Headline: Catholic Priest Admits, "I Love Jesus!"

Every once in a while, I hear a talk that is so good that the best I can do is simply get out of the way and let the presenters speak directly to you, the readers.

Such was the case between these two gentlemen and friends at the National Workshop on Christian Unity, held this past April, 2016, in Louisville, KY. They shared reflections on how working for Christian unity (i.e. ecumenism) has changed them and has given them a new freedom. 

Small edits were made for sentence clarity, and the reflection at the end is mine.



L-R: Rev. John Armstrong and Rev. Don Rooney.
Photo credits: Rev. Mary Finklea.

Fr. Don Rooney is a Catholic priest and Pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, MD. He also just "retired" after six years as President of CADEIO, which is the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Officers.

Rev. John H. Armstrong is an Evangelical minister, and has been a pastor, author and Wheaton College professor. He also is founder of the Act3 Network, which strives to promote missional-ecumenism.

Without further adieu . . . 

Fr. Don Rooney
(at the National Workshop on Christian Unity 2016, with snippets added from his talk in 2015)

I want to give a witness, because my relationship with Evangelicals has completely changed my particular ministry as a Catholic pastor. It was something very simple that happened the first time I went to an ecumenical conference. Someone sat across from me at one of our meetings and asked me point blank, "Do you mean to tell me, as a Catholic priest, that you love Jesus?"

I remember my face just went red. I felt ashamed. Where have I failed that somebody wouldn’t know that?

I finally collected myself and said, "Yes, I do love Jesus. Absolutely. That's why I am a priest--it is not for the pay!" [Laughter ensues from the crowd.]

So that weekend, I went back to my home parish. There are 3-4 times a year where I preach at all the Masses. One of them is called the Parish Life weekend. We have 10 Masses every weekend, as we have a large congregation but a small building.

So to give this homily, I decided I was going to take advantage of this experience. I got up, and I said, "In case you have never heard me say this, I want to start off by saying, 'I love Jesus,' and I’m sorry that I’ve never said that to you out loud."

People don't know that, because we [as priests] never say it. I learned that by being together [with other Christians]. I learned how to say that in public. Isn't that strange? We are just not formed like that.

I think we have so much to learn. The Catholic Church writes that we have not just the possibility but obligation to discover the seeds of truth in all peoples, especially other Christians. When we find that truth, it is refreshing and it is restoring, and it causes us to become better people. I am a better priest because I was a participant in this ecumenical process. I probably didn't think I would ever say that, but here am I saying it in public.

It just doesn’t sound Catholic to say "I love Jesus" out loud, right? And that’s where being part of this ecumenical ministry has changed me.   

Now, it has given me so much freedom.

Rev. John H. Armstrong:

I’d like to commend what my friend has just said, by affirming something. That is, if you want to know—Catholics or anyone else—the easiest way to get to the heart of an Evangelical, don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about nonsense, just state one thing: That you love Jesus.

And you’ll find that we may be really messed up folks, but when I meet someone who says they love Jesus, and when they say it with the same humility and truth that we just heard, then I start weeping on the inside, saying, "That’s it!" That’s what we ought to be founded on: Loving Him. From there can do so much that we have never even imagined. 

I think that’s the moment that we are discovering in these ecumenical talks. We can do theology, but it’s not just a theological dialogue—we can respect unity in diversity and those kinds of things you hear in the ecumenical dialogue. But do we love Jesus? Can we pray together? Can we talk together? Can we share meals together? Can we walk together?

And of course we pray, Amen.

Reflection

It sounds like a headline right from The Onion to read: Catholic Priest says, "I Love Jesus!" It is both tragic and sad that such a statement could be considered worthy of a news headline.

This discussion illustrates how much Christians have lost because of our denominational divisions--we may not realize it, but we have all given up parts of our own inheritance in order to draw a hard line between "those other folks." We end up thinking things such as:

Reading the Bible is a Protestant thing to do;
Being liturgical is a Catholic thing to do.

Having a personal relationship with Jesus is an Evangelical thing to do; 
Valuing the historical tradition is a Catholic thing to do. 

