The Methodist Conference 2004 commenced on Saturday 26th June and will continue until Thursday 1st July at Loughborough University. This gathering at the university campus is the first residential Methodist Conference in the UK. So far in the conference many issues have been discussed and much grace shared between the members. Below is a brief summary of the events so far:

Saturday 26th June
At the weekend the gathering was commenced by a grand procession of civic and university guests, followed by a meet and greet session between the District hosting Conference, the university and local council, and the world church guests.

The main incident on the first day’s agenda was the thanking of the old and election of the new President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference. Courteously the newly-initiated members were assured and comforted into their new positions by the prayers of the Methodist people.

Rev. Will Morrey, President of the Conference, confronted the Church in a challenge to themselves to actually listen, and not just hear. He drew a picture of a Listening God, which seemed to carry on the theme from last year’s President, Rev. Neil Richardson, of a ‘God-centred Church’. Morrey, who has a hearing impairment, attempted to explain the difference between the two and how it is possible to open ourselves up through listening diligently. He continued that if this can be reached then great results can be achieved.

During the first day, minds were also focussed onto the theme of ‘Where are we Heading?’. This section aimed to give direction and set priorities for the church. The world members, in particular, gave a lot of insight here in creating new ways of evangelising and serving communities from not only the UK but also the world.

Throughout the day, the conference gave time for reflection, prayers and praising, and special time was put aside for members to take part in fellowship to share experiences and to give each other strength. Many members agreed that having the conference entirely on the university campus has allowed the members to bond closer together and to get to know each other better.

Sunday 27th June
The second day of the conference saw many local congregations join together, and the university’s grand sports hall was filled with worship and praising to God. The Sunday Service saw intercessory prayers focus on a “rainbow God”, who uses the variety of colours in the rainbow to focus on the many different aspects of life. A great mixture of traditional and contemporary praise songs were used to move and inspire the whole congregation.

Myrtle Poxon, Vice-President of the conference addressed the gathering and called upon Christians everywhere to break down the walls in society that are stopping God reaching out to people. She emphasised, through sharing her experiences as a mission partner and Deacon, of the need to renew efforts to build bridges with society, and to bear each others burdens.

It is apparent that the presentations this year have moved forward in using newer technology, and this has shown the willingness of the Methodist Church to move forward into the modern world in finding innovative ways of reaching out to people.

Monday 28th June
The new week saw the Conference take on a more business-like feel as reports and agendas came out to be discussed. The opening session of the day saw the gathering focus on ‘vision’, and how it is not just physical vision that is important, but it is the spiritual vision that we must aim to set up well and guide us.

Other important issues discussed were the voting rights of the overseas representatives, equal opportunities, and future Conference plans. More grace was poured upon the gathering by guest speakers, the Archbishop of Wales and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr Rowan Williams presented his investigations into the essential things that a life of Church are, as well as covering other wide-ranging issues. Further reviews were made regarding work in Wales and developments in Scotland, and of the good ecumenical relationships set up with these groups.

The Remainder of the Conference
Over the remaining period, the Conference aims to further develop the aims of the Methodist Church and to give more strength and hope to its members. In particular remaining discussions will take place on “The Future of Methodism”, “Flexible Planning Structures in District Areas”, “Guidelines on Theology and Inter-Faith Relations” amongst many other things. These topics will be interspersed with many prayer, praise and fellowship gatherings, and the Conference will be concluded on Thursday 1st July.