The Methodist Church in Ireland (
Ulster-Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to:
* Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch'') ...
: ''Methody Kirk in Airlann'', ) is a
Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
church that operates across both
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
on an all-
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
basis. It is the fourth-largest Christian denomination in Northern Ireland. The Irish Methodist Church has close links with the
Methodist Church in Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical a ...
.
For the year ending 31 December 2012, there were 105 Methodist ministers, 227 local preachers and over six hundred lay people in leadership positions serving over 200 congregations, which combine to form a total community of 49,394 people. The governing body of the Methodist Church in Ireland is the annual Conference.
History
Methodism was founded in England by
John Wesley
John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
and his younger brother
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include " And Can It Be", " Christ the Lord Is Risen ...
during the 18th century, initially as a movement within the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. John Wesley visited Ireland on twenty-one occasions between 1747 and 1789.
Wesleyan theology
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
remained close to the Anglican criteria of scripture, tradition and reason. It has been suggested that nobody who lived in the 18th century has influenced more people in the years since than John Wesley, and in the dissemination of that influence Irish people have played a significant role.
Methodist belief
The Methodist Church as part of the worldwide church shares those core beliefs which it believes to have been passed down from the time of the Apostles. Those beliefs are founded on the Bible and are summed up in the creeds, which are regularly used in Christian services of all denominations.
It is widely considered that the Protestant Reformation focused on three main matters of belief: the supreme authority of scripture; salvation by faith through faith in Christ, and; the priesthood of all believers. The Methodist Church affirms the importance of these matters.
John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) believed that certain aspects of the Christian Faith required special emphasis. Methodists today still hold to these emphases, known to them as, the 'Four Alls':
* All need to be saved – "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) – Sin is a deep-seated self-seeking from which no-one is immune.
* All can be saved – We can be saved from the consequences of our sin through the work of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
on the cross. This is a Gospel ('good news') for everyone – "God sent the Son into the world... that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17)
* All may know themselves saved – through the promises in scripture, the intense conviction of God's graciousness to us individually, and a different outlook on life leading to a changed quality of living – "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
* All may be completely saved – there can be no limits on what God can do in our lives, as we are continually becoming more and more perfect in love for God and also our fellow humans
Structure
![Knock Methodist Church - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Knock_Methodist_Church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_82367.jpg)
The
Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
works on a democratic structure. There are no bishops or ordained hierarchy. Authority in the Church is vested in the Conference and the trustees.
Classes
The small group (or 'class') has long been an organisational mainstay of Methodism. While now operating under a number of different names, such as Alpha Home groups, prayer triplets, or Bible studies, their essential purpose remains the same: the mutual encouragement and strengthening of church members through close fellowship.
Societies and circuits
These small groups gather, along with other people, to worship together on Sunday and "to work and witness in the community throughout the week". These congregations (or 'societies') can be linked with up to six or seven other congregations in the local area to form a 'circuit'. The direction of a circuit is guided by the Circuit Executive, composed of one senior minister ('Circuit Superintendent'), other ministers, local preachers and a group of leaders from the member congregations.
Districts
There are 73 Methodist circuits on the island of Ireland, which have been gathered into eight 'districts' to co-ordinate and motivate at a more general geographical level. Each district appoints a Superintendent and a Secretary to oversee the work and provide pastoral support to clergy.
Conference
The annual Conference is usually held over the second weekend of June each year. There are several boards and departments which work at the Connexional level to serve individuals and the Methodist Church in Ireland as a whole. Each year Conference elects an administrative and representative president for 12 months.
Social action and education
The
Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
has made a large contribution to Ireland both through education and social action.
Social action
The church has an emphasis on social action in society. One of the church's mottoes is that the organisation is "Friends of all, enemies of none". The Methodist Church maintains a number of "City Missions". Work carried out by the City Missions includes listening services, homeless help, retirement and nursing homes and various other self-help groups. Strongly emphasised is that the relief of social and personal needs are addressed irrespective of creed. The Methodist Church attempts to make a proactive contribution to society as a whole through its Council on Social Responsibility, World Development & Relief Committee and Home missions department. The Church can also claim a positive contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Education
![ChapelofUnity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/ChapelofUnity.jpg)
The Methodist Church maintains two large secondary schools in Ireland, one north and one south.
Methodist College Belfast
God with us
, established = 1865
, type = Voluntary grammar
, religion = Interdenominational
, principal = Jenny Lendrum
, chair_label = Chairwoman
, chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth
, founder ...
has made a significant contribution to the life of Ireland and internationally, with some distinguished past pupils including
Ernest Walton
Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (6 October 1903 – 25 June 1995) was an Irish physicist and Nobel laureate. He is best known for his work with John Cockcroft to construct one of the earliest types of particle accelerator, the Cockcroft–Walton g ...
. Its counterpart in the Republic,
Wesley College Dublin
Wesley College is an independent co-educational secondary school for day and boarding students in Ballinteer, Dublin, Ireland. Wesley College is under the control of a Board of Governors, appointed each year by the Methodist Church in Ireland.
