Annual Report

of the

Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome

August 2015 – August 2016

Introduction

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome was formally launched in early April when the Stakeholders` Forum set up after a preliminary meeting in London in June 2015 met to review the work of the Office and to advise on its development. Present at the first full meeting of the Forum were MEOR Director Rev. Dr. Tim Macquiban

Methodist Church Britain Secretary of the Conference Rev. Gareth Powell Ecumenical Officer Rev. Neil Stubbens World Church Relationships Europe Mr. Roy Crowder

OPCEMI (Methodist churches in Italy): Deacon Alessandra Trotta (President) and a member of the Permanent Committee (Mr. Claudio Paravati)

World Methodist Council –President Bishop Paolo Lockmann, Vice President Mrs Gillian Kingston, Chair of the Standing Committee for Ecumenical Relationships the Rev. Prof. Robert Gribben and Treasurer Mr. Kirby Hickey (sadly General Secretary Bishop Ivan Abrahams was prevented by illness from attending)

European Methodist Council: Rev. Knut Refsdal (Norway)

United Methodist Council: Office of Christian Unity and Inter Religious Relationships (OCUIR) Bishop Mike Watson

The Wesley (Rome): Rev Dr Stuart Burgess and Mr Marcello Marinelli (also representing Ponte Sant`Angelo Methodist Church)

The agenda of the meeting was formed by the work plan agreed at that June 2015 meeting which included

To plan events to focus on the work of MEOR including a lecture at the Centro Pro Unione, ecumenical Vespers at Caravita for Aldersgatetide) and an Ecumenical Reception to honour John Wesley`s Birthday

To further conversations with Anglican colleagues about closer collaboration

To have regular and informal meetings with PCPCU leading to an official meeting with Cardinal Koch

To prepare for the official launch of MEOR To further relations with The Wesley Rome and establish a teaching

programme for 2016

To work towards a network of support among partners worldwide

The MEOR stakeholders` meeting generated enormous interest not only locally but globally through the dissemination of news in the social media and press. The establishment of the Office was described in HE Nigel Baker`s twitter feed on UK in Holy See with appropriate comments and photographs as Ecumenism and diplomacy: HMA Baker "very proud" to attend official opening of Methodist Ecumenical Office in RomeOther publicity has been found in the British and Irish church press and everything else from the Catholic websites around the world to Riforma, Radio Beckwith and the Protestant media in Italy. The coverage has certainly raised the profile of MEOR and established beyond doubt our credibility in the eyes of both the Vatican and other major communions.

Outline : For the rest of the report I will follow the outline of the work plan and address the way in which MEOR has

built up relations internally within Rome

externally with contacts with other Methodist Churches and Institutions worldwide

and exercised its ministry of dialogue, hospitality and education in various areas.

Relationships with Churches in Rome As well as individual meetings, I encounter many of those listed below at the monthly meetings of the Churches Together in Rome, of which I have been elected Secretary: Principal Roman Catholic contacts: Fr. Tony Currer (PCPCU) with whom I also have regular meetingsFr. Keith Pecklers (Caravita) Fr. Jim Puglisi and Dr Teresa Rossi (Centro Pro Unione)Dr Donna Orsuto and A J Boyd (Lay Centre)Mgr. Philip Whitmore (Venerable English College) Mgr. Philip Gillespie (Beda College)

CTiR members: Archbishop David Moxon and Rev Marcus Walker (Anglican Centre)

Canon Jonathan Boardman and Rev Dana English (All Saints) plus Lutheran and Church of Sweden pastors Rev Dave Hodgdon (Central Rome Baptist Church) Rev Willie McCulloch (St Andrew`s Church of Scotland) Rev Eric Noffke and Pastor Joylin Galapon (Via Firenze Italian speaking Methodist Church)Rev Austin Rios and Charles Graves IV (St Paul`s Within) Rev Mary Styles (All Saints and Fresh Expressions – Footsteps)

In addition I have attended one meeting of the Consulta of Evangelical Churches in Rome at which a lay member of PSA normally attends as she is Italian-speaking. This oversees amongst other things the scheme for teaching Italian to migrants, the school of which is held at PSA. I learned about their plans for marking Riforma 500 and was able to tell them about the projected heritage and mission project at PSA. I will sit on their Reformation working group from now on.

The year started with attendance at the Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation at St Peter`s Basilica (1st September) for which there was minimal notice (the Thursday before!) hence the poor ecumenical representation (four Orthodox, four Protestant). But it did mean that the Pope personally greeted the eight of us present after the service ended. Bishop Brian Farrell and HE Nigel Baker joined Archbishop David and myself in a photograph afterwards. The ecumenical year started in earnest with a meeting of the fraternal at the manse and the first meeting of Churches Together in Rome. Some notable celebrations approach in 2016, for All Saints (200) and the Anglican Centre (50). We have attended an English Tea and eucharists at these respectively.

