wfn.org | Re: United Methodist Daily News note 481

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"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 (489
notes).

Note 486 by UMNS on Dec. 3, 1997 at 15:41 Eastern (4790 characters).

ITLE: Anglicans, Methodists to Talk Unity

CONTACT: Linda Bloom							674(10-21-71B){486}
	    New York (212) 870-3803					 Dec. 3, 1997

Anglicans, British Methodists
plan to begin unity talks

by Kathleen LaCamera* 

	LONDON, England (UMNS) -- The Church of England's governing body, the General
Synod, voted at their November meeting to begin formal unity talks with the
British Methodist Church.
	"It was fantastic... one of the most important days of my life," said the
Rev. Stuart Burgess, who watched the vote from the visitors' gallery.  "It was
a very honest debate where lots of issues were raised, but thankfully a 'yes'
vote was marvelously endorsed."  
	Burgess, chair of the York and Hull Methodist District, has been one of the
key forces behind a push to give unity talks -- which had been rejected in
1968 and 1972 -- another chance.  Along with the Anglican Archbishop of York,
David Hope, he co-convened informal discussions that have helped pave the way
for official talks.   
	"A lot of the impetus for the vote is actually coming from the grass roots,
where (Methodists and Anglicans) are already worshipping together and sharing
buildings," he said.
	According to Burgess, local cooperation occurs most frequently in the rural
and inner city areas, which will more immediately feel the effect of the
Anglican vote.  
	"These are places where very real practical as well as theological issues are
pushing ecumenical relationships," he explained.
 	The next official steps in the unity process will come when Methodists
officially vote "yes" or "no" to talks with Anglicans at their annual
conference in June 1998.
	Speaking before the Anglican vote was taken, the Rev. George Carey,
archbishop of Canterbury, urged representatives to approach their decision
with "humility," bearing in mind the sadness and the wounds caused by two
previous failed attempts.
	"What is important for us all to recognize is how much we have in common on
which we can build. ...," Carey told the assembly. "It is a tragedy that our
forebears were not able to keep the Methodists within the family of the Church
of England."
	Some of the obstacles to greater cooperation include differing stances on
remarriage after divorce and the complication that the Church of England is
the official state church, with Queen Elizabeth as its head.
	Another difficulty is the Anglicans' refusal to consecrate women bishops and
the continuing division in the church over women's ordination -- despite the
fact that Anglican women have been ordained as priests since 1992.  
	The Rev. Brian Mifflin, a Methodist minister and district chair near
Manchester said he knows there is some uneasiness among people in the pews
around these areas of difference.  
	"We have gone so far with our women ministers," he explained. "I don't think
Methodism could go down any road that brought into question the ministry of
any of our women."  
	During the synod's debate, one lay woman delegate urged Anglicans to
reconsider unity talks explaining that "the time is not right" to move forward
with the current divisions within the Church of England. Another delegate
warned that ecumenism is really all about "down-sizing." 
	"Where before you had two shop fronts, now you'll only have one..." predicted
the Rev. Peter Broadbent. "It could all end in tears."
   	But both Anglican and Methodist officials are quick to say that what is
being proposed does not constitute merger talks.  They emphasize that the
discussion is about unity not uniformity. 
	"We're not asking Methodists to give up their hymn book or to stop relating
to John Wesley," explained the Rev. Brian Beck, secretary of the Methodist
Church and member of the bilateral committee which created the report,
"Commitment to Mission in Unity."
	"With greater unity between our two communions both churches can reach out to
the community around them more effectively."
	In the not-so-distant future, Methodists and Anglicans could be sharing more
daily oversight of each other's parishes, especially where clergy and other
resources are shared.  Greater cooperation in theological training is another
probable outcome of unity talks, as well as the first official acknowledgement
of the validity of each other's rites and sacraments.  
	Churches beyond the United Kingdom may feel an effect from the unity talks. 
The Rev. Bruce Robbins, top staff executive at the United Methodist Commission
on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, said the move will push United
Methodists and the Episcopal Church in the United States to establish a more
formal dialogue that should have started long ago.  In early December, Robbins
will meet with the Episcopal Church's ecumenical officer.  	
# # #
*LaCamera, a UMNS correspondent, is based in England.

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