wfn.org | British Methodist Conference

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (200
notes).

Note 199 by UMNS on July 3, 1997 at 14:49 Eastern (5686 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                             387(10-71B){199}
          New York (212) 870-3803                     July 3, 1997

Discussion by British Methodists includes
interfaith dialogue, clergy training, sex abuse
               
by Kathleen LaCamera*

     LONDON, England (UMNS) -- Interfaith dialogue, shrinking
funding for clergy training and sexual abuse were among the main
items of business at the 1997 British Methodist Conference,
meeting here June 28-July 5.
     Gathering in Methodist Central Hall -- literally in the
shadow of Westminster Abbey and Parliament -- 570 clergy and lay
delegates made decisions they hope will keep the church relevant
and responsive to the changing world in which it lives well into
the next millennium.
     Sir Michael Checkland, incoming vice president, noted that
the conference's biggest problem "is that the church lacks
self-confidence. We should cease obsessing with falling attendance
at formal church services and extend the Christian faith by
Christian work. In this area, we have a positive story to tell."  
     Former director general of the British Broadcasting Company,
(BBC), Checkland maintained that the future strength of the church
lies in a well-led laity and challenges churches to "not be
timid."
     In his inaugural address, he urged Methodists to take their
full part in revived local government and apply their talents
across a wide range of areas. "If we are relevant to contemporary
Britain, then people will walk back to the church," he said.   
     In light of Checkland's remarks, conference discussions of
the future of ministry in the Methodist Church reflected both
challenge and opportunity.
     Responding to shrinking membership and increasing costs of
training pastors, proposals were adopted to create new, lower cost
alternatives for theological training.  Currently, all costs for
training ministers and deacons are born by the conference,
creating a shortfall this year alone of more than 750,000 pounds
or $1.2 million.
     Alternative schemes include in-service programs where pastors
train while serving churches.  Proposals also include the creation
of regional resource centers that can be used for continuing or
"life-long" education. 
     The Rev. John Taylor, incoming president, said he believes
there is a pressing need to talk about the ministry of the whole
people of God.  Citing a shortage of clergy that means at least 50
pulpits will go unfilled each year, Taylor maintained the church
must equip the laity for ministry as well the clergy.   
     In spite of financial shortfalls that will require a dip into
reserve funds, delegates rejected an annual cap on the number of
clergy candidates it could accept over the next three years but
agreed in the future to take a more stringent look at individuals
before they are approved. 
     Responding to a conference-wide report on the use of
Methodist premises, delegates voted to limit the use of church
facilities by non-Christian groups to social occasions only.
     Efforts to establish a more open-ended policy that would
allow local communities to decide if people of other faiths could
use Methodist premises for worship were defeated.
     Opponents of the limit warned that the current policy denies
the Christian imperative for hospitality and will contribute to an
atmosphere of distrust and fear between different religious
groups.
    Those supporting the present policy applauded the cautious
tone of the recommendations and cited discussions with Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs who affirmed they believed only Christian
worship should take place in Christian sanctuaries.   
     In other business, the conference observed a minute of
silence in acknowledgement of the pain of sexual harassment and
abuse suffered within the life of the church. This formal
observance is part of the British Methodism's response to a
yearlong study on incidents of sexual harassment and abuse within
the institution.  The working recommendations include provisions
for support and training to prevent such abuse in the future.
     Among those attending the conference were Bishop William Boyd
Grove, ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of
Bishops and the Rev. William Shilladay, pastor in the New York
Conference.  
     Grove -- officially a voting delegate from an "autonomous"
Methodist conference -- confessed he was surprised to realize he
is viewed by British Methodists as belonging to a body that is
rather "like a child that grew up and went away."
     He also noted the high level of respect paid to the office of
the presidency as something unique to British Methodism.  "It's as
if the person in office of president actually is sitting in John
Wesley's chair at conference," he said.      
     Shilladay, in London on a seven-week pulpit exchange, 
expressed particular appreciation for the new British president's
emphasis on ecumenism. "It's an ecumenism that is broad and
welcoming without losing the distinctiveness of its Methodist
identity," he noted.  
     An unofficial visitor was the Rev. Jeanne Audrey Powers, a
retired executive with the United Methodist Commission on
Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. She also applauded
the president's comments, but added that she found the
Conference's stand on the use of buildings "staid and
traditional."
                             #  #  # 

     * LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent
based in Europe.

     

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 To make suggestions or give your comments, send a note to 
 umns@ecunet.org or Susan_Peek@ecunet.org

 To unsubscribe, send the single word "unsubscribe" (no quotes)
 in a mail message to umethnews-request@ecunet.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------------