British Methodist

Conference

addresses

contemporary

and social issues

SCARBOROUGH – The Rev Stephen Poxon was inducted as President of the British Methodist Church and Mr David Walton as Vice-President. The Methodist Conference, which met here from July 5-10, also ordained 55 new ministers – 50 Presbyters and five Deacons.

The Conference addressed a number of contemporary issues, including knife crime, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, stem cell research and abortion.

Time was spent looking at the Youth Participation Strategy (YPS), a major new initiative aimed at increasing the involvement of people aged 16 to 23 in the running of the church both nationally and locally. The YPS will see an investment of more than £4 million (S$10.7 million) over the next five years.

The Youth Conference also brought its concerns, including knife crime, Myanmar and the pressures on young people combining church activities with further education or work.

The Conference committed the church to fresh ways of expressing its mission. The successful Fresh Expressions scheme, a joint venture with the Church of England, has been renewed by both churches for a further five years.

The Conference gave its support to a new Pioneer Ministries scheme, in which the church will invest more than £4 million to establish new congregations across the country, aimed especially at young adults and those who have had no prior contact with any form of church.

The Conference received a major report on early human life, looking at issues such as stem cell research, fertility treatments and abortion. The report offers guidance on how to approach these complex and often highly personal topics.   The Conference has commended for study the report which says that embryos should not be created solely for the purpose of research, but that it is acceptable for embryos created during fertility treatments to be used for research. The Conference voted to review the church’s current stance on abortion.

It affirmed the Covenant with the Church of England, signed in 2003, and supported the creation of a new body to continue the work of implementing it. This new body will for the first time include representation from the Church in Wales and the Scottish Episcopal Church, in recognition that the Methodist Church serves all of Britain. The United Reformed Church will also be invited to continue to participate.  – The Methodist Church, Great Britain.