Day 2
Developments in the Covenant With the Methodist Church Outlined
The ongoing work of the Covenant Council was outlined at General Synod in Naas this afternoon (Saturday May 11). Proposing the council’s report, Dean Nigel Dunne (Cork, Cloyne and Ross) said that since the historic agreement on the interchangeability of ministry between the Methodist Church in Ireland and the Church of Ireland, significant work had been carried out on the ground.
In the intervening period some unforeseen matters have arisen. One of the things that the council has had to resolve is the question of Full Connexion for Methodist ministers who move into ministry in a Church of Ireland context.
“I don’t think we Anglicans realised the depth of feeling, tradition and identity that Full Connexion brings for Methodist ministers and the wider Methodist Church. I am glad to say that recent discussions have been an education for the Church of Ireland members of the Council and it looks like this matter is almost fully resolved. Recommendations are being brought to the Methodist Conference in June,” he said.
The council continues to encourage collaboration between our traditions on the ground. Last year particular focus has been given to the interchange of Methodist Local Preachers and Diocesan Lay Readers. He highlighted a pilot scheme being run by the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the Southern District of the Methodist Church which he said had been very useful.
Dean Dunne announced that he was standing down from the council after 20 years. But he said that he was genuinely very proud of what had been achieved in the Covenant, the framework of which was now being followed by other provinces in the Anglican Communion.
Seconding the report, Archdeacon Barry Forde talked about the charitable status of covenant partnerships which had been a matter of ongoing engagement. He pointed out that Church of Ireland parishes in Northern Ireland were registered as individual charities with the governing document as the Constitution of the Church of Ireland.
The Methodist Church in Ireland took a different approach agreeing with the charity regulator to register as a single charity to Conference and the Connexional system, he said. This meant that all circuits, societies and missions are under a single registration umbrella.
Archdeacon Forde said that there were merits to both systems but the difference left covenant partnerships in limbo and they had to adhere to both requirements. He reported that this has been worked out as evidenced by Primacy in Bangor. He said this community of faith was working within and with the blessing of both denominations.
“This is an ongoing journey of learning, adaptation and change in which such partnerships remain fully Church of Ireland and Methodist but also give something of both traditions to the other in the spirit of Christian unity,” he said.
Speaking to the report, Bishop Michael Burrows (Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe) noted that it had been a time of change in the Covenant Council. It had been a joy working with Dr Heather Morris of the Methodist Church and he looked forward to working with the Revd Alderdice. He thanked Dean Dunne for the work he had done to steer the Covenant.
The Revd Dr John Alderdice, Methodist President, said it was a privilege to speak about the Covenant. He said he was looking forward to continuing the journey. He echoed thanks to Dean Nigel Dunne for recognising the value of working together. Being in full Connexion was a deeply held part of Methodist ministry, he said and thanked Dean Dunne for his understanding. “We find ourselves as two churches working with the challenges of change in many of our existing local churches, recognising that the world we have come from is not the same as the world that we’re in and is not going to be same as the world were moving into. Congregations might be able to work together in this context,” he suggested. He also noted that there would be opportunities in Pioneer Ministry that could be explored together. The birth of Methodism was in going beyond our traditional churches, he said adding that there are so many opportunities to work together in pioneer missions and reach people who don’t understand what Methodism or the Church of Ireland is.