Church of England prepares to vote on proposal to share ministers with Methodists

The Church of England leaders will be debating next month to determine whether it should share ministers with Methodists as part of the effort to boost struggling rural churches.

According to The Telegraph, a "controversial" vote on the issue will take place at the Church's governing body, the General Synod, in February.

If implemented, the plan would allow priests from each church to preach at the other. Church leaders suggested that it would help areas where there are "serious challenges in sustaining a Christian presence."

Senior figures have warned that some will see the proposal as "very problematic," but Rt. Revd. Dr. Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, contended that it would be a boost in "urban areas, perhaps particularly those where there are high levels of deprivation."

"Whilst such co-operation is already possible and practised in many rural contexts, priests / presbyters exercising ministry in both churches at the same time could build on that in new ways," Cocksworth said in documents published ahead of the meeting.

"These would include helping one another to maintain a reliable pattern of public worship in the communities they serve, fostering imaginative initiatives in mission, and enabling strategic decisions to be made about which communities will be the particular focus for ministers serving overlapping geographical areas," he added.

William Nye, the Church of England's most senior civil servant, said that allowing Methodist clergy, who had not been ordained by a bishop, to conduct Church of England services will likely be divisive.

He said that while some consider the proposal as a "bearable anomaly," others believe that it would break the "continuous apostolic succession" that Church of England members believe links their clergy and bishops to the original followers of Christ.

Apart from sharing ministers, the new plan would also mean that the Methodist church in the U.K. would have bishops for the first time.

The Methodists grew out of a movement led by Anglican preacher John Wesley during the 18th century and became a separate denomination after his death. Some consider the division as a "terrible tragedy" as Wesley never intended to establish a separate church.

The new proposal is the latest attempt to bring the Methodists and the Church of England closer together after similar attempts failed in 1972 and 1980.

The Telegraph reported that the 1972 proposal failed due to disagreements over a suggested service involving the laying on of hands and questions on whether Methodist ministers are being officially re-ordained into the Church of England. In 2003, the two denominations reportedly signed a covenant and committed to work towards unity.