Ecumenical Conference Report on the Methodist Church in Scotland

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Here is the final extract from this year's ecumenical report to Methodist Conference about ecumenical activities in Scotland.

The Partnership between the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church in Scotland, and the United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland (the EMU Partnership) 

Steady progress between the three denominations continues to be made. At a meeting on 14 March 2011 a work-plan, remits and terms of reference were developed. From 2012 it is proposed to operate the partnership with an “Oversight Group” and a “Contact and Implementation Group”. Standing “Work Groups” and timelimited “Task Groups” were also considered: the Work Groups being likely to include one on “Ministries” and one on “Learning/Training”.

Significant developments within the three denominations include the Methodist Church District Development Team Review; the Scottish Episcopal Church’s “Whole Church Mission and Ministries Policy Process; and the United Reformed Church’s “Advertising a Welcome” programme. The potential impact of these and other developments were discussed in the Partnership.

Perhaps the most significant progress is being made in areas of training of both ministers and laity. An example of cooperation with EMU partners is a series of three events under the banner “Shaping the Journey” at Dunblane Cathedral. 

The Church of Scotland Third Article Declaratory 

The Church of Scotland Third Article Declaratory sets out their undertaking to provide ministry across the whole of Scotland, which is one of the bases for their being a national Church. Their General Assembly last year reaffirmed this article. However, in practical terms with shortages in ministers it is proving nearly impossible to enact. A Commission to explore how they can fulfil the Third Article declaratory is in progress and reports to next year’s General Assembly. Along with several other Churches, Methodists have been invited to contribute to the work of the Commission. There may be ways of exploring how ministries may meaningfully be shared in a number of areas, building on the fact that Methodists are already assisting in the delivery of ministry in a number of Church of Scotland charges. 

Ecumenical Forum 

Building upon an ecumenical forum held last year, another was due to be held in May 2011. This would draw together Methodists and those from partner churches in Scotland who are interested in further developments of ecumenical relationships. The forum was to explore where the Methodist Church in Scotland is against objectives set out in the Swanwick Declaration in 1987; explore how its local ecumenical relationships are developing; consider from an ecumenical perspective the District Development Team Review of the Scotland District; and develop ideas on how it might continue to “journey together” with partner Churches. 

Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS): Ecumenical Reviews 

There are two aspects of ecumenical life in Scotland currently under review. Firstly, the National Sponsors Body is seeking to explore denominational perspectives of how effective local ecumenical partnerships are in a changing environment of decreasing resources and under the impact of new legislation (most notably charity law). The second is a broader review asking the Churches to reflect on and respond to the Swanwick Declaration to assess where we now are on our ecumenical journey together. Each denomination will be asked to speak to this at the ACTS residential meeting of members in October 2011.

Related articles

• Methodist Conference 2011 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

Methodist Conference 2011

Volume 3 of the agenda for this year's Methodist Conference was published online yesterday and so today I will summarise the headings from the various papers.  Next week I will prepare posts based on the issues covered in the conference reports.  You can follow the links and read them today or wait for them to come up on the blog next week.

The Ecumenical Report to Conference covers the following issues:

• Further report on progress in response to the Joint Resolution of the Methodist Conference and the United Reformed Church Assembly in 2008
• The Methodist Church in Wales, including the Commission of Covenanted Churches in Wales and Y Cyngor's response to it
• The Methodist Church in Scotland including progress with the EMU Partnership, the Church of Scotland Third Article Declaratory and ACTS' ecumenical reviews
• The Joint Implementation Commission

The latter is primarily concerned with JIC2's interim report, Moving Forward in Covenant.  Here are the main chapter headings:

• How far have we travelled in Covenant?  This section covers a number of issues including the diaconate, episcopacy and Presidency.
• A Major Development in Shared Ministry.  This includes covenant partnerships in extended areas.

As far as I can tell there are no relevant memorials this year.  There are a few other relevant reports and I will provide links to these as I cover the issues in detail.  Leave a comment if you spot anything in the papers I might have missed.

Related articles

• Methodist Responses to Embracing the Covenant (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Archbishop of Canterbury at Methodist Conference 3 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• A Glimpse into the Future (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Methodist URC Liaison Committee, March 2011 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

Episcopal, Methodist and URC Discussions

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This is the last of five posts of the Ecumenical Relations in Scotland report to the Methodist Church, 2010. 

The Episcopal, Methodist, URC (EMU) Partnership agreement was signed on 23 January 2010 in the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) Cathedral in Perth.  The partnership sets out to explore together ways of:
Being Church and serving God together;

• Increasing the confidence of our members to speak of God and faith in ways that make sense to others;
• Cooperating in teaching and learning about Jesus Christ, and our mission together;
• Cooperating on Church and Society issues, supporting community development and taking action together for justice, especially among the most deprived and poor in Scotland;
• Sharing in the provision and deployment of both lay and ordained ministries of all the people of God;
• Sharing our resources across Scotland to fulfil our shared Christian mission to spread the Gospel.

