Working Out the Covenant: Guidelines for the Journey

WORKING OUT THECOVENANT

GUIDELINES

for the

JOURNEY

Gillian Kingston

Kingston text:Layout 1 18/04/2008 11:59 Page 1

Published byChurch of Ireland Publishing

Church of Ireland HouseChurch Avenue

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www.cip.ireland.anglican.org

Designed by Susan Hood

© Gillian Kingston, and the Representative Church Body, 2008

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ISBN 978-1-904884-19-4

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Introduction 5

1. Potential Areas of Difficulty 7

2. Family & Pastoral Occasions 9

3. Services of Holy Communion 13

4. Inclusion and Courtesy 17

5. Other Issues 21

6. Final Thought 23

Appendix: Covenant between the Methodist Church in Ireland and the Church of Ireland

Table of Contents


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NEW RELATIONSHIPS OF WHATEVER KIND havemany similar features – there is the excite-ment and euphoria of recognizing that

something special is happening between you, whoever‘you’ are. Then there is the ‘getting-to-know-you’phase. This is followed by the ‘getting to know a bitmore’ phase; and then there is the commitment to along-term, perhaps permanent, relationship. And,after that then there is potential for deepening therelationship completely, but not without challenges.

After the initial politeness, the ‘whatever-you-do-isfine-by me’ phase, there is the questioning ‘oh-is-that-how-you-do-it?’ phase and then, almost inevitably,there comes the hurt awareness ‘ouch-that hurts-me’phase. It is to this phase that the Covenant Councilwishes to make a few suggestions so that churchesentering into Local Covenant Partnership (LCP) ofany kind may avoid areas of sensitivity in and for eachother.

In the experience of the Council, there are areaswhich require sensitivity and some sort of resolution.There are often differing expectations and uninten-tional hurts in close relationships, so it is important toestablish criteria for good practice at the very begin-ning. What follows below are some of the more obvi-ous issues which require careful handling if the rela-tionship is to remain happy and equitable.

It may be a good thing to think about some of thesebefore they become problematic. Indeed, each Church

Introduction

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might consider them separately, by identifying its ownneuralgic points. Following these separate considera-tions and explorations, the two partners might cometogether again to listen, compare experience and sobecome aware of the sensitive points of the other

The Council has identified these particular areas ofpotential difficulty – it may well be that as you contin-ue in relationship with your sister Church, you willidentify other issues about which we haven’t yetthought – please let us know. In this way, you may wellbe helping someone else!

One area which can be open to misunderstanding isthe terms we use to refer to those who have ordainedcharge of us. Methodists almost always refer to their‘minister’ and only very rarely to‘clergyman/woman/person’. Church of Ireland peo-ple sometimes say ‘clergyman/woman/person’, some-times ‘priest,’ sometimes ‘rector’ and sometimes theytoo use the term ‘minister.’ In what follows, we will,unless obviously referring to one denomination in par-ticular, use the terms ‘minister’ and ‘priest’ concur-rently.

The full text of the Covenant between the MethodistChurch in Ireland and the Church of Ireland is pro-vided as an appendix at the end of this booklet.

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Family and pastoral occasions� Baptisms� Confirmation/ reception into full membership� Weddings� Funerals

Issues concerning services of Holy Communion� Presiding at the Eucharist� Sacramental inclusion� Inclusion of visiting ministers/priests � Alcoholic/non-alcoholic wine� Cups or chalice� Distribution and reception of the elements� Disposal of the elements

Issues of inclusion and courtesy� Consultation prior to joint acts of worship� Invitation to special church occasions and other

functions� Robing� Sensitivity to minority usage and ways of worship

Other issues� Pastoral visitation� Chaplaincies� Length of sermons� Style of worship

1Potential Areas of Difficulty

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FIRST WE WILL LOOK AT FAMILY AND PASTORALOCCASIONS, because this is the area whichaffects most people. Perhaps you or a member

of your family is getting married; perhaps someoneyou know has died; perhaps your grandchild is beingbaptized or confirmed/received into full membership- and it is happening in the sister Church.

These occasions occur very frequently and it is impor-tant that they are handled with due consideration tothose who will attend them as honoured guests.Obviously, families will need to discuss things, butoften they look to their minister or priest to help andwhat matters here is that each tries to include the otheras far as is possible.

The thought at the front of each mind should besomething like: ‘How much might I offer for him/herto do in this service?’

