Official press releases on the discussion of same-sex blessings at the recent Methodist Conference at Torquay give a slightly different view to that portrayed in the press:
Official:
Statement on Press Coverage of the ‘Pilgrimage of Faith’ debate
Methodist Church receives major report on human sexuality
Text of the report Pilgrimage of Faith (This is downloadable only in MS Word format)
Press reports:
Guardian Stephen Bates Methodist leaders vote to bless gay couples
The Times Ruth Gledhill Methodists will bless gays
Telegraph Jonathan Petre Church opens the door to blessings for gays
The Methodists also discussed bishops, as reported by Paul Handley in the Church Times
Methodists will vote on bishops in 2007
Full text of What sort of bishops (This is downloadable only in MS Word format)
Official statement: Methodist Church moves towards Bishops
The Methodists also welcomed the the first report from the Joint Implementation Commission on the Anglican-Methodist Covenant, see Methodist Church welcomes Covenant report
I rejoice at the increasing closeness of the British Methodists and the CofE (and, by extension, the rest of the AC).
I hope that when there is some kind of reunion (in God’s Good Time), the Methodists will bring their abundant *common sense* with them! 🙂