Annual Report
of the
Methodist
Ecumenical Office
Rome
August 2014 – August 2015
Introduction
The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome was established by
the British Methodist Conference (through its Council) in
May 2014 and its first Director (building on the work of
previous Methodist ministers who had developed
ecumenical links in the city), Rev Dr Tim Macquiban, started
work on 1st August 2014, reporting on a monthly basis to
Neil Stubbens, Ecumenical Officer for that role (as well as to
Roy Crowder as Europe Partnership Co-ordinator as a
mission partner of the World Church Relationships part of
the work of the British Methodist Church at Ponte
Sant`Angelo Methodist Church).
Early in the year, having assessed the nature of the
potential of the ecumenical work and how it might be
developed, a work plan was identified and agreed in
November with my line managers which set out areas to
which attention should be given. This included:
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To develop the concept of a Stakeholders` Forum
and work towards a network of support among
partners worldwide
To plan events in May/June to focus on the work of
MEOR including a lecture at the Centro Pro Unione,
ecumenical Vespers at Caravita for Aldersgatetide) on
May 31st and an Ecumenical Reception to honour
John Wesley`s Birthday on 17th June
To further conversations with Anglican colleagues
about closer collaboration
To have regular and informal meetings with PCPCU
leading to an official meeting with Cardinal Koch
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To prepare for the official launch of MEOR in the
autumn of 2015 coinciding with the conference on
Methodism and Ecumenism planned for October 2015
To have conversations with Baptist colleagues
locally in preparation for the Berlin meeting of the
WMC/BWA international dialogue
To further relations with The Wesley Rome and
establish a teaching programme for 2016
In the event, the initial planning meeting of the
Stakeholders` Forum was brought forward to June 2015 in
London when key persons involved could meet while the
launch of MEOR was postponed to coincide with the first
formal meeting of the Stakeholders` Forum in April 2016
(when Roman Catholic involvement could be more securely
guaranteed rather than October 2015 which clashed with
the Synod of Bishops which the Director was asked to
attend on behalf of the World Methodist Council). It was at
this June meeting that Terms of Reference were agreed
(see below) and a letter read from Cardinal Koch
recognising the role the Director of MEOR played on behalf
of British, European and World Methodism in relation to the
Holy See.
The latter part of the year since May has been pre-occupied
with dealing with the potential developments in the office
through the retention of the neighbouring apartment for
church use. We are delighted that the British Methodist
Church`s Grants Committee has allocated us 49,500 euros
through OPCEMI to secure the use of the apartment for the
coming year and develop it in the coming year with two
meeting rooms and four units of accommodation. I will
seek, through soliciting more regular funding streams from
churches and agencies and through the generation of
income from the use of the Centre in the next year, to
secure our work on a more stable basis for the future.
This decision and the Stakeholders` Forum meeting have
generated further work in follow up meetings, with Tony
Currer and HE Nigel Baker, in alerting them to
developments and preparing the way for the Stakeholders
Forum meeting 6-7 April 2016, enlisting their support in
setting up receptions appropriate to the importance of the
launch and recognition of MEOR. Our main meetings will be
in the newly refurbished Methodist Centre next door. We
need to test with our partners what we should call the
`centre`.
Visitors have come to talk about the possibility of linking
with the work of MEOR. Stuart Burgess came on behalf of
The Wesley. He has asked that that organisation be
considered as a Stakeholder and that he be their
representative. Also visiting was Amos Nascimento of the
General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (UMC)
with whom very useful conversations took place as to the
educational possibilities of such a centre.
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome (MEOR) :
Terms of Reference for Stakeholders` Forum
In 2014 the Methodist Church Britain approved the
establishment of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome,
building on the work of previous British Methodist ministers
at Ponte Sant`Angelo, in consultation with other partners.
The Rev Dr Tim Macquiban was appointed Director and
started work on 1st August.
The Methodist Church Britain (MCB) is the lead agency in
this work, in conjunction with OPCEMI, committed to the
appointment and oversight of the Director of MEOR and
financial support.