Baptisms

Although clearly the baptism will take place in onechurch and one minister or priest will baptize, there isno reason why the minister/priest of the sisterChurch may not be meaningfully involved in otherparts of the service.

Remember that baptism is into the Body of Christ andnot into ‘your’ Church. We recommend that, on theseoccasions, the baptismal certificate is ecumenical withthe names of both Churches on the back.

2Family & Pastoral Occasions

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Confirmation / reception into full membership

It is appropriate that this service may be conductedjointly by both Churches.

There should be joint and appropriate preparation ofthose to be confirmed or received into full member-ship, with both minister and priest, along with appro-priate members of their congregations, taking part inthis.

An appropriate order of service should be used,acknowledging both traditions and giving each Churcha sense of ‘owning’ the event (contact the Council forresources).

Hands are laid on each candidate by both the Churchof Ireland bishop and Methodist minister together.

Weddings

This may be the first act of worship in which the fam-ilies and friends concerned have come together, so itis a very special day for them. It may be the first timethey have seen your Church in operation, so even atthe level of good impression, you need to get it right!

Although one minister or priest is responsible for theceremony (in the legal sense), it is possible and appro-priate to involve a minister or priest from the sisterChurch in proclaiming and expounding the scriptures,the intercessions, assisting at the communion and pro-nouncing a joint blessing.

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Funerals

On the occasion of a funeral and supporting thebereaved, it is of the highest importance that they donot have to worry about inter-Church concerns. Thus,the minister and priest need to confer about many ofthe details.

While many of the issues relating to funerals are com-mon within each of our Churches, it is important toascertain what the expectations are on each side.Timing of the service is important – this is a traumat-ic event for a family, and thus it should neither be sobrief that they feel ‘short changed’, nor so long that itbecomes an endurance test.

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SOMETIMES OCCASIONS LIKE THOSE ALREADY

considered involve a celebration of HolyCommunion. This is the central point of our

worship, an act in obedience to our Lord – it must bea time of solemn joy, not of self-consciousness andtension. So there are things to reflect on beforehandand certainly the ministers and priests need to conferso that no-one treads on anyone else’s toes, literally ormetaphorically.

Presiding at the Eucharist

Both our Churches have a presiding minister/priest ata service of Holy Communion. It is permissible for aChurch of Ireland priest to preside at HolyCommunion in a Methodist Church, using either theChurch of Ireland or the Methodist rite, so far as theMethodist Church is concerned. As far as the Churchof Ireland is concerned, a Methodist minister maypreside at Holy Communion in a Church of Irelandchurch, but using a Methodist rite and having receivedpermission from the bishop of the diocese in whichthat church is located.

Sacramental inclusion

It is of the utmost importance to be clear to ‘visitors’from both traditions that they are welcome to receiveCommunion when attending their sister church. It isvery easy to cause unintentional hurt by presuming‘sure don’t they know that anyway’. It is better to tellthem ten times than presume they know.

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3Services of Holy Communion


Inclusion of visiting ministers/priests

The question of ‘who does what’ at the Eucharistneeds to be clearly discussed by the minister and priestbefore the service so that no misunderstandings arise.While there are certain roles reserved to the presidingminister/priest in each of our liturgies, a visiting min-ister/priest may appropriately be involved in manyways, including (but not limited to) leading all or partsof the ministry of the word, the prayers of the peo-ple, assisting at the offertory and the preparation ofthe table, administering the bread or wine.

Alcoholic/non-alcoholic wine

In keeping with Christian tradition, a drink derivedfrom the juice of the grape should be used. ForChurch of Ireland people this means the fermentedjuice of the grape; for Methodists, this means usingeither grape juice or wine from which alcohol has beenremoved. The minister/priest(s) need to reflect onhow best to resolve any embarrassment occasioned bythis at joint services of Holy Communion.

Cups or chalice

Methodists are accustomed to using small individualcups for the wine at Communion. Though generallynot averse to using a chalice, there are some peoplewho are uneasy with it for reasons of hygiene.

For Church of Ireland people, the symbolism of shar-ing in the ‘one cup’ is important, and this should beborne in mind.

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If a common cup is used, it may ease some concernsif it is explained to those who feel unhappy with thisthat it is allowable to receive in one kind only.

If individual cups are used, Church of Ireland peoplemay need to be advised as to what to do with the glassafter drinking from it – again, don’t make any assump-tions.

