The Report of the Covenant Council has been presented to General Synod this evening. Proposing the report the Revd Barry Forde said that the last 12 months would be remembered as a historic time in the life of the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland following last year’s General Synod Bill on Interchangeability of Ministry.

He said that the challenge now was to ensure that “we do not lapse into congratulating ourselves for historic moments, but to keep pressing forward together in unity and mission”.

He said Interchangeability was not the vision but rather a step along the road towards the vision expressed in the 2002 Covenant to share a common life and mission and to grow together so that unity may be visibly realised.

“If we over–celebrate interchangeability we miss the point. If we relegate it to the dusty shelves of Canon law we must ask, what was the point? The point is mission. The point is to grow together so that, as Christ prayed in the High Priestly prayer recorded in John 17, his disciples may be one,” Mr Forde said. “The challenge, for Synod, and for all churches in both traditions, is to make this happen. Covenant Council encourages parishes, chaplaincies, our respective training establishments to ‘think covenant’. For ministry, ordained and lay, to ‘think covenant’. For established churches, new churches, and as yet un–thought of, communities of faith to ‘think covenant’. “

Mr Forde suggested one small step along that road that all parishes could enter into was to celebrate the Covenant and communicate its vision in each local context, on or around the date of 24th May, this being John Wesley Day in the Church of England.

Bishop Harold Miller spoke of the event on St Patrick’s Day for the launch of the ‘Into All the World Report’ by the Anglican Consultative Council and World Methodist Council. The Bishop said that the Covenant had made a huge difference to the relationship between the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland.

The Revd Peter Murray, President of the Methodist Church, brought the greetings of the Methodist Conference. He said that the ‘Into All the World Report’ was a very important document. He said that the Methodist Church and the Church of Ireland at parish level must ask “is this something we can do together”. He said working together at local level could produce a much more effective ministry for the Lord into these communities.

George Woodman (Connor) spoke of his Methodist history.

A Motion on the membership of the Covenant Council has been passed at General Synod.

The following have been elected as Church of Ireland representatives on the Covenant Council for the coming year:

The Right Revd Alan Abernethy (Co–Chair)
Ms Elva Byrne
The Very Revd Nigel Dunne
The Revd Canon Dr Maurice Elliott
The Revd Barry Forde
Mr Harold Giboney
The Revd Canon Ginnie Kennerley
The Revd Dr Peter Thompson

Synod also passed a motion encouraging congregations to celebrate the Covenant relationship with neighbouring Methodist congregations on or around John Wesley Day, May 24, each year.

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