The main concentration of ecumenical activity of the year has again been the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which has been very full this year. On the eve of the Week, we participated in a prayer service in the chapel at the Paoline Sisters` house near Termini after we had fed hundreds of hungry people who come to receive what Pozzo di Giacobbe offer. On the first evening we had the first ecumenical service at San Giovanni dei Fiorentini bringing Catholics and Methodists together locally. Don Tony Currer and the PCPCU helped us put together the order of service. Nearly fifty people attended, followed by refreshments. On the Wednesday evening I was invited to preach at a prayer service organised by the Sant`Egidio community at Ostia. On the Thursday evening, after attending the lecture and service at the Centro Pro Unione, we sang in an ecumenical service at the RC Church of Cristo Re. Then on the Saturday I preached at the Pontifical Beda College. And on the Sunday celebrated a Methodist Eucharist at All Saints which was the first time a non-

Anglican has presided at the eucharist in their own tradition on a Sunday. The week concluded with Papal Vespers at St. Paul’s without the Walls when I joined five other Protestant clergy who were invited for the first time to join the procession into the Basilica having been greeted by the Pope in the narthex. The Pope’s Homily broke new ground as did the invitation for Orthodox and Anglican Church leaders to join him in the final blessing. For a fuller report on the week see the article which appeared in the Methodist Recorder and First Friday Newsletter (Appendix Three).Lent started well with the usual ecumenical service of prayer with ashing on Ash Wednesday at Caravita with its priest, Fr. Jake Mudge, preaching. Another occasion at Caravita which is becoming an annual feature was the ecumenical evensong at Caravita for Aldersgatetide presided over by Bishop Brian Farrell, attended by Archbishop Paul Gallagher (from Secretary of State`s department) and at least eight members of the diplomatic corps at which we said farewell to Ambassador Nigel Baker who has been such a friend and supporter of ecumenical partners in Rome. I was asked to preach on this important occasion. The music for the service comprised Wesley anthems and hymns with a visiting choir from London. There was a good attendance of over 120. Afterwards we were invited to dine with the Ambassador and his wife, the two Archbishops and Bishop, six ambassadors and wives and friends at Caravita.

I have had several visits to the ecumenical garden project at San Gregorio for the weekly working party which is taking shape as a quiet reflective space at this historic site. This will feature in the big celebrations of the Anglican Centre`s 50th anniversary in October.

I had an American student from Hamilton College, NY come to interview me about the churches` work with refugees and migrants in Rome.

Relationships with Other Churches and Institutions worldwide:Roman Catholic Church: This month has been dominated by ecumenical activities notably attendance at the Synod of Bishops for which there is a separate report attached (Appendix Four). This was an important occasion for Methodists to be represented as one of only eight Protestants present. My intervention was reported on widely by the Vatican and Catholic press. During the Synod, I received invitations to events hosted by Focolare and PCPCU where the fraternal delegates were entertained by Cardinal Koch. Useful contracts were made with the Serbian Orthodox Church – I was glad that I`d passed through Belgrade en route to Bulgaria for the EMC meeting and visited their Cathedral and knew the name of their last King! In addition we had a meal with Bishop Tim of Taunton (fellow Fraternal Delegate at the Synod) and Archbishop David at Tony Currer`s to debrief on the Synod (but also to hear the latest on the Anglican Primates` meeting in January).

Tavola Valdese: I was invited to lead an evening at the Facolta Valdese on the Synod of Bishops on the Family and have also led and four sessions in the autumn term on Methodist Worship and Liturgy. I had a good meeting with Professor Garrone of the Waldensian Faculty to explore ways in which MEOR can collaborate with the Centro Melanthona there in terms of student and staff exchanges and participation in courses and cultural immersion programmes for visiting individuals and groups to Rome. His response was very encouraging. Conversations continue also regarding collaboration in a number of other areas, including a possible conference for theological educators here in Rome in 2017. I have participated in a number of events including the examination of two of the students who have attended PSA, including our intern for the year, Kassim Conteh. European Methodist Council: In September I attended the European Methodist Council meeting in Ruse, Bulgaria, where I reported on developments at MEOR. Before the EMC met, the European section of the World Methodist Historical Society met; I gave a paper on the influence of Susanna Wesley in the light of its theme of Women in Methodism. In April we were privileged to host the EMC Executive organised by one of its members Alessandra Trotta as the first resident group staying with us and using the Centre as a conference centre. British Methodist Church: As well as the visit of the Secretary of Conference, the Rev. Gareth Powell, to launch our 60th anniversary year at PSA over the Advent Sunday weekend, which gave us the opportunity for him to make contacts with the Anglican Centre following up on his involvement with the AMICUM process, we had an official visit from the Vice President. Dr Jill Barber, and her husband Peter, stayed with us for Holy Week. We built the programme around the theme of Heritage and Mission, and included two significant ecumenical events where she was able to represent wider Methodism, both on 22nd March:

The Eucharist at the Anglican Centre on the 50th anniversary of its establishment, including renewal of vows by those ordained

The Evening Prayer for the commemoration of martyrs in Santa Maria in Trastevere organised by the Community of Sant`Egidio with whom the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy is in collaboration on the Humanitarian Corridors established through Mediterranean Hope which this month received its first group of 93 refugees.

