The Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi enter into an historic ecumenical relationship on the Feast of John and Charles Wesley, March 3, 2009.
The event will begin at Galloway Methodist Church at 6 p.m. with a dinner and then a liturgical procession will take place from Galloway to St. Andrew’s Cathedral where both Bishops will share Holy Eucharist with the two congregations.
Bishop Duncan Gray III and Bishop Hope Morgan Ward will sign A Covenant of Common Life at the service to mark the beginning of the two churches sharing a closer mission and ministry.
Bishop Gray said that the covenant is a local outgrowth of a decades-long ecumenical national study between the two denominations to seek ways to connect in areas of worship and common ministry. Also, the existing close relationship between the Methodist, Roman Catholic and Episcopal bishops in Mississippi for the last thirty years facilitated the covenant’s formation.
In 2005, the United Methodist Church approved a scholarly agreement called “Joint Interim Eucharistic Sharing.” The agreement was later approved by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2006 and is the foundation of the newly formed Mississippi covenant.
The covenant was first proposed to the bishops Episcopal Ecumenical Officer, the Rev. Michael Nations. Nations based his idea on similar agreements being forged in the country that were consistent with the Joint Interim Eucharistic Sharing guidelines. Bishops Gray and Ward were taken with the proposal and representatives from both churches refined the covenant based on Nation’s initial draft.
Both bishops hope that all Episcopal churches and United Methodist churches who share congregations in the same town will reach out to each other and form partnerships by the end of 2009.
The first two churches to enter into the covenant are St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral and Galloway United Methodist Church in Jackson.
The Very Rev. Edward O’Connor, Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral believes the covenant at its basis seeks to carry on the Christian work of reconciliation between the two denominations as well as to the community at large.
“I see this very outward, visible and growing relationship as an opportunity to live into our common mission. Galloway and St. Andrew’s both have long and excellent histories of providing for the least of these in our community. We believe that these historic churches can and should unite to have a stronger voice in the ongoing social and economic issues that face us. Ultimately we are committed to reconciling all people to unity with God and each other in Christ,” said O’Connor.
One of the gifts that this covenant brings for Bishop Ward is an appreciation of feast days which are not observed by the Methodist Church.
“March 3rd, the Feast Day of John and Charles Wesley, has suddenly become a very important day in my life,” said Ward.
Also included in the covenant is a proclamation which looks forward to the day when the two churches are brought into full communion with each other.
Full text of the Covenant of Common Life and additional resources
Additional Information:
When: Tuesday, March 3rd, the Feast Day of John and Charles Wesley, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Galloway United Methodist Church, 305 North Congress St. and continues to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral, 305 E. Capitol St. There will be a liturgical procession by clergy and lay people who will walk from Galloway to St. Andrew’s. These two congregations are cornerstone Christian churches of the inner city and will, along with the bishops, go into a covenant relationship with each other. A joint service of Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at St. Andrew’s where the covenant will be signed.
