April_2025 FFL

First Friday Letter The World Methodist Council

April 2025

Greetings from the President Greetings in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ.

The World Methodist Council is on the move!

In addition to being present around the world through our member churches and leaders, we are moving in a positive direction as a body of 80+ communions and 80,000,000 people in 132 countries.

We are “on the move” in organizing our work.

Many thanks to the Nominating Committee chaired by Isabel Thomas Dobson for their work in ensuring that our teams are populated and equipped. I was heartened to see most of our Program chairs participate in a Zoom orientation on April 1 led by our Nominating Committee chair and assisted by the General Secretary and President.

We are “on the move” in the ecumenical movement. On page 3 of this newsletter you will find our General Secretary Rev. Dr. Leao Neto’s diary blog describing some of the places where he is representing the World Methodist Council. In addition, Geneva Secretary Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, Methodist Ecumenical Officer in Rome Rev. Dr. Matthew Laferty, and David Hardman, Jane Eesley, and Samar Hashweh with the Methodist Liaison Office in Jerusalem connect us in the locations they serve on our behalf. Add to that the extensive work led by World Methodist Evangelism Executive Director Rev. Dr. Kim Reisman and her team, and our presence is felt all around the world on an ongoing basis.

Most importantly, we are “on the move” in our spiritual formation as individuals and a group. This is because the Triune God we serve is continually moving us forward in discipleship and service. The beautiful reflections written by various members of our Council and found in the Wesley Men’s Lenten Devotional Resource https://wesleymen. org/ are examples of the centrality of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our work and lives.

Thank you for your part in the ministry of the World Methodist Council. Lenten blessings to each of you as we continue “on the move” together.

In Christ, Debbie Debra Wallace-Padgett President, World Methodist Council

We are “on the move” with plans for our first ever Zoom World Methodist Council meetings in September. We are considering two identical ½ day meetings on September 9 and 10 that will be a mix of learning and offering input to some of the dynamic work occurring in ecumenism. Dates, times, announcements of leaders and schedules will be available in coming weeks.

Zoom Orientation for Program Chairs Photo 136007839 © Kabayanmark | Dreamstime.com

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NIFEA Ecumenical Panel Demands Justice In 2020, the World Methodist Council (WMC) joined the NIFEA initiative, which goes back to a meeting in Sao Paulo in 2012, where the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Council for World Mission (CWM) decided to advocate for a New International and Financial Architecture (NIFEA) and to develop alternative economic models to prioritize people and the planet over profit. Every third year, a panel of experts and activists together with the General Secretaries of the sponsoring organizations and the NIFEA staff team meet to access the work, read the signs of the time and set goals for future collaboration.

This year’s convening was especially significant as it preceded the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in June 2025 in Seville and took place amid widening economic disparities, climate devastation, and exploitative financial structures. In her keynote address, Iemaima Vaai, a young adult from the Methodist Church in Samoa, spoke of the pain and despair of Pacific Islanders who must leave their homes because of rising sea levels. She urged us to restore dignity, and to depart “to the shore of justice!”

We were touched and challenged by stories of deep pain and information how a rise of authoritarianism and nationalism causes additional harm for indigenous people, migrants and other vulnerable groups.

In a communique and a letter to our member churches to be sent out soon, we affirm our commitment to life in its fulness and the wellbeing of all, and to the biblical principle of Jubilee, which includes the cancellation of debts, freeing of those who are indebted, and the rest for the land. Listening to and learning from indigenous communities, we will continue to dismantle hierarchical and unequal relationships and systems and develop alternatives for democratic, equitable and regenerative economies. In his closing remarks, WMC General Secretary Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto called for ‘metanoia”, a turn from a self-centered economy. Referring to the commitment of the WMC to be “On the Move”, and accompany people forced into migration, he reminded us that there are signs of hope already now: God is at work in the world, and we are called to be a prophetic and apostolic voice and to act for justice.

Submitted by Bishop Rosemarie Wenner

6th Meeting of the Ecumenical Panel on a New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) Photo credits: Grégoire de Fombelle/WCC

Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, WMC Geneva Secretary World Methodist Council

Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Leao Neto, WMC General Secretary First Friday Letter page 2

From the General Secretary’s Dairy The Vice President, Joshua Rathnam and I participated in the well-organised meeting of the Epworth Old Rectory this March. You can read more about the Rectory in the article from its chairperson Sarah Friswell in this First Friday Letter. I would like to share the Vice President’s and my joy of waking up at the house opposite the Rectory. It was a sunny day and we had a full view of a bright illumined Rectory. Both were fully aware of the significance of the place for us and for Methodism. If John Wesley is the spiritual father of Methodism, Susanna is its mother. She devoted herself to teach and to guide spiritually her children, including, John and Charles. We knew also that in 1709 ‘a brand was plucked from the burning’ in that very place. We gave thanks to God. Thanks also to Dr John Lambert who offered the most wonderful hospitality.

existence under the threat of rising sea levels.