In May I attended the Methodist Roman Catholic Committee held at Roehampton where I gave a paper on Methodist Hymnody and the Bible.

As usual the highlight of the end of the year was the ecumenical reception held to honour John Wesley`s birthday (four days after to avoid a British embassy party). This year it attracted fifty from a wide range of the ecumenical spectrum

of Catholic and Protestant in Rome and was again blessed by a fine evening after heavy rain earlier in the day. That same week the Sant`Egidio Community had a commemoration service which my wife Angela attended on my behalf for those who had died in the processes of migration in World Refugee Week. I attended high Mass and a reception following at San Giovanni dei Fiorentini on the occasion of their patronal festival (of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist) and dined with the parish priest and Archbishop Paul Gallagher and three of his colleagues from the Secretary of State`s department of the Vatican. In July I attended the Opening weekend of the British Methodist conference where it was pleasing to meet so many people with Rome connections, past, present and future! I also attended the British World Methodist Committee in preparation for attendance at the WMC in Houston in August. A report on this will feature in next year`s annual report. Queen`s Foundation, Birmingham: Global Christianity programme Two students about to leave college to go into circuit (sadly a third was unable to get a visa to enter Italy) stayed on an extra week after the Ecumenical Course and had a programme focussing on the social engagement of the churches particularly in respect of the issues of diversity and migration. Two tutors were with them for parts of the fortnight as part of the MEET programme at Queens. We hope this pilot scheme can be built on for the future. See the reports in Appendix Five Wesley House Cambridge: As a fellow of Wesley House Cambridge and associate member of staff, I have been pleased to write two articles for their on-line journal Holiness and also to teach a week on their DMin course Transformative Leadership in the Wesleyan perspective, giving lectures on Wesleyan Roots for a Socially Engaged Ministry. World Methodist Council: Preparations for the WMC/Baptist World Alliance international dialogue meeting in Elstal Germany in February occupied the earlier part of January, having to put a paper together at short notice on the ecumenical and liturgical context of contemporary Methodist view and practices of Christian Initiation. This was because Robert Gribben had to drop out because of the lack of funding for travel. The week at the Baptist Seminary at Elstal Berlin comprised the third round of the Baptist World Alliance/World Methodist Council International Dialogue. This time, we focused our conversations on the more difficult topic of Baptism and Christian Initiation. We made good progress in covering such issues as the relationship between grace and faith and the place of infant/adult believers’ baptism in the Methodist and Baptist traditions. Next year we plan to continue our discussions in this area looking particularly at the relationship with worship and witness as part of Christian discipleship.

The Centre`s second residential visitors were David Chapman and Karen Westerfield Tucker, Co-Chair and Co-Secretary of the international Methodist Roman Catholic Dialogue who spent five days with their counterparts using the Centre as a base for writing up their report for this summer. They were well pleased with the facilities, especially the proximity to the Vatican, for their work together. We entertained them in the manse and went to the Venerable English College for dinner another evening where I had met Archbishop Bernard Longley, on his inspection visit, on the Sunday evening after Vespers. World Council of Churches: Some discussion took place at the Stakeholders Forum regarding presence of Methodism in Geneva now that the Office has closed. The EMC has a concern about this. It was felt desirable that MEOR should work closely with any developments there and also with the Jerusalem Office. We hosted a team from WCC (Mission Development) in Rome for a conference, facilitated by Dr Janet Corlett who was our first visitor in the Centre staying two nights after her conference here. IEF: I had a visit at their request from the President and Theological Chair of the International Ecumenical Fellowship who were in Rome to plan their mini-Conference here in October. I have agreed to host 40+ visitors on 11th October for a talk here and coffee before they go on to PCPCU. United Methodist Church : Amos Nascimento of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (UMC) has been back in touch to ask me to talk to the Education Committee in Houston about MEOR with another possibility of a College link as well as Martin College though Domenico Negrelli.

