CONFERENCE Southport. Representatives to Conference from the York and Hull District this year were as follows:

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1 CONFERENCE 2015 Southport Representatives to Conference from the York and Hull District this year were as follows: Revd Amy Walters, Revd David Godfrey, Revd Rory Dalgliesh, Dr Stephen Leah, Mrs Heather Shipman, Ms Siân Henderson, Mrs Jackie Gaitley and Miss Chloe Scaling. Revd Stephen Burgess, as Chair of District, is present at all Conferences. In September representatives to Conference will again be reporting back to Synod via a video recording made during the course of Conference. It is another triumph of technical expertise and editing by Revd Amy Walters. What will we do without her? This written report is in addition to that recording and covers some different issues. Details of how to obtain a copy of the recording will be available at Synod on 12 September Please ask your representatives to Synod for more details.

2 Being a representative to Conference is a great privilege. It is fun, hard work and carries responsibility. If you would like to be part of that group please look out for nomination papers accompanying the Synod agenda and talk to current representatives for more information. Heather Shipman A review of Nestlé and breast milk substitute marketing Two debates at this year s Conference particularly sparked my interest. The first was a report from the Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Investment (JACEI) into Nestlé s marketing of infant formula, written in response to a directive from last year s Conference. The background to this issue involves concerns around the inappropriate promotion of formula feeding in developing countries. The medical concerns relating to unnecessary artificial feeding centre around the fact that a nonbreastfed child is 14 times more likely to die in the first six months than an exclusively breastfed child and that an estimated 1.3 million lives are lost each year due to inadequate exclusive breastfeeding. The reasons for this are various but include issues of milk powder being mixed with unsafe water, inability to sterilise bottles adequately, the cost of the milk and the subsequent temptation to dilute the formula, the lack of the suppression of fertility that goes along with breastfeeding leading to closer spacing of children in families with the impact this has on the mother s health and the financial sustainability of the family. The reasons why women in high risk areas choose to bottle feed their children arise from perceptions that this is the preferred feeding method in the west and must, therefore, be better for the child and more appropriate for the mother. There has been considerable evidence that multi-national companies have targeted vulnerable women in inappropriate ways, offering incentives to health care professionals to promote products, and suggesting that bottle feeding is a healthier and more sophisticated option through subtle marketing. [Save the Children Super Food for Babies report 2013]. Nestlé is not the only company involved in these dubious practices, but the 1 million investment by the Methodist Church has caused Conference to examine the position in detail. The JACEI spokesman did not challenge these findings, stating that..there remains a pressing need to raise the standard of performance within the baby food industry with respect to the International Code. [para 2.1] and the debate in Conference focused around whether the church s investment in Nestlé provided a useful lever with which to drive the company to raise its standards or whether the

3 implicit endorsement of a 1 million investment damages the church s credibility in ethical investment. The majority of speakers in this debate supported disinvestment in Nestlé, citing grounds of principle, challenging the notion that small investors have more influence than external critics, and questioning whether it is right for the church to profit from investment in an ethically-challenged company. The report s response to such questions was that JACEI is of the view that continued active engagement with Nestlé represents one appropriate approach among many to give voice to the concerns of the Methodist church and its members. A vote was held and the report was received by the Conference with roughly two-thirds in favour and one-third against. I think the majority of Conference members were impressed by the detail in the report and the depth of knowledge of the JACEI spokesman and were content to allow the Committee to continue its work in relation to Nestlé as it sees fit. It was good to hear the arguments on both sides and I now have a new interest in this issue which I will pursue as a result of the Conference debate. Siân Henderson Holy Communion mediated through social media The second subject that I found intriguing was the report of the Faith and Order Committee in response to a request from the 2011 Conference to formulate a policy on remote Holy Communion. As someone who engages with social media on a daily basis I wanted to give some thought to internet church and its possible benefits and pitfalls. The report focused particularly on Communion and, although it recognised the many opportunities presented by social media engagement, did not find that Communion could be held by a group not physically present with each other within Methodist understandings of the sacrament. The report stated that Communion is a corporate act of the church and is dependent on the physical gathering of the community. The sharing of the elements, the communal confession, and the sharing of the peace need to take place where that sharing has an embodied reality. There were also concerns that the four-fold sign actions of the president during Communion lose their integrity with a dispersed community. Perhaps most significant of all in the objections was the loss of meaning of the one bread and common cup where each participant is providing their own elements which they then break and distribute themselves. Conference members were generally of the opinion that this is an enormous area for our consideration and one that requires considerable reflection on our practice. Notions of community are changing and a great deal of meaningful personal, and perhaps communal, interaction is now taking place without physical presence. I personally know of some people who are able to engage with others at a far deeper level in disembodied online communities than they are in face to face

