A Glossary of Church of England terms

Image via WikipediaI came across this document the other day, a glossary of Church of England terms.  It was written a few years after the Anglican Methodist Covenant as a guide for Methodist partners.

So, if you have ever wondered what on earth a conventional district is supposed to be, here is your opportunity to find out. 

I note though there is no definition of a Peculiar.  Those who are aficionados of the Parish of Theakston will, I am sure, be most disappointed.

I am sure at some stage work was done on a similar glossary of Methodist Church terminology but I have so far been unable to locate it or track down who was compiling it.

If you have any recollection of what happened to the Methodist glossary, or if you have one you're using locally which might be shared with a wider audience, please let me know.

Amusing (and reasonably polite) definitions of Methodist or Anglican terminology are always welcome of course.

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CTAL Notepad

When the national ecumenical instruments were established across Britain in 1989, they were accompanied by intermediate or county bodies in England.

England has a much greater population than Scotland and Wales, so it was understood ecumenical work needed to be organised in smaller geographical units.  These units are usually counties although a few are smaller than counties and so collectively they are known as intermediate bodies.

They seem to have done rather well, although they are currently being reviewed and so we'll find out just how well in the near future.  Most of them employ a County Ecumenical Development Officer (the title varies from place to place although the word 'Development' seems to have appeared in  more job titles over recent years) who provides some co-ordination and oversight of ecumenical work in their areas.  (It's hard to generalise as circumstances vary so much.)

Some of them produce newsletters and one of the most highly developed ones is in Lincolnshire.  Follow this link to take a look at a recent issue of the CTAL Notepad.

If anyone is familiar with other similar newsletters, let me know and I'll give them a mention.

Evangelism is in your comfort zone

Some readers may remember John Baxter Brown when he worked for Churches Together in England.  He has started a blog, Evangelism is in your comfort zone, on the World Council of Churches website.

I've not been able to add a link to my blogroll for technical reasons but if I find out how to do it, it will appear.  In the meantime follow the link. 

This is John's preamble to his blog. 

On this blog John Baxter-Brown, the WCC Consultant for Evangelism, shares his impressions, hopes, ideas and stories about evangelism especially in relation to the WCC and the broader ecumenical movement. There is a strong focus on telling the evangelism stories he has researched on his travels: he usually finds that the best evangelism is done by ordinary Christians simply living out their faith - evangelism is within their comfort zone as they try to follow Jesus. Please note that blog entries are personal contributions by the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinion or policies of the World Council of Churches or any other organization mentioned.

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Anglican Roman Catholic Relations

I recently received the following email from Revd Bill Snelson, Development Officer UK at the Anglican Centre in Rome .  It is worth looking at the two Powerpoint slideshows on the site.  They cover a brief history of the two churches and an account of how they currently work together.

Two presentations on the website of the Anglican Centre in Rome look at the relationship between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Churches today: how Anglicanism developed, where it fits in alongside the other Churches of Christendom, and how it is working with other Christians at home and overseas.



The presentations can be seen on www.anglicancentreinrome.org/RESOURCES


“Anglicanism and the Western Christian Tradition: Continuity and Change” is an updated version of an exhibition held in the Vatican Museums at the invitation of the Roman Catholic Church in 2002. It provides an overview of Christianity in England from the earliest times and explores some of the stages in the search for unity between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. The story is taken up in “Moving Together in Unity and Mission” which gives contemporary examples of where and how the two Churches are collaborating both locally and nationally.


The highly-acclaimed exhibition at the Vatican was instigated by the British Ambassador to the Holy See and planned in conjunction with Norwich Cathedral. It uses Norwich as a specific case study to help unfold a rich and intriguing history. “Despite more than four hundred years of separation since the Reformation”, says the text, “Anglicans remain part of the Western Christian tradition. Living apart has meant, however, that there has been change as well as continuity.”

The presentation of current developments towards closer inter-church relations is inspired by a statement from an international commission of Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops, “Growing Together in Unity and Mission”, first published in 2007. The presentation looks at what has happened to heal the memories of the past, to work together in the present, and to build a less prejudiced society in the future.


