I can't really disagree with anything you say here, Rob. Certainly on the issue
of the ordination of women I'm glad we moved when we did and wonder why we
waited so long, as some other Free Church denominations had been ordaining
women for years. I can't imagine how the Anglicans would cope now, without all
their women priests.
I almost wish I hadn't included the bit about the Anglicans in my original
posting, as what I was really trying to say was, "Why go for a vote that will
inevitably divide us, when we might have been able to find a middle way?"
Sadly, I don't hold out much hope for the long term future of our denomination,
and I don't think we can afford the inevitable loss of members that will result
whichever way the Conference votes.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I can't help feeling that same-sex marriage will not be
a practical issue for the vast majority of our churches. If Conference votes as
suggested by GILUU, there will not be a rush of couples to our doors, or even a
trickle. The requests that come will be from our own members or people with
existing close connections with our churches, and the issue then will be
largely a pastoral one.
John Barnett
On 23 June 2021 at 23:04 Rob Weir <RobWeir@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:he reporting of David Gamble's address to the General Synod a few years later
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. T
God Bless
Rob
--
Rev. Rob Weir
Cheshire South Methodist Circuit
St. Johns Whitchurch, Tallarn Green and Brown Knowl Methodist Churches