And so on and so forth.

Yet, those activities belong to all of us. There is nothing in the Catholic Church which is not steeped in the Biblical tradition. It was unthinkable for early Church Fathers and Mothers not to pour over Scripture in their personal reflections. 

In the same way, some Protestants and most Evangelicals may be looser about utilizing liturgy, but even celebrating Christmas and Easter acknowledges a value for the whole community to gather together at a single moment to commemorate a specific part of the faith.

Those are just two examples, but they illustrate a point.

We are so silly that we end up giving up what is rightfully ours just to maintain our divisions. It boils down to cutting our nose to spite our face. Divisions among Christians are ultimately self-defeating: It is very unlikely--if not completely impossible- to put up a wall between another group without also putting up a wall inside of yourself.

We become so invested in these divisions, hatreds and misconceptions, that we would rather blow up our own inheritance than acknowledge the legitimacy of someone else. Even people who do not maintain any conscious hostility to other denominations can end up living a more limited expression of their faith along these lines, as Fr. Rooney's example shows.

It should not feel like a person is giving up his Catholic identity to say, "I love Jesus," yet that is what happens when we invest more in our divisions than in our unity.

We are raised to believe that Catholics do "Catholic" things and Protestants do "Protestant" things. We forgot that those other things are often a part of our tradition, too. A Catholic could end up thinking that by reading the Bible he is watering down his Catholic identity. An Evangelical could think she is watering down her Evangelical identity by seeing her faith experience through the lens of Church history.

The ecumenical movement teaches us over and over again that a Catholic often feels more Catholic and a Protestant feels more Protestant when they reach out across denominational lines.

Ecumenism reminds us that the journey out is ultimately a journey in. In reaching out to others in charity, we end up healing a part of ourselves. By opening ourselves up to others, we learn that they hold long lost gifts of our own to give back to us.

It is like visiting an aunt that has been estranged from the rest of family for 50 years. You reach out to build a bridge and attempt to heal an old wound. When you go to her house for the first time, she shows you a shoebox of old photos and letters about you that reveal missing pieces of your past that you never knew.

I am reminded of Abraham trusting God so much he was willing to sacrifice his only son (Genesis 22). Abraham discovered that through trust in God he ended up not having to lose anything at all but in fact gained a lot.

Likewise, when divisions run deep, it can feel like sacrificing your own flesh and blood for a Catholic to reach out to a Protestant, or visa versa. It can feel like you are giving up everything you hold dear. When you base your identify on being opposed to another group or person, then there is some truth in that. Yet, just like Abraham discovered, trusting God did not bring the gloom and doom he imagined. In fact, God just opened up the Promised Land and a perpetual future of abundance for Abraham and his descendants.

The Abraham story is complex, because I wouldn't want to suggest that Christian discipleship doesn't come with its share of sacrifice. But the story does illustrate the importance of trusting God, because what we perceive as an inevitable outcome of misery often does not turn out that way at all when we trust in God. We simply can't see it yet with our limited human vision, which is why faith is so important to help us over that hump.

All enemies hold a key to ourselves in this way, whether they be religious, political or social rivals. This is why when you love your enemy, you heal yourself and find your fullness.

The example of Fr. Rooney shows how entering into the process of ecumenical reconciliation between denominations can help us all reclaim the pieces of the Christian experience that we have either lost or have become afraid to embrace because some other group has embraced them so strongly. Saying "I love Jesus" is not a Protestant thing to do--it is something all Christians can and should claim as our birthright!

It is a surprising paradox--in an attempt to reach out to another group, we end up reclaiming a lost part of ourselves. This is why ecumenism is not some nicey-nice icing on the cake, but it is central to the Christian mission.

The Body of Christ is One. Attempting to cut off a member of that body has the same impact as cutting off a limb from your own body. In the midst of our anger and defensiveness, we can lose sight of that. But we all lose on a personal, visceral level, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, when the Body is divided.

