Page 2 - Presbyterian Connection, Spring 2020

Connection
MESSAGE FROM THE MODERATOR
Engaging in the Ministry of Ecumenism
2 SPRING 2020
PRESBYTERIAN
presbyterian.ca
By the Rev. Amanda Currie, Moderator of 2019 General Assembly
Thank you to Barb Summers and the Presbyterian Connection newspaper for choosing to focus on ecumen- ism in this issue. With my personal interest in ecumenical co-operation and dialogue toward Christian unity, it is so encouraging to see all the ways that Presbyterians in Canada are engaging in the ministry of ecu- menism.
During my year as moderator, I have been finding oppor tunities to preach and teach about ecumen- ism, as well as visiting and con- necting with ecumenical ministries of which we are a part. Besides our denomination’s active engagement in all the ministries of the Canadian Council of Churches, along with our par ticipation in the World Commun- ion of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches, many Presbyterians work together with other Christian congregations in their communities to share in wor- ship, fellowship, dialogue, common witness and common mission.
As I write this in late January, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is just drawing to a close, and I am so happy to see that Presbyterian con- gregations across the country have joined with others in praying togeth- er, and specifically, praying together for the unity of Christ’s church.
When I served a Presbyterian
church in Saskatoon between 2003 and 2017, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was like a Christian pilgrimage for the churches of the city. The week was filled with servic- es, Bible studies and times for fel- lowship and connection—like early morning services hosted by differ- ent churches each day, big celebra- tions on Sunday afternoons with diverse representation and often guest preachers who were leaders in the ecumenical movement, plus workshops, lectures and other spe- cial events to fill up the week. Many people in that community came to understand and to enjoy the prayer forms of other Christian traditions, and they became friends across the differences that previously divided them.
I’ve used this quotation before, but I’m going to use it once again because it is just perfect for what I want to say. Speaking on the mat- ter of reconciliation between the churches, Cardinal Mercier of Ma- lines, an ecumenical pioneer, said this: “In order to unite with one an- other, we must love one another. In order to love one another, we must know one another. In order to know one another, we must go and meet one another.”
During my travels this year, I’ve seen some of those meetings hap- pening in the ecumenical coopera- tion that occurs in our theological colleges. Our students and faculty research, study, explore and wor- ship together across denominations, and their work is deeply enriched by the sharing. The staff at our denomi- national office also make significant effor ts to work with other churches that are engaged in similar and over- lapping ministries. They lead us in sharing resources, learning from one another and co-operating in shared ventures whenever possible.
In quite a few churches across our country, there are also ecumeni- cal shared ministries that include Presbyterians. Pinawa Christian Fel-
lowship in Manitoba is an excellent example of this and I was able to visit in October 2019. A Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Rob Murray leads a congregation that is comprised of people from four Christian traditions (Anglican, Mennonite, Presbyterian and United), and it is formally affili- ated with all four denominations. In one congregation that meets, wor- ships, serves and engages in mis- sion, the gifts and traditions of all are honoured and involved, and a spirit of love and inclusion perme- ates the community.
You may know that I have an addi- tional reason for my enthusiasm for ecumenism and shared ministries. My personal conversion to the min- istry of Christian unity came after my marriage to a Roman Catholic theologian, Nicholas Jesson, who currently serves as the Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of Re- gina.
Interchurch families experience first-hand the scandal of the divid- ed church. And when I say “inter- church families” I don’t just mean people with two different church backgrounds who marry each other and pick one of those churches over the other. An interchurch couple includes par tners who come from two different church traditions (of- ten a Roman Catholic and another Christian). Both of them retain their original church membership, but so far as they are able, they are com- mitted to live, worship and par tici- pate in their spouse’s church also. If they have children, parents must exercise a joint responsibility under God for their progeny’s religious and spiritual upbringing, and teach them by word and example to appreciate both Christian traditions.
Interchurch families choose to keep both churches, to participate in both, and to share both together as couples and families. For some, that means alternating Sundays, or going back and forth on some kind of flexible schedule that works for
them. For my family, it means that my Catholic husband always wor- ships with me on Sunday mornings at my Presbyterian Church, and we worship together in a Catholic par- ish on Saturday or Sunday evening every week, too.
I wonder if you have any inter- church families in your congrega- tion, or in your own extended family. When I bring up the topic in Presby- terian circles, I almost always have someone come to me afterwards to tell me they’re married to someone from another branch of Christianity, and often they’re struggling to work out that difference. Certainly, all of our Presbyterian congregations in- clude people in mixed marriages, but only some of the time have they worked out a way to share both of their Christian traditions and com- munities together as a family.
The worship and prayer life of an interchurch family can be very rich and meaningful, but we are also reminded of the division each and every week. We are very aware that we go to two different places to worship every week, and that the communities are still divided over disagreements, different gifts and priorities, and that we’ve aligned ourselves with different leaders. In many cases, we cannot yet gather around a common table to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as one church. We regularly hear misunderstand- ings and stereotypes about the other church, and occasionally even hate- ful sentiments against the other.
As a member of an interchurch family, Cardinal Mercier’s formula for growing unity makes per fect sense to me. He says that unity is rooted in love, and love is rooted in knowledge of the other, and knowl- edge requires meeting and sharing together across differences and divisions. After nearly 20 years as a couple, we’ve spent a lot of time together in our two Christian com- munities, and our knowledge of the churches has grown along with our
love for each other’s church family. I have experienced a degree of unity with my Roman Catholic friends in Christ that is much deeper than the average Presbyterian has because I have spent time in the Catholic community, with Catho- lic colleagues in ministry, and with Catholic faithful at worship, fellow- ship and service in the parish. I have experienced the love and hospitality of the Catholic community, received some of their gifts, and shared some
of mine as well.
I have suggested (in jest) that
the ecumenical movement could be sped along more swiftly if we were to arrange for more marriages across denominational lines. It could be the way arranged marriages used to be set up to unite different king- doms and achieve peace! But seri- ously, relationships of knowledge, friendship and love across divisions are needed. We need to prioritize par ticipating in ministerials, coun- cils of churches and ecumenical dialogues. Building friendships with ecumenical colleagues and neigh- bours is so impor tant.
We need to keep on doing what I know our theological colleges, national office staff and ecumeni- cal shared ministries are doing as a matter of best practice—not just doing ecumenism by going through the motions, but doing things ecu- menically. We must keep in mind the Lund Principle, ar ticulated by the World Council of Churches in 1952—that the churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of convic- tion compel them to act separately.
If we commit to acting together as much as possible, we’re going to have to go and meet one another and get to know one another. God will- ing, we’ll begin to love one another. And then maybe, one day, God will make us One. After all, that is Jesus’ prayer for us—that we may be one as the Holy Trinity is One—so that the world will believe.
Ecumencial Shared Ministries
Ecumenical shared ministries are places where Christians of different traditions worship and serve God together while still maintaining their denominational identities and connections. There are at least 13 Presbyterian congregations across the country in shared ministries.
There are different models of ecumenical shared ministries. Some congregations share a building and maintain their denominational ministry and services. Sometimes several denominations share a minister but have different services. In some places, each denomination has its own minister and service of worship. In other places, several denominations may share a minister but maintain church buildings in a number of locations.
The Ecumenical Shared Ministries Handbook (available at presbyterian.ca/equipping) contains guidelines prepared jointly by the Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and United churches in Canada to help facilitate and support shared ministries at the congregational level.