“Mission and Ministry in Covenant”

Joint Study: “Mission and Ministry in Covenant:Report from The Faith and Order bodies of the Church of England and the Methodist Church” (2017)

“The main proposals, if implemented, will enable an interchange of presbyteral ministries between our churches that has not been possible since the parting of the ways between Anglicans and Methodists in the late eighteenth century. We believe that these proposals on episcopal ministry and on the reconciliation of presbyteral ministries are congruent with the teaching and polity of our two churches and that they can now be commended to the churches for acceptance. We also believe that accepting the proposals made here will enable a new depth of communion between our churches and enhance our common mission, to the glory of God.”

Background and Church Documents

There is quite comprehensive coverage of the Anglican-Methodist Covenant’s text, history and implementation on the Anglican-Methodist Covenant website.

General Synod 2086 (the paper for the GS debate this week) “Mission and Ministry in Covenant: Note from the Faith and Order Commission” also gives helpful background.

 

Coverage of Publication of ‘Mission and Ministry in Covenant’

• Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
• Churches Together in England
• The Methodist Church
• Church Times (Church of England)
• Catholic News Agency
• The Tablet (Roman Catholic)

Reflections, Questions and Debate

• “Mission and Ministry in Covenant: Frequently Asked Questions”  (from the Anglican-Methodist Covenant website)
• “C of E must make first move across the divide” Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft (Church Times)
• “First Apostles” Fr Eddie Green (Future Shape of Church)
• “A Generous Catholicism and Beautiful Anomalies” Fr Richard Peers (Quodcumque)
• “Generous Catholicism: A reply to Fr Richard Peers” Dr Philip Murray (Quodcumque)
• “Guest Post from Andrew Davison on #MMIC: Being a 1662 Anglican” Fr Andrew Davison (Quodcumque)
• “An intolerable departure from order” Fr Andrew Davison (Church Times)
• “Ministry, ecclesiology and theological tidiness: Reflections on the history of Anglican-Methodist unity” Dr Peter Webster (Fulcrum)
• “Mission and Ministry in Covenant” Rt Revd Paul Bayes (Thinking a moment)
• “Statement from Anglican Catholic Future on the Report ‘Mission and Ministry in Covenant'”
• Synod debate contribution by the Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely
• “The Anglican-Methodist Proposals” – Statement from Forward in Faith
• “The Church of England and Closer Union with the Methodists” Revd Dr Ian Paul (Psephizo)
• “The Church of England should welcome Methodists into the fold of the historic episcopacy,” Revd Marcus Walker, formerly Deputy Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome (Archbishop Cranmer)
• “What is Generosity?” (Justice, Peace, Joy – see also the same author’s subsequent article on the context for the General Synod debate)
• “Why Anglicans who object to reconciliation with Methodists should read more history” Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch (Christianity Today)
• “Wounding Catholic Order: Ireland, England and Methodism” (Catholicity and Covenant)

Coverage of General Synod (Church of England) debate

• Anglican Communion News Service
• Church of England
• “Inch by inch towards the Methodists” (part of longer post on Synod agenda), Revd Stephen Lynas (Bathwellschap)
• The Methodist Church
• Premier Radio

And in a wider context ….

• “‘The grace given you in Christ’: Catholics and Methodists reflect further on the Church” (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, 2006)
• Porvoo Common Statement (1993) and Porvoo Communion
• “Fresh Expressions in the Mission of the Church: Report of an Anglican-Methodist Working Party” (Church House Publishing, 2012)