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Charlotte Haines Lyon reports from Saturday's covenant service during which the Methodist Church and the Church of England promised to work towards 'unity'

As the consecration of Gene Robinson plunges the Anglican Church ever nearer
schism, it seems somewhat implausible that two factions of the Christian family have taken a step closer to unity.

Tourists looked on in bemusement as they watched a rather motley crowd process out of Methodist Central Hall, through a police cordon into Westminster Abbey.

The Queen was driven all 97 yards (approximately) as she witnessed representatives of the Methodist Church and the Church of England sign a covenant, promising to work together towards “visible unity”.

The irony of the two events on either side of the pond, sharing the same weekend was not lost on the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Preaching under the worn but beautiful dome of Central Hall, he wondered whether “this celebration is timely after all in God’s purposes?”

Whilst recognising the Weslyan split was costly, Williams pointed to how during this time apart “... gifts have been given that can never be forgotten or laid aside, because God uses every opportunity of loving zeal and devotion to Jesus Christ to pour out his abundance.”

“It is a reminder that when we can no longer see how to hold together, God will still teach us in our separateness; and one day we shall be led, in both thankfulness and repentance, to share with one another.”

Although the service, in which Methodists and Anglicans dedicated themselves to sharing their lives with each other, proves it is possible to work with difference, some questions remain.

The Anglican Methodist Covenant has been so important to Methodists that each circuit of local churches had to vote on it.

Fears

However ask an Anglican and you will probably receive a blank stare. This just adds to the fears of some Methodists that the road to unity actually means the road to an Anglican take over.

Also the practical matter of geography hasn’t been fully addressed: the Covenant is between the Church of England and the Methodist Church that covers England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. Unsurprisingly, Methodist circuits outside of England were more wary about a road to unity.

The current infighting within Anglicanism is also cause for concern. One Methodist friend who has a gay Minster questioned “what are we getting ourselves into?”

A fair question when Anglicans are at war over homosexuality and Methodists are one of the most radical churches when it comes to sexuality issues. They were the only church to argue for the repealing of Section 28 and also tentatively supported the wider availability of the “Morning After Pill.”

With all this in mind, a cynic might wonder whether all this pomp and majesty was necessary. Is this Covenant paved with good intentions actually going to lead anywhere?

David Deeks the General Secretary of the Methodist Church, has argued that “Christians have a huge responsibility in witnessing to a wider society that with all our differences and contradictions, we can actually be respectful enough of each other to find ways of living together.”

Maybe just maybe in this age of suspicion and intolerance, this Covenant could symbolise the hope that humans can value difference whilst being part of the same family. Whether such hopes and aspirations can materialise is another matter entirely.