“That They May Be One”
Thinking Ecumenically for the 21st Century
The argument of this issue, in short, is this: All though we might think of ecumenical as something separate and formal, we actually live it all the time. Perhaps it’s time our thinking caught up to our usual practice. The French playwright Moliere may in fact have best captured this
MoreAn Ecumenical Vision for the 21st Century “In Christ God was reconciling the world…and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.” –II Corinthians 5:19 You won’t be surprised that a professor of Ecumenical Studies has chosen to write on the gift of the ecumenical movement for our common Christian pilgrimage.
MoreEcumenism is a useful word, but it’s small. Ecumenical is a useful word, and it is vast. Ecumenism refers to institutional commitment. Ecumenical refers to an organic reality. My first awareness of ecumenism and ecumenical commitments came when I was studying Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was fully involved in ecumenical concerns
MoreLessons from Harry Emerson Fosdick On May 21, 1922, Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick climbed into the pulpit of First Presbyterian Church in New York City. It was a precarious time for the denomination. Congregations were battling each other. Members were chastising members. Conflict seemed the order of the day. The
MoreWhen our family arrived in Denver, CO, in March of 2003, the snow from one of Colorado’s largest storms was still melting. Our daughters Danielle and Daryn were 9 and 6 years old, respectively, and neither had ever seen snow. They were excited to get out of the car and
MoreThe Ecumenical Witness of the PC(USA) in the UN Community The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) affirms that Presbyterians do ministry in partnership. At the United Nations, this involves the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations working with ecumenical partners to address issues based on the policies established by the PC(USA)’s General
MoreEcumenical Advocacy in our Nation’s Capitol When we at the Office of Public Witness step outside into the bustle of Capitol Hill, it is common to see packs of people with purple arm bands or orange neckties or yellow book bags traveling together from one congressional office to another, carrying
MoreA Personal Faith Journey My favorite book as a child was called “I Like Sunday School.” It followed a little white girl who looked forward to learning about Jesus each week at church, just like me. I spent much of my childhood at church: memorizing Psalm 23 in Sunday School,
MoreAn Interview with Rev. Aimee Moiso Rev. Aimee Moiso serves as Chair of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations Unbound: Some people say ecumenism is over, like the denomination, or joining anything beyond the local. How do you understand ecumenism today? Aimee: To say ecumenism is
MoreTo tell the truth, we didn’t think it went all that well. Almost five years ago, four pastors from four different denominations came together to write a proposal for a grant from the Calvin Institute for Worship Renewal. The granting agency warned us that there was a high chance of
MoreThis article is reprinted from Rebecca Todd Peters’ blog at Patheos, “To Do Justice.” For original, see: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/todojustice/2015/07/06/what-motherhood-and-ecumenism-have-in-common/ “There are practical obstacles to women during intervals of pregnancy, giving birth and nursing, of which the female employees usually take extensive leave from their employment. Being occupied in priestly work may
MoreWords both denote and connote, which is to say that they both mean something and suggest a constellation of associated ideas, images, and feelings. Ecumenism means, simply, cooperation among Christian churches. The word connotes, however, a certain kind of cooperation among a certain subset of churches. The image it brings
MoreRuminations on Institutional Ecumenism Picture this: Gathered in the headquarters of a labor union are about 40 persons who want to make it easier for ex-felons to regain the vote as part of re-entering society. The participants’ average age is about 35. Almost half are ex-felons. The rest are from
More“Can I ask you a question? Hugging during the passing of the peace… is that an all-Lutherans thing or just a Lutheran Campus Ministry thing?” Of all the ecumenical worship service’s elements that were different than our usual Sunday UKirk worship (including the use of real wine rather than grape
MoreA Presbyterian, a Lutheran, and two Episcopalians walk into a hospital. Not the start of a joke, I promise. Instead, it was the start of my summer working at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, as a student intern in the Clinical Pastoral Education program. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is
MoreDenominations are a strange thing. Denominations divide us into discrete boxes of distinct doctrine but can also reflect dynamic diversity. For decades, the ecumenical movement in the United States has sought to transcend, unite, and even bypass these institutional categories to invoke a universal body of Christ. At times, that
MoreAsking the Right Questions There are two fundamentally different ways to start. You can start by asking questions like, “What is the future of ecumenism in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?” Or even “What does the future of institutionalized denominations hold?” These questions are important, but counterintuitive as it might seem,
MoreA New Worshiping Community Embracing (but not bound by) Denominational Affiliation “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb Write Blog Article Make Drs. Appointment for Mom Plan Ministerium Meeting Set Up Petting Zoo Finish Wedding Service Pick Up Wedding
MoreThe following sermon was preached at Rutgers Presbyterian Church on November, 22, 2015, Christ the King Sunday. Author Rev. Mark Koenig writes, “I rarely post sermons, however this one received enough positive feedback that I make an exception. Note that this is the manuscript that went into the pulpit; the
MoreCome Join the Journey Toward New Moral and Global Horizons As a New Yorker with no car, I walk a lot. I find myself evaluating a new pair of shoes based on the mileage I imagine clocking in them, and anytime I explore a new area of the city, figuring
MoreEcumenical and Interfaith Justice Work in a Post-Secular Age In 1990, the World Council of Churches released its Guidelines on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies. While this is not the most recent (or perhaps the most widely used) document of its kind on ecumenical or interfaith work,
MoreIn 2004, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches 24th General Council in Accra, Ghana, released The Accra Confession: Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth. The Accra Confession came out of more than a decade of global dialogues among leadership of Reformed churches. At their meeting in Accra,
MoreNew Worshiping Communities in Traditional Denominations One evening last spring, my brother and I were considering whether or not we wanted to go see Mad Max: Fury Road. It was opening that evening, and neither of us had heard much in terms of reviews, so I offered to check out
MorePutting the ‘Movement’ Back in Ecumenical Movement “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.” In 2012 the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in Greece, and the following year their assembly was held in Busan, South Korea. The theme above was the guiding message for both gatherings, the
MoreEvangelism in the Ecumenical Context At its root, the word ‘evangelism’, simply means spreading good news. For Christians, this usually means spreading the good news about Jesus Christ. In recent years, Google and other businesses have co-opted the word; for example, having employees called ‘Google evangelists’, whose job it is
MoreThree pastors from different denominations reflect on their work together in a small town in Iowa, where ecumenical collaboration is simply a way of life. Rev. Catherine Belles, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A couple of weeks ago while eating breakfast, I found myself reading a few articles about interdenominational ministry from
MoreAlmost a century ago, William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, affirmed that the ecumenical movement was the great new fact of our era. [1] At the time, the ecumenical movement seemed to be one of the most vibrant events of the twentieth century, and its range extended overwhelmingly. Uruguayan theologian Julio
MoreA Quick Primer on the National Council of Churches The modern ecumenical movement, of which the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA is a major leader, began some 150 years ago with the advent of youth organizations such as the Young Women’s Christian Association, the Young Men’s
MoreInstitutions, Hospice Nurses, and Midwives This issue of Unbound has been incredibly rich. We’ve heard about ways that the many churches that comprise the Church universal work together to participate in God’s reign – from the halls of power in Washington, DC and the United Nations to small churches in
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