Ecumenism in Action and Contemplation

I met Lutheran minister Mary Finklea early in my Religious Unity Tour.  She attended both the social justice activism of Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) as well as the denominational dialogues around unity at the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU). 

Rev. Finklea is intuitively aware that both of these efforts are like two sides of the same coin, and she would strongly urge other Christians to attend both.  Her words got me thinking:  Each one is a complete ministry in and of itself, but there is something in how they interplay together that offers a broader vision and fosters a more complete spiritual discipline for the participant. 

Together, they provide a model for how all Christians--from clergy members to the people in the pews--can work towards Christian unity.

Rev. Mary Finklea taking an offering for the poor. http://bit.ly/1JTzGj4

The relationship happens "in the doing" at EAD--Christians work together for a common cause, such as prison reform, food insecurity or the environment.  John Lennon said, "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans."  In the case of EAD, Christian unity happens while we are living out the commandments.  Sometimes we just need to stop talking about our differences and get busy doing something together.

After working together for a while, we may look back and be surprised to realize that our relationship has improved on its own.  Perhaps differences have softened or simply seems less relevant.  Walls come down as we see into the hearts of each other and witness the gifts that God has given to other denominations.

However, I would tell my social justice colleagues not to stop there.



The pieces do not always automatically fall into place.  Our work together can be hampered by denominational wounds, misunderstandings and differences of opinion.  Hurt feelings can get swept under the rug if ignored.  It can help get the justice ball rolling to set some of this straight.  It may take years or even centuries to work out all of the differences, but what is helpful in the here and now is that we commit to the process of working it out. 

 

It is important to take the time to intentionally work on our relationship with each other.  We do just that at the NWCU--building on the positives and facing the differences.  For example, Catholics and Lutherans work on the specific problems between Catholics and Lutherans.  The same happens between Methodists, Episcopalians and so on. 

 

This sensitive work sometimes happens in windfalls and other times is painstakingly slow.  It can only go as fast as it can go.  Like a therapeutic relationship, all parties speak their truths and listen to the others.  If and when all parties are ready, forward movement can happen.

The shared experiences and relationships we build while working together for justice can provide the context and a cushion for a dialogue.  After all, refusing to join together until all differences are reconciled can be a catch-22:  You often have to be in motion to generate the raw material to work with for that reconciliation to even begin.  On the flip side, our missionary mandate call us to cross both the external frontiers in society as well as the internal ones, too.  Our social justice witness can be compromised if we propose a reconciliation in society that we as denominations are unable to achieve ourselves.

 

Together, they provide a model of interaction, deeply rooted in Scripture and the Christian tradition, of action and contemplation--in the doing we reflect, and in our reflection we are compelled to do. 

  

Thanks be to God, after all:  They will know we are Christians--and we ourselves will recognize each other as Christians--by our love. This includes the love we have to share with society through our charity and justice work, as well as the love we have for each other to truly listen to each other, hold each other's concerns in patience and empathy, heal wounds and work through conflicts.

7 Reasons We Are in a Kairos Moment in Catholic-Evangelical Relations

"Kairos is the time of God's activity, a time where we sense God may be trying to get our attention, where we anticipate He may be up to something and it would be wise for us to pay attention in this suspended time and place." -- J. R. Briggs

The relationship between Catholic and evangelical Christians has been frosty throughout history, to say the least.  It has even been downright hostile at times, and there are parts of the world where it still continues to be dangerous.

Reverend John Armstrong is an evangelical minister and lifelong advocate for Christian unity.  He argues that something special is happening right now, and it has been intensifying over just the last few years.  The Holy Spirit is drawing Catholics and evangelicals into positive relationships in many and varied ways.  He asserts that we may be in the middle of a true kairos moment.  "Something is happening," he says.

The following points are loosely adapted from a talk he gave at a Catholic-evangelical dialogue session at the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU) in Charlotte, NC, in April.  Additional comments have been added from other speakers as well as my own thoughts.

Are we in a kairos moment?  See for yourself!

Rev. John Armstrong speaking at CharlotteONE in April 2015.