The Bishop of Wakefield, The Rt Revd Stephen Platten, Chairman of the Anglican Centre in Rome, says:


“The Pope’s visit is a significant step on the road to Christian unity. The two presentations help us understand the English context: how long that road to unity is, and how positive Anglican-Roman Catholic collaboration is on the ground today. I welcome these new resources which form part of the Anglican Centre in Rome’s role of building friendly and informed relations between Anglicans and Catholics.”

Relationships with Other Denominations 5: Worldwide Ecumenism

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This is the fifth of 5 posts introducing the ecumenical section of the Methodist Church website. I suggest you open the site in another tab so that you can see what I'm writing about. Relationships with Other Denominations can be accessed directly, or if you go to the website home page, click on Ecumenism under Open to the World. Click on Ecumenical Information and then on Worldwide Ecumenism, which should bring you here.

The links to the World Methodist Council and Our Partner Churches, are both maintained on World Church Relations pages of the Methodist Church website.  These pages offer and overview of the breadth of Methodism across the world.

Four other links go to pages that describe the work of:

• The World Council of Churches
• The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey
• The Global Christian Forum, and
• The Methodist Roman Catholic International Commission

These together offer an overview of the global ecumenical work of the British Methodist Church.

These five posts have been designed to draw attention to the ecumenical pages of the Methodist Church website.  Please comment on any aspects of the site you identify.  I'm particularly interested in expanding the topics covered by the site, so please note your ideas.

Monday Morning 4: MEN and Fun

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Your homework this week is to suggest fun things for this blog. 

Does anyone know any ecumenical jokes?  There must be some.  Surely?

What would you like?  Quizzes?  Competitions?  What could we offer as ecumenical prizes?

There are few images associated with ecumenism.  Finding photos and other artwork that's appropriate is something of a headache.  Does anyone have images to share?  Is there some way we could pool images, perhaps using an application such as Flickr? 

How about book reviews?  Reviews of relevant music.  Is there any?

Is there is an author around with a humourous take on ecumenism?  Or other ways of approaching unity from an unusual angle?

Any ideas?  Please comment below.  I'm back tomorrow ...

Relationships with Other Denominations 4: Ecumenism in Europe

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This is the fourth of 5 posts introducing the ecumenical section of the Methodist Church website. I suggest you open the site in another tab so that you can see what I'm writing about. Relationships with Other Denominations can be accessed directly, or if you go to the website home page, click on Ecumenism under Open to the World. Click on Ecumenical Information and then on Ecumenism in Europe, which should bring you here.

Where we work: Europe is a page from the World Church Relations section of the Methodist Church website.  This page offers an overview of the Methodist Church in Europe.  It is complemented by the account of the European Methodist Council.  This is where the European Methodist Churches collaborate.  Notable examples of collaboration is the Methodist Representative to the Holy See and the European Methodist Youth Council.

The other two links cover the ecumenical structures in Europe, the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe and the Conference of European Churches.

If you want to know more about European ecumenism, you might consider subscribing to the Church of England's European Bulletin.  A link can be found on the Ecumenism in Europe page.

Please comment below if you have points to make about European ecumenism or questions to ask. 

I will respond to comments when I return from leave on or soon after 24 August 2010.  The final post in this series will be next Tuesday.

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Relationships with other Denominations 3: Ecumenism in UK and Ireland

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This is the third of 5 posts introducing the ecumenical section of the Methodist Church website. I suggest you open the site in another tab so that you can see what I'm writing about. Relationships with Other Denominations can be accessed directly, or if you go to the website home page, click on Ecumenism under Open to the World. Click on Ecumenical Information and then on Ecumenism in UK and Ireland, which should bring you here.

This section explores ecumenism as it relates to the four nations that make up the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.  The first link is to Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.  This page therefore reflects the structure of the ecumenical instruments. 

The pages for England, Scotland and Wales each include a number of links specific to those countries.  There are also some shared links, notably to resources available to all three countries.  Bill Reid has offered to take on developing the Scotland pages and I'm hoping to find a writer for Wales.

To find technical information about formal ecumenical arrangements, go to the pages for your own country and search for the information you require.  The link marked Resources is common to all three countries.  If you follow the link, you will find a number of useful technical resources for the Methodist Church.

The Guidance Notes for District Chairs and District Officers, inside the Resources page, comprise an overview of the basics of local ecumenism.  It is worth exploring.  The notes are up to date and will be kept up to date.  They are designed so that pages on a single topic can be printed, duplicated and circulated.

