Posted on 02/17/2018 5:02:57 PM PST by marshmallow
THE Church of England and the Methodist Church moved one step closer together last week.
After a wide-ranging debate, the General Synod approved Mission and Ministry in Covenant, a report that proposes creating full interchangeability of ministers between the two Churches, moving towards full communion, if not full unity (News, 26 January).
Although a number of concerns were raised on the floor of the Synod during the debate, the report was given overwhelming support, and in the vote received comfortably more than a two-thirds majority in each of the Houses: Bishops, Clergy, and Laity.
As a prelude to the debate, two Methodist leaders spoke to commend the scheme to the C of E. A former President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Ruth Gee, spoke of her “deep sadness” that the two Churches were not in communion. “Wherever there are distinctions and divisions, that means we are less than we can be, and less than God intend us to be,” she said.
The present Secretary to the Methodist Conference, the Revd Gareth Powell, then suggested that John Wesley would be angered at how each denomination had mostly accepted the “scandal of our disunity”.
The Bishop of Coventry, Dr Christopher Cocksworth, then introduced the debate on the report. Methodists were making a bold step towards the C of E, he said, by accepting for the first time that the President of the Conference be ordained a bishop in the historic episcopate.
(Excerpt) Read more at churchtimes.co.uk ...
Anybody actually attend either of these British churches???
My understanding is that John Weasley never intended to leave the Anglicians and start his own church, so how they ended up becoming a completely seperate denomination is beyond me.
Apparently the Methodists became much more traditionally protestant than the Anglicans after splitting, but both churches are pretty useless liberal "everything goes" mainline protestant churches these days. The Anglicans just do things in Catholic drag.
Two reasons for John Wesley having a disagreement with the Anglican Church 1.wanted to evangelize, especially among the working class people and he ordained pastors to do such. 2. He believed Christianity was more than creeds and rituals and required a heartfelt faith. The Moravians had a great influence on his faith.
There is a very worldly reason for these mergers... Money.
Each local congregation is shrinking as its truly religious members go Evangelical. Yet each local church has a monstrosity of a brick and mortar establishment to maintain, to heat and repair. The money says merge, consolidate.
It is like when Kmart and Sears merged.
Blind leading the blind?
Two far left social clubs getting chummy. Big deal.
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