4 encounters. We already deviate from the ideal in our practice of Holy Communion using grape juice instead of wine, wafers instead of bread, many cups instead of one, offering extended communion to the housebound and perhaps remote Communion is just another change that we make to accommodate the reality we find ourselves in. There are big questions to be explored about the nature of community which won t be answered quickly or definitively and the integrity of our sacraments will remain a priority. The decision of Conference was to accept the recommendation of the Faith and Order report as an interim measure and to request that further work be undertaken: presbyters and others authorised to preside may not be permitted to use electronic means of communication, such as the internet or video conferencing, in order to invite those not physically present at the celebration of the sacrament to participate by using their own bread and wine. Finally, I was interested in the observation of a Methodist presbyter, who was following Conference online via live streaming, that he had taken part in the Conference Communion service in his own living room, using his own bread and wine, and had felt very much part of that gathered community. And I know this because he posted it on Facebook Siân Henderson Reflections from a first-timer As a first-time Conference representative, walking into the auditorium at Southport Theatre and Convention Centre was quite overwhelming, due to the number of people there. It was an amazing experience to be part of such a large group of Christians praising God that weekend. The 3Generate report was one of the most interesting parts of the Conference. This year, areas highlighted for discussion across the Church were: war, peace and inter-faith work; transgender; contemporary views of sexuality; alcohol and club culture; and radical Christianity. District Policy Committees were also directed to ensure that youth participation is encouraged. It s evident that young Methodists feel that the Church shouldn t shy away from controversial topics, and don t want to be ignored in decision-making processes within the Church. The report from the Working Group on Accessibility to the Conference and the debate that followed was also interesting for me, as a first-time representative. The report highlighted the small proportion of people aged between 40 and 50 attending the Conference, so further work will be done to investigate how we can make Conference more accessible to this group in particular. Chloe Scaling

5 The Love Feast I found it a great privilege to be able to attend the 2015 Methodist Conference in Southport as an elected Representative for the York and Hull District. The Conference venue was great and I was overwhelmed by the whole experience with a good balance of worship and business, which included some interesting debate. I personally found the "Love Feast" a wonderful & emotional experience, something new to me, but which lay people could do in their local Circuit/Churches, sharing bread and the loving cup. During our time in the Love Feast we shared prayers, hymns, broke bread (fruit loaf especially baked for us), and at the same time each of us gave our own particular thanks to God. We then took the loving cup and after taking the drink openly shared experiences (good or not so good), or simply remained silent. This was a very emotional time with a strong sense of true fellowship. As a first timer, I enjoyed every minute and came back feeling refreshed with a certain renewed vigour in Methodism and a better understanding of Connexion. Jackie Gaitley Notices of Motion It was a real privilege this year to be part of the Conference Business Committee, helping to organise the agenda of the Conference and to ensure its smooth running. The committee meets twice between Conferences, both to learn lessons from the previous Conference and to plan the agenda for the forthcoming one. However, the bulk of our work is during the Conference itself, advising on how to re-arrange the business if earlier items have overrun, and also slotting in the many Notices of Motion that Conference representatives put forward. This year, there seemed to be more Notices of Motion than ever - 22 proposed new business for our attention. They gave an opportunity for fresh ideas or vital matters to be debated. Some proposals related to important issues within the Church, such as the idea of a Lay Assembly of the Conference. It was pointed out that for Presbyters there is a Presbyteral session of the Conference, and for Deacons there is the Convocation. But there is no opportunity for lay people to come together and debate issues specific to their calling. The Conference debated the issue, but concluded that it was not for this time. Other issues debated were around such topics as selection criteria for Candidating for the ministry, and the reinstatement of Presbyters. We were reminded in another Notice of Motion that 2016 is the 100 th anniversary of the acceptance in law, of the right to Conscientious Objection. A proposal was made that in February 2016, Christians who have spoken out against war should be celebrated in a web-streamed act of worship. This idea was warmly accepted by the Conference.