The World Methodist Council (WMC) and the European
Methodist Council (EMC) represent the wider Methodist
family and have been invited to be major stakeholders in
the enterprise. The United Methodist Church (UMC) has
also been involved in conversations leading to the more
recent developments of the work. The Forum may, with the
agreement of its existing members, widen and strengthen
its role by inviting others to become stakeholders.
A Stakeholder Forum will, through an annual meeting in
Rome and regular email contact, give attention to the
functions in the following non-exhaustive list:
 Receive regular reports from the Director
 Approve an annual work plan
 Authorise new initiatives after consultation
Meetings of the Forum will include at least one and no more
than two representatives of the stakeholders, travelling at
their church`s or institution`s expense. Hospitality,
accommodation and arrangements for the meeting will be
facilitated by MEOR. Further representatives and observers
may be invited to take part from time to time.
The Forum will have an enabling style focussing especially
on strategic questions, on mobilising support for the office
and on promoting linkages and connections to advance the
ecumenical work. The Director will have responsibility for
the day-to-day functions of management and
administration.
Consultation will be the normal style of working and each
stakeholder will consult with preferably all, but always at
least one, of the others before proposing a new initiative.
Stakeholders will routinely:
 Promote the MEOR and its activities within its
organization.
 Encourage the Methodist family to make use of
the MEOR when arranging tours or planning
ecumenical initiatives.
 Assist the smooth running of the Office to meet
the demand on its services.
Future appointment of staff will be carried out by
MCB/OPCEMI according to their respective, normal
procedures and be overseen by their appointing agency
with day-to-day management being carried out by the
MEOR Director.
Current contacts of the initiating stakeholders are:
Neil Stubbens, Ecumenical Officer, MCB
Stubbensn@methodistchurch.org.uk
Roy Crowder, MCB World Church Relationships, Partnership
Coordinator, Europe,
crowderr@methodistchurch.org.uk
Methodist Church Britain, Methodist Church House, 25
Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR T: +44 (0)20 7467
5161 www.methodist.org.uk
Alessandra Trotta, President OPCEMI, Via Firenze 38,
00184 Roma +39 064743695
presidente.opcemi@chiesavaldese.org
Present Membership of Stakeholders` Forum :
MEOR Director
MCB
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Tim Macquiban
Ecumenical Officer
Neil Stubbens
World Church Relationships Europe Roy Crowder
OPCEMI: Alessandra Trotta (President) and a member of
the Permanent Committee (Claudio Paravati)
WMC – General Secretary Bishop Ivan Abrahams and Chair
of the Standing Committee for Ecumenical Relationships
Robert Gribben
EMC – Knut Refsdal (Norway)
UMC – Office of Christian Unity and Inter Religious
Relationships (OCUIR) Bishop Mary Ann Swenson and
Ecumenical Staff Officer Steve Sidorak
Outline : For the rest of the report I will follow the outline
of the work plan and address the way in which MEOR has
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built up relations internally within Rome
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externally with contacts with other Methodist
Churches
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and exercised its ministry of dialogue, hospitality and
education in various areas.
Relationships with Churches in Rome
As well as individual meetings, I encounter many of those
listed below at the monthly meetings of the Churches
Together in Rome (CTiR), of which I have been elected
Secretary:
Principal Roman Catholic contacts:
Fr. Tony Currer (PCPCU) with whom I also have regular
meetings
Fr. Keith Pecklers, SJ (Caravita)
Fr. Jim Puglisi and Dr Teresa Rossi (Centro Pro Unione)
Mgr. Philip Whitmore (Venerable English College)
Mgr. John Hughes (Scots College)
Mgr. Rod Strange (Beda College)
CTiR members :
Archbishop David Moxon and Rev Marcus Walker (Anglican
Centre)
Canon Jonathan Boardman (All Saints)
plus Lutheran and Church of Sweden pastors
Rev Dave Hodgdon (Central Rome Baptist Church)
Rev Willie McCulloch (St Andrew`s Church of Scotland and
involved in refugee work at Centro Baobab)
Rev Eric Noffke (Via Firenze Italian speaking Methodist
Church)
Rev Austin Rios (St Paul`s within)
Rev Mary Styles (All Saints and Fresh Expressions –
Footsteps)
I was invited to participate in 50th anniversary celebrations
of the publication of key texts at the end of Vatican II at
the Centro Pro Unione and in the Aula Magna of the
Gregorian University (22-23 November) . Major
addresses by the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila and Cardinal
Koch of the PCPCU respectively demonstrated how different
progress is perceived in different contexts!
