NEWS
News from our member churches and the wider ecumenical movement, with our monthly roundup and a library of stories from ecumenical bodies around the world.
Methodists and Catholics complete a twelfth round of dialogue
The international commission for dialogue between Methodists and Roman Catholics, which was set up in 1967, has completed the twelfth round of its work.
Methodist Conference 2026
The Methodist Church of New Zealand’s Conference for 2026 was set for Wesley College, Paerata, from 2 to 7 October, under the theme “Maranga!
Methodist and Uniting Church women gather in Auckland
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland hosted the 15th World Assembly of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women from 25 to 29 August, on the theme “Arise and Shine for the Glory of God is Upon You”, from Isaiah 60:1.
Weaving an Indigenous thread into the World Methodist Council
About 180 people from the worldwide Methodist family met in San Salvador from 13 to 17 August for the World Methodist Council meeting, on the theme “The Kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”, and visited places connected with Archbishop Óscar Romero.
Pope Leo writes to the Methodist and Waldensian Synod
The Synod of the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches in Italy met in Torre Pellice, in Piedmont, from 22 to 26 August, and Pope Leo XIV sent the synod his good wishes.
Two hundred years of Christianity in Tonga
Leaders of Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa, among them the president, Te Aroha Rountree, the vice-president, Rev.
The president of the Methodist Church of New Zealand on faith and identity
Dr Te Aroha Rountree, president of the Methodist Church of New Zealand Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa, spoke with the WCC about her whakapapa in the far north, her years teaching at Trinity Methodist Theological College, and life in a bicultural church where Māori ways of knowing shape how scripture is read.
Remembering Jione Havea
The World Council of Churches paid tribute to Rev.
A feast of creation for the whole church
More than 600 church leaders met online in March to explore the Feast of Creation, kept on 1 September or the Sunday after, which has its roots in the Eastern Orthodox calendar.
Southern Eastercamp turns thirty
Southern Eastercamp began in 1996, when Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian youth ministries brought 360 Canterbury teenagers together to hear the Easter message.
A new Anglican and Methodist committee meets in London
The new Anglican-Methodist International Coordinating Committee, hosted by the World Methodist Council, met for the first time in London from 23 to 28 February.
A shared welcome for two theological colleges
A joint pōwhiri in Meadowbank, Auckland, on 15 February opened the academic year for Trinity Methodist Theological College and the Anglican St John’s Theological College, Hoani Tapu, with students, staff and whānau of both colleges present.
Methodists and Catholics in dialogue in Aotearoa
Rev.
Avondale Union Church dedicates its renewed buildings
In the first Bush Telegraph column of 2026, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Right Rev.
A young theologian on the Week of Prayer in Africa
Rev.