Two denominations with historic ties to John Wesley are strengthening their ties with each other.
Driving the move, in part, is the increasing migration of United Methodists from around the globe to Canada.
The United Methodist Council of Bishops and leaders of The United Church of Canada, at separate meetings this spring, each approved an interim covenant that mutually affirms both denominations’ clergy and opens the door to greater cooperation across national borders.
The covenant also declares the leaders’ intention to propose a formal relationship between the two denominations to their top policymaking bodies — the United Methodist General Conference and the Canadian church’s General Council. Both assemblies are next set to meet in 2028.
The denominations’ leaders see the interim agreement as a crucial step toward full communion, which would allow clergy from one denomination to serve in the other.
“This interim covenant deepens a friendship in Christ that allows The United Methodist Church and The United Church of Canada to walk more closely together in witness, worship and shared mission for the sake of a world God so loves,” said Council of Bishops President Ruben Saenz Jr. He is also bishop of the Horizon Texas Conference.
The Council of Bishops approved the interim covenant at its Spring meeting in Jacksonville, Florida.
The interim covenant comes as The United Church of Canada is preparing to welcome the 2026 Council of Bishops Leadership Gathering, which is scheduled Oct. 20-24 at Knox United Church in Calgary.
The Rev. Michael Blair, The United Church of Canada’s general secretary, said he is grateful that the two denominations are at a point where they can now officially move forward with conversations that have mainly taken place on the side over the years.
Migrant Communities Increasing in Canada
The rise in migrant communities has added urgency to push for the denominations to cooperate more closely. In recent years, an increasing number of United Methodists from the Philippines and Africa, especially Zimbabwe, have moved to Canada and sought to form worship communities like they had at home.
Both The United Methodist Church and United Church are members of the World Methodist Council — an ecumenical organization of more than 80 denominations in the Wesleyan family. The group encourages its members to consult with each other before planting churches in each other’s territory. After all, the group’s goal is to spread the Methodist expression of Christianity, not create competition.
Some United Methodist newcomers requested permission from The United Church of Canada before setting up their own congregations. But that hasn’t always been the case.
“The United Methodist Church acknowledges insensitivity in this developing reality as we express deep appreciation for the generous conversations with The United Church of Canada,” Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, United Methodist co-ecumenical officer, said in a statement to The United Church of Canada.
Under the agreement, United Methodist leaders pledge to consult with their Canadian counterparts before establishing any new United Methodist congregations in the country. The leaders of both denominations also commit to the development of shared ministries among migrant populations.
The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the denomination’s mission agency, has long worked with migrant communities around the globe.
Strengthening the denominations’ ties is both practical and missional, said Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth of the Greater Northwest Area. “At their best, they are spiritual commitments to walk together, learn from one another and join God’s work in the world,” he said. “We do not need to compete where we can collaborate. We do not need to duplicate what can be shared.”
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