methodist – Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome

MEOR Welcomes United Methodist Mission Leader – September 2026

September 14, 2026meorome

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome welcomed the Rev. Dr. Judy Y. Chung from The United Methodist Church’s mission agency during her visit to Rome, 8-14 September 2026. Dr. Chung is the executive director of missionary services of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church and oversees the recruitment, training, and deployment of 250 missionaries around the world.

During her trip, Dr. Chung attended a General Audience with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square, met Abp. Flavio Pace from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and Rev. Luca Anziani from the Evangelical Methodist Churches in Italy, and visited Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church and Via XX Settembre Methodist Church in Rome. She also met Rev. Laferty at the MEOR offices near the Vatican to learn more about MEOR’s programs.

The United Methodist mission agency deploys three permanent missionaries in Rome and one two-year young adult missionary in Sicily who Dr. Chung met on Saturday, 12 September.

The Methodist Ecumenical Office organized Dr. Chung’s itinerary.

Photo: Rev. Dr. Judy Chung (front row, second from right) with UMC missionaries and spouse in Italy on 12 September 2026. Photo by M. Laferty/MEOR.

Online Event – “One in Ministry to All the World” on 19 October

September 14, 2026meorome

You are warmly invited to join us online on Monday, 19 October, for this event organized by the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church (MERCIC), the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, and Wesley House Cambridge.

The international Methodist-Catholic dialogue will publish a new document “One in Faith and Ministry to the World” in September 2026 following its 12th round of theological dialogue. The document focuses on unity and diversity in the church and its implications for the mission of the church.

In this 90 minute program, the Rev. Dr. Edgardo Colon-Emeric, dean of Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC, USA, and the Most Rev. Shane Mackinlay, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia, will present the new document and offer their personal reflections on unity and diversity for mission from Catholic and Methodist perspectives.

The event takes place on Monday 19 October 2026 at 15:00/3pm (UK Time) online.

Register on EventBrite

World Methodist Council to Meet – August 2026

August 11, 2026August 14, 2026meorome

The World Methodist Council will be in San Salvador, El Salvador, from 13-17 August 2026. The Council is comprised of 80 member churches (denominations) from the Methodist, Wesleyan, and related United churches around the world. The Council is being hosted by the Methodist Church in El Salvador and will gather for a time of fellowship, shared learning, and governance.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, will attend the meeting to report about the ministry of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome. He is also a delegate of The United Methodist Church (USA) and participates in the governance of the Council and its various ministries.

Public Conversation with Archbishop Shane Mackinlay – June 2026

June 26, 2026meorome

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Caravita Community held a public conversation with Archbishop Shane Mackinlay of Brisbane on 25 June 2026. Over 30 people attended the public conversation which focused on “Ecumenical Relations on the Journey of Synodality.” Abp. Shane is the Catholic co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official dialogue commission between the World Methodist Council and the Catholic Church. He was also a participant in the 2023 and 2024 plenary sessions of the Synod on Synodality of the Catholic Church. During his remarks, Abp. Shane wove together his experiences of Methodist-Catholic dialogue and the Synod on Synodality to reflect on the Catholic Church’s efforts to be a more synodal church, the role of bilateral dialogue between Methodists and Catholics in synodality, and the centrality of ecumenism in the church.

The event was held at Via XX Settembre Methodist Church in Rome.

Wesley Seminary Students Visit MEOR – June 2026

June 26, 2026June 26, 2026meorome

Students from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. met the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the WMC representative to the Holy See, on Thursday, 25 June 2026. He shared with them about MEOR’s ministries, 21st century ecumenism, Methodist-Catholic international dialogue, and intra-Methodist relations.

He also accompanied them during their visit to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.