Tag: ecumenism

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office Rome, and Anglican Centre in Rome with the Taize Community, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity of the Holy See, and Office of Ecumenism and Dialogue of the Vicariate of Rome held an ecumenical prayer service for the sick and suffering and for the health of Pope Francis on Friday, 21 March 2025 at Church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus near the Vatican. Over 75 people from various Christian confessions attended the prayer vigil.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, offered the first prayer of the service, praying, “Living God, we come before you from different Christian confessions to pray for the sick and the suffering, for the health of all church leaders, and, at this time, for your servant Francis, Bishop of Rome, who is beset by illness.”

The liturgy for the prayer vigil was written by Br. Matthew, an Anglican and prior of the Taize Community, following the liturgical rubrics of the Taize Community. Music from the Taize Community was sung throughout the service, including “Adsumus, Sancte Spiritus,” “Laudate Omnes Gentes,” and “Bonus Est Confidere.”

Many prayers were offered during the vigil for the sick and suffering. The gathering prayed for all the sick; the health of all church leaders; caregivers, and all medical personnel; all people who are suffering in situations of war including people of Ukraine, Gaza, Congo, Haiti, Nicaragua; those affected by global warming and the exploitation of the world’s resources; all the baptized; the unity of the church; and the health of God’s servant Francis, Bishop of Rome.

Music was provided by an ecumenical group of musicians – Mr Conner Drennen of St. Paul’s Inside the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, Rev. Sarah Mae Gabuyo of Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church in Rome, Ms. Stefanie Gabuyo of the European Methodist Council, and Fr. Cristobal Fones SJ of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

In addition to Rev. Laferty, there were official representatives from partner bodies who attended and led the service – Rev. Tara Curlewis of the Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office Rome, Archbishop Flavio Pace of Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Mons. Marco Gnavi of the Office of Ecumenism and Dialogue, Fr. Jim Litchicum of the Anglican Centre in Rome, and Br. Matthew of the Taize Community. Br. Matthew was accompanied by three other Taize brothers – Br. Benoit, Br. Marek, and Br. Matthias. There were representatives of various Orthodox churches including Archbishop Khajag Barsamian from the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Curia, and the Vatican diplomatic corps who also attended.

The ecumenical prayer service was an expression of the continued initiative of the ‘Together’, a project initiated by Br. Alois of the Taize Community which included a weekend program of dialogue and unity in September-October 2023 and a prayer vigil on 30 September 2023 in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. The ‘Together’ Initiative assembled senior church leaders from all major Christian confessional families to pray together and for each other. The 2023 prayer vigil included the President of the World Methodist Council, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Ecumenical Patriarch, a representative of the Waldensian Evangelical Church, and the Bishop of Rome, plus many other senior church leaders.

Photos by Hureem Salas/ACR

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, has been busy since the beginning of the 2025, particularly with events around the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January 2025).

Rev. Laferty met with students from Centro Melantone on 17 January in the MEOR offices to discuss MEOR’s work, Methodist understandings of ecumenism, and Christian unity in Rome. Centro Melantone brings students from Protestant churches in Europe to study in Rome for one year with courses at the Waldensian Faculty of Theology and Pontifical universities in Rome. The group was accompanied by the Centro director Rev. Patrick Spitzenberger.

MEOR along with the Legation of the Armenian Church to the Holy See, Anglican Centre in Rome, and Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office in Rome organized a webinar – “Experiences of the Fraternal Delegates at the Synod on Synodality” – to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Five fraternal delegates to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, called the Synod on Synodality, shared their experiences during a webinar on 20 January 2025.

Rev. Laferty also met with Methodist students from the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Institute Bossey on 23 January during their study trip to Rome during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. There were three Methodist students on the trip from Korea, Nigeria, and the United States. Rev. Laferty shared about MEOR’s ministry and Methodist-Catholic relations.

Also during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Rev. Laferty attended a number of prayer services and events, including Vespers at the Pontifical Beda College, Vespers at Pontifical Irish College, the prayers for unity with the Catholic Diocese of Rome, the Unity Service of the Churches Together in Rome, and a lecture at Centro Pro Unione.

MEOR welcomed Mr. Daniel Mohr, a Global Mission Fellow with The United Methodist Church, for the final days of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Mr. Mohr is on placement with the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe, based in Vienna, Austria. During his visit to Rome, Mr. Mohr met Fr. Martin Browne OSB, official for Methodist relations at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, who shared about Christian unity from the Vatican’s perspective, Catholic-Methodist relations, and emerging themes in ecumenism.

Rev. Laferty attended the farewell service for H.G. Abp Ian Ernest, the director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, on 24 January 2025. A reception followed. Rev. Laferty presented a portrait of Charles Wesley to Abp. Ian on behalf of the MEOR Forum as a token of gratitude for Abp. Ian’s support and collaboration with MEOR.

Pope Francis invited local clergy and representatives of churches and Christian world communions to attend Papal Vespers on 25 January, the feast of the conversion of the Apostle Paul, at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. Rev. Laferty was in attendance and was greeted by Pope Francis before the Vespers.

Rev. Laferty is the secretary and a member of the Committee on Faith and Order of The United Methodist Church. He is seconded to a project to revise the church law of The United Methodist Church with the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. The meeting took place in Atlanta, USA, 27-29 January 2025.

During the final week of January, MEOR provided programmatic, organizational, and logistical support for meeting of the European partners of the Programme for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA). The European partners are chaired by Rev. Dr. Andrew Ashdown, Africa partnership coordinator fot the Methodist Church in Britain. On 30 Rev. Matthew A. Laferty met the PROCMURA chairperson Rev. Robert Goyek from the Lutheran Church in Cameroon and PROCMURA general adviser Bishop Nathan Samwini from the Methodist Church Ghana.

During the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel on 8-9 February 2025, Director Laferty met a number of military chaplains including two Methodist chaplains – the Reverend Canon Michael Parker KHC CF, Chaplain General to His Britainnic Majesty’s Land Forces, and Capt. James Dance CHC, regional chaplain based in Naples Italy, for the United States Navy. Rev. Canon Parker is a minister in the Methodist Church in Great Britain and Capt. Dance is a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Bishop Eduard Khegay, bishop of Moscow and Eurasia in The United Methodist Church, visited Rome from 9-10 February 2025. Read more about his trip.

Rev. Laferty attended the Mass to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the Sant’Egidio Community on 13 February 2025. The Mass was held at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.