14 years later, I heard from Iemaima, with alarm, that there is now a view that mass migration out of Tuvalu and other Pacific low islands is inevitable and only a matter of time. How could we make the Pacific voice heard? Their struggle, concerns and spirituality?

It is with sadness that I register here the attacks

by Israeli settlers and soldiers on Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, and Susya village south of Hebron. The Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem had organised a visit to those very communities for a group of leaders from supporting churches and the WMC. The visit was reported in the March FFL. The attack targeted the director of the Oscar winning documentary, ‘No Other Land’, Hamdan Ballal. But this was not an isolated case, as David Hardman points out in his article about this attack in this FFL. The violence perpetrated by the settlers is widespread and police instead of defending them, arrested over 20 Palestinians after the attacks in the communities. You can see the film of our visit to that place in this link: https://youtu.be/uozQpatOuEs. The visit happened just a couple of weeks before those specific attacks. We ourselves were closely observed by settlers when in southern Hebron Hills. They did not dare to attack us, international visitors.

Participating at NIFEA - reported here in this FFL

by Bishop Rosemarie - made me even more aware of the plight of the Pacific peoples. I had the opportunity to be at the WCC meeting at the end of March. This is the New International Financial and Economic Architecture steering group. On that occasion, two methodist participants from the Pacific made an important contribution to the meeting: Rev Jenne Pieter and Iemaima Vaai. It made me even more aware that the Methodist/ Wesleyan family (through the WMC) needs to hear the Pacific voices much more carefully. I wrote a resolution on Tuvalu back in 2011, approved by the Council, expressing concern for its very

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1700th Anniversary Celebrated Nicaea The three webinars in March recognising the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea each provided a wealth of insight from panelists from two world regions. Profound thanks are due to Bishop Rosemarie Wenner and the Revd Matthew Laferty whose technological skills enabled scholars and thinkers among ‘the people called Methodist’ to reflect on this first ecumenical Council, what it signified in 325AD and what it might continue to signify.

Thanks to the panel moderators, the Revd Dr Seferosa Carroll, the Revd Professor Edgardo Colon-Emeric, and the Revd Dr Martin Mujinga - their light- touch moderating enabled wide-ranging engagement.

There are so many perspectives on this historic and formative event…

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affirming belief in the God who created the heavens and the earth at a time of critical climate change;

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believing in One who is Light from Light in a world of sin and darkness;

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believing in the Spirit, the Lord, the One formative of the church;

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proclaiming this together as Christians of differing traditions and perspectives, but looking together to Christ as Saviour.

It was so good to avail of the wonders of modern technology to come together from so many places, geographically and theologically, to debate and reflect together. There were those who asked for more of this! Are you up for it?

Power and control were leading motives for calling the Council, but, as one speaker observed, the Lord used Sennacherib for his divine purpose and Constantine’s action facilitated the church’s thinking about the nature, human and divine, of Jesus Christ. It was noted, however, that this expression of faith was spread via European colonialism and that it continued to be used as a tool of power and control.

If you weren’t in a position to join any of the webinars, we invite you to share in the experience by accessing the panel presentations now online through the links below.

Can a 4th century creed speak to the 21st century? Do we need a common creed today as a means to proclaim the Gospel and to witness to unity among followers of Christ? And, in those situations where ecumenical dialogue is viewed with suspicion, might a common creed facilitate relationship?

We are also working on a booklet with the texts of the presentations.

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Nicaea declared Christ to be fully divine and fully human - this is about the ‘enfleshment’ of Christ, not about his maleness.

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The creed urges us to think of the challenge of climate-changing exploitation, the sacredness of the seen and the unseen, of the whole created order.

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Nicaea Americas Webinar Nicaea Europe/Africa Webinar Nicaea Asia/Pacific Webinar

Thank you all for the richness of our exchange and the real expression of connexion round the Methodist family. The world is indeed our parish!

