Title: World ecumenists offer tribute to Disciples leader
Date: February 18, 1998
Disciples News Service,
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
98b-11
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- "A life given to the ecumenical quest." That's how 30 world ecumenists describe the contributions of the Rev. Paul A. Crow, Jr., of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to the Christian unity movement.
Their reflections have been bound and published in a new book, The Vision of Christian Unity; A Life Given to the Ecumenical Quest: Essays in Honor of Paul A. Crow, Jr.
In the new volume, "world leaders of the ecumenical movement have thoughtfully captured many of the strands that celebrate the unity of the church, even in the midst of the struggle toward its visible unity," said the Rev. Suzanne J. Webb, Carbondale, Ill. Webb is pastor of First Christian Church and is first vice-chairperson of the Council on Christian Unity board of directors.
The honoree, the Rev. Paul A. Crow, Jr., is retiring December 31 after nearly 25 years as president of the Disciples Council on Christian Unity and almost 40 years in the vanguard of ecumenism.
The Alabama native was the first general secretary of the Consultation on Church Union, a unity movement which has forged new relationships among the Disciples and eight other U.S. mainline church bodies. Crow also has served for 23 years on the World Council of Churches Central Committee.
The Vision of Christian Unity was edited by the Rev. Theodore J. Nottingham, Indianapolis, and the Rev. Thomas F. Best, Geneva, Switzerland. Nottingham is director of production and consultation services for the Disciples Office of Communication. Best is executive director of the WCC Faith and Order Commission. Both men also wrote essays for the volume.
"This book illustrates the unique legacy -- not only of one individual -- but of the Disciples call to Christian unity," said Nottingham, "and will hopefully inspire others to follow that path in the future."
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, National Council of Churches General Secretary Joan Brown Campbell and World Council of Churches General Secretary Konrad Raiser are among those who have written essays or tributes in Crow's honor.
Other contributors include Disciples General Minister and President Richard L. Hamm; Edward Cardinal Idris Cassidy, president, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity for the Roman Catholic Church; Mary Tanner, general secretary for the Anglican Council on Christian Unity; the ecumenical patriarch of the Orthodox Church, Bartholomew of Constantinople, and the patriarch of the Moscow and Russia, Alexy II.
The Vision of Christian Unity is available from the Council on Christian Unity, P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1986.
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