 

1. Pro-Life Movement

Many Catholics and evangelicals first "met" each other in the protest line at abortion clinics and at the March for Life.  While they may have previously interacted in the workplace or elsewhere in the community, this was for many the first time they were getting to know each other as people of faith.

Their solidarity was not instantaneous.  A Catholic priest recounted to me an instance in Arkansas.  He helped form a pregnancy crisis center with other evangelical leaders in the early 2000s.  He and other Catholics supported the effort with funding and sweat equity.  However, when it was time to form a Board of Directors, the priest was snubbed out.  Potential candidates were given a statement of faith to sign, and he was not even afforded the opportunity.  The message was clear:  Catholics were welcome but only in a very cautious and limited way.

The walls only began to come down as Catholics and evangelicals continually stood shoulder to shoulder, professing their common belief in the sanctity of unborn life and enduring the repercussions together.  As Armstrong points out, "they were often in same jail cell together.  They started talking and discovered they have so much in common.  This was really the narrative."  Veterans of the pro-life movement developed an affinity for each other that might not have happened otherwise.

2.  Pro-Family Movement

Along with the pro-life movement, many Catholics and evangelicals have been finding common ground in their approach to the family.  This includes a wide array of aspects.  Armstrong offers the example of Natural Family Planning (NFP) as an unexpected point of convergence between the two groups.  He tells Catholics:  "You might be surprised how significantly NFP has influenced young evangelicals who are not convinced that many forms of birth control are the way they should go as people of faith." 

He admits that NFP has often been dismissed as a silly Catholic tradition among evangelicals who have traditionally had few qualms about artificial contraception.  Today, it is younger evangelicals who are exploring NFP with great sincerity.  "There are books coming out now by young evangelicals giving testimony to their views on NFP, and when you read one, you would think you are reading the testimony of a young Catholic," he says.

A phrase comes to mind that has been echoing in my consciousness since the NWCU:  At the grassroots level, people are "minding each other's traditions."  That insight was shared by Dr. Stephen Long of Marquette University, and it resonates here strongly.  In this case, evangelicals are learning about and carrying the torch for something they learned from Catholics--perhaps more fervently than many Catholics.

3.  Pope Francis

When the humble Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was being introduced to the world as Pope Francis in March 2013, there was a stirring in the evangelical Christian community.  Evangelical leaders who worked with Bergoglio in Argentia began circulating reports to their friends and colleagues.  Within 5 days of the pope's election, Armstrong started hearing from other evangelicals about him.  They were saying things such as:  "We know him.  We pray with him.  He's our friend."  They were not talking about isolated incidents or casual encounters.  On the contrary, Bergoglio has been cultivating, "friendship, trust and love" with evangelicals for many years.

Pope Francis has been reaching out to evangelical Christians in unique ways during his time as pope.  He has invited evangelical leaders to Rome, has spoken at evangelical churches and still prays with a small group of evangelical Christians on a regular basis, just like he did as Archbishop. 

Pope Francis even recorded an impromptu video address to Copeland Ministries on a smartphone with an appeal for Christian brother and sisterhood.  He asked Copeland Ministries to pray for him, and after the video address the assembled crowd was more than willing to oblige.  This and numerous other events have shown an unprecedented witness from the papacy towards the evangelical community.

"We could not have imagined this even two years ago," says Armstrong.

Left to right, top then bottom: Bishop Tony Palmer, Francis with Rev. James Robinson,
Kenneth Copeland with Francis, Francis' video address to Copeland Ministries.

4.  Public Recognition by Leaders

Pope Francis is certainly in a category all to himself.  That being said, Armstrong affirmed that there are efforts being made by other leaders from both sides--including Catholic bishops and evangelical pastors--to reach out to one another in public ways. 

These can be muddy waters, since the evangelical world is largely non-hierarchical.  "Who do you talk to?" asks Armstrong.  Who can speak for the evangelical world?  It is not as easy as it is in a hierarchical institution, but there are pastors and other leaders whose words carry weight with evangelical Christians.