Hospitality received and given and occasions for representation of Methodism: Ecumenical visits in the autumn included representing Methodists at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on 11th November and leading the Act of Remembrance, giving a report to students and staff at the Waldensian Faculty to mostly Italians and Germans in English on the Synod of Bishops on the Family, and a supper to mark the conclusion of the anniversary year for the Columban Fathers. More significant was a visit to the International HQ of the Focolare Movement at Rocca di Papa and Castelgandolfo where we were given a very warm welcome and given material relating to the ecumenical aspect of their work, following the example of Chiara Lubich, whose house and tomb we were shown. Their interest in our work has been regular, through attendance at all our events.

A number of Ecumenical opportunities arose in December for a Methodist presence at significant services with our partner churches. I attended the English Martyrs’ Mass and lunch on 1st December. The following day we went to the World Premiere of the film Chiamatemi Francesco attended by nearly 6000 people in the Aula Paolo VI, complete with a walk on performance from the Swiss Guards and recognition of the producer and directors. It was a very moving and honest film portraying Pope Francis’ time in ministry in Argentina. We also attended the mass for the Opening of the Doors at San Paolo fuori le Mura at which our choir (The New Chamber Singers) sang four motets to a congregation of over a thousand people (but only a hundred stayed till the end!). Social occasions geared to Christmas have included dinner at the Lay Centre and attendance at Carol Services/Singing organised by the Australian and British Embassies and also the Carol Service at All Saints’ Anglican Church attended by over 300 people.I represented MEOR and PSA at the annual Ghana Independence Day celebrations which is important in view of the number of diplomatic contacts we are building up in line with the composition of the local congregation. The Ecumenical Evensong at Caravita presided over by Archbishop Arthur Roche, and with David Hamid, Suffragan Bishop of the (Anglican) Diocese of Europe as preacher, was timed to co-incide with the latest round of the Malines conversations between Anglicans and Catholics. Useful contacts and conversations ensued. I was involved as one of three co-celebrants (Two RC colleagues, and me) at the Anzac Day commemoration at the Commonwealth Cemetery with a reception at the Australian embassy afterwards. In June the end of season activities included attendance at the Georgian Embassy reception at Palazzo Cardinal Cesi, attendance at the British Embassy reception at the British School Rome and accepting an invitation to be present at the Anglican Centre’s 50th anniversary Festal Evensong at Westminster Abbey, attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Cormac Murphy O`Connor and other church leaders. I was privileged to be invited to process with the main party and to share in a dinner in honour of the Anglican Centre at the Nikean Club meeting in the Great Hall at Lambeth Palace afterwards. Many interesting ecumenical links were made.

Educational opportunities: Teaching and ResearchOctober was a busy month for educational activity on top of the Synod of Bishops. I participated in a conference at La Sapienza Univeristy: On Catholicity and Methodism and gave a lecture on John Wesley: Proto-ecumenist of “pure, universal love”? Then at the Centro Pro Unione I was at an evening devoted to Essential and Distinctive Aspects of Methodist Worship when I gave a lecture on Word and Hymn in Methodist Worship and Preaching

Both these occasioned shared with Professor Robert Gribben who was here because originally this was hoped to be the week when we would launch MEOR. These were times of useful contacts academically and ecumenically. Fr. Jim Puglisi as Ecumenical section leader of, of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome (the Angelicum), invited me to teach a course on METHODISM AND ITS DIALOGUE WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, looking at aspects of Methodist history and theology and relating this to the Methodist/Roman Catholic Dialogue. This course ran from October to January on a weekly basis and had 14 students enrolled, a mix of priests in seminary training and religious, women and men, in training for their orders, from four continents. In January they finished their exams, presenting such papers as a comparative study of Holiness in our two traditions, The Catholic Spirit in Wesley and Metropolitan Andrey Sheptysky of the Ukraine and Wesley`s Ministries and Views of Ordination. An article I wrote earlier in 2015 has appeared in Holiness, the online journal of Wesley House Cambridge entitled: Holiness in the Methodist tradition – an ecumenical pilgrimage.Wider teaching has also included opportunities to talk to a group of Australian Liturgists at PCPCU, giving an address to Anglican Clergy from Rome at the Annual Retreat held at Villa Palazzolo on Laborare et Orare.