W ...
has a similar reputation. Famous past pupils of Wesley include
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
and Senator
Gordon Wilson. The Methodist Church also maintains a number of primary schools in both the Republic and Northern Ireland.
In addition to these schools the church also maintains a theological college at
Edgehill which has been in existence for over 80 years.
Edgehill Theological College
Edgehill Theological College is the training institution for ministry in the Methodist Church in Ireland. It was founded in 1926 (ratified by Northern Ireland Parliament Act 1928) out of the Theology Department of Methodist College Belfast.
Edg ...
is a constituent college of the
Queen's University, Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
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, top_free =
, top_free_label1 =
, top_free1 =
, top_free_label2 =
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, established =
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, type = Public research university
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and provides a series of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in theology, part-time courses in faith and worship and other areas of church life as well as correspondence courses and seminars. Edgehill is the ministerial training college for the Methodist Church in Ireland. The church also owns an agricultural college in the Republic of Ireland called
Gurteen College
Gurteen College is an agricultural college in County Tipperary, Ireland. Founded as Gurteen Agricultural College by the Methodist Church in Ireland in 1947 it was officially opened by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Patrick Smith, on October 11, ...
.
Children's and youth work
Methodism has a long tradition of organised youth work, currently instigated and supported by the Irish Methodist Youth and Children's Department
MYC
''Myc'' is a family of regulator genes and proto-oncogenes that code for transcription factors. The ''Myc'' family consists of three related human genes: ''c-myc'' (MYC), ''l-myc'' (MYCL), and ''n-myc'' (MYCN). ''c-myc'' (also sometimes referre ...
(formerly Department of Youth and Children's Work). The first full-time general secretary was appointed over thirty years ago. IMYC exists to establish links between the Church and children and young people, so that every generation in the church's life is appreciated and listened to. This involves representing and advocating youth and children's issues within the whole life of the Church as well as providing training to ministers and youth and children's workers.
The current general secretary is Gillian Gilmore, and her predecessors have included: Rev Dr David Rock, Rev David Neilands; Rev Dr Johnston McMaster, Rev Winston Good and Rev John Knox, the department's first general secretary. Current members of staff are: Dani Lorimer (Office Administrator), Lisa Best, & Gemma Barclay (Youth Ministry), Amy Anderson (Communications) & Leanne Hill (Training & Development). Previous members of staff include: Rev Dr Janet Unsworth, Jill McVitty, Kerry Scarlett, Janette McCormick, Nicky Blair and Raymond Ruttle (Children's Ministry) Rev Dr Julian Hamilton & Stephen McCann (Youth Ministry) and Sadie Bamford, Tara Crawford, Sharon Heath, Tina Barnett, Wendy Johnston & Liza Wiseman (Office Administrators).
It offers a year out discipleship and evangelism programme known as Team on Mission (TOM) which is currently in its 31st year, members including Amy McSharry, Sara Fullerton and Aaron Sweeney; TOM succeeded the older programme known as Youth Evangelism Team (YET). The Department also runs a number of flagship events such as Follow the Star (an interactive prayer room for under 8s), Soul Mates (For ages 9–13), Overflow (for young leaders aged 15+) and Autumn Soul (for ages 13+).
''The Methodist Newsletter''
''
The Methodist Newsletter'' is a newsletter produced by the Methodist Church in Ireland every month (except August).
Contribution to Northern Ireland
Eric Gallagher is an example of Methodist people who have made an arguably enormous contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland. As president of the Methodist Church in Ireland he was the first Protestant churchman who met with IRA representatives in
Feakle, County Clare
Feakle (historically ''Feakell'' and ''Fiakil'', from ) is a village in County Clare, Ireland, in the Roman Catholic parish of the same name.
Location
"Paroiste na fiacaile" means parish of the tooth. A legend says that the tooth of Mochonna, t ...
in the 1970s to unsuccessfully try to broker a peace. The meeting was broken up by the
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
, but the fugitive IRA men had already left.
Gordon Wilson
Further commitment to the Peace Process was achieved from seeming tragedy in 1987.
Gordon Wilson, a member of the Church was the father of Marie Wilson, one of 11 victims of the Enniskillen Remembrance Sunday Parade bombing by the Provisional IRA. He came to national and international prominence with an emotional television interview he gave to the BBC the same evening in which he described his last conversation with his daughter, a nurse, as they both lay buried in rubble.
Wilson declared at the end of his interview that he forgave his daughter's killers and urged loyalist paramilitaries not to take revenge for her death. This was seen as a turning point in the peace process, that somebody so soon after such a disaster was able to forgive his own daughter's murderers. His contribution was honoured when he was invited to take a seat in
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
by request of the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
in 1993.
In 2005, The Church was once again thrown into the centre of the Peace Process as a former president of The Methodist Church in Ireland, Rev
Harold Good
Harold Good (born 1937 in Derry) is an Irish Methodist who in 2005 played a vital role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
He trained as a hospital chaplain at Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis in 1967–68. He served as a minister in ...