The National Workshop on Christian Unity where Armstrong gave this talk is a perfect example.  For over 50 years, Catholic and mainline Protestant ecumenical workers have gathered together to roll up their sleeves and plot the course for unity.  The last couple of gatherings have started to feature non-denominational evangelical Christians.  Armstrong himself is on the national planning committee. 

Likewise, the Lusanne movement has been a voice for the unity among evangelical Christians since 1974, evolving in large part out of the ministry of Billy Graham.  In recent years, it has begun to recognize Catholic and Orthodox churches more openly.  Representatives from those churches have participated in the movement, including the significant Cape Town Congress held in 2010.

5.  Marketplace Ministries

"Our people already know each other in the workplace," Armstrong asserts.  "Catholics and evangelicals are the ones who get into Bible studies together and talk about marketplace ministry.  They talk about what it means to bring their Christian values into the workplace.  They are the ones having the serious conversations about not just making money but prospering people and creating [Christian] culture through business.

"The proliferation of marketplace ministries in the last 5-8 years has been a phenomenon that Catholics may not have not tracked the way that some evangelicals have.  It is a great form of mission."

6.  Catholics Immersed in Evangelical Experience

The last two points I am adding from my own experience.  The first one is not recent, but I believe it figures prominently into what is happening today.  For the past few decades, Catholics have learned about the evangelical Christian world and its language.  When I was going to college 20 years ago, it was common for evangelical Christians to encourage Catholics to put down their rote prayer books and instead talk to Jesus as a personal friend.  American Catholicism had gotten stale for many people, and most were poorly catechized in the first place.  For them, Catholicism had degenerated into empty "rules and routines" that had gotten divorced from their meaning.  The freedom to be expressive in prayer and worship in evangelical worship was a breath of fresh air.  It was attracting Catholics in large numbers, many of whom converted.

In addition, evangelicals witnessed to many Catholics (including me) what it is like to have a private and personal relationship with Scripture outside of Mass.  The Catholic Church as an institution has always had a vibrant, living relationship with the Bible.  Scripture has always been intimately woven into all the theology and doctrine as well as the official prayers of the Church, including the Mass. The Catholic Church is inseparable from the Bible.  However, over the centuries that has not filtered down to individual people very well (illiteracy and ecclesial control over Biblical interpretation figured prominently in previous centuries).  That has changed dramatically in recent years. Individual Catholic are developing a relationship with Scripture in both academic study and personal devotions.  The influence of evangelicals to model and encourage this cannot be understated. 

Catholic converts helped fill the pews in evangelical churches in recent years.  Perhaps they also brought a worldview that may have unexpectedly paved the way for the next point . . .

7.  Surge of Interest by Evangelicals in Catholic Tradition

It is fascinating to watch the pendulum swing.  What was unthinkable 20 years ago is now becoming commonplace.  Just like many Catholics fell into a lull in the relationship with their tradition only to be reignited in their faith through evangelical Christianity, so too now many evangelicals are finding nourishment by exploring parts of the Catholic tradition that they previously have kept at a clear distance. 

The freedom to pray to Jesus in a spontaneous, ordinary conversational style can be freeing to someone who has always recited prayers out of a book.  However, after a while of praying spontaneously, people can find themselves running out of things to say or losing direction.  Structured prayer can bring a focus and a discipline.  It is like a workout--it can be great to go to the gym and randomly use different exercise machines.  That can invigorate the body and be a great spark to health.  However, it is also significant to have a structured program to develop strength and endurance in a focused way.  You can benefit from the wisdom of exercise experts, making sure each muscle group gets proper attention.  This sometimes means doing exercises you may not feel like doing.  A structured program can push you farther and deeper than you might have gone if left to your own initiative.  Fitness experts say that both "free days" and structure are important for health.

Long offered another example: The strongly evangelical Wheaton College recently opened up a center for Patristic Studies.  The Patristics are the early church thinkers, hermits, martyrs and saints who wrote in the first few centuries after Christ.  They lived long before the Protestant Reformation, so virtually all Christians today can claim that they are descendants of their wisdom, too.  That being said, until recently most evangelicals were reluctant to embrace or even engage with them at all.  That resistance has softened considerably as evangelicals are robustly exploring this tradition and finding a place within it for themselves.

