15 October 2010
Churches vote to stand with the poor
In the first ever joint meeting of the United Reformed Church
Mission Council and the Methodist Council, the Councils voted to
work together to challenge the causes of poverty and inequality
ingrained in British society.
The joint meeting took place at the Hayes Conference Centre in
Swanwick, Derbyshire, on 13-15 October and encouraged members of
both Councils to explore the areas in which the Churches might be
most effective when working together.
Council members voted to confirm their commitment to the living
wage, to stand alongside those poorest and most vulnerable, and to
campaign for benefit and wage policies that allow people to live
and work in dignity. This will involve working with other partners,
including the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Church Action on
Poverty.
The Revd Dr Kirsty Thorpe, Moderator of the General Assembly of the
United Reformed Church, reflecting on the council, commented: "The
joint sessions have shown that the two denominations share much,
perhaps more than they ever imagined. On issues such as poverty and
the commitment to the young people and children in our
congregations we share a common mind. It has been a positive three
days and as a result of our time together we have reaffirmed our
shared commitment to Jesus and our desire to serve him."
"This joint meeting signals a real appetite in both Churches for
being the best we can be as Christian disciples," added the Revd
Alison Tomlin, President of the Methodist Conference. "In all our
discussions we have seen a deeper commitment to working together to
make Christ's love known in the world, to challenge poverty and
injustice wherever we find it and to support and share with one
another on our different journeys."
In their discussions, the Councils re-committed themselves to
working together with children and young people in Britain through
the widest variety of means. They also agreed to form a group to
take forward recent joint work between the Methodist Church and the
URC on church buildings, focusing on the potential to share
expertise and resources.
The URC Mission Council and the Methodist Council also met
separately to discuss matters affecting the Churches
individually.
In its separate business sessions the Mission Council of the United
Reformed Church considered a range of business issues including a
resolution from the Human Sexuality Task Group, which was brought
following the passing of the Equality Act. The Council heard that
the act will require a statement of URC policy on whether or not
its church buildings may be registered for holding civil
partnership ceremonies and the Mission Council authorised the Task
Group to begin work on writing such a policy.
In its separate sessions, the Methodist Council discussed a range
of issues, including how the Church's structures might best
encourage and facilitate the Church's mission in local and regional
areas. Council members also welcomed the news that the Fijian
government has dropped most of the charges against leaders of the
Methodist Church in Fiji. The members of the Fiji Methodist Church
Standing Committee were charged with attending an unauthorized
meeting held in April 2009, and all but four of them have had their
charges dropped due to 'insufficient evidence'.