Methodist leader offers unity with Anglican Church

The Rev David Gamble, president of the Methodist Conference, said the church would be prepared to change and even end its separate status for the sake of the "Kingdom".

His remarks, made in a presentation to the General Synod, come nearly seven years after the Church of England and the Methodist Church healed a 200-year old rift with a national covenant between the two churches.

The national agreement was signed in London in 2003, following an unprecedented regional agreement set at York Minster, and committed the two churches to work closely together.

"We are prepared to go out of existence not because we are declining or failing in mission, but for the sake of mission," he told the Church of England's national assembly meeting in London yesterday.

"We are prepared to be changed and even to cease having a separate existence as a Church if that will serve the needs of the Kingdom."

The covenant included commitments to co-operate, a set of agreed affirmations of belief and a commitment to work towards the "organic unity" of the two churches.

Mr Gamble told the General Synod of the Church of England its effect around the country was "patchy".

"In some places there are very close working relationships and exciting new initiatives. In others you could spend quite a long time trying to find any signs of the covenant in practice."

Dr Richard Vautrey, vice president of the Methodist Conference and a GP in Leeds, spoke about the work carried out together by the two churches.

He said: "We can and do work together on issues of social justice, on issues that we both know God calls on us to challenge our society and our world."

A spokeswoman for the Methodist Church of Great Britain, which has around 265,000 members and 5,800 churches, insisted there was "no suggestion" that it would be "swallowed up" by the Church of England or lose its name.