John Wesley spoke of the Methodist people as "the friends of all and the enemies of none". It is a catchphrase which his successors have delighted to quote, though, like all catchphrases, it is very much an over-simplification.
One of the ways in which Irish Methodists have sought to express their founder's adage is in the growth and development of ecumenical relations. For many years the Methodist Church in Ireland has been a member of the Irish Council of Churches, and has been involved in the Irish Inter-Church Meeting.
The proposal that the latter be reconstituted as the Conference of Churches in Ireland was seen as giving the member-churches an opportunity of reassessing their involvement. The importance of this was signalled by the fact that it was presented to the conference under the business of the general committee instead of that of the inter-church relations committee. The debate was brief. The conference had little doubt that it wished to be in membership of the CCI.
The publication in Britain of a new worship book in which one form of service made reference to "God our Father and Mother" has been greeted with strongly-divided opinion. The conference does not direct, but recommends the use of service books, Methodism having a long tradition of extempore prayers. On this occasion it recommended that the circuits should express their views on the new texts over the next couple of years.
Gurteen Agricultural College in Co Tipperary was established by the church in 1947. The forthcoming retirement of Mr John Craig has necessitated the appointment of a new principal for next year. The conference confirmed the appointment of Michael Pearson BSc, who has been senior lecturer at Kirkley Hall College in Northumberland for some years.
The Loft Choir of Irvington United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, has been on a short tour of Ireland since the end of July.