In addition, I have preached at the eucharist at the
Anglican Centre on the Feast of the Epiphany and two
other occasions. I was asked to lead choral evensong at
All Saints on two occasions. In the Tuesday of Holy Week I
was present when those of us ordained renewed their
ordination vows (a significant addition to include those nonAnglicans in this ceremony). I have been invited to join the
Anglican clergy fellowship meeting. These are indicative
of a closer relationship with our Anglican colleagues in both
places. I have arranged to see the Director of the Anglican
Centre and the Chaplain of All Saints Rome to discuss the
implications of the AMICUM report and explore ways in
which I and MEOR can work more closely with the Anglican
community here in Rome. The AMICUM report will be
launched in a seminar in November when Rev Gareth
Powell, a member of the commission, will be present.
I led the ecumenical service of Ashing on Ash Wednesday at
Caravita, as well as presiding at an ecumenical evening
service to honour the conversion of the Wesleys at the end
of May, with Martyn Atkins, then General Secretary of the
British Methodist Conference, preaching.
Contact with Roman Catholic seminaries here in Rome have
included attending Martyrs` Day at the Venerable English
College and addressing its students in the Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity, the commemoration of the 400th
anniversary of the death of St John Ogilvie, Scotland`s only
post-Reformation saint, at the Scots College, an invitation
to Beda College`s feast day on 25th May and an
invitation to preach there in the next Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity.
Contact with the Lay Centre (Foyer Unitas) has included
speaking at a dinner given to a visiting group from the
States on ecumenism from a non-Catholic perspective,
attendance at two of their courses and joining in their
annual reception for supporters when we were treated to a
special private visit to the Aula Gotica at the basilica of
Quatro Coronati.
Relationships with Other Churches worldwide:
Tavola Valdese : as well as attending both the annual
Synod of the Union of Waldensian Churches and Methodist
Churches in Italy and the annual consultation in May of all
Methodist churches in Italy (OPCEMI) I have been asked to
serve on the Commission on Ecumenism for the Tavola
Valdese replacing Ken Howcroft. It has met three times
during the year.
European Methodist Council:
I attended the four day meeting in Dublin last September as
an ex-officio member. This was well worth the contacts
made and the decision of the EMC to endorse the work of
MEOR as a stakeholder was welcomed.
At the invitation of Queen`s Foundation, Birmingham, I
attended a consultation on the Global Christianity
Programme which was very useful for the networking and
exploring ways in which MEOR might link up to the eAcademy and also have a Queens student on placement
here. I later visited Dr David Field in Basle to discuss these
possibilities.
World Methodist Council:
On the same day as my official welcome service, we
received the members of the Methodist Roman Catholic
International Dialogue who were in Rome on 12th
October. An informal reception concluding with evening
prayer was held in the apartment. It was a good occasion
to network. Ecumenical guests were invited to join us plus
ambassadors Baker (UK) and McCarthy (Australia). Rev Dr
Robert Gribben as Chair of the Ecumenical Relationships
Committee of WMC said a word about the endorsement of
MEOR by the WMC at its Steering Committee in September.
It was a fitting conclusion to the day on which Mrs Gillian
Kingston as Vice-President of the WMC had preached at the
morning service, attended also by Rev Neil Stubbens
representing the British Methodist Church and Deacon
Alessandra Trotta as President of OPCEMI and others
representing the different constituent parts in what is a
complex series of relationships revolving around me!
As Co-Chair of the WMC/Baptist World Alliance
international dialogue, the earlier part of January was
spent preparing a paper on Methodist Ecclesiology for the
second meeting of the dialogue, in Singapore 5-10
February.
