienna on 20 April 2026. During their hour-long meeting, they had a mutual exchange on Christian unity in Europe, theological dialogue, and the ministries of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe.
Rev. Laferty also had the opportunity to meet the CPCE staff.
The Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe is a church communion in Europe that brings together 96 Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, and United churches in 30+ countries in Europe and South America. It has a total of 40 million Protestant members. By signing the Leuenberg Agreement in 1973, the member churches committed themselves to “common witness and service.”
Christians from across traditions gathered in the heart of Rome on Friday, March 20, 2026, for an ecumenical prayer vigil for peace, offering a quiet yet powerful witness amid a world marked by conflict and uncertainty.
Held at the Church of Santa Lucia of Gonfalone in central Rome, the vigil brought together representatives from Anglican, Methodist, Reformed and Taizé communities, alongside participation from the Holy See. The service became a space where diversity of tradition met in shared lament, hope and intercession.
The vigil was organized collaboratively by the the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, Anglican Centre in Rome, the Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office in Rome, and the Taizé Community. Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, represented the Holy See, underscoring the significance of the gathering within the wider ecumenical movement.
Opening the service, Rev. Tara Curlewis of the Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office and Brother Matthew of the Taizé Community invited those present into a time of prayer rooted in both urgency and trust. Intercessions focused on an end to armed conflict, protection for those living in war zones and the restoration of peace across the world.
Rev. Dr. Peter Adenekan, Abp. Flavio Pace, Rev. Tara Curlewis, and Rev. Matthew A. Laferty offer a blessing at the end of the prayers. Photo by P. Cheney/ACR.
Prayers were led by Archbishop Pace, Rev. Matthew Laferty of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and Sister Dr. Elizabeth Anderson of the Anglican Centre. The service concluded with a shared blessing offered by Rev. Matthew Laferty, Rev. Tara Curlewis, Rev. Dr. Peter Adenekan of the Anglican Centre, and Archbishop Pace.
Music for the vigil was provided by an ecumenical team – Rev. Sarah Mae Gabuyo from Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church in Rome on flute, Mr. Conner Drennen from St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome on piano, and Fr. Miguel Pedro Melo, SJ from the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network on guitar.
One of the most striking features of the evening was the participation of the congregation itself. Intercessions were offered in multiple languages — English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese — reflecting both the global nature of the church and the shared longing for peace that transcends borders. The Lord’s Prayer was spoken in the preferred languages of those gathered, a moment that embodied unity in diversity. Music provided by local church musicians wove through the service, deepening its contemplative tone.
The vigil was organized in response to a joint call for renewed commitment to the “gift of peace,” issued earlier this month by the general secretaries of several global Christian communions, including the World Methodist Council. It also took place within a broader context of heightened concern for ongoing conflicts, including the situation in the Middle East. In the Anglican Communion, the gathering coincided with the one-month anniversary of a pastoral letter from Archbishop Hosam Naoum, calling for urgent and sustained prayer as violence in the region escalates. The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church – a member church of the World Methodist Council – issued a call for prayer and action for peace, particularly with the escalating war in western Asia, at the beginning of March.
Reflecting on the evening, Rev. Matthew Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office, described the importance of the evening: “Tonight’s prayer vigil witnesses to the unity that we already share in Christ, our lament for violence and death in our world, and our hope for just and durable peace. We meet each other and Christ in prayer, so we may join hands together to work for justice and peace for all humankind.”
The 2022 report from the international Methodist-Catholic dialogue commission focused on reconciliation, calling Methodists and Catholics to peace-building together. The report states that “the reconciliation of enemies takes the form of peace-making. Part of the work of reconciliation between peoples and countries is the building of international cooperation to resolve conflicts by peaceful means and so prevent the horrors of warfare. Methodists and Catholics are called to be peacemakers and witnesses to this important work of reconciliation” (§128 of the 2022 Gothenburg Report on reconciliation).
In a time when divisions — both political and ecclesial — often dominate headlines, the vigil in Rome offered a different narrative: one of shared faith, collective compassion and a united cry for peace.
Photo above: Members of the congregation at the vigil in the Church of Santa Lucia. Photo by P. Cheney/ACR.
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 troubledtimes 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.