Today, many evangelicals know far more about the Patristics, the monastic traditions, liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching than many Catholics.  Not only are they keeping alive precious traditions, but they are breathing new life into them with an evangelical fervor.  We are indeed "minding each other's traditions."



Wildflower bloom in Colorado.

A Bloom Seasons in the Making

The proliferation of Catholic and evangelical relations has been as least "several decades in the making," as Armstrong attests, and he would know having been at the forefront of the movement since the early 1980s.  While it may seem like all this activity has just spontaneously appeared, the reality is that the seeds have been planted long ago.  What we are seeing now is a bloom.  It is our call to pay attention and be receptive to the harvest that the Holy Spirit brings us.

"It all comes full circle back to that friendship, trust and love," says Armstrong, referring to the example Bergoglio showed all those years in Buenos Aires before becoming pope.  The flowering in his relationships with evangelicals did not just happen overnight.  People Francis built those relationships in the same way that any of us can build them--through conversation, friendship, mutual prayer and genuine care and concern.

"In this kairos moment, we need to do everything we can to know each other, to love each other, to pray for each other, and to take this not only into our ecumenical relationships, but to take it right down to the level of the parish, to our people."

Indeed, the energy and enthusiasm at that Catholic-evangelical dialogue at the NWCU was the strongest of any I experienced there.  There is a freshness as Catholics and evangelicals have truly discovered each other and are taking their relationship seriously.  This is not to downplay energy elsewhere--some denominations have been in dialogue for decades, and there is a well cultivated maturity to those discussions that comes with the passage of time--but the vibrancy of the Catholic-evangelical dialogue is a telling sign that yes, something is happening.



Artistic depiction of a kairos moment.
http://fireflyimageworks.com/blog/?p=705

This post is the second installment in a series about the National Workshop on Christian Unity.  See the first part, called The Untanglers.

The Untanglers

Stop #2 on my Religious Unity Tour!

The National Workshop on Christian Unity, part 1

 

Jesus calls us to be "fishers of men," but our nets are all tangled up.

It is absolutely wonderful when Christians can demonstrate profound unity when gathered for a common purpose, such as the social justice activism featured in my previous post.  There is no question that these expressions inspire our imaginations as to the unity that is possible.  Nevertheless, the fact remains that the denominations themselves still have on the books doctrinal differences which make for greater and lesser fractures in the Body of Christ. 

Some folks see beyond those differences, focusing on the unifying aspects and trusting that in a mystical way Christ unites what people think is divided.  Still, those differences--and what they mean for the life of the community--can only be waived away for so long before they require attention.  They found their way onto the books for good reasons.  Their continued presence on the books says something about who we are and what we mean to each other.  Centuries of separation, misconceptions, theological and even physical battles have left the visible unity of Christianity in a tangled mess. 

In the midst of all this, some people have the noble calling to meet these differences head-on.  They do the painstaking work of untangling this mess bit by bit--reconciling what can be reconciled, differentiating between style and substance, healing wounds, building relationships and trusting in the Holy Spirit to help Christian communities transcend this quagmire.  They are on a quest to discover that New Testament ideal of unity in diversity in a very imperfect but blessed world.  Someone has to come along to cross the t's and dot the i's.  This is the setting for the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU). 

The modern ecumenical movement has been going strong worldwide for over a century.  The Catholic Church officially joined the conversation during Vatican II with decrees on both ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.  It was in the wake of Vatican II that the NWCU began.  It is an event guided by the official ecumenical officers from Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and Lutheran churches.  Representatives from other denominations are present, as well, with a hope for more denominations in the future.  A growing presence of evangelical Christian leaders has been featured in recent years, as well.

Advice from Islam and Judaism

Given that 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate--the Catholic Church's groundbreaking document from Vatican II on its relationship to non-Christian religions--there was a strong focus on interfaith relations at the NWCU this year.  While it may seen incongruous at first glance for a workshop on Christian unity to feature non-Christian voices, it is those outside voices which can offer both refreshing and challenging perspectives.