, was asked to be an independent witness for the historic decommissioning of
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
arms.
Ecumenical relations
The Methodist Church is a member of several ecumenical bodies, including the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
, the
Conference of European Churches
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions.
In its commitment to Europe as a who ...
,
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Cen ...
, and the
Irish Council of Churches The Irish Council of Churches (ICC) (founded 1922, reorganised under its present name 1966) is an ecumenical Christian body. It is a sister organisation of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
Member churches are currently:
* The Antiochian ...
.
Into the future
In 1998 The Methodist Church in Ireland embarked on a period of reflection on its position within Irish Society which it called 'Dreaming Dreams'. Although in many areas of the country the Church is increasing in numbers it is aware that as a whole numbers are decreasing in church membership across the country in every denomination.
The church has since published its 'ConneXions' plan. The core vision of ConneXions is that each local Church will reflect the life of Christ in its own area. Each church was asked to participate in a community survey so as to find a policy in each church which will best match the needs of its locality. The Methodist Church hopes that this plan when fully implemented will put the entire connexion in a strong position for regrowth and redevelopment in the 21st Century whilst holding fast to the emphasises of the Wesleyan tradition on which it was formed.
In 2002 The Methodist Church in Ireland signed a covenant for greater cooperation and potential ultimate unity with the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
.
Presidents of the Methodist Church of Ireland
![Rev](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Rev._Dr._Heather_Morris_President_of_the_Methodist_Church_in_Ireland.jpg)
* Rev. John Arthur Walton (father of Nobel Physics prize winner Ernest Walton)
* Rev.
John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to:
Politicians United Kingdom politicians
* J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918
*John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...
(1929)
* Rev. William Henry Massey (1936-1937), died in office.
* Rev. W. E. Morley Thompson (1948-1949)
* Rev.
Eric Gallagher (1967)
* Rev. Sydney Frame (1985 - 1986)
* Rev. William I Hamilton (1986 - 1987)
* Rev. George Morrison (1987 - 1988)
* Rev. Stanley Whittington (1988 - 1989)
* Rev. Ken Best (1996-1997)
* Rev. Dr. Norman Taggart (1997-1998)
* Rev. David Kerr (1999-2000)
* Rev. S. Kenneth Todd (2000-2001)
* Rev. Dr.
Harold Good
Harold Good (born 1937 in Derry) is an Irish Methodist who in 2005 played a vital role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
He trained as a hospital chaplain at Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis in 1967–68. He served as a minister in ...
OBE (2001-2002)
* Rev. Winston Graham (2002-2003)
* Rev. Jim Rea MBE (2003-2004)
* Rev. Dr. Brian Fletcher (2004-2005)
* Rev. Desmond Bain (2005-2006)
* Rev. Ivan McElhinney (2006-2007)
* Rev. Roy Cooper (2007-2008)
* Rev. Aian Ferguson (2008-2009)
* Rev. Donald P. Ker (2009-2010)
* Rev. Paul Kingston (2010-2011)
* Rev. Ian D. Henderson (2011-2012)
* Rev. Kenneth Lindsay (2012-2013)
* Rev. Dr. Heather Morris (2013-2014), the first woman to hold the position.
* Rev. Peter Murray (2014-2015)
* Rev. Brian Anderson (2015-2016)
* Rev. Bill Mullaly (2016-2017)
* Rev. Dr. Laurence Graham (2017-2018)
* Rev. William Davison (2018-2019)
* Rev. Sam McGuffin (2019-2020)
* Rev. Tom McKnight (2020-2021)
* Rev. Dr Sahr Yambasu (2021-), the first non-white person to lead one of the Four Main Churches in Ireland.
* Rev. David Nixon (2022-2023)
* Rev. David Turtle (2023-2024), President Elect
Gallery
File:Methodist Church in Ballintra - geograph.org.uk - 913401.jpg, Methodist chapel in Ballintra
Ballintra () is a village in the parish of Drumholm in the south of County Donegal, Ireland, just off the N15 road between Donegal town and Ballyshannon. Ballintra lies on the northern bank of the Blackwater river (sometimes referred to as t ...
File:Chapel-athlone.jpg, Methodist church in Athlone
Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...
File:Thomas Street Methodist Church, Portadown. - geograph.org.uk - 571138.jpg, Thomas Street Methodist Church in Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
File:Portrush Methodist Church - geograph.org.uk - 222870.jpg, Methodist church in Portrush
Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway station as well as most hote ...
File:County Wexford - Gorey United Methodist and Presbyterian Church - 20180923192900.jpg, Gorey
Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is beside the main M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the ''Gorey Guardian''.
As a growi ...
United Methodist and Presbyterian Church
See also
*
History of Christianity in Ireland
This article details the history of Christianity in Ireland. Ireland is an island to the north-west of continental Europe. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and No ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Methodist Church in Ireland
Methodist denominations
Members of the World Council of Churches
Religious organizations established in 1784
*
Protestantism in Ireland
Protestantism in the United Kingdom