United Methodist Church :
Visitors to MEOR have included Bruce Fenner of the Division
of Ordained Ministry of the General Board of Higher
Education and Ministry, whose responsibility is for the
UMC as Endorsing Agency. He reported back to Amos
Nascimento of GBHEM as to ways in which we might
collaborate. He hopes to bring a conference of chaplains on
retreat here in the future.
This was followed up by visits from the same Board from its
General Secretary, Kim Cape, and from Amos Nascimento
(Global Education and IAMSCU). Conversations are
continuing as regards closer co-operation. Also with Kim
Cape was Susan Henry-Crowe of Church and Society who
expressed interest in the ecumenical involvement of MEOR
in issues of slavery and migration.
Links with the ecumenical work of the UMC are being
explored in relationship to parallel dialogues. It is hoped to
have an early meeting with Dr Steve Sidorak.
Hospitality received and given and occasions for
representation of Methodism:
During the year there have been several ecumenical events
where I was asked to represent MEOR, including the Act of
Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Cemetery
on 11th November and an Ecumenical Vespers at All
Saints on the occasion of the meeting of the Trustees of
the Anglican Centre Council. I also attended the reception
on the recognition of the Church of England in Italian law
and the 100th anniversary service for the restoration of
diplomatic relations between the UK and the Holy See.
I attended the Australia Day celebrations at the
Ambassador`s residence and met the Nigerian Ambassador
to the Holy See of the same name. He has expressed an
interest in meeting up. I met at the same event, the
ambassadors of Australia, New Zealand, Ghana and East
Timor! In April I co-presided at the ANZAC Day
commemoration at the Rome Cemetery alongside Roman
Catholic and Anglican colleagues.
In May I participated in the Ascension Day service at the
Evangelical Lutheran Church (prayers in Italian) and
attended the concert and reception for the Georgian
National Day celebrations.
The highlight of the year was the ecumenical reception held
to honour John Wesley`s birthday (two days ahead
because of clash with the British embassy party at the
British School on 19th). This attracted nearly fifty people
from a wide range of the ecumenical spectrum of Catholic
and Protestant, priests, pastors and people in academe as
well as in local churches and communities in Rome.
Archbishop David Moxon commented that it was remarkable
to get such a gathering together. We were blessed with a
fine evening after a sultry day. I gave a speech which
commemorated the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta as
well as the Wesley commemoration.
The Sant`Egidio Community had a commemoration
service which I attended for those who had died in the
processes of migration in anticipation of World Refugee
Day. And the following week in June we attended high
Mass and a reception following at our local parish church of
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini on the occasion of their
patronal festival (of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist).
On occasions I am contacted by individuals staying in Rome
who wish to know more of the ecumenical work based here,
as part of their own studies. These have included :
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Rev Sarah Moore, Area President of North West
Synod of the URC in Cumbria, on sabbatical and
exploring links of Methodists and Waldensians as a
model for unity
Philip and Sue Westmacott, two RC laypeople on
study leave from Malton, wanting a Methodist spin on
Christian life in Rome
three girls having just finished school in Cambridge
who wanted to see the church and hear of the work
of MEOR
two students living in York (one the goddaughter of
fellow mission partner Val Ogden)
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and a PhD student from the Nazarene College in
Manchester doing work on John Wesley and Roman
Catholicism.
Educational opportunities
I attended a morning`s workshop at San Salvatore in
Lauro, a local parish church, organized by the Forum della
Cultura Christiana exploring aspects of the changing
relationship between Faith and Culture. It included a fine
address on Economic Exclusion and Ethics from Nigel Baker,
the UK ambassador to the Holy See, chaired by Dr Mary
McAleese.
The Director of the Centro Pro Unione, Fr Jim Puglisi,
would like to co-sponsor an event highlighting the
contribution of Methodism to hymnody and music in
worship. This will take place in October when Professor
Robert Gribben and I will share an evening session there.
As a result of conversations with Fr. Jim, The Rector of the
Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome (the
Angelicum), has appointed me Visiting Professor, to teach
a course on METHODISM AND ITS DIALOGUE WITH
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH looking at aspects of Methodist
history and theology and relating this to the
Methodist/Roman Catholic Dialogue. Fr. Miroslav Adam, the
Rector, welcomes the collaboration and wished me well in
joining this international institution which serves the
academic needs of many churches ecumenically.