Dr. Sandra Keating (pictured at left) shared valuable insights from her decades-long work in Catholic-Muslim dialogue.  Her words during the opening plenary were challenging and seemed to hang over the assembly as the week progressed.  She brought this perspective:  "For many Muslims, the fact of Christian disunity is a clear sign of the lack of truth of Christianity."  She points to statements in the Koran which demonstrate that even in the fifth century, "the infighting among Christians was already an obstacle to bringing people to the faith."  That was 1,000 years before the Protestant Reformation and 500 years before the schism between Catholics and Orthodox.

Keating affirmed strongly the importance of the work of Christian unity.  She mentioned that a lot of Christians are not concerned with "visible unity," thinking it has little relevance outside of the church.  However, a Muslim in dialogue with a Catholic may wonder what that dialogue means since a Catholic does not speak for all Christians.  In addition, to many Muslims, "divisions in Christianity are a sign that Christianity is dying, not protected by God and not chosen by God." 

Keating points out that the ecumenical movement in the past 50 years has gone a long way to help this perception with denominations doing a lot together out in the open.  Much work remains.  "Interreligious dialogue has told us that the need for some kind of Christian unity is essential for Christian witness in the world.  However legitimate the differences and divisions may be, on the outside it seems very different."  Many outside of Christianity see a "lack of charity" in these disagreements, she says, which calls into question the credibility of Christianity itself.  This is feedback she has gotten over and over through the years.  Islam partially came out of this context and looked to Christian divisions as an example of what not to do.  Why take Christianity seriously if Christians themselves cannot even agree on what it means?

Most westerners may think that the same kinds of divisions exist in the Muslim world.  Keating pointed out that those divisions are perceived as less doctrinal and more political.  The average Muslim would not see them the same way that Christianity has splintered over nuanced interpretations of theology and doctrine with some groups claiming exclusivity of the tradition over others.  While there is certainly room to interpret whether this is a fair estimation of the world of Islam, nevertheless, it is a common belief of many mainstream Muslims and it impacts their perception of Christianity. 



http://edeio.org/2015/04/24/nwcu-resources-part-one/

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine (pictured at left) treated the assembly to extended discourses on the nature of Judaism.  In particular, she pointed out places in which Christian preachers tend to misrepresent and misunderstand the Jewish tradition, both in Scripture and history.  She focused on what Christian preachers get wrong in their readings of the parables and other Gospel narratives by not understanding Jewish tradition well enough.  Check out this interview or her books (which you can find online) for a more in-depth study. 

"The more you know about first century Judaism, the more profound the parables become," she argued.  As the article says and which her talks expressed so well, "a better understanding of Judaism can make one a better Christian."  Without that background, we can miss so much of the symbolism and meaning.  For example, Jesus was born in a manger, which happens to be a feeding trough.  It is related to the word mange, in modern Italian. "Where else would you put the person who was going to become bread for the world?"

There is not room here to present all that she taught, but it is enough to say how vitally important a Jewish perspective can be for Christians.  As Levine pointed out, Scripture is clear that the disciples of Jesus were often unaware of the depth of Jesus' teaching and the meanings of his stories and parables.  With that in mind, we should consider that the wisdom handed down to us through our respective traditions (which comes handed down from those very disciples) may benefit from some additional perspective.  As a result, a place where Christians can find unity is in scientific, historical evidence.  On this plateau, we are all united as we have access to the same information.  We may go beyond what history teaches based on what our respective traditions have taught, but we can all be on the same page as far as historical understanding.

Visible Partial Unity

The NWCU features worship services at local churches of various denominations, talks on relevant topics and breakout sessions where denominational representatives discuss the current state and stage of their dialogue.  The worship services themselves tell a story on a visceral level that perhaps cannot be understood any other way.  

