Dear Friends of Christian Unity,
I am writing today to share word about a new venture in the Council on Christian Unity to promote World Communion Sunday (October 5, 2008) in partnership with the Reconciliation Ministry of our church.
Many of you may know that for several years, World Communion Sunday and the Reconciliation Ministry Offering of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have taken place at the same time of the year. (World Communion Sunday falls on the first Sunday in October; the Reconciliation Offering emphasis has been the last Sunday of September and the first Sunday of October). For congregations, this has meant that celebrating our unity at the Table as part of the global Christian community and focusing upon the issues of reconciliation in the elimination of the primary causes of racism in North America have been competing agendas or emphases.
Two years ago, the Council on Christian Unity proposed that we should eliminate that conflict by working together with Reconciliation – understanding that the unity we celebrate at the Lord’s Supper has clear and concrete implications for our work in overcoming racism as a church and within the ecumenical movement. The two agendas are one-in-the-same!
In preparing the Reconciliation Ministry materials for congregational use this year, we have worked to bring together these two primary commitments of our church: to seek Christian unity and to become a Pro-reconciling/Anti-racist church. The theme chosen for our common focus in 2008 expresses this important partnership: “Come to the Table: Become the Gift of Reconciliation.” Resources for congregational use may be found on the internet at http://www.reconciliationmission.org/offerings/.
I hope each of you will encourage use of these resources in your congregation this coming September 27 and October 5. And, I would value your comments and reflections on these materials as we look to expanding this partnership of unity and reconciliation in the future.
In Christ’s love,
Robert
PS. Resources for promoting World Communion Sunday may be found on the internet at http://www.ncccusa.org/unity/worldcommunionsunday.html.