The pages on Ireland point to basic information.  Ecumenical arrangements cover both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  They are included so the picture is complete.  The British Methodist Church does not cover Ireland and so there are no resources.  Explore the Irish websites for more information.

Please comment on these pages below.  I will respond to comments on or soon after 24 August 2010, when I return from leave.

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Relationships with Other Denominations 2: Ecumenical News and Views

This is the second of 5 posts introducing the ecumenical section of the Methodist Church website. I suggest you open the site in another tab so that you can see what I'm writing about. Relationships with Other Denominations can be accessed directly, or if you go to the website home page, click on Ecumenism under Open to the World.  Click on Ecumenical Information and then on Ecumenical News and Views, which should bring you here.

This page has 6 links to pages about ecumenism.  They are as follows:

1. What is Ecumenism? is the introductory page I mentioned in the last post.  There is a direct link to it on the Relationships with Other Denominations page.
2. Guide to Denominations reviews the origins of the denominations and some approaches to working together.
3. Major Ecumenical Statements reviews statements made by the churches together.
4. Major Methodist Ecumenical Statements reviews statements made by the Methodist Church.
5. Ecumenical Interfaith Work shows how churches collaborate in interfaith work.  The long term plan for this page is it will become part of the interfaith section of the website.
6. How to get Involved is an overview of options for people wishing to get involved in ecumenical work.

Click on the last link and you will find links to six more pages.  These cover a range of approaches to local ecumenical work.  This is intended to be a resource for churches and individuals who want to commence ecumenical work or explore it in more depth.  I'm looking for more topics to include in these pages and so suggestions would be welcome.

Pages include an explanation of Ecumenical Conversations, at all levels, and a page about Starting in Local Ecumenism.  Ecumenical Collaboration shows how Christians collaborate in various ways outside of formal church structures.  The last three links are to pages about resources on the Internet, courses and reading for ecumenism.  Recommendations of further reading, educational opportunities and websites are welcome and can be included in a blog post as well as on the website.

Please comment below if you have thoughts about any of these pages, or ideas for new topics.  I will respond to these comments when I return from leave on or soon after 24 August 2010.

Relationships with Other Denominations 1: Introduction

This is the first of 5 posts introducing the ecumenical section of the Methodist Church website.  I suggest you open the site in another tab so that you can see what I'm writing about.  Relationships with Other Denominations can be accessed directly, or if you go to the website home page, click on Ecumenism under Open to the World.

Methodist Ecumenical News (MEN) and this section of the Methodist Church website are designed to be complementary.  If you scroll down you will find the old news feed, recently replaced by MEN.  At present I use it for links to recent posts on MEN.  The idea is the website will include material for long term use, whilst MEN is for new stuff, discussing ideas, etc.  I am updating the site as I write posts for MEN.  Any major changes to the site will be flagged in a post on MEN.  You can comment on the website in MEN of course.

Scroll back up again and you will see a number of short cut links to pages in the website.  What is Ecumenism? is a page for people new to ecumenism.  It includes some basic definitions and material to orientate the reader to the theme.  My aim is to write to approximately A level standard, with links for those who wish to go deeper.  It would be helpful to know whether you think the site achieves this target.

There are three links to material specific to the three nations and on the right, a section for topical links.  Embracing the Covenant is the last major report from the Anglican Methodist Covenant's Joint Implementation Commission.  This short cut links to material for a consultation last year.

Now click on the link: Ecumenical Information.

This takes you to a page which acts as a junction for the site's four main areas.  The idea is to explore ecumenism from the local through to national, European and world activities.  Ecumenical News and Views includes a lot of general information, primarily for local activities.  We shall explore this in tomorrow's post.

Please comment if you have anything to say about the website and I will respond when I return from leave on or soon after 24 August 2010.

Monday Morning 3: Taking MEN to Another Dimension

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Ecumenism can seem dull.  Ecumenists it seems are brilliant at producing long, detailed, incomprehensible tomes.  Methodist Ecumenical News (MEN) will be giving them all the justice they deserve, but is that it?  (Apparently, the iillustration is a blow by blow account of the first seven ecumenical councils.)