The opening worship was at Little Rock African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.  It calls to attention the history of the Methodist Church which has been divided more along the lines of race and worship style than by theological differences.  The history is long and complex, and I do not want to oversimplify it here.  It is enough to say that race often comes up as a critical factor in the quest for Christian unity. Churches segregating themselves by culture can be either benign or oppressive depending on the circumstances, so it is always worth keeping that discussion at the forefront with a watchful eye.  On a related note, Rev. Ted Sample offered two sessions during the workshop on "The Talk and Practices of Poor People."  How we use language matters, and differences in economic class and race must be considered when working toward the whole, unified Body of Christ.

The choir at Little Rock AME Zion Church.



St. Peters Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC.

The next day featured a Roman Catholic Mass at St. Peter Church, with Eucharist offered to only those in "full communion" with the Catholic Church.  The following day, a Eucharist service was held at St. Peter Episcopal Church.  A Lutheran minister gave the sermon, a testament to the unity between Lutherans and Anglicans.  Yet, Catholic policy would have Catholics abstain from communion there.  Songs and Eucharist prayers were intentionally repeated between the two services to show parallels and suggest continuity.  The fact that both churches are named "St. Peter's" adds another level of symbolism.


St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Charlotte, NC, full view of the pipe organ.

Evangelical Christianity enters the discussing by offering itself as an example of how to break through all this.  Christian identity to them is rooted almost entirely in an individual profession of faith in Jesus Christ and his Scriptures.  Christian unity can be built on that and that alone, they argue. 

In light of this, an excursion was made to CharlotteONE.  This is a worship service targeted to millennials.  It is open to all, regardless of denomination.  It typically features contemporary Christian music and preaching.  It was showcased as a possibility of how to transcend denominational lines, especially with a younger generation which has far less allegiance to denominational membership than previous generations.  It acts in some ways as an entry point to Christianity, and organizers can help participants discern a formal church membership with any number of denominations.

CharlotteONE:  A new way to bring young people to church.

The setting for CharlotteONE:  An historic Methodist Church.

The difficulty with "non-denominational" events is that they are mostly expressions of evangelical Christianity rather than something fully inclusive.  Like most efforts at unity, they shows positive "signs of the Kingdom" which call us to imagine what is possible.  But while they are open to all, they require some Christians to give up or downplay many pieces of their Christian identity in order to participate.  As a result, they are oddly fully open and very limited at the same time.  CharlotteONE seems to offer evangelical Christianity as the unifying force in Christianity.  There is promise is this method but also shortcomings, and it is important to acknowledge both.

While most hierarchical denominations would agree that there are pieces of their tradition that are more central than others, the evangelical alternative falls short to many.  Evangelical Christianity can have a strong role to play in the quest for Christian unity, but by itself it cannot be the answer, because for better or for worse it has become one tradition among many--albeit a popular and powerful one, perhaps even a meta-tradition. Focusing on a few core beliefs in common is a healthy exercise for all Christians.  However, I have to believe that the answer to the prayer of Christian unity is not stripping away all of tradition down to a few fundamental building blocks, but rather acknowledging all of our traditions in their sum total and reconciled with each other.  Still, that core relationship with Jesus Christ is the foot in the door that brings us all together, and the importance of that in creating a common language and family bond between Christians must be acknowledged.  To the extent that evangelical Christianity has loosened the denominational approach of Christianity and reclaimed Christianity as a movement of the people, much fruit will come of this.

Contemporary Christian music at CharlotteONE.

All in all, this is a snapshot of how far we have come and how far we still have to go.  It is worth pointing out that 50 years ago it was often forbidden for members of one denomination to attend services of other denominations or even step foot into their worship spaces, except for extraordinary events such as a funeral.  We have certainly come a long way in a short time.

VIDEOS:  Some videos and audio recordings of the NWCU are available from EDEIO (Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers).  Their first installment includes portions of Dr. Sandra Keating's talk on Muslim perspectives on Christian unity and the song "By the Grace of God" by the Little Rock AME Zion Church.  More will be uploaded to their site later.

Coming Up...

In the next installment, we will look at the National Workshop on Christian Unity in terms of the vibrant Catholic and evangelical Christian dialogue!