Submitted by Gillian Kingston Chair, WMC Nicaea 1700 Planning Group

There are some Methodist churches which use the creed every Sunday in worship, while others rarely use it at all. However, as one speaker mused, standing together as a community to say the creed is a performative act of faith.

We left each webinar thinking deeply about the things of the faith, about how we express these mysteries and about how this affects our discipleship. For me, this means

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Susanna’s Kitchen, Epworth Old Rectory shares Wesley’s Story Susanna Wesley would be delighted to know that on 18 March 2025, her kitchen was being visited by members of the Epworth Old Rectory (EOR) Trust as part of their annual meeting. The governing body of the Old Rectory, in Epworth, North Lincolnshire, England, is made up of trustees nominated by both the British Methodist Church and the World Methodist Council. It was a pleasure to welcome both the General Secretary and the Vice President of the World Methodist Council, two of our international trustees, to the Old Rectory. They joined with British trustees in person and later other trustees joined the business meeting online.

During the day the trustees were excited to hear from the Outreach, Learning and Engagement Officer, about her work with schools, families and community groups. This is a growing aspect of EOR’s work, giving the opportunity to share the story of the Wesleys and the values of the Methodist Church with school children and young people visiting with their families. A monthly Reminiscence café gives older people with dementia and their carers a safe space to share fellowship over conversations sparked by items in the museum collection.

On the day of the meeting the staff and volunteers were busy preparing the house to re-open to the public from 1 April. The trustees were shown how the house has been set out as it might have looked in 1716, with portraits of the family as well as items of furniture and artefacts from the period. One room houses the Women’s Collection, the archive of Methodist women throughout the centuries, and this particular focus is a great strength of EOR and fits so well in the place where Susanna Wesley nurtured her children.

Outdoors the Physic Garden, inspired by John Wesley’s Primitive Physic, is poised ready for its new planting and new signage and an existing outbuilding is due to be transformed later this year into a expertly-fitted collections store. This work will be carried out mindful of the need to make the building as environmentally sustainable as possible. Both of these projects have received external funding.

Once the business of the annual meeting was complete the trustees discussed ideas for the Old Rectory’s new Forward plan which will take its work forward beyond 2026. There is a strong staff team at the Old Rectory who are working hard to widen the appeal of the museum to new audiences. The garden is a huge asset and is increasingly used for outdoor events with plans for a memory garden to link with the Reminiscence Café work.

There are plans to set up an online shop and improve the social media presence, making the Old Rectory accessible to a worldwide audience. The trustees were keen to explore links with the WMC theme of ‘On the Move’, in particular linking with pilgrimage.

We are grateful to all the trustees for bringing their expertise and enthusiasm to guide the strategic direction of Epworth Old Rectory, a place of such deep significance to the people called Methodists. What a rich legacy we have and what an opportunity and privilege to share our story with visitors and the communities we serve.

Submitted by Sarah Friswell Chair of Trustees

Photos from Epworth Old Rectory World Methodist Council

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Visit to Susya Shows Trend of Violence Another witness added “There were dozens of settlers together with the Israeli soldiers and they were threatening us with weapons, the police were there from the beginning and did not intervene. While the soldiers were pointing their weapons at us, the settlers started attacking the houses of the Palestinians. Hamdan tried to protect his family and the settlers attacked him. He was shouting for help but soldiers started shooting in the air to prevent anyone from coming to his aid. They let the settlers attack him and then the army abducted him.”1

Ahmad Ballal son of the Oscar winner co-director of No Other Land whose father was beaten and arrested in March Photo by Rev. David Hardman On Wednesday 28 February representatives from the World Methodist Council, the Methodist Church in Britain, the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Liaison Office, Jerusalem visited Susya in Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills. We were greeted

by Ahmad a teenager who apologised that his Dad, who would normally meet visitors, was unable to meet us as he was attending the Oscars ceremony!

His Dad, Hamdan Ballal, was one of the directors of the documentary No Other Land which was nominated for, and won, the Best Documentary Feature Oscar 2025.

The documentary is the story of the relationship between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist.

It highlights the difference in their lives as they join together to challenge the intimidation and violence of Israeli policy, including house demolitions, and Israeli Settlers as they illegally seek to take Palestinian land by force in the West Bank.

