17 February 2009
February meeting of the Methodist Council (1)
The Methodist Council met on 16-17 February at High Leigh
Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. This is the second of three
meetings planned for the current Church year.
In a ground-breaking new initiative, the Council approved the
appointment of three Companions to work with particular
international partner churches. The Companions are the first to be
appointed in a pilot scheme that will seek to strengthen the Church
in its relationships with partner churches around the world. Revd
Jennifer Potter, Revd Ward Jones and Revd Conrad Hicks will
specifically work with churches in Zimbabwe, Korea and Guatemala
respectively.
The Revd Ken Howcroft, Secretary of the Methodist Council, said;
"We are really pleased to have made these appointments and hope
that this scheme will develop and strengthen the international work
of the Church. The Companions will be able to offer a greater
presence in specific areas than has previously been possible,
offering the support of the British Methodist Church to our partner
churches in some of the areas of greatest need."
The Council also pledged support for the Stamp Out Poverty
campaign. Stamp Out Poverty is a network of organisations including
Christian Aid and Oxfam which campaigns for additional sources of
finance to help bring the world's poorest people out of poverty. It
urges UK and international decision-makers to introduce a stamp
duty on sterling currency transactions, setting aside proceeds for
international development objectives.
Children's charity Action for Children featured on the agenda, with
Council members approving a strategy for closer working between
Action for Children and the Methodist Church on international
issues. The Church's World Church Relationships team will seek to
identify areas in which Action for Children might be able to offer
specific expertise and support, and will seek to include them in
relevant work with partner churches around the world.
Closer to home, Council members discussed the development of the
Church's ecumenical vision for working with other British
denominations, including how local churches might be encouraged in
such partnerships. As a practical expression of the Church's
commitment to ecumenical working, the Council also pledged to
invite a representative from the United Reformed Church's Mission
Council to attend future meetings as a participative observer. A
representative from the Methodist Council will also attend Mission
Council meetings and the two bodies will explore the possibility of
a joint meeting to be held in 2010.
Christine Elliott, Methodist Secretary for External Relationships,
said; "This development in our relationship with the United
Reformed Church enables us to be more intentional about finding new
and practical ways of engaging in mission together."
Other topics discussed at the Council included the Church's
engagement with the media, the need to support local churches in
fostering discipleship and the Church's pension schemes for
ministers and lay employees.