St John's Scottish Episcopal Church, Dumfries, Scotland

On the afternoon of Sunday 30th September 2007 a unique Covenant was signed in St John’s Scottish Episcopal Church, Dumfries, linking the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway and the Glasgow Circuit of the Methodist Church in Scotland.

St John’s Church was packed with over 400 people from a range of Christian traditions who joined the leaders of the respective churches, members of the Glasgow Methodist Circuit, Ecumenical Officers and representatives of the Church of Scotland locally with whom ecumenical relationships are also developing.

The Covenant commits each tradition to developing the already shared ministry at St John’s and to continue to provide a place of worship for those seeking not only to witness in the Episcopal but also in the Methodist tradition and to forge stronger ties between them. As part of the arrangement the Rector of St John’s will become an Associate Methodist Minister and St John’s will be listed in both the Methodist and Scottish Episcopal directories.

Signing the Covenant were the Most Rev Dr Idris Jones, Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, who said: “It is good to be part of this development with the Methodist Church. Taking a small step here will encourage us to explore partnership wherever Christians are neighbours.” and the Rev Derek Bibb, Superintendent Minister of the Glasgow Methodist Circuit, who said, “The venture between the SEC and the Methodist Church at St John's Dumfries is, I believe of considerable significance. It came about because St John's was happy to offer hospitality to another tradition, and it had the consequence of mutual sharing and enrichment. As such it is an important model for the way in which relationships between churches in Scotland and, indeed, the rest of Britain can develop in the future.

The words of the Covenant include the following: We shall seek to widen our Ecumenical Partnership to invite and include all other Churches in Dumfries, wherever possible, so that our working together may be as wide as possible and our diversity not hindered by ongoing dis-union and rivalry.

In this spirit it was signed during a ‘Big Sing’ of Charles Wesley’s hymns (to celebrate his tercentenary) to which singers from all the Christian churches in the Dumfries area were invited. Part of the celebrations included the dedication of St John’s new porch windows and glass doors engraved by David Gulland, a glass artist and member of the St John’s congregation. The doors which display engraved logos of the respective churches below traditional symbols of the Christian faith.

Background

In 1996, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Synod of the Methodist Church in Scotland, entered into a new relationship, and pledged that they would work more closely together wherever it was possible.

Following on from that, in the following year (1997) St John's in Dumfries appointed a Methodist presbyter as Associate Minister. It was a ground-breaking appointment for both denominations, and opened the way for further commitment on both sides in other parts of Scotland. Episcopalians and Methodists have much in common, and the time since has been fruitful for both churches, thanks to what has happened in Dumfries.

When the Methodist Church in Dumfries closed some years earlier, the congregation dispersed among the other denominations in Dumfries including St John’s. There they found a spirituality which traces its roots back to the Anglicanism of the Reformation. John Wesley, Anglican priest and founder of Methodism, was the epitome of the motto of the Scottish Episcopal Church - 'Evangelical Truth and Apostolic Order' (though it has to be said that he did sit somewhat lightly to both when it suited him!)
In both style and content, Methodist and Episcopalian ways of worshipping have much in common. Ways of running the church are very similar too, with lay ministries being more and more recognized and valued. In Scotland, ordained ministers (presbyters and deacons) of both traditions train together, thus helping to draw the two denominations even closer together.

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