April meeting of the Methodist Council

The Methodist Council met on 3-4 April at All Saints PastoralCentre in London Colney. This is the third and final meetingplanned for the current Church year.

Climate Change was a key issue for the Council, which approved forpresentation to the Methodist Conference a joint report from theMethodist Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the UnitedReformed Church. The report, entitled Hope in God's Future, callson the three Churches to act urgently to reduce carbon emissionsacross all three Churches in line with the national goal of 80% by2050. Members of the churches are encouraged to campaign locallyand nationally for government policies that will achieve thiscommitment.

The Council also received an update on the Church's YouthParticipation Strategy. The Strategy aims to develop and improvethe way in which young people are involved in the life of theChurch at all levels and was launched in September 2008. Councilmembers heard that considerable process had been made in developingand implementing the Strategy, which has so far seen theappointment of a full-time Youth President and eight part-timeDistrict Youth Enablers, all between the ages of 17 and 23.

Youth President Sarah Malik, said; "Although the strategy is stillin its infancy, we're really excited about the possibilities. Thisis not just about letting young people have a say on youthworkissues; it's about them being able to make decisions and exerciseinfluence at every level of Church life."

The Council was also encouraged to consider the Church'srelationship with other Christian denominations, committing to workand worship together. The Council agreed that the celebration ofthe differences between denominations and the desire to seek acommon life are at the heart of such relationships.

Other topics discussed at the Council included theAnglican-Methodist Covenant, equalities and diversity policy andstories of how local churches are engaging with their communitiesin creative and innovative ways.