Further conversations with Stephen Skuce, of the Learning
Network (Research, Scholarship and Innovation), has led
us to start to develop an ecumenical immersion course
yearly here in Rome for students in ministerial and other
formation roles in Great Britain.
During the year I have addressed various groups visiting
Rome:
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A group of pilgrims from Cambridge coming on a Pax
Travel Tour whom I also accompanied on visits to
Assisi, Ravenna , Padua and Venice, exploring
aspects of St Francis and Pope Francis.
an ecumenical group of pilgrims visiting from West
Yorkshire (Bolton Priory) on the work of MEOR.
A group of student ministers and pre-ordination
students, Methodist and Anglican from Ireland.
A group of seminarians from Garrett-Evangelical
Seminary in Chicago USA, engaged in dialogue with
Fr. Tony Currer on Methodist and Roman Catholic
relations and exploring some Protestant sites in
Rome. To them I outlined aspects of the work of
MEOR which I append:
Ecumenism in Rome – presentation to Garrett
Evangelical Group : June 2015
Heritage
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Columbanus 1400
St John Ogilvie 400
Restoration of UK Vatican relations 100
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Vatican II 50 years on
Worship
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Ecumenical Vespers at Caravita
Prayers at Centro Pro Unione
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Commemorations – Armistice Day/ANZAC Day
Teaching/Conferences
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Lay Centre (Foyer Unitas) Spirituality courses
Centro Pro Unione focus on Methodism
Angelicum (Pontifical University of St Thomas
Aquinas) course
Year of Consecrated Life – ecumenical colloquium
Christian Law conference
Action – Ministry, Mission and Service
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Anglican Centre – Eucharistic hospitality, shared
preaching and teaching, renewal of ordination vows ,
Global Freedom Network
Churches Together in Rome Lent Appeal for Syria
FCEI – Mediterranean Hope and work with St Egidio
and Centro Astali (Jesuit Refugee Service) working
with refugees and migrants
Presence/hospitality
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Church and manse
Visitors to Rome as pilgrims
Publicity :
These articles represent snapshots of the work of the
Director, part of which is to ensure that the message of the
presence of Methodism in Rome is more widely understood
and appreciated in the rest of the world Methodist
connexion.
Article in Methodist Recorder 14th November
2014 :
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 1400th 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 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 midweek 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.
Article for the Wesley News in preparation for a
visit to Wesley Cambridge in March 2015:
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome: a
Methodist perspective
My first time in the city for the Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity (18-25 January) was a very busy one which included
two close encounters with the Pope, preaching at an
ecumenical service and lecture and talking to students of
the Venerable English College where seminarians train for
the Catholic priesthood. And I attended an important
ecumenical conference for three days at the Vatican to
mark the Year of Consecrated Life. I was the solely
Methodist presence in a gathering of over 100 `religious`.
On the Thursday of the Week, a united service of Word was
held at the Centro Pro Unione, in the building where the
ecumenical observers to the Second Vatican Council met
just fifty years ago, at an event hosted jointly with the Lay
Centre (Foyer Unitas). I was privileged to preach at the
service presided over by Archbishop David Moxon, my
counterpart in the Anglican Centre, and took as my text
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” prior to a
lecture given by Professor Geoffrey Wainwright entitled
“Methodist and Catholics in Post-Conciliar Dialogue
1965-2015”, reflecting from a personal perspective as one
at the heart of the dialogue on the international ecumenical
stage on the progress made in understanding and working
together of Catholics and Methodists.
That evening I was invited to address students and staff of
the Venerable English College on the topic of Holiness and
Heaven: the Methodist contribution to ecumenical
dialogue. I drew on the ecumenical experiences I have had
during my life, and opened up a conversation on the nature
of shared and common purpose of Catholics and Methodists
in their pursuit of holiness as expressed in the formal
dialogues but also in our worshipping and working together
practically as an expression of our visible unity.
At the end of the Week, many of those involved in different
aspects of church life in Rome gathered at the Basilica of St.
