When I took up the appointment as minister of Ponte Sant`Angelo
Methodist Church and Director of the Ecumenical Office Rome, little did I know that within weeks I would be walking in a great procession down one of the most important churches in the city after St.
Peter`s. I was invited to an event which to my shame I had not realised would be happening until a Columban missionary priest long back from serving in Pakistan contacted me and I invited him to share in a meal.
We are now in the year of the 1400 th anniversary of the death of
Columbanus, a great Irish missionary who founded monasteries in
France and Italy including the one in Bobbio in 614 where he died the following year, never having reached Rome. His memory is very much alive, as those who gathered recently in the Basilica of St John
Lateran Rome were reminded by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, who told the thousand pilgrims, congregation and clergy gathered that here was one to wake up a tired Europe and inspire us to evangelise modern society and share the good news with all around. At the solemn mass over which he presided with three other cardinals, eight bishops and nearly one hundred priests were two Protestant clergy representing the Church of Ireland (the Rector of Bangor
Abbey from where Columbanus started his epic missionary journey) and the Methodist family worldwide (myself [Rev Dr Tim Macquiban] as Director of the Ecumenical Office Rome).
The two aspects of the work of the office have been well represented by the events of the past few weeks. Presence and hospitality. At the ecumenical vespers the previous day in San
Clemente and at the mass, the Roman Catholic Church was pleased to welcome us as fellow Christians sharing in a common mission whatever our differences of church order and doctrine. Indeed the
Rector and I were welcomed forward at the end of the mass and given a personal word of greeting and kiss of peace by Cardinal
Vallini. The hospitality of the Columbanan community and our presence with them (Rev Neil Stubbens, our British Methodist

Ecumenical Officer, and Rev. Colin Smith and Mrs Gillian Kingston,
Vice President of the World Methodist Council, were also honoured guests) cemented relationships which open up dialogue and work towards expressing a common unity in Christ.
This was also evident in my welcome service where Anglican, Baptist,
Lutheran and Roman Catholic representatives joined Waldensians and Methodists already working in partnership in Italy. And later the same day, we at Ponte Sant`Angelo hosted a reception to welcome members of the Methodist Roman Catholic International
Commission who were spending a week at Assisi working towards their latest report in the dialogue which has now been in progress for
47 years. As the sun set over the Vatican we had Methodist evening prayer concluding with the singing of `O thou who camest from above`. Professor Robert Gribben welcomed me as the new Director on behalf of World Methodist Council as Chair of its Ecumenical
Relationships Committee, highlighting the many opportunities the
Church and the Office had to bring together not only Methodists from many parts of the World Methodist family but also the many other Christians from around the world who come to Rome to visit, to live and work.
Most of the work of the first couple of months has been to get to know the 90 or so members of the congregation I pastor (a good
Italian word for the one who oversees the flock!) at Ponte
Sant`Angelo, some old established residents of Rome and others who have come to work for shorter or longer periods of time, from other parts of Europe, or Africa and Asia (comprising two thirds of the congregation) or the Americas. Getting to know the other
English-speaking Churches through attendance at their mid-week bible studies and seminars at All Saints and St. Paul`s or the weekly eucharist at the Anglican Centre or meetings with Baptist, Methodist and Waldensian colleagues has been important, especially as we work together on common projects responding to the challenges of caring for migrants and refugees in the city and the needs of young

people, amongst whom there is widespread unemployment. The teaching of Italian to migrants is offered daily on church premises.
The opportunity to be a Methodist presence in the heart of this great and historic city is immense, especially as we prepare to commemorate 400 years of Protestantism in 2017. A sensitive approach is called for which is a commitment to sharing in the proclamation of the gospel with others while celebrating our
Protestant identity. This is at the core of our educational and ecumenical task of learning together and witnessing together. My participation in a series entitled `Women making a difference` hosted by the Roman Catholic Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas makes the point that we learn from each other so that we can share our own experiences of faith working through love. The opportunity to teach in Catholic seminaries and universities is another way of opening up avenues of discussion and dialogue. Hospitality offered and hospitality received.
The presence in the same building of The Wesley Rome, offering short stay accommodation for up to 20 people opens up the possibility of study tours related to Christian heritage and theology on an ecumenical basis so that we can offer not just the chance to come and worship with Christians drawn from many nations at Ponte
Sant`Angelo but also to learn together.
As many thousands of pilgrims pass over the `Bridge of Angels` on their way to St. Peter`s Basilica, I pray that the Methodists in Rome can be recognized by their presence and proclamation, as a welcoming, worshipping and witnessing people who offers Christ`s love to all who pass by. Come and join us and experience what it means to be part of a family who are open to sharing in God`s mission to contemporary society and who are committed to the search for unity with sisters and brothers in Christ who prayed `Ut unum sint`, that they may be one.