These activities might seem dull but they are the foundation upon which our inter-church relations stand.  Most of the content of this blog will be reports of meetings and events that build upon these agreements.

There is another dimension.  Sometimes we call it the sharing of spiritual treasures or gifts; liturgical and spiritual reflections upon the sharing of our traditions. 

So, your homework this week, is to share as a comment any resources you know of a spiritual or liturgical nature that illuminate our ecumenical work.  The sort of things you might share include:

• liturgies for opening or closing a LEP or Churches Together Group, especially where there is something new or innovative
• liturgies for joint confirmations or other services
• sermons about ecumenism, especially those delivered at ecumenical events
• prayers for unity or that reflect the scope of Christian experience
• meditations on unity

I can't have thought of every possibility.  Remember this is an opportunity to share with every reader of this blog.  If you have a lot of text, in the comment say what it is and I'll contact you in due course.  Or find my email address on the 'About' page and send it to me.  I'd like to put longer material in posts rather than comments. 

Don't forget constraints of copyright.  If you offer something, I expect it to be yours and it will enter the public domain as I will assume it can be copied or used unless you make it clear it has restrictions.  If you think something is copyright restricted it may be possible to link to other sites where it has already been published or to details about how to get hold of it.

Please remember I am on leave and so will respond to comments on or after 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: Ethos 2

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The group focusing on ethos at the Closer Working Methodist URC Consultation, made the following points about Methodists and United Reformed churches working together.   They presented material about culture, communications and language.  Please remember this was a consultation between Methodists and United Reformed, references to other traditions should be read in that light.

CULTURE

Description

• Cultural
• Elders/Stewards
• Governance

Local Initiative

• Create a training programme to explain the denominational differences in order to improve understanding
• Anglican / URC can be closer because of their common understanding of being a local church
• Methodist 'Connexionalism' needs explaining to both churches
• Ministers and Local Preachers to have training in the differences to help make a more inclusive language when leading services in a LEP
• The difference between Elders for life and stewards needs clarification

Strategic

• The URC are without a structure to fit the needs of LEPs – more formal in the past
• Causes a breakdown in the communication flow

For Attention of Methodist URC Liaison Group

• Examine the problem where Methodists are over directed and URC respond more locally
• Examine the National differences in preaching styles to help local needs
• Broad spectrum in the styles of ministers – for LEP’s give more guidance

COMMUNICATIONS

Description

• Communications
• Better use of email
• Lack of liaison between the Circuit Leadership Team

Local Initiative

• Methodists tend to send emails to Methodists, they need to check distribution lists to include other members of the LEP
• Denominational communications that have an impact on LEP must be shared
• If a URC minister takes over as a Superintendent of a circuit because of a local staffing problem, the Methodist Church must include them in the mailing

Strategic

• If a URC minister takes over as a Superintendent of a circuit because local staffing problem the Methodist Church does not recognise them and they are ignored in mailings – recommend changes
• Email simplifies communication check, LEP’s are correctly covered

Liaison Group

• Clear up the misunderstanding about Synods and what they represent in each denomination – circulate results of this discussion to local LEP’s
• If a URC minister takes over as a Superintendent of a circuit because local staffing problem the Methodist Church does not recognise them and they are ignored in mailings – recommend changes

LANGUAGE

Description

• Language (Common)
• Ignorance of differences in terminology
• Ministerial lack of knowledge of Denominations

Local Initiative

• LP Meetings to have a training session
• Make sure exchanges between ministers of different denominations happens, to reduce ignorance
• Better and more careful use of Circuit Plans

Strategic

• Recognised & Regarded term is modified to something more appropriate
• URC and Methodist materials used for training Local/Lay Preachers need modifying so that we have a common training pack

Liaison Group

• National training materials for ministers needs revising to ensure terminology is explained
• Better ministerial training for those going into a LEP post
• Training in the different styles of service
• Some ministers working in LEPs don’t appear to know how to delegate, which creates frustration

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: Ethos 1

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The group focusing on ethos at the Closer Working Methodist URC Consultation, made the following points about Methodists URC and Anglicans working together.  Remember this was a consultation for Methodists and URC.  It would be interesting to hear what Anglicans make of these points!

