[methmins] Re: The Runaway Train
- From: Rob Weir <RobWeir@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: methmins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2021 23:04:21 +0100
John Barnett said, agreeing with Martin Williams:
I agree a joint decision-making process would be preferable on this and
other issues too, if we and the Anglicans really want to grow together.
They, or course, have the additional problem of being part of a world-wide
communion, much of which would be vehemently opposed to same-sex marriage.
I suppose I was really thinking that waiting to see what they would do,
rather than rushing ahead of them, would at least give us some breathing
space before we came to our own decisions.
Back in my days in College, a decade ago, I remember reading a book about
the Ordination of Women that talked about decisions made within Methodism
dating back to the 1920s and 30s. It was... interesting to see that many of
the arguments used against it keep coming up - this was in the latter days
of the Wesleyan Methodists and early years post-Union - "We don't want to
damage our hopes of unity with other churches" came up time and time again.
And of course my understanding is that we ultimately waited until a scheme
aimed at Anglican-Methodist Union collapsed before going ahead anyway. It
took them 20 years to catch up with us on the ordination of women, and we
were hardly leading the pack...
You could argue that we too are part of a world-wide organisation that will
be unhappy should GILUU pass; I remember hosting the Prelate of the
Methodist Church of Nigeria, a denomination a couple of million strong, in
my days in the Manchester Circuit (his son was a member there!) and I'm
pretty sure that they, and many others that are part of the World Methodist
Council, will not be looking kindly upon us. I'm not convinced though that
this is a reason for delay - I'm not accusing anyone of doing this, but it
strikes me that if you are prepared to delay doing something that you might
feel is right, reasons can very quickly become excuses. I'd prefer to ask
the question "Is this how we feel God is leading us?" If No, we remain as
we are; if Yes, then why delay further?
It will be painful either way, and I'm already feeling some of that pain -
several members left one of my churches 12 months or more ago because they
were "unhappy with the direction of travel within Methodism as a whole" -
but if we fail to grasp this nettle now, it will only grow larger and sting
harder. I'm afraid I sometimes see the Anglican Hierarchy as so surrounded
by nettles that they don't dare move, and given the lack of progress on
issues in the Anglican-Methodist Covenant since it was agreed all those
years ago, I don't particularly feel inclined to wait for a joint
decision-making body. I can remember being in meetings where we Methodists
talked earnestly about the Covenant all those years ago; a few weeks later,
talking to the Anglican who conducted my wedding, it turned out there'd
been a few words about it said at a Deanery Meeting and she was under the
impression it was all about how the Methodists were going to effectively
come back to the Church of England. The reporting of David Gamble's address
to the General Synod a few years later - effectively saying "The Methodists
are going to pack in and the Anglicans will get the valuable property of
Westminster Central Hall" when in fact he'd challenged them about how
seriously they were prepared to take the Covenant - similarly do not
persuade me that we can expect the General Synod to show much interest in
what we are doing.
God Bless
Rob
--
Rev. Rob Weir
Cheshire South Methodist Circuit
St. Johns Whitchurch, Tallarn Green and Brown Knowl Methodist Churches
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