Dear Friends of Christian unity,
I am pleased to share some exciting information about developments and happenings in the life of the Council on Christian Unity (CCU) and the ecumenical movement as we head into the summer 2007. I will do this briefly, identifying along the way various websites where additional background information and details can be accessed. Please let me know if you like this format.
1. Tickets Available for Unity Dinner at General Assembly in Ft. Worth:
If you are planning to be at the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I hope you will attend the special dinner on Wednesday, July 23, "Celebrating Unity: The Next Generation," co-sponsored by the CCU and DisciplesWorld magazine. Tickets are $25.00 - and may be ordered from the CCU at Rozanne@ccu.disciples.org or by calling 317-713-2586. I hope you will order your tickets today, and look forward to seeing many of you at this dinner in Ft. Worth.
Our speaker will be Krista Tippett, a journalist and host of the popular program on national public radio, Speaking of Faith. She has been invited to bring a word of challenge to our church in its quest for Christian unity as she comes from "outside" the traditional ecumenical movement, bringing the perspectives of a professional communicator in the public square.
For more details on this dinner, see: www.disciples.org/dns/releases2007/07036.html
2. CCU to explore new relationships in the future:
In a proposal that grew out of a day-long conversation on April 23, 2007, the Council on Christian Unity has committed itself to a three-year process to explore potential new partnerships with the Office of General Minister and President, the Week of Compassion, and Reconciliation Mission in seeking to advance four core ministries of our church: reconciliation, compassion, unity and justice.
The proposal could lead to important changes in structure by the year 2010, which will be the 100th anniversary of the CCU.
"I am grateful to the CCU board for initiating this dialogue," said Sharon Watkins, Disciples general minister and president. "Joining the voices of reconciliation, compassion, unity and justice will help us to live out our vision of wholeness where compassion includes justice as well as mercy, and Christian unity involves reconciliation across the divides of race, class and culture as well as ecclesial differences." For more information, see: www.disciples.org/ccu/news/2007/0705.NewPartnership.html
3. Christian Churches Together in the USA:
Dick Hamm, former General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has been appointed as the first full-time executive for the new ecumenical initiative known as Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT). In accepting this position, Dr. Hamm shared that he saw CCT as "an appropriately post-modern model" in seeking to give expression to our unity in Christ, with its focus on such issues as overcoming poverty in our nation today and engaging in evangelism. CCT brings together 36 churches and national organizations that represent the wide diversity of US Christians: Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal. See news release at: www.disciples.org/dns/releases2007/07079.pdf
4. Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC):
Patrice Rosner, an ordained Disciples minister and director of CUIC, continues to facilitate and encourage this new relationship among its ten member communions in seeking visible unity in the areas of mission and worship; seeking to combat racism in the church and in society; and, seeking the full recognition and reconciliation of ministries. A Plenary Session (January 11-14, 2008) has been called for the churches to assess together the state of the CUIC relationship as it looks to the next period of its life, with special focus on identifying where there are serious issues and problems needing to be addressed, especially in the areas of dismantling racism and the reconciliation of our ordained ministries.
For information on CUIC and significant events within its member communions, go to the May 2007 newsletter at: www.cuicinfo.org/cuic_notes_pdf/March07CUIC%20Newsletter.pdf
5. Stalcup Lecturer, Michael Livingston, calls for a "muscular ecumenism" for the 21st century:
"Ecumenism is our future, or our future will not make much sense to us," said Michael E. Livingston, president of the National Council of Churches and lecturer for the ninth Joe A. and Nancy Vaughn Stalcup Lecture on Christian Unity, held on June 10 at Northway Christian Church in Dallas. In his lecture titled "Living the Visible Unity of the Church," he commented on the present context for ecumenical ministry, noting the world's rapidly changing religious landscape. Concerns within the ecumenical movement were also a part of Livingston's lecture. He commented on the issues of race, episcopacy, and human sexuality that challenge Christian communion. Livingston challenged the ecumenical community to examine what "guards access to the table" asking, "How do fences facilitate our communion? What kind of witness to the world are we if we can't break bread together?"
The biennial lectureship was co-sponsored by the Council on Christian Unity and the Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity at Brite Divinity School. Eilene Theilig, director of lay and continuing education at Brite, said, "The Stalcup Lecture on Christian Unity is a gift to the church universal with the vision of unity."
Copies of the full lecture will be published by the Council on Christian Unity in its next issue of Call to Unity. For a full text of a news release on the lecture event, go to: www.disciplesworld.com/newsArticle.html?wsnID=11586
I look forward to hearing from you in response to this "Update." With all best wishes,
Robert