Paul`s Without the Walls for Papal Vespers on the feast of
the Conversion of St. Paul in the very place where the Week
of Prayer has been marked since its promotion by Fr Paul
Couturier in 1935. Significant church leaders and
representatives of Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, Anglican,
Lutheran and Methodist churches were present to hear Pope
Francis talk about the need to act now for unity and to
travel in that spirit, rather than waiting until we were
agreed on every detail. The words of dialogues were no
substitute for radical and concrete demonstrations of
unexpected love. Archbishop David Moxon, Director of the
Anglican Centre, has reminded us on his blog that
ecumenism means, making our unity real where we are by
our combined solidarity for righteousness and justice, as in
the initiative of the Global Freedom Network in opposing
the evils of human trafficking.
All told, this has been an incredibly rich Octave of Christian
Unity in Rome which opens up for the Methodist Ecumenical
Office Rome many more opportunities for connections with
other traditions as well as offering to others the chance
(sometimes for the first time) to reach a deeper
understanding of the particular charisms of Methodism and
its place in the wider Church.
The Revd Dr Tim Macquiban, Director, Methodist
Ecumenical Office, Rome
Article for First Friday Newsletter : September
2015
Waldensians and Methodists in Italy celebrate
Pope`s first visit
In the year that Waldensians and Methodists celebrate the
40th anniversary of the creation of the Union of Waldensian
and Methodist Churches, this ecumenical partnership
received wider endorsement when Pope Francis paid a
pastoral visit to a local Waldensian Church in Turin (during
his visit to the city to see the Shroud). He was received by
the Moderators of the Waldensians in Italy and in Uruguay
and Argentina (Pastors Eugenio Bernardini and Oscar Oudri)
as well as the local pastor Paolo Ribet and the President of
OPCEMI (the Federation of Evangelical Methodist churches
in Italy), Deacon Alessandra Trotta.
For Waldensians with a long history of survival throughout
sustained periods of persecution and lack of religious
freedom since the Reformation, it was a climactic moment
as the Pope asked for forgiveness for the way in which the
Roman Catholic Church had treated the Waldensians. For
Methodists in Italy it was a moment of immense pride for a
woman church leader to share a moment of blessing the
Pope with the words of a hymn used as a benediction,
invoking God`s blessing on him: “until we meet again, the
Lord sustain you in your walk”. That the Italian media
reported the occasion so prominently and that the Roman
Catholic Church chose this moment to demonstrate in this
year of celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ending of
the Second Vatican Council and its commitment to the
search for unity and the need for dialogue demonstrates
that the hopes of many for an “ecumenical Spring” are not
unfounded in the present climate of Francis` pontificate.
At its forthcoming Synod of Bishops to be held in October,
the Rev Dr Tim Macquiban, Director of the Methodist
Ecumenical Office Rome, will represent the World Methodist
Council as its Fraternal Delegate to the General
Assembly, considering the topic: The Vocation and
Mission of the Family in the Church and the
Contemporary World. He is the Pope`s closest Protestant
neighbour as pastor of the Ponte Sant`Angelo Methodist
Church.
Conclusion :
Comments and suggestions are welcomed in the light of the
reading of this first report. Its content will be reviewed at
the next Stakeholders` Forum meeting in April 2016.
If anyone wishes to see more detailed reports of any aspect
of the work of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, then
please contact me on
tmacquiban@gmail.com
Do please come and visit us or recommend that others
come and explore, through pilgrimage tour, study leave, or
one-off conversation with the Director the perspective of a
Methodist Protestant living in this vibrant centre of the
Christian World steeped in Christian history.
Do make use of the facilities we have in the building of
staying here. You can contact
info@thewesleyrome.com
for the availability of rooms here at Via del Banco di Santo
Spirito 3, Roma 00186
just across from the Ponte Sant`Angelo and five minutes’
walk away from the Basilica of St. Peter.
Thank you for your interest in receiving and reading this
report. If there are ways in which you can help the
development of the Office then I would be delighted to hear
from you.
Tim MACQUIBAN
Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome
Ponte Sant`Angelo Methodist Church, Rome
August 2015