The visit of the Secretary of Conference at the end of November enabled us to have a colloquium at the Anglican Centre where he and David Moxon discussed the current state of relationships between Anglicans and Methodists. There was a good cross section of Methodists, Anglicans and Catholics to discuss such issues as the place of Bishops in the Church and joint work in shared ministry and mission.Participation in other opportunities has included attending a session at the Centro Pro Unione on Lutheran/Roman Catholic Relations, focussing on Petrine Authority. The visit to the Lutheran Church in Rome in November by the Pope has pushed forward this aspect of ecumenical relations, especially as we approach 2017, the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. I attended a conference organised by the Acton Institute to celebrate the 125th

anniversary of the encyclical Rerum Novarum which gave birth to modern Catholic Social Teaching. Held at the Gregorian University, this attracted a large audience of academics and church leaders and educators eager to engage in the debate on the shape of present Papal direction in this area in the light of fierce opposition from the American right and Bernie Sanders recent visit to the Vatican. I also attended a fascinating seminar at the Centro Pro Unione when two American lawyers, one Jewish, gave lectures on the Holy Places and Issue of Jerusalem. Conversations with Stephen Skuce, Director of Research, of the Learning Network (Research, Scholarship and Innovation), led us to develop an ecumenical immersion course (validated by Cliff College) here in Rome for

students in ministerial and other formation roles in Great Britain. The first course was held in June with nine participants over a two week period. A report is appended, showing the scope of the work we did together which augurs well for future planning (Appendix Five). Staff from the Southlands College University of Roehampton (Christopher and Sue) met with me over dinner to discuss possibilities for a project being considered for the Susanna Wesley Foundation there.

Ecumenism in Rome presentation – June 2016 Pope Francis on Instagram: "To dialogue means to be able to listen, to put ourselves in someone else’s place, to build bridges".Heritage

Columbanus 1400 St John Ogilvie 400 Restoration of UK Vatican relations 100 Vatican II 50 years on 250 years since death of Old Pretender

Worship Ecumenical Vespers at Caravita Prayers at Centro Pro Unione Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Papal Vespers Commemorations – Armistice Day/ANZAC Day

Teaching/Conferences Lay Centre (Foyer Unitas) Spirituality courses Centro Pro Unione focus on Methodism Angelicum (Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas) courses Year of Consecrated Life – ecumenical colloquium OPCEMI – Methodism and Ecumenism Synod of Bishops as Fraternal Delegate

Action – Ministry, Mission and Service Anglican Centre – Eucharistic hospitality, shared preaching and teaching,

renewal of ordination vows , Global Freedom Network Churches Together in Rome Lent Appeal for Syria and Nepal FCEI – Mediterranean Hope and work with St Egidio and Centro Astali

(Jesuit Refugee Service) working with refugees and migrantsPresence/hospitality

Church and manse – opening the doors – the new Centre Visitors to Rome as pilgrims – heritage and mission

Publicity and Administration :

We have been considerably helped this year by the generous grant from the British Methodist Church which not only enabled us to refurbish the adjoining apartment to the manse and convert it into office, conference and residential accommodation but also provided some resource to employ a part time administrative assistant. Charlene Adoo started work in November and concludes her fixed term appointment at the end of August. She has given me much need support in a range of secretarial help, including the systematization of an increasingly complex office balancing the different aspects of our work.

Soon after the work on the centre was complete and the rooms ready for occupancy, we publicized its opening of the Centre by an email to key groups in the UK (Chairs, University Chaplains, and those involved in theological education and the Learning Network). This elicited at least three requests to use our facilities for sabbaticals. Some time has been spent with the help of the administrative assistant in expanding the database of those to be invited to the celebration of John Wesley`s birthday each year. 80 invitations were issued and we had 60 present. The discussion with colleagues about the publicity material for MEOR recommended by the Stakeholders Forum has resulted in the production of a DVD/video with help from a team recommended by OPCEMI and Claudio Paravati and a leaflet designed and produced by the Connexional team in London. An initial print run of 2,000 was made for distribution at upcoming WMC and EMC occasions. It is hoped that these will help to produce more custom for the Centre and generate interest and further support. The articles which have appeared regularly in the Methodist Recorder, in Mission Matters, and in the World Church and Ecumenical pages of the connexional website, as well as in the First Friday newsletter of the World Methodist Council represent snapshots of the work of the Director, part of which is to ensure that the message of the presence of Methodism in Rome is more widely understood and appreciated in the rest of the world Methodist connexion.

Conclusion : Comments and suggestions are welcomed in the light of the reading of this second report. Its content will be reviewed at the next Stakeholders` Forum meeting in October 2017 If anyone wishes to see more detailed reports of any aspect of the work of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome or to book rooms in the future, then please contact me on tmacquiban@gmail.com Do please come and visit us or recommend that others come and explore, through pilgrimage tour, study leave of one-off conversation with the Director

the perspective of a Methodist Protestant living in this vibrant centre of the Christian World steeped in Christian history. Do make use of the facilities we have in the building of staying here. You can contact info@thewesleyrome.comfor the availability of rooms here at Via del Banco di Santo Spirito 3, Roma 00186 just across from the Ponte Sant`Angelo and five minutes walk away from the Basilica of St. Peter`. Thank you for your interest in receiving and reading this report. If there are ways in which you can help the development of the Office then I would be delighted to hear from you.