Distribution and reception of the elements

Different Churches have different ways of distributingthe bread and wine at Communion services. These dif-ferences can be found as much within our twoChurches as between them.

It is helpful, when there is a joint service, to explainthis, either before the service or clearly on the servicesheet for the occasion. Never assume visitors willautomatically know how you do things.

Disposal of the elements

At a Church of Ireland service, the presiding priest,along with others where necessary, must consume theremaining consecrated bread and wine. Un-consecrat-ed bread may be fed to the birds, and wine returned toits bottle.

At a Methodist service, the minister will cover theremaining elements with a white cloth and finish theservice. The remaining elements are disposed of in areverent and appropriate way.

At a joint service, Methodists need to be sensitive to

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Church of Ireland practice, and to dispose in a rever-ent and appropriate way with what remains.

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WHEN TWO CHURCHES ARE CLOSE to eachother, either in a LCP relationship or just ingeographical proximity, there are things of

which they need to be aware, issues of inclusion andcourtesy.

Consultation prior to joint acts of worship

Running through all we have suggested has been thisidea of consultation – we cannot over emphasise howimportant this is, especially when priests, ministers andcongregations are getting to know each other. As thewell known advertisement jingle has it: ‘It’s good totalk’!

Whatever the nature of the service may be and, as youall know, there is no end to the sorts and focus of wor-ship events, the first thing to do is to lift the ’phone!

Invitation to special Church occasions and otherfunctions

Whenever you are having a special event, whether aworship event, a social function, a celebration, a com-memoration – whatever – the first invitation should beto the partner Church. We have many friends, but, atthe moment, only one Covenant partner. This specialrelationship should be reflected in our invitations toeach other as honoured guests. Never ever assume‘sure they know what’s going on’. No matter how cer-tain you are of this, it is an important courtesy to givethem due notice.

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4Inclusion & Courtesy


Robing

It is all too easy to assume that, because you do or donot robe for certain events, that your Covenant part-ner does the same. When invited to a service, clergyshould take their robes with them, preferably in aninconspicuous manner, and wait to get a cue onappropriate dress. It would, of course, be best if theinviting minister/priest gave an indication of what isexpected in advance of the occasion! In the Church ofIreland it is all too easy to assume, because clergy arecanonically bound to robe for all public worship thata Methodist minister will just assume that the invita-tion extends to him/her.

Likewise, in a Methodist context, Church of Irelandclergy should not automatically assume that it isappropriate for them to robe, unless invited. It is par-ticularly important that no-one is unintentionally over-looked (as so often happens) at important events suchas institutions, installations and ordinations, whenunspoken tradition takes it for granted that all attend-ing clergy will be expected to robe.

Sensitivity to minority usage and ways of worship

It is extremely unusual to find an instance where bothpartner Churches are of a similar numerical size. Invirtually all cases one or other Church will be larger,often significantly so.

It is important that we do not use this as an excuse tosay ‘well most of the people…’ or make otherunnessessary ‘majority’ assumptions.

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We always need to show sensitivity and courtesy to theminority group – their feelings and sensitivities mayactually be exacerbated if they are conscious that theyare a minority.

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THERE ARE FINALLY THOSE THINGS WHICH DONOT fit into any neat category, but which nev-ertheless require to be thought about. These

may be described as miscellaneous other issues, so tospeak.

Pastoral visitation

Quite apart from the Covenant relationship, manyfamilies consist of both Church of Ireland andMethodist members; and then there are local familiesknown to everyone in each Church and in the widercommunity. And it is natural that, at particular times,whether of joy or sadness, the minister/priest of thepartner Church may feel she/he would like to visit.

On such occasions, quite aside from the fact that weare in a Covenant relationship, it is courteous to noti-fy the minister/priest of the family that you would liketo do this and thus avoid the embarrassment of thetwo of you calling at the same time and without eachother’s knowledge.

Chaplaincies

One of the great joys of our Covenant relationship isthat we are in a much stronger position to offer jointchaplaincy work in many areas (schools, universities,hospitals, prisons etc.). It is often much more practicalto share the work, either as a team or on a rotationalbasis.

It is important to be sensitive to the needs of those

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5Other Issues


receiving ministry from the chaplaincy, and always tobe ready to call on the services of someone from theperson’s own denomination where this is requested.

