Between 2008 and 2010 the Joint Implementation Commission for the Covenant sponsored a series of joint consultations with participants from both Churches, exploring questions to do with diaconal ministry.
This culminated in a 48-hour consultation in April 2010, the full report of which is available here.
The concluding summary of that report is as follows:
The diaconal consultation held on 21-23 April, 2010 produced some challenging findings with which our traditions will continue to wrestle. Some descriptive and helpful pictures emerged, enabling improved understanding.
The consultation was felt to have been a harmonious and collaborative exchange of ideas and perceptions. This was likened to hearing ‘different notes but the same melody’. Within the whole, different components were introduced, played in major and minor keys, and there was a common knowledge that the people outside needed to hear the resurrection song.
The question was asked: What does ‘full, visible unity’ mean?
- It was felt important to welcome in deacons from another Church with openness and a willingness to learn and grow together, each retaining distinctiveness and holding on to that which is precious and life-giving within their vocation and calling.
- There is a need for an ongoing and developing understanding of diaconal theology routed in contemporary praxis and practise.
- There is a need for both traditions to own this ministry and explore ‘how the church is changed by this ministry.’
- There is an ecumenical ferment about the nature of the diaconate, which is an encouraging sign, and is good for the development of the diaconate in all churches.
- Both Anglican and Methodist understandings have moved in the recent past and this should continue.
- From the Church of England point of view, the difference in practice between direct and sequential ordination is not in itself a barrier to full visible communion between the Methodist and Church of England Churches, because the Lutheran Churches of the Porvoo Agreement also practice direct ordination to the priesthood and are in communion with the British and Irish Anglican Churches.
For the Church of England:
- There is a need to allow the permanent diaconate ‘to be a bit more bold’ and enable all parts of the church to make more of the diaconal ministry whether embodied in deacons, priests or bishops.
- There is a need to strengthen collegiality and build upon the solid base for the diaconate that already exists within the Church of England.
For the Methodist Church:
- There are hopes for further convergence in theology and practice, and towards living out the mission of God.
- There is a hope that when the Methodist Church further articulates its understanding of the diaconate, there is an explicit (rather than implicit) relationship of diaconal ministry to the ministry of the Word and to worship.
- The Methodist Church is encouraged to continue wrestling with the relationship between the orders of ministry as understood within the Methodist Church and the three-fold order exampled in the Church of England and which prevails so widely in the universal Church.
In conclusion, the diverse understandings of our callings are rooted in the rich histories and traditions of our Churches. Understanding the differences is a treasure to the dialogue between the Church of England and the Methodist Church and it can only ever help deepen the melody that is composed, as we all offer our ministries in God’s world.