Tim MACQUIBANDirector of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome Ponte Sant`Angelo Methodist Church, Rome

August 2016

Appendix One : Terms of Reference for Stakeholders` Forum of MEOR

In 2014 the Methodist Church Britain approved the establishment of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, building on the work of previous British Methodists ministers at Ponte Sant`Angelo, in consultation with other partners. The Rev Dr Tim Macquiban was appointed Director and started work on 1st

August. The Methodist Church Britain (MCB) is the lead agency in this work, in conjunction with OPCEMI, committed to the appointment and oversight of the Director of MEOR and financial support. The World Methodist Council (WMC) and the European Methodist Council (EMC) represent the wider Methodist family and have been invited to be major stakeholders in the enterprise. The United Methodist Church (UMC) has also been involved in conversations leading to the more recent developments of the work. The Forum may, with the agreement of its existing members widen and strengthen its role by inviting others to become stakeholders. A Stakeholder Forum will, through an annual meeting in Rome and regular email contact, give attention to the functions in the following non-exhaustive list:

Receive regular reports from the Director Approve an annual work plan

Authorise new initiatives after consultationMeetings of the Forum will include at least one and no more than two representatives of the stakeholders, travelling at their church`s or institution`s expense. Hospitality, accommodation and arrangements for the meeting will be facilitated by MEOR. Further representatives and observers may be invited to take part from time to time. The Forum will have an enabling style focussing especially on strategic questions, on mobilising support for the office and on promoting linkages and connections to advance the ecumenical work. The Director will have responsibility for the day-to-day functions of management and administration. Consultation will be the normal style of working and each stakeholder will consult with preferably all, but always at least one, of the others before proposing a new initiative. Stakeholders will routinely:

Promote the MEOR and its activities within its organization. Encourage the Methodist family to make use of the MEOR when

arranging tours or planning ecumenical initiatives. Assist the smooth running of the Office to meet the demand on its

services. Future appointment of staff will be carried out MCB/OPCEMI according to their respective, normal procedures and be overseen by their appointing agency with day-to-day management being carried out by the MEOR Director.

Appendix Two; Mission Statement agreed by the Stakeholders` Forum in April 2016 The Methodist Ecumenical Centre Rome is a presence for the World Methodist Council: to be a channel of dialogue with other churches in the search for a deeper unityto foster relationships with other agencies and faith communities in order to promote better understanding and joint action for justice and peaceto offer a ministry of prayer and prayer and reflection, of learning and growth to be a place of open hospitality to Methodists and all visitors to Rome.

Appendix Three; Article in the Methodist Recorder about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2016

On the first day of the Octave Methodists from Ponte Sant`Angelo and other Protestants join Catholics in our local Parish Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini , welcomed warmly by Don Luigi and his parishioners who give us a reception afterwards in the Philip Neri Oratory hall. Pastor Eric Noffke (Italian speaking Methodist Church) and I give brief homilies interspersed with readings and prayer and hymns including O for a thousand tongues and Love Divine and Amazing Grace. Kassim Conteh (Methodist ministerial student at the Waldensian Faculty) and Seb Harries (Anglican ordinand) share in prayers and readings. Despite some uncertainties as a first venture, this is a service that is appreciated by the 50 who gather. I talk about an “ecumenism of action” as I relate John Wesley`s work with the Nazareth manifesto of Luke 4 and the Year of Mercy (wearing my new Year of Mercy stole). At the end we are invited to come to a font filled with water in which we are invited to dip our fingers and make an appropriate gesture to remind us of our common baptism. On Day Two we join the Anglicans at the Anglican Centre for their eucharist, with involvement from the Catholics and Methodists present in readings and prayers. We have managed to secure enough pledges to secure a small picture of St Martin, presently on exhibit in the Centre with the theme of Reconciliation. We hope to hang it in the new Centre of the Methodist Ecumenical Office as a sign of our relationship with the Anglicans. On Day Three I go out to Ostia on a cold evening to a meeting of the Sant`Egidio community who work with migrants and the poor in that area. I share something of our common Christian heritage, tracing the origins of Methodism back to earlier monastic movements and community outreach to the poor, through St Martin, St Francis of Assisi and St Philip Neri. Methodism`s involvement of lay people (including women) and Wesley`s insistence on personal involvement with the poor resonate well with the community and our contemporary challenges of migration and poverty. We end with prayers attended by 60 people and a short homily in Italian from me. On Day Four we join friends from The Lay Centre leading worship at the Centro Pro Unione after an inspiring address by Bishop Tom Wright on The Church and the People of God. We hare off afterwards to sing with the All Saints Choir at the Church of Santa Cuore do Cristo Re for the Ecumenical Service for the Diocese of Rome with nearly 200 people. Clergy from Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches fill the sanctuary and take part in the service devised by Christians in Latvia. Spiritual ecumenism in action as we also share in fellowship over refreshments afterwards meeting new friends. On Day Six, I preach at the Beda College in the presence of three ambassadors, Archbishop Paul Callagher of the Vatican State Department, and a smattering of Protestants. I take the text “Blessed are the merciful” with some comments for the Year of Mercy and its ecumenical context. This sermon is extensively quoted and printed on the Zenit News website. Here is the link if you want to read it. http://zenit.org/articles/interview-all-pope-francis-says-does-opens-doors-once-shut-says-christian-leader-in-rome/