• That the three denominations might look more closely at boundaries with a view to making them coterminous at Diocese, District, Synod level to Circuit, Deanery and Area level. This with a view to how we can work together for mission and enable a strong emphasis on ecumenical commitment in appointments both ministerial and lay.
• Training and development of ministry and laity in ecumenical working is vital to enable insight into each other’s denominations.
• Cumbria model. County Ecumenical Development Officer. In two parts – social responsibility, ecumenical development – paid appointment through Churches Together (in Cumbria). Can be lay or ordained and each denomination pays into the pot.
• Team Ministry – sharing resources especially in villages where one clergy person from any denomination has pastoral support for all.

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: Finance

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The following observations were made by a group focusing on Finance at the Closer Working Methodist URC Consultation in April.  See previous posts for more information.

To help LEP’s and United Areas arrange their finances more efficiently, we ask the URC and Methodist Churches to: -

• Produce a transparent breakdown of the various funds which local churches and circuits contribute to via ‘assessments’ including national and regional (Synod and District) funds. This breakdown should show what costs are paid from these funds, so that it can be readily seen what is covered.
• Adopt a national agreed formula for sharing payments to the denominational funds referred to in the first point.
• Agree that the agreed share to be paid regularly regardless which denomination actually provides ministry at any particular time
• Bring into line the time for agreeing national budgets

We recommend: -

• That all manses used by ministers of two or more denominations are always subject to a sharing agreement
• That manses should be surveyed to Methodist Quinquennial Inspection Standard before the Sharing Agreement is finalised so that maintenance issues can be negotiated
• In United Areas: - Local URC church and Methodist Circuit Accounts should be examined to a common standard before joint finances are set up
  o Local ministry costs are pooled and shared
  o Manse costs are pooled and shared

In circuits, which include LEPs, contributions to URC funds and local ministry and manse costs should be paid through the circuit and included in Circuit Assessments
 
Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: Ministry

At Closer Working, the recent Methodist URC Consultation, a group focused on ministry.  here are some of their observations.

• The idea of a ‘pastor in every church’ has not taken off in Methodism.
• If someone feels called to ministry from within a United Area they have to choose which denomination to train for and enter, which they may not wish to do. Training may be available ecumenically, e.g. Cambridge Federation, but you still have to choose. In the theology of ordination, is theology lagging behind practice?
• If there is common recognition of local and lay preachers could there not be (more?) joint training?
• Generally there is too much duplication of effort around the country. Ministers from each denomination may be working in the same area, badly deployed and thinly spread.
• The perception and expectations of ministers varies and depends on the age profile of congregations.
• There is the issue of URC ministers not being able to serve as superintendents.  Lead Minister in United Area is not in conflict with Methodist Superintendent but it needs modifying
• Recognising the gifts of an Elder – term used incorrectly in Methodism
• District/Synod Level Appointments – could we do more things together e.g. Safeguarding?

In addition, the following points were made at the final plenary:

Status of the Methodist category of Associate Ministers. Understood as being applicable to ministers of other denominations not having designated pastoral responsibility for a Methodist Church but giving them recognition to be involved in the life of the church.

The situation where a URC minister could no longer function as a Methodist Superintendent was identified as unsatisfactory in United Areas where a URC leader would still need a Methodist colleague designated as Superintendent. The difficulty of this being subject to the Methodist Church Act is recognised but there was strong feeling among Methodist participants that it should be addressed.

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on this post on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Monday Morning 2: The Future of MEN

I'm hoping to find authors for Methodist Ecumenical News (MEN) who will represent the complete range of Methodist ecumenical work.  This is ambitious but worth a try.  My posts will cover the basic ecumenical work of the Methodism Church plus anything else happening on the national scene.  I hope other authors will provide insights into events and debates to which I don't have direct access.  Your homework this week is, through the comments, to share ideas about what you would like to see on the blog.

So, you might like to suggest:

1. Ideas for posts, sequences of posts, etc.  What would you like to see on this blog?  Do the posts so far interest you?  If not, what would interest you? 
2. Requests for more information.  I will follow up relevant requests for information about ecumenism.  It may be necessary to do some research or find a suitable author - but I will follow up every suggestion you make and if I can't do it justice I will explain why.
3. Ecumenism can be difficult, so perhaps you might share a problem.  I get 2 or 3 enquiries a week.  I can't share these as I treat them as confidential.  Sharing enquiries on this blog won't be confidential but could have advantages.  You might get the benefit of the experience of other readers.  Also, we might find others are sharing the same problem.  If it is something that can be expressed in a few words, use a comment.  Let me know if you want to share something longer and we'll work out how to do it.

