About 300 people representing more than 100 countries gathered at the historic Wesleyâs Chapel at City Road, London for the World Methodist Council Meeting from September 10-13. Bishop Ivan Abrahams, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council, shared that â⊠the goal for this meeting is not only to reconvene our worldwide family, but to also discern and attempt to understand what God is calling us to do ⊠The world is changing fast, and the church needs to change with it.â
Representing Singapore at the Council meeting were Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup and leaders from our three Annual Conferences.
There were two key highlights1 during the Council meeting. Husband and wife missionary team, Marion and Anita Way, were awarded the 2013 World Methodist Peace Award in recognition of their work in Angola and Brazil. Spanning over 54 years of continuous work, the couple helped more than 15,000 children and 45,000 families, and more than 100,000 were reached through their efforts. They used their faith to assist in the fight against political oppression, racism and other obstacles throughout their career. Mr Way passed away earlier this year in May, but their work lives on as a testament to the power of mission.
The theme and logo (above) of the 2016 World Methodist Conference, scheduled from August 31 to September 4 in Houston, Texas, were unveiled. The theme, âOneâ, is to reflect the Councilâs goal of being a body that unites the 80 member churches from the Methodist, Wesleyan, Nazarene, United and Uniting church traditions as well as recalling John Wesleyâs quote that âMethodists are one people in all the world.â The Conferenceâs winning logo was designed by Ms Cathryn Wooton, a graphic designer from Virginia.
For more information about the Council, please visit www. worldmethodistcouncil.org.
1 Based on information and news releases in the World Methodist Council website.