Anglican-Methodist Covenant to be signed

LONDON -- The Anglican-Methodist Covenant in England, recently strongly endorsed by the Methodist Conference and the General Synod, will be signed at a national celebration on Nov 1, 2003.


The event will begin at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, at 11 am when the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the President, Vice-President and Secretary of the Methodist Conference will sign the Covenant on behalf of their churches before an invited assembly.


The ceremony will continue at Westminster Abbey with a short service of thanksgiving and dedication.


On Sept 22, 2003 a special ceremony was held in London to mark closer co-operation between Anglicans and Methodists. It was a symbolic act to bring together the City parish of St Giles, Cripplegate, and the nearby Wesley's Chapel.


In his sermon, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, praised the work of John Wesley, and said Methodists and Anglicans must work together.
"In the Millennium year alone, London gained 120,000 new citizens. We have work to do together, and unity is best served when we act on the Gospel to look in the direction of a common challenge," he said. -- The Methodist Church in Britain, Church Times.