On Day Seven, I preside at a Methodist Eucharist at All Saints, another first on a Sunday there as we develop the growing relationship between our two Churches. Canon Jonathan Boardman preaches and leads worship at PSA. Both congregations appreciate our different contributions. A few All Saints dissidents stay away or go to St. Paul`s. In the afternoon we have our Churches Together in Rome service with a very different feel to that of the Beda College who used the same material. Willie McCulloch preaches in his thick Scottish brogue and is mostly understood. Then in the evening we go to a splendid concert at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, by the Choirs of the Sistine Chapel and the Dresden Frauenkirche Church, singing Palestrina, Bach and Mendelssohn to honour a growing rapprochement between Lutherans and Catholics. The Octave ends, as always on the Feast of the Conversion of Paul 25 th January at the Basilica of St. Paul`s without the Walls. We wonder whether the rumours of changes to the arrangements will be true as indeed they are when we find that Pope Francis has made encouraging innovations. 12 ecumenical representatives, 6 Orthodox, 6 Protestant, were invited to process in with him after he had arrived and greeted us in the narthex . And yes, I was one! Three Anglicans, 2 Lutherans (who were much in the news that day as the Pope will go to Lund in October for Reformation Day) and me. We were promoted to the front row this year so my wife Angela too got to be greeted by Pope Francis on the way out.  The service is a simple mix of psalms and bible texts, a homily and prayers with the Magnificat and Lord’s Prayer sung together. We enjoy hearing again the Sistine Choir and the Dresden Frauenkirche Choir singing together, ecumenism in music! Pope Francis sums up the atmosphere of this extraordinary start to the year when he says: “In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, we must always keep in mind that there cannot be an authentic search for Christian unity without trusting fully in the Father’s mercy. We ask first of all for forgiveness for the sins of our divisions, which are an open wound in the Body of Christ. As Bishop of Rome and pastor of the Catholic Church, I want to ask for mercy and forgiveness for the behaviour of Catholics towards Christians of other Churches which has not reflected Gospel values. At the same time, I invite all Catholic brothers and sisters to forgive if they, today or in the past, have been offended by other Christians. We cannot cancel out what has happened, but we do not want to let the weight of past faults continue to contaminate our relationships. God’s mercy will renew our relationships. In this atmosphere of intense prayer, I extend fraternal greetings to his Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios, representing the Ecumenical Patriarch, to His Grace David Moxon, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s personal representative in Rome, and all the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial communities who are gathered here this evening. With them we walked through the Holy Door of this Basilica to remind ourselves that the only door which leads to salvation is Jesus Christ our Lord, the merciful face of the Father.”

Appendix Four; Informal reflections on the Synod of Bishops October 2015The presence of lay women and men in the Synod as observers and experts contributing to both plenary sessions and groups as well as the ecumenical observers brings some different insights to the notice of the 270 Synod Fathers. While the FAMILY is the focus, the emphasis on sacramental marriage of couples (a man and a woman) as a teaching of the Church to be preserved (though challenged by a few on several occasions as the only interpretation either of scripture or tradition) makes those outside the narrowly defined definition of Christian family as understood as the product of a unitive and procreative sacrament feel on the margins. Such groups will be glad to receive mercy if it is to be extended and a way back into the fold with proper catechesis and pastoral care. So the focus shifts in the debate as to whether in an approaching Year of Mercy the Church can allow the admission to communion of those separated and divorced persons. Some parts of the Church would clearly wish for this (notable supporters are the German Church and those of the English-speaking Commonwealth countries and some of the US) while others notably from Eastern Europe, the Middle East (Oriental Catholic Christians) and Africa where under conditions of Communism and in the face of traditional beliefs and different understandings of the family to adhere to traditional Church teaching is vital. The main work of discussion on the issues and suggested amendments to the text (which is a terrible piece of work adding to the outcome of the last Synod plus a synopsis of the responses of National Catholic Bishops` Conferences throughout the world) is within the 13 separate language groups (4 in English) whose nuances of language and differences of context render any consensus around the particular difference of attitudes make the job of providing a revised text in a week`s time a very tall order!! Maybe at the end of the day the Holy Spirit will speak more directly through the Pope and his decisions - he clearly wants some change. The draft of my intervention on Friday as one of the Fraternal Delegates : Methodists, as part of their gift to the dialogue with the Catholic Church, have shared two emphases within their own understanding of faith. The primary and universal calling of Christians is to holiness in response to God`s grace, calling us to be disciples of Jesus Christ, the Living Word. There has therefore sometimes seemed to have been in this Synod a diversion from our primary calling into an undue stress on “the family” as narrowly defined through marriage and its vocation which for some fails to differentiate between different forms of family in the different contexts and cultures of our contemporary world. We understate how we all belong to the family of faith, constituted by the call of God, comprising local church communities connected to the ecumene as part of the worldwide “household of faith” which is familial in character. As we have experienced at this Synod, Christians have sometimes focused so much on the joy of new life and the centrality of marriage and family life (as traditionally defined) that those who are single, with or without children, or in