Copies of the full agreement are now with each church and the onus is on local congregations as well as the national level if this relationship is to develop.

The EMU group met twice in 2010 with the main focus being the fleshing out of a  development plan, developing a "Federation" on training / learning together and exploring other possibilities for co-operation both locally and nationally.  With Welsh and Scottish Episcopal Church participation in the Joint Implementation Commission (JIC) 2 of the Anglican Methodist Covenant, EMU provides a possible vehicle for taking forward initiatives arising in this forum within Scotland, as the URC also participate in JIC2.

Related articles

• The Methodist Church in Scotland Ecumenical Relations Report 2010 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

Local Ecumenical Partnerships in Scotland 2010

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This is the fourth in a series of five posts based on the Methodist Church's report about ecumenical relations in Scotland 2010. 

We still have only seven formal Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) in Scotland: Granton Waterfront Churches Centre Project; Livingston Local Ecumenical Parish (with Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) and URC); Grahamston United Parish (with the Church of Scotland and URC); Granton United and Mosspark United (both with the URC); and with the SEC at Rosyth and at St John's Dumfries.  However, there have been some significant developments in local partnerships in 2010 including the following.

Firstly, Granton United Church has been demolished to make way for an affordable housing unit which will include provision for a new church - in the meantime the congregation continue to meet in a local "Seventh Day Adventist" Church building.  It is anticipated the new build may be available by the end of 2011.

Another initiative which is being explored is the possibility of developing a closer relationship between Mosspark United Church and the local Church of Scotland Parish Church.  The Parish Church has recently gone into a ministerial vacancy and there may be an opportunity to build on good relations and the shared worship which takes place over the summer months and at other times.

Through the EMU Partnership we are starting to explore other local initiatives.  One of these is the possibility of deepening a building sharing arrangement in Girvan, where the SEC meet to worship in a Methodist building.  This initiative is still in its early stages of development but could lead to both a shared mission and ministry in Girvan.

The Scottish Churches National Sponsoring Body (NSB) for Local Ecumenical Partnerships continues to develop and maintain guidelines for best practice in LEPs and provides the mechanisms for shared oversight and review of existing LEPs.

Related articles

• Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• The Methodist Church in Scotland Ecumenical Relations Report 2010 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

Where Might we get to Ecumenically?

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Ken Howcroft, the Connexional Ecumenical Officer, made a presentation at a meeting of the Connexional Team's Strategic Leaders and Cluster Heads on 16 December 2010.  An outline follows.  It is a useful summary of Connexional ecumenical activity.

The (other) Lord’s Prayer
“May they all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me… I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me… May they be with me where I am to see my glory” John 17:21-4

Priorities for the Methodist Church
In partnership with others wherever possible, the Methodist Church will concentrate its prayers, resources, imagination and commitments on this priority:

• to proclaim and affirm its conviction of God’s love in Christ, for us and for all the world; and
• to renew confidence in God’s presence and action in the world and in the Church

Lund Principle 1952
Churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately.


Ecumenical Vision 

• All together in each place
• Worship and Mission
• Holy Church, wholly Church, not the whole of the Church
• Conference 2009

Ecumenical Identity: Church Identity

See Ken's post on 29 October 2010 

Current Situation and Future Scenarios

• Anglican Methodist Covenant
• United Reformed Church (URC) - Methodist joint resolution.  See eight posts about the consultation held in April 2010 starting here and two posts about the October joint meeting of Methodist Council and URC Mission Council
• EMU and Welsh Covenant
• Church of England, Methodist, URC - more about this later
• Baptist
• Roman Catholic
• European
• New Churches and Movements

Questions
 
What does ecumenical working mean in:

• inter-religious contexts?
• inter-confessional contexts?
• within our confessional context?

If you have answers to these questions or other questions or views, please comment below.

Related articles

• Ecumenical Vision Statement (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Vatican II Conference (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Archbishop of Canterbury at Methodist Conference 3 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Methodist URC Liaison Committee, November 2010 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Joint Councils Catch Up (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Ecumenical Identity (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

EMU Statement of Partnership for Scotland

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Methodist Conference 2010 received the following report and endorsed the signing by the Synod of the Scotland District of the Statement of Partnership.

Statement of Partnership between the Methodist Church in Scotland, the United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland, and the Scottish Episcopal Church.