6 In other motions, we reflected on the atrocity in Tunisia and called for increased interfaith dialogue to reduce misconceptions and prejudices. We also offered our support, including in the political sphere, for Christians and also those of other faiths, such as Shia Muslims, who are finding themselves under attack. We committed ourselves to support the Home for Good campaign, which raises awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families and to advocacy for refugees in the Mediterranean. We considered our response to the issue of Cohabitation, set up a working party to prepare a draft Conference statement on pornography and also committed ourselves to offering prayerful support to the Methodist Liaison Office in Jerusalem. Stephen Leah Conference Worship With two such champions of evangelism as the President and Vice President of Conference the worship at Conference was of a very high quality, challenging and fun. Steve Wild was his usual self; there was humour and there was a serious challenge to all of us to be evangelists. Jill too echoed this theme and called upon us to remember our heritage. It was a glorious week weather wise and we began our communion service on the Wednesday out of doors on the front by the Marina. But for all of us as District representatives one of the highlights of the week was the reception into full connexion and ordination of our own deacon, Jill Taylor. She looked radiantly happy all the way through and there was such an awareness of the offering she and all the other ordinands had made in answering God s call it almost tears to the eye. We wish them every happiness in future and promise to play our part in supporting them in their work. Heather Shipman Connexionalism etc In both sittings of the Conference we discussed our Connexional identity at some length, and it seems clear that this foundational aspect of our life together needs re-visioning, and should feature in more of our conversations at local level beyond the practical realities of budgets, assessments and stationing. We also talked at length about the place of professional supervision and accountability for ministers, within the same principle that applies to counsellors, social workers and other such professions. That was an important conversation. We spent some time discussing the ethics of church investments, particularly in Nestle, and in fossil fuel companies. Both conversation had the same two strong arguments. The first is that we should disinvest from these companies because of the nature of their business, or their conduct towards possibly vulnerable consumers. The other is that maintaining shares puts us in a position to lobby and pressure such companies to conduct their business more ethically and responsibly, and is

7 something we shouldn't give up. We have a seat at the table in potentially shaping their business into the future. Views were strongly held both ways. Rory Dalgliesh Past Cases Review: On the Monday of Conference, Jane Stacey, former Deputy Chief Executive of Barnardo s, presented the past cases review. This independent report on child and vulnerable adult abuse within the Methodist Church, was based on a two year review of safeguarding cases and practices dating back to the 1950s. The report, 'Courage, Cost and Hope revealed 1885 cases of abuse or neglect within the church, a much larger figure than anyone had expected. There were 23 recommendations contained within the report, concerning changes to policy and practice, all of which were adopted by conference. A number of quite moving and powerful speeches were made following the initial presentation. One speaker spoke of a change in culture needed in the church, and offered the helpful seaside image of a stick of rock. He commented that wherever you break the rock, the lettering goes all the way through. He hoped that good practice in safeguarding would permeate the church in the same way, so that no matter which aspect of church life you broke open, good safeguarding practice would be at the heart of it. At the end of all the speeches, the President decided that a standing vote with heads bowed in humility would be the most appropriate way to receive the report. Standing votes are only used for the most significant decisions at Conference and it was one of the most moving moments when the members of Conference rose is silence, with bowed heads, to adopt the report and its recommendations. David Godfrey This Newsletter has been prepared in Word Bookfold and can be printed back to back on A4 landscape. If you need copies printing off please contact me and I will arrange for that to be done. Our hope, as representatives to Conference, is that we can bring the work of Conference back to the churches in the best way possible. The video will be available for you to show to your Church Councils or Circuit Meetings should you wish as well as making this leaflet available. As Conference representatives we are all available (with the exception of Revd Amy Walters) to talk about any of the issues which arose at Conference throughout the coming year. Please contact any of us and don t feel constrained to only approach the person who has written about an item in the Newsletter or spoken about it on the video. We all sat in on all the debates and should all be able to speak about each and every item. It will also be a challenge for us!

8 Amy has been an excellent Conference colleague and we will miss her wise counsel during the coming year. She leaves us this September to take on the role of Army Chaplain and our best wishes go with her. In Amy s absence we cannot promise you a video next year although Church House are hoping to produce something similar as our contribution has been deemed an excellent idea. Our intention is to make Conference decisions and the working of Conference as accessible as possible to members of our congregations. If you have any other ideas of how we might best do this, please let me know. Revd Steve Wild President Dr Jill Barber Vice President Megan Thomas Youth President