Length of sermons

One of us (a Methodist) was once involved in a dis-cussion with a Presbyterian, a Lutheran and a RomanCatholic about the acceptable length of a sermon: itseems Presbyterians can accept 35 minutes;Methodists and Lutherans would go for 20/25 min-utes, while Roman Catholics favour something like 5minutes. Need we say more?

If invited to preach, it would be advisable to check outhow long the sermon should be. Do not forget that ifyou go too far over the expected time depending onwhere you are preaching, you will lose your audience.This is one of the areas we often joke about, but thesad truth is that it is a very neuralgic issue for manypeople – it is not an exaggeration to say that this is oneof the issues that can make or break a Covenant rela-tionship.

Style of worship

Some of us are formal and dignified; some of us arechatty and informal; many of us vary it according tothe occasion. What is important is that our style doesnot hinder or conflict with the manner of the worshipof the people of God. And if this is important ‘athome’, it is even more so when we are either visitingour partners or inviting them to join us.

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TALK… TALK… TALK…

Many of these suggestions may be ‘non-issues’ in yourcontext. If so, you are fortunate. It is often these smallthings which combine to make our Covenant work –or to break it. So much can be sorted out in advanceby an honest exploration of expectations between thetwo partners, either by the minister/priest(s) or by awider group.

When any groups of people come together there willalways be some tensions, and there will always besomeone who is dissatisfied with something – that is afact of life. If we show sensitivity to each other in allthat we say and do, and never presume anything of theother, we can make sure that an occasional dissatisfac-tion becomes an isolated instance, and not thegroundswell of opposition to our Covenant.

We believe that God has called us into this new rela-tionship – it does require some adjustments from allof us, but ultimately all that we do should be to theglory of God, and not simply the maintenance of tra-dition or status quo.

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6Final Thought


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betweenthe Methodist Church in Ireland

and the Church of Ireland

1. We acknowledge one another's Churches asbelonging to the One, Holy, Catholic andApostolic Church of Jesus Christ, and as truly par-ticipating in the apostolic mission of the wholepeople of God.

2. We acknowledge that in each of our Churches theWord of God is authentically preached and thesacraments of baptism and holy communionauthentically administered according to the com-mand of Christ.

3. We acknowledge that both our Churches share ina common faith set forth in the scriptures andsummarised in the historic creeds.

4. We acknowledge our common inheritance in tradi-tions of spirituality and liturgy .We rejoice in ourdiversity from which we may mutually benefit aswe continue to develop varied forms of worship asappropriate to different situations.

5. We acknowledge each other's ordained ministriesas given by God and as instruments of his grace bywhich our Churches are served and built up. Aspilgrims together, we look forward to the timewhen our ministries can be fully interchangeableand our Churches visibly united.

6. We acknowledge that personal, collegial and comu-nnal oversight is embodied and practised in both

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COVENANT


Churches, as each seeks to express continuity ofapostolic life, mission and ministry.

Therefore :We believe that God is calling our two Churches toa fuller relationship in which we commit ourselves:� to share a common life and mission.� to grow together so that unity may be visibly

realized.

As the next steps towards that goal, we agree:

1. To pray for and with one another and to avail ofevery opportunity to worship together;

2. To welcome one another’s members to receiveHoly Communion and other ministries as appro-priate;

3. To share resources in order to strengthen the mis-sion of the Church;

4. To help our members to appreciate and draw outthe gifts which each of our traditions has to offerthe whole people of God;

5. To encourage the invitation of authorised personsof each Church to minister in the other Church, asfar as the current disciplines of both Churchespermit;

6. (a) To encourage united Methodist/Church of Ireland congregations:

(i) where there are joint Church schemes,

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(ii) where new churches are to be planted, (iii) where local congregations wish to move in thisdirection;

(b) To encourage united Methodist / Church of Ireland chaplaincy work;

7. To enable a measure of joint training of candi-dates for ordained and lay ministries of ourChurches where possible and appropriate and toencourage mutual understanding at all levels in ourChurches;

8. To establish appropriate forms of consultation onmatters of faith and order, mission and service;

9. To participate as observers by invitation in eachother's forms of governance at every possiblelevel;

10. To learn more about the practice of oversight ineach other’s Churches in order to achieve a fullersharing of ministries at a later stage of our rela-tionship.

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Further details of the ongoing work of the CovenantCouncil, and all relevant documents can be accessed

through the Council’s website: http://www.covenantcouncil.com/

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Working Out the Covenant: Guidelines for the Journey

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