1. AN ANGLICAN-METHODIST COVENANT

2. The Common Statement Charts issues concerning unity in faith, ministry and oversight Proposes a new relationship between the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the Church of England

3. The formal conversations Seeking visible unity by stages Building on existing convergence and co- operation Mutually affirming each other’s churches Seeking a stepping stone to the next stage Releasing energy for mission Using the language of covenant

4. We share a common history We each have myths about the other We must challenge our own stereotypes To tell the common story of God at work in both churches

5. “The Methodist Church in Great Britain believes it is part of the Holy Catholic Church, called by God for mission and service” A community of over a million people In England 300,000 active members 6,000 local churches 600 circuits 33 districts Ministry of Circuit Superintendents and District Chairs 2,000 active ministers 100 deacons 10,000 local preachers The World Methodist Council

6. The Church of England: Two provinces each with their archbishop 44 dioceses each with their bishops and cathedrals a million Sunday worshippers 1,200,000 on Church Electoral rolls 16,000 parish churches 9,000 stipendiary clergy 10,000 Readers The Anglican Communion

7. “Our aim is NOT… to put the clock back to gloss over differences and to construct a monochrome unity. It IS to harvest our diversity to share our treasures and to remedy our shortcomings, so that we may enjoy together what we believe God has given our churches and still holds in store for us.”

8. The formal conversations Were given a specific, deliverable mandate 11 Church of England participants 12 Methodist Church participants Five observer- participants from four other churches Drew upon the work of Releasing Energy Went in parallel with the tri-lateral informal conversations with the United Reformed Church

9. We share in God’s mission God’s purpose is to draw redeemed humanity and the created order together into communion through Christ The Church contradicts its own nature and calling when its members are unable to live together in a reconciled fellowship Anglicans and Methodists share a conviction that unity and mission belong together

10. Our growth towards full, visible unity is based in: Scripture and the Creeds Church of England formularies and other doctrinal statements Methodist doctrinal standards Reason and experience A common expression of faith But there are two areas of doctrinal difference: The question of freewill or election The doctrine of Christian perfection

11. Sharing one baptism and one eucharist… a vital dimension of full, visible unity We already recognise each other’s baptisms We already welcome each other’s communicants to the Eucharist. We share ecumenical convergence and common practice in baptism We basically agree about confirmation but express it differently We agree that baptism is fundamental to membership We have similar liturgies of the Eucharist but some differences of practice

12. A common ministry of word and sacrament All ministry is rooted in baptism All ministry is the ministry of Christ himself The diaconate: differences of understanding and practice The presbyterate: pastoral, preaching, teaching and sacramental ministry

13. “A priest in the Church of England is a person called and ordained to the same ministry of word and sacrament as is exercised by ministers in Methodism. We believe that there is a common understanding of the presbyterate and that this provides a sound foundation for the eventual interchangeability of presbyteral ministries.”

14. Convergence and unresolved issues There is theological convergence on so many essential things. Faith and vision are what are chiefly needed now. There are unresolved issues about: the ministry of women at every level; and presidency at the Eucharist for those not ordained to the presbyterate

15. A common ministry of oversight A united pastoral oversight Leading the Church in mission Different patterns of oversight in our two churches “Personal episcope in both churches is exercised in a collegial and communal context”

16. We make this Covenant From all we have in common Making affirmations Making commitments With penitence for our past divisions With thanksgiving and joy for our convergence in faith and collaboration in mission

17. We affirm one another’s churches as Belonging to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church Authentically preaching the Word of God Duly administering the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist Confessing the historic creeds Having ordained and lay ministries which are instruments of God’s grace Having ministries from Christ and the Holy Spirit Embodying the conciliar, connexional nature of the Church and e xercising episcope in various forms Sharing a basis for agreement about episcopal oversight

18. We commit ourselves to Overcoming remaining obstacles to unity Realising our common life and mission Continuing to welcome each other to our churches Encouraging eucharistic sharing Listening and taking account of each other’s concerns Developing further structures on the way to a fully united ministry of oversight

19. The report makes recommendations to: The General Synod of the Church of England The Methodist Conference

20. The recommendations are: Study and response in our two churches Study and comment by our fellow Methodists and Anglicans in these islands and by our partner churches, especially the URC, and in the ecumenical instruments A small joint group to monitor these developments

21. And after the study and responses... Recommendation that the governing bodies of the Churches enter into the Covenant on the basis of the Common Statement Working out the commitments through a Joint Implementation Commission Priority to the question of the interchangeability of ministries

22. “The heart of ecumenism is renewal… we need to dwell far less upon our ecclesiastical structures and far more upon what we can do together as Christians, learning from one another across the denominational borders, in the deepening of spirituality, in the exploring of theological depth, in evangelism together and in together saying something and doing something towards the secular community beyond the Church’s frontier.” Archbishop Michael Ramsey to the General Synod 1972