It would be brilliant to return from leave to a long list of ideas.  I'll respond to posts on or after 24 August 2010.. 

Closer Working: LEPs and Constitutions 3

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Here are the remainder of the recommendations from the group considering LEPs and constitutions for Closer Working, the Methodist URC Consultation.  See previous recent posts for the others.

(a) The group recognised the struggle that both denominations are having to find people to fill the posts of denomination ecumenical officers (DEOs).

Recommendation 1: We encourage both denominations to appoint Denominational Ecumenical Officers by county, rather than by District, Synod or Area and consider offering the posts to lay as well as ordained. We hope that this will reduce the workload, the travel component of which is considerable in large Districts and Synods.

For the Methodist Church, practice varies between Districts.  Some Districts have several District Ecumenical Officers, often dividing the work according to county boundaries.  Others might have one DEO covering a large area, including more than one council.  Another problem is some Districts cover parts of several counties and some counties are in several Districts.  Should there be one DEO or two where two Districts share a county? 

I am not aware of any constraints on lay people being District Ecumenical Officers, although I suspect the contribution of lay people might be overlooked sometimes, when making appointments.  It is a role some lay people might find rewarding as a means to learn more about the churches.  I would have thought it would be possible for parents caring for small children, for example, to take it on as most of the time required is not in scheduled meetings. 

(b) The group believed that sponsoring bodies are often perceived as being the instigator of reviews and requester of reports rather than a supportive body which encourages working together for mission. The review process is often laboured, onerous and expensive in terms of time, people and money. We noted that in some cases the URC have identified a number of differing approaches to review – continuous reflection, accompanist attached to the Church Meeting, companion based support, etc ...

Recommendation 2: We ask CTE to “think outside the box” when it comes to the methodology of reviews; also ask CTE to encourage sponsoring bodies to create sustainable networks of LEPs that could be mutually supportive. Is there a place for a web-based forum for the sharing of good practice?

Conversations are already taking place at CTE's Group for Local Unity about methodology of reviews.  The suggestion about networks of LEPs could be introduced into this conversation.

(c) We believe that the number of LEPs, and particularly Methodist/URC LEPs, is likely to increase in the coming years, for a variety of reasons, some economic, some mission driven. It is important that the structures that support LEPs are effective and flexible, yet CTE appeared to some of our group to be highly institutional, similar to NHS and County education bodies in their mode of working.

Recommendation 3: We ask CTE to consider whether or not their current structures and ways of working truly relate to what is happening “on the ground” and to review their own procedures and hierarchical relationships, judging whether or not they are “fit for purpose”.

CTE has seen this recommendation and may respond to it.  However, it seems this recommendation is based upon a misperception of CTE's role.  CTE has two field officers, to cover the whole of England.  they support a number of County Ecumenical Officers (the exact job title varies) who are employed by the local sponsoring bodies (usually called Churches Together in xxx, where xxx is the name of a county).  Without more detail is is difficult to tell whether the complaint relates to CTE's national role, or the role of the county bodies. 

As far as procedures go, CTE is asked to support local initiatives according to agreements between the churches.  Reconciling often incompatible regulations is not easy and CTE tries to make them as simple as possible.  Recently CTE, with the churches, has introduced new arrangements for the approval of LEP constitutions.  This has simplified the approvals process at the expense of a much more restricted model constitution.  It's early days but we seem to be getting far fewer complaints.  Under the old system the length of time it took to carry out approvals was the main complaint and this has been largely addressed.  If there are procedures that are still problematic, CTE needs to know what they are.  Comments below will be passed onto CTE.

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on this post upon my return on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: LEPs and Constitutions 2

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One of the groups meeting at the Closer Working Consultation (see previous posts) considered Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) and their constitutions.

The group applauded the training offered by the URC to Methodist ministers stationed to LEPs that include both denominations.

Recommendation 1: Methodist Connexion to produce training materials for incoming ministers from other traditions to make them aware of the gifts and graces of Methodism and what we expect from those who are given “authorized” or “associate” status.