In the Oscar acceptance speech Israeli co-writer Yuval Abraham said “can’t you see that we (Palestinians and Israelis) are intertwined… my people can only be truly safe if Basel’s (the Palestinian co-writer) people are truly safe and free…”

On 24 March in Susya Israeli settlers violently attacked homes, cars and people. The attack was witnessed by five Jewish activists from the Centre for Jewish Nonviolence. They stated that “They started throwing stones towards Palestinians and destroyed a water tank near Hamdan’s house,” and that ‘‘the settlers destroyed his car with stones and slashed one of the tyres, all the windows and windshields were broken.’’ The witnesses also said that a group of soldiers arrived at the scene alongside other settlers dressed in military uniform, who chased Hamdan to his house and handed him over to the military.

World Methodist Council

Hamdan has since been released having been held overnight in a police station.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated story in the West Bank. In an article from Dec 2024 +972 reported that since 7 Oct 2023 over 50 Palestinian Communities had been forced from their land due to Israeli settler violence and intimidation.2 While such incidents have increased of late, they are a part of a much longer trend. The Israeli human rights group, Btselem, have recorded 1,520 instances of settler violence over the last five years. A quarter of these incidents took place in the presence of Israeli security forces.3 There is a widespread international consensus that Israeli occupation of the West Bank is illegal. This was again reinforced by a ruling of the International Court of Justice in July 2024.4 A sense of natural justice might cause us to feel that those engaged in a pattern of illegal activity should have to face the consequences of their actions, yet effective pressure on the government of Israel is rare.

When faced with an understanding of what is happening in the Holy Land people often ask ‘What can we do?’ Please continue to pray for all who live under the threat of violence and losing their land.

Call on your Governments to work tirelessly for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, to ensure protection to all Palestinians in the West Bank and for Israel to withdraw from their illegal occupation of the West Bank.

Submitted by Rev. David Hardman, Methodist Liaison Office, Jerusalem Staff 1.Hamdan Ballal: Oscar-winning Palestinian director attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested | West Bank | The Guardian 2. The West Bank villages wiped off the map by Israeli settler violence 3. Settler Violence = State Violence | | B’Tselem 4. ICJ says Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal First Friday Letter page 6

WesleyMen Lenten & Easter Devotionals 2025

ON THE MOVE WesleyMen offer Hope God is on the move! John Wesley was known for his “on the move” preaching and ministry, traveling across England to spread scriptural holiness. WesleyMen and the World Methodist Council family are also “on the move” through worship, mission, service, and witness both locally and globally. We all had “moving” and “migration” stories. We also realized that we had stories of ministry with migrants.

Therefore, the World Fellowship of Methodist & Uniting Church Men, or WesleyMen, is offering the “On The Move” Lenten and Easter Devotionals 2025 to everyone for personal or congregational use.

Inspired by the theme of the 2024 World Methodist Conference held in Gothenburg, Sweden, the weekly online devotionals are written by leaders of WesleyMen and the World Methodist Council and include Scriptures based on this year’s Gospel lectionary, moving stories, calls to action, and prayers. The devotionals will be shared via the World Methodist Council and WesleyMen email, websites, and Facebook pages.

It is our hope and prayer that your spirit will be refreshed, that you will encounter Jesus Christ in a new way through sacred words, moving stories, and prayer, and that you will, in doing so, gain the resolve to act.

WesleyMen is a global hub for men’s ministry at the World Methodist Council, with 80 member churches in 132 countries representing over 80 million people. Our mission is to lead men in Christian fellowship with a foundation rooted in Jesus Christ’s actions and words.

Receive The Weekly Offering: Join our mailing list, and the weekly devotion will be delivered directly to your inbox.

Read More!

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Photo credits: Perkins School of Theology/ R. Hipps ID 139799579 © Rumata7 | Dreamstime.com

Please send press releases, articles and resources! Submissions should be a page or less (450-500 words), edited and ready to publish. Contact us by Tuesday, 22 April at communications@worldmethodistcouncil.org if you would like your story to be included in the May edition of the First Friday Letter.

On the Web

About the First Friday Letter

This and past First Friday Letters can be found online at FirstFridayLetter.worldmethodistcouncil.org.

The First Friday Newsletter is a monthly publication of the World Methodist Council.

The World Methodist Council’s website may be found at worldmethodistcouncil.org.

Publisher: Rev. Dr. Reynaldo F. Leão Neto, General Secretary

To subscribe to this newsletter, please email communications@worldmethodistcouncil.org.

Communications: Michaela Bryson All stories and photos, unless otherwise stated, are protected by their respective copyrights. Please do not copy without expressed written permission from the Council.

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