This book offers a detailed analysis of one of the key episodes of twentieth-century ecumenism, focusing on the efforts made to reconcile the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain in the years since the First World War. Drawing on newly available archives as well as on a broad range of historical, theological, and liturgical expertise, the contributions explore what was attempted, why success proved elusive, and how the quest for unity was reconfigured into the twenty-first century. The volume sets contemporary ecumenical ambitions in historical context, explains the origins, course, and aftermath of the Anglican–Methodist ‘Conversations’ of 1955–72, retrieves their enduring global legacy, and explores the fraught nature of the ecumenical quest. It will be of key interest to scholars with an interest in ecumenism, Methodist studies, and church history.

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Receptive Ecumenism asks not what other churches can learn from us, but 'what can we learn and receive with integrity from our ecclesial others?' Since the publication of Receptive Ecumenism and the Call to Catholic Learning: Exploring a Way for Contemporary Ecumenism (OUP, 2008), this fresh ecumenical strategy has been adopted, critiqued, and developed in different Christian traditions, and in local, national, and international settings, including the most recent bilateral dialogue of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III). The thirty-eight chapters in this new volume, by academics, church leaders, and ecumenical practitioners who have adopted and adapted Receptive Ecumenism in various ecclesial and cultural contexts, show how Receptive Ecumenism has grown and matured. Part One demonstrates how Receptive Ecumenism itself is capable of being received with integrity into very different ecclesiologies and ecclesial traditions. In Part Two, this approach to transformative ecumenical learning is applied to some recurrent ecclesial problems, such as the understanding and practice of ministry, revealing new insights and practical opportunities. Part Three examines the potential and challenges for Receptive Ecumenism in different international settings. Part Four draws on scripture, hermeneutics, and pneumatology to offer critical reflection on how Receptive Ecumenism itself implements transformative ecclesial learning. Addressing the 70th Anniversary of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Justin Welby, said that 'One of the most important of recent ecumenical developments has been the concept of Receptive Ecumenism'. This volume provides an indispensable point of reference for understanding and applying that concept in the life of the Christian churches today.

In his enthronement sermon as archbishop of Canterbury in 1942 William Temple famously declared the ecumenical movement to be "the great new fact of our era." In this book Martin Camroux tries to face honestly how hope met reality. By the end of the century the enthusiasm had largely dissipated, the organizations that represented it were in decline, and organic unity looked further away than ever. One significant ecumenical merger took place in Britain--the creation in 1972 of the United Reformed Church, which saw its formation as a catalyst for ecumenical renewal. Its hopes, however, were largely illusory. With the failure of its ecumenical hope the church had little idea of its purpose, found great difficulty establishing an identity, and faced a catastrophic implosion in membership. This first serious study of the United Reformed Church also includes groundbreaking analysis of the unity process, the mixed fortunes of Local Ecumenical Projects and how the national ecumenical organizations withered. All of this is put in the wider context of religion in British society including secularization, individualism, and post-denominationalism. What failed was not ecumenism but a particular model of it and the book ends with a commitment to a renewed ecumenical hope.

This book presents twenty essays written in honor of the noted theologian and ecumenist Geoffrey Wainwright, Cushman Professor of Christian Theology at Duke University. The editors have assembled a remarkable international roster of contributors and have organized the volume around three major themes in Wainwright's work: worship, liturgy, and mission. Contributors include Nicholas Lossky, Eberhard Jungel, Dietrich Ritschl, and Gunther Gassman.

This volume proposes a fresh strategy for ecumenical engagement - 'Receptive Ecumenism' - that is fitted to the challenges of the contemporary context and has already been internationally recognised as making a distinctive and important new contribution to ecumenical thought and practice. Beyond this, the volume tests and illustrates this proposal by examining what Roman Catholicism in particular might fruitfully learn from its ecumenical others. Challenging the tendency for ecumenical studies to ask, whether explicitly or implicitly, 'What do our others need to learn from us?', this volume presents a radical challenge to see ecumenism move forward into action by highlighting the opposite question 'What can we learn with integrity from our others?' This approach is not simply ecumenism as shared mission, or ecumenism as problem-solving and incremental agreement but ecumenism as a vital long-term programme of individual, communal and structural conversion driven, like the Gospel that inspires it, by the promise of conversion into greater life and flourishing. The aim is for the Christian traditions to become more, not less, than they currently are by learning from, or receiving of, each other's gifts. The 32 original essays that have been written for this unique volume explore these issues from a wide variety of denominational and disciplinary perspectives, drawing together ecclesiologists, professional ecumenists, sociologists, psychologists, and organizational experts.

With the decision to provide of a scholarly edition of the Works of John Wesley in the 1950s, Methodist Studies emerged as a fresh academic venture. Building on the foundation laid by Frank Baker, Albert Outler, and other pioneers of the discipline, this handbook provides an overview of the best current scholarship in the field. The forty-two included essays are representative of the voices of a new generation of international scholars, summarising and expanding on topical research, and considering where their work may lead Methodist Studies in the future. Thematically ordered, the handbook provides new insights into the founders, history, structures, and theology of Methodism, and into ongoing developments in the practice and experience of the contemporary movement. Key themes explored include worship forms, mission, ecumenism, and engagement with contemporary ethical and political debate.

The histories of the Church of England and the Methodist Church have been linked together for 250 years. In the 1970s, a proposal for unity failed narrowly. Now relationships between Methodists and Anglicans are stronger than ever, locally, regionally and nationally. Both are committed to the search for unity. What holds them apart? This official report of the Formal Conversations that began in 1999 sets out the common ground that has been rediscovered. It shows the strength of theological agreement, but also points out significant differences that require further work. Conscious of both the opportunities and the unresolved issues, the two churches asked the Conversations to draw up an agreement that would enable them to take a significant step towards future unity. The talks gave priority to mission and evangelism and paid special attention to diversity. This report proposes a national covenant, made up of mutual acknowledgement and mutual commitment. It should consolidate at the national level the many local and regional covenants that already exist and so prepare the ground for the next vital stage on the road to unity. A free "Reader's Guide" is packaged with each copy.

Presents the Methodist theology as a resource for the future. This book focuses on the many ways in which Methodism 'carries' its theology and how Methodism's emphasis contributes to British Christianity. It asks challenging questions about how evangelism and social welfare may develop in the complex post-modern secular world.