civil partnerships or co-habiting, and even those within marriages conducted in church and childless can easily feel excluded. The Church needs to accept that it can (even if unintentionally) add to these difficulties with such a stress on “the Gospel of the Family” and poorly thought out theology which all too often talks of children as “gifts” without taking into account the nature of the gift or the significance this might have for those who are denied such a “gift”. For some the alternative of adoption may be an opportunity to express the love of God for those who desire a stable family unit in which to grow up. For others, through choice or circumstance, childlessness may be embraced as a vocation which needs to be recognised, supported and affirmed by the Church by appropriate pastoral strategies. But it should not be sidelined. The family, however defined, is the place of mutual care and concern, compassion and helpfulness, giving and receiving, sharing and discipline, forgiving and being forgiven, whether in the traditional family or the family of faithful disciples who constitute local ecclesial communities. The Kingdom of God into which we are called is one of mercy and grace. God`s love is wide enough to encompass all. The Church which witnesses to God`s love revealed supremely in Jesus Christ should reflect this with appropriate teaching and pastoral support of those who embrace a single state or relationships without the blessing of the “gift” of children.

Appendix Five; QUEEN’S FOUNDATION MEET PROGRAMME AT METHODIST ECUMENICAL OFFICE ROME: 2nd -17th June 2016Two students (Debbie Caulk and David Speirs) and two tutors (Paul Nzacahayo [2–8] and Sam McBratney [9-13] from the Queen’s Foundation Birmingham were housed in the Methodist Centre of MEOR which they used as their base for a programme of teaching, discussions and visits.The first week was spent as part of the Ecumenical Studies Group visit led by Stephen Skuce. They were able to join in all their conversations and activities and learn from each other, from hose long involved in ecumenical dialogue and engagement and those for whom it was something of which they wished to know and experience more. Their reflections on highlights are appended along with a short article written for the Methodist Recorder.The second week was spent with a focus on migrants and minorities. This included roundtable discussions on papers relating to the historical involvement within Methodism with the poor and also issues of the handling of human sexuality by the British Methodist Conference over the past 30 years.A visit to Via Firenze took us to the headquarters of OPCEMI, a meeting with Alessandra Trotta to discuss Chiese Insieme (Churches Together) and issues of inclusion in terms of gender, ethnicity and sexuality. We met with Giulia from FCEI who talked about the project Mediterranean Hope, setting it in its social contextual issues of migrants to and through Italy. The previous night we had spent with their partner, in Sant’Egidio Community, discussing its work with the

poor and marginalised, joining in the community prayer at S. Maria in Trastevere and eating in their community restaurant, Gli Amici.On the Saturday we engaged in an ecumenical project assisting in gardening at S. Gregorio al Celio where a quiet garden has been created as a place of pilgrimage and recreation. We also visited the Protestant Cemetery to view the graves of significant Methodists and others. We attended a service of Vespers at St. Pauls’ to pray for the Pan Orthodox Synod.On the Sunday, Debbie and David led the intercession a service attended by the Council for the Community of Protestant Churches in Italy. One of the church members present who had worked for UNHCR talked about past and present work with migrants. We lunched at the Lay Centre where much inter faith engagement is forested and shared Pot Luck supper after a meeting of Churches Together in Rome.Other visits to the Jewish Synagogue with its museum located in the Jewish Ghetto area and to the St. Pauls’ Refugee Centre helped to acknowledge the presence of minorities and the response of the Christian churches to these.We dined with students at the Waldensian Faculty, engaging at this ecumenical institution where ministers are trained for a variety of churches.All in all, this was an intensive time of conversations and encounters with a busy, noisy cosmopolitan city where the needs of migrants and minorities could so easily go unnoticed. But the intentional time set within ecumenical context helped us all to focus on the ecumenical vision of Wesleys’ Catholic Spirit in an evangelical movement reading out all (friends of all and enemies of none) to which “outcast and sinners” were a particular cause for concern and compassion.