50th anniversary of global Methodist partnership

A series of services, workshops and discussions is taking place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the partnership between the Methodist Church in Great Britain and The United Methodist Church (UMC).

From Friday 10 to Sunday 12 August, senior representatives, members and officers from The UMC will meet in London with their counterparts from the Methodist Church in Great Britain to celebrate the formal link between these two Churches, known as the Concordat.

The meeting is themed ‘Dreaming New Dreams: Expressing the Concordat for this generation’ and will look to the future with conversations about closer partnerships, deeper engagement and collaborative work.

Doug Swanney, Connexional Secretary of the Methodist Church in Britain and the Revd Dr Jean Hawxhurst, Ecumenical Staff Officer for Leadership Development for The Council of Bishops of The UMC, have been overseeing the planning of the anniversary.

Mr Swanney said: “Marking this 50th anniversary is not only about celebrating what has been but is also taking time to imagine how our ongoing partnership could best serve the Gospel in the decades to come.

“Methodism remains a growing global movement and we both want to continue to play our part in that.”

The United Methodist Church is a global denomination with 12 million members. The UMC was founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church (USA) and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

The weekend will begin with a service and worship at Wesley’s Chapel on Friday 10 August.

A day of presentations, workshops and discussions follows at Methodist Central Hall Westminster on August 11, looking at joint ministries, social justice, global mission and ecumenical interaction.

On Sunday 12 August, the final business session takes place, culminating with worship at Methodist Central Hall Westminster at 11am.

The services at Wesley’s Chapel on Friday 10 August and at Methodist Central Hall Westminster on Sunday 12 August are open to the public.

• Members of the press are welcome at the above services. Please email mediaoffice@methodistchurch.org.uk. Photographs from the weekend will also be available.