Recommendation 2: Methodist Connexion to ensure that the Superintendent's Induction course includes a section on the issues that may occur when they have an LEP in their Circuit.

Some work has already been done to suggest including LEPs in the Superintendent's induction course. 

One of the members of the group emailed (below) two people who have responsibility for ministerial training. There is no information yet, about their response.

Follow up to the Training recommendation concerning training materials

As you may know, in 2008 the URC Assembly and Methodist Conference approved a joint resolution which had been proposed by Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District and the West Midlands Synod.  Its main points are as follows:

• To explore further joint working for the sake of shared mission.
• A structure that minimises ecumenical meetings but facilitates diversity
• Exploration of joint structures at Synod / District level
• Effective use of resources.The leaders of the two churches have established a Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) to oversee the work under the joint resolution and have agreed to a joint URC Mission Council and Methodist Council in the autumn of 2010.

In addition a consultation of practitioners and activists working "on the ground" has just been in held in Birmingham. After a fruitful 24 hours a number of declarations and recommendations have been made to Churches Together in England and both denominations.

The group within which I was working recognised the problems that can arise within LEPs where a minister arrives from one denomination, unaware of the gifts, graces and history of the other traditions within the LEP. Looking specifically at Methodist/URC LEPs we recognised that the URC graciously offer a three day course at their centre in Windermere, whereas we as Methodist appear to do very little, perhaps relying on the Superintendent to take on a training role.

I am writing to ask if either or both of you would be willing to work with me in producing training materials that could be used for ministers of other traditions arriving in a Methodist/URC/xxx LEP. I have only a very rough outline of the scope of the materials but I thought that a starting point might be the EMMTC (East Midlands Ministry Training Course) weekend, which we could use as a basis and then offer some "compare and contrast" sections with the URC as a beginning.

I am particularly keen that we improve the understanding of two key differences (they appear key to me, I'm sure there are others) namely

• lay presidency of holy communion
• the place of authority i.e church council v. church meeting.  There are many similarities and strengths which need to be affirmed, but these are two problem areas with which I am struggling at the moment.

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: LEPs and Constitutions 1

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One of the groups meeting at the Closer Working Consultation (see previous post) considered Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) and their constitutions.

One of the roles of denominational ecumenical officers is to support churches intending to become LEPs.  The group made a number if recommendations about how this process might eb supported.

The group recommended that Churches Together in England (CTE) might encourage all LEPs to adopt the new model LEP constitution as soon as is practicable, regardless of the financial and charitable trust requirements or “need to change” qualification.

At a meeting of the Methodist URC Liaison Committee, the general direction of this recommendation was supported. LEPs are already asked to use the new model constitution when they start a new LEP or revise an old constitution, irrespective of whether they currently qualify for charitable status, that is their annual turnover exceeds £100 000. This threshold will fall and so the more LEPs that adopt the constitution now, the fewer will need to be processed when the threshold falls. For this reason we are hoping to flex the changes over a few years, rather than ask districts to approve them all at once, which is likely to be a huge task.

The group spent most of their time discussing support for LEPs. They expressed concern in the following areas:

• lack of awareness of the role of the sponsoring body, the role of the church leaders within the sponsoring body and the role of the County Ecumenical Officer (or equivalent, as job titles differ)

Recommendation: CTE identify existing or create new training materials for use by CEOs and DEOs to educate church leaders, synods, sponsoring bodies and LEPs as to their roles and responsibilities.

• the lack of resources given to sponsoring bodies and Denominational Ecumenical Officers, which suggests that denominations do not give the ecumenical agenda and support of LEPs a high enough priority. One DEO stated “we do not do this work as a hobby” and “district work is being subsidized by my circuit”.

Some years ago, CTE used to run a course for ministers and lay people working in LEPs. This has not been offered for several years and needs to be re-written. Smaller courses have been offered on a regional basis from time to time.

There are papers on the Methodist Church website for District Chairs and others who work alongside them, visit: Courtesies and practicalities - Introductory notes for district chairs and those working alongside them.  Other helpful information can be found in the online information the two churches publish together, How To Make It Work.

If you have thoughts about these issues, please comment below this post.

