Ministers gather in Newry for Re:Call
From Monday 2nd to Wednesday 4th February 2026, eighty-one ministers from across the Connexion gathered in Newry for Re:Call.
This time of prayer, worship, and conversation was shaped to help ministers listen deeply to God and to one another. The conversation centred on the question:
“As a church with a clear teaching on human sexuality and marriage, and real diversity of conviction, how is the Holy Spirit inviting us to live faithfully, truthfully, and compassionately with one another as a Methodist family?”
The gathering was marked by openness, honesty, and the presence of the Holy Spirit as ministers engaged with difficult issues, acknowledging the tensions that surfaced not with fear, but with honesty.
We are deeply grateful to our ecumenical facilitators, Mairisine Stanfield (Minister at City Church Bangor), Julieann Moran (Co-ordinator for the Synodal Pathway in Ireland for the Catholic Church) and Brian Cruise (Retired Church of Ireland minister), who created a safe and spiritually attentive environment. The programme wove together Bible teaching, times of reflection, and “Conversations in the Spirit”.
These conversations were challenging but ultimately hopeful and they resulted in an overwhelming commitment from all. Christ’s presence was known at Re:Call, both in the brokenness and in the joy of the Church. The invitation of the Spirit to travel in compassion, to pray for one another, and to continue shaping a community where love is our first instinct was at the heart of all that was shared.
We emerge from Re:Call as a people renewed in Christ, committed to walk together in grace and truth.
Reflecting on Re:Call, the General Secretary and Secretary of Conference, Rev Dr Heather Morris said:
“At the outset, one of our prayers was that God would use the time to bring us closer to Him and with each other; God did that and we are thankful”.