The Methodist Church has said that it regards the Belfast Agreement as "a genuine attempt to make a new beginning" in Northern Ireland.
In a response issued yesterday through its Council on Social Responsibility, it emphasised the obligation on all Methodists to read the document agreed in the multiparty talks, and to vote in the referendum.
The general secretary of the council, the Rev David Cooper, said the church would not tell people how to vote, but had issued guidelines against which people could judge the agreement.
These guidelines pose three questions. Does the agreement increase the prospects of a more compassionate, just and peaceful society? Is it generally fair to the aspirations of the main traditions? Does it represent a reasonable accommodation between nationalist and unionist, bearing in mind the hopes and fears of the people in both parts of the island?
Mr Cooper said the Methodist Church viewed as "very significant" the fact that the Republic was amending Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution and was accepting that the constitutional position of Northern Ireland could not be changed without the approval of a majority of the people.
He said people were now faced with a unique opportunity, and they had to ask themselves if they wanted to go back to a situation where the community was torn apart by sectarianism and violence or if they wanted to go forward. The agreement offered meaningful accommodation, he said.
"If people vote No, it would mean going back to a social, cultural and economic wilderness. Is that the kind of future people want?" he asked.