2.1 The talks in Scotland between the Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church (known as the “EMU” talks), which began on the 2005, arose out of a desire by the three EMU denominations to continue their engagement following the rejection by the Church of Scotland of the final report of the Scottish Churches Initiative for Union (SCIFU) process at their 2003 General Assembly. Informal discussions among the three other denominations following the demise of the SCIFU process established the following aims and objectives:

Aim: Finding and expressing our unity in Christ, locally and nationally, across Scotland.

Objectives:

• To overcome obstacles which we allow to prevent us from sharing Christ’s ministry both locally and nationally.
• To work positively together
• To encourage our churches to learn, worship, plan and act together, both formally and informally, so that we discover our unity in Christ
• To understand and name any hindrances (e.g. historical, ecclesiological and sociological)
• To find ways of sharing and deploying resources (e.g. personnel, property and finance)
• To engage together in the life and issues of Scotland.
• To model effective ways of deepening our relationship
• To engage with and learn from existing ecumenical relationships and experience 

2.2 The main EMU group including the SEC Primus, Chair of the Methodist Church in Scotland and Moderator of the United Reformed Church (URC) National Synod of Scotland met twice a year. Already there was co-operation in training, education, mission and church planting. The EMU talks explored how to expand on these, developing mechanisms to enable this to happen. Much common ground was established through the SCIFU process and this was not revisited by the EMU Talks (e.g. diaconal ministry and baptism).

2.3 A consequence of closer working between the three denominations in the area of theological training for both lay and ordained people is leading to an Education Federation being created. The EMU Talks have also identified a desire for closer co-operation on Church and Society issues and the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC) Millennium Goal initiative has been taken up by the other two denominations along with exploring new ways of working more closely together.

2.4 Another significant development relating to the EMU Talks has been the inclusion of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Church in Wales as participants in the “Joint Implementation Commission 2 (JIC2)” of the “Anglican Methodist Covenant”.  Previously, this Church of England/ Methodist Church in Britain initiative had not engaged fully with Scotland and Wales, and the EMU Talks acted as a catalyst for an invitation to the SEC to participate in JIC2. As the URC are also participants in JIC2 the EMU Talks provide an avenue for both inputting a Scottish perspective to JIC2 but also potentially taking forward any initiatives which might emerge from it.

2.5 The three denominations continue to work together with other denominations through their involvement in the networks and associated bodies and agencies of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) and other ecumenical groupings. The three “EMU” denominations continue to be fully committed to this wider ecumenism and will continue to work together with others whenever this is possible as well as specifically through EMU, when other ecumenical avenues are not available.

2.6 The EMU Talks reached a stage where it was felt that a more formal expression of the aims and objectives was required. A Statement of Partnership was proposed as follows. 

We, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Synod of the Scotland District of the Methodist Church and the National Synod of Scotland of the United Reformed Church, in recognition of our developing relationships, instigate this statement of partnership. We solemnly declare that we will work for ever closer co-operation in serving Christ. We are glad of the partnerships that have already been established between us and commit ourselves to strengthening these relationships and building new ones. By regular meetings between our various officers, and encouragement to our congregations, we shall work to identify, explore and develop opportunities to share in mission and ministry by continuing to forge stronger ties between us.  Specifically we shall explore together ways of:

Being Church and serving God together;

Increasing the confidence of our members to speak of God and faith in ways that make sense to others;

Cooperating in teaching and learning about Jesus Christ, and our mission together;

Cooperating on Church and Society issues, supporting community development and taking action together for justice, especially among the most deprived and poor in Scotland;

Sharing in the provision and deployment of both lay and ordained ministries of all the people of God;

Sharing our resources across Scotland to fulfil our shared Christian mission to spread the Gospel.

We shall seek to widen our Ecumenical engagement within this Partnership and with other denominations, wherever possible, so that our working together may be as wide as possible and our diversity not hindered by ongoing dis-union and rivalry. Progress in this partnership will be formally reviewed on a 5 yearly basis from the date of signature.

In signing this statement we affirm our commitment to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and trust in God’s power for the implementation of this partnership.

2.7 The Statement of Partnership is meant to be permissive and should energise and encourage relationships throughout and between the denominations at all levels. It is not a scheme for organic union rather an enabling tool for developing ecumenical cooperation.

2.8 The Statement of Partnership was endorsed by the relevant synods.  In Methodist terms, covenant and other partnership agreements with a Church (in the sense of a whole denomination) are signed with the approval and on behalf of the Conference. Local and regional covenants and other partnership agreements are signed on behalf a Church Council, Circuit Meeting or District Synod and are not approved by or reported to the Conference.  The EMU Partnership is much close to the latter than the former. It was a therefore approved by and signed on behalf of the Synod of the Scotland District of the Methodist Church. A formal signing of the EMU Partnership Statement then took place on 23 January 2010 in Perth Cathedral.