Small towns and communities across Mississippi and the nation are finding it difficult to afford full time clergy across all denominational lines. Last April, a possible solution for Port Gibson United Methodist began to take shape with an ecumenical twist.
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| The Rev. Margaret Ayers |
The result of the experiment begun in April, has ended with Port Gibson United Methodist issuing a call in late September to the Rev. Margaret Ayers, vicar of St. James’, Port Gibson, to be the pastor of the UMC congregation while retaining her position at St. James’.
“As far as I can discover, the relationship between the United Methodist Church, St. James’ Episcopal Church and the Rev. Margaret Ayers is unique in this country,” said Bishop Duncan Gray III. “It is another outward and visible sign of the ongoing world-wide ecumenical progress between our two churches.”
March 3, 2009, the Feast Day of John and Charles Wesley, an historic agreement was signed between the Mississippi United Methodist Conference and The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi by Bishop Gray III and UMC Bishop Hope Morgan Ward. The document is entitled A Covenant of Common Life and details articles of ecumenical cooperation that the two bishops and their congregations vow to live by.
“The Covenant of Common Life that Bishop Ward and I signed three years ago and our commitment to a joint celebration on the Feast of John and Charles Wesley (March 3) and the numerous local partnerships are all part of our efforts to find our ultimate unity in Jesus who prayed that his disciples “might be one.” (John 17:20),” Gray said.
Ayers’s first official Sunday as pastor of the UMC congregation will be Nov. 27th, the first Sunday of Advent.
“It’s really exciting and challenging,” said Ayers, who has been at St. James’ for four years. “This type ecumenical sharing will give both Bishops (UMC Bishop Hope Morgan Ward and Bishop Gray) flexibility in sustaining a church.”
Although her official start date is in November, Ayers is already doing three services a month at the United Methodist Church.
“The service is very much like Morning Prayer with lay worship leaders who assist in the service and I preach,” said Ayers, who will not celebrate Holy Eucharist at the UMC congregation. On the first Sunday of the month, a UMC minister will celebrate Holy Eucharist.
The Rev. David Harrison, a Methodist minister who served the Port Gibson congregation for 14 years and is now retiring has agreed to provide Holy Eucharist to his former cure.
“It’s important to emphasize that each church will retain its identity. This is not a merger. We will share events and activities from time to time, but St. James’ is St. James’ and Port Gibson UMC is still the same,” Ayers said.
Besides doing Sunday services, Ayers also will be responsible for pastoral care. Some of that began during the flooding that hit the Port Gibson area earlier in the year.
She also says a Disciples Bible Study is ongoing between St. James’ and the UMC congregation. Currently the group is focusing on a study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer using The Cost of Discipleship and a recently published biography on the Lutheran pastor’s life as texts.
The size of the two churches is about the same, according to Ayers. “Both churches have about 40 members each, St. James’ is a little larger, but not by much.”