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

Closer Working: A local response to the 2008 Joint Resolution

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'Closer Working: A local response to the 2008 Joint Resolution' took place between Thursday 29th April and Friday 30th April 2010 at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Birmingham.  About 50 people from URC Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnerships, United Areas and other local collaborations took part, with ecumenical observers from the Church of England and Society of Friends.

In 2008, the URC Assembly and Methodist Conference approved a joint resolution which had been proposed by Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District and the West Midlands Synod.  The main points are as follows:

• To explore further joint working for the sake of shared mission.
• A structure that minimises ecumenical meetings but facilitates diversity
• Exploration of joint structures at Synod / District level
• Effective use of resources.

The leaders of the two churches established a Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) to oversee the work under the joint resolution and have agreed to a joint URC Mission Council and Methodist Council in the autumn of 2010.

The consultation identified issues from a local perspective. The report will go to the SOG and some of its findings will be discussed at the joint councils meeting. The Methodist URC Liaison Committee will follow up items the joint councils are unable to accommodate.

The Consultation aimed to:

• Identify existing good practice and share the problems that become hurdles in working together
• Evaluate why some individual churches work well together and have been successful as united churches
• Develop a set of good practices that can be used by churches when considering a united church building/fellowship
• Progress the Joint Resolution in a way that helps our Churches go forward together in greater mission

There was little input to the consultation prepared in advance.  Participants agreed topics for consideration, worked in groups and reported to a final plenary.  The topics listed therefore represent the interests and concerns of the people present.

This post will be followed by with several others.  These will report on the findings of the groups that met during the consultation.  Please follow and comment on them if you are interested.  We will read all comments and where appropriate pass them onto the Strategic Oversight Group and / or the autumn Joint Councils meeting. 

I would also like to encourage general comments about between the Methodist and United Reformed Churches relations.  The list below is of the groups at the consultation and will give you some idea of the topics they covered.  If you have comments on a particular topic, you might like to wait for the post that covers it.  If you have other concerns, comment on this post.

Most of the work of the consultation was done in groups focused around specific themes. Questions regarding:

• LEPs and constitutions;
• organic unity; (This report is being reviewed and I will post about it when it is ready.)
• ministry;
• ethos;
• finances;
• United Areas (this group reviewed the current situation and had nothing to report).

Please note I'm on leave and will respond to comments on or soon after Tuesday 24 August 2010.

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• EMU Statement of Partnership for Scotland (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

Monday Morning 1: MEN - how you can help ...

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This is the first of four Monday morning posts during my holidays.  In these posts I'll be exploring some possibilities for Methodist Ecumenical News (MEN).  First, you might like to click on the tab labelled 'About' under the blog title.  This will remind you of the purpose of this blog.

This is still the trial period for MEN but I think I can make a few points based on what I have seen so far.

First, can I encourage you to comment?  All comments will be read and passed to the relevant people (depending on the post and the nature of the comments).  This is real.  Your comments could make a difference.  Furthermore, this blog has yet to have its first comment.  Just imagine being the first to comment, the glory, the plaudits ...

I am pleased with the number of followers.  There are 11, if you don't count me.  Possibly 12 because I think we might have a private follower (hello if you're reading this).  This is brilliant.  If you are not following this blog, look to your right and you'll see at the top of the column, a big button with 'Follow' written on it - click it and change your life (a bit).  Following is not just a way of recording your appreciation but also, if you can work out how to set it up, can prompt you with the last three posts.  You can see at a glance when  there is a new post and decide if you want to read it. You also get to join Google which is an intriguing mystery ... 

Next, please publicise MEN where you can.  A link on your website or blog would be helpful.  I have a link in my emails.  People complain they don't know what's happening about ecumenism across the Methodist Church - some will complain they don't want to find out through a blog - come on - this is the first time in human history we can do this kind of thing - so let's do it and make it work!

Finally, I'm looking for writers.  You'll have seen from the 'About' page my vision is to have writers from all over Methodism, from the local through to the international.  So, please let me know if you would like to write or, if you know someone who might write, please sound them out.  The 'About' page tells you how to contact me.  I will need some information about people who express interest. 

Your homework this week:  Comment about the vision of this blog (see the 'About' page) - is it what you want? - if not, what?  I'll respond to comments when I'm back from my leave, on or soon after 24 August 2010.