Be the Bridge

Morrison’s mission was to enable racial reconciliation within local churches and develop resources for Christians who want to build cross-racial relationships. Since then, Be the Bridge has exploded in size and now serves the local church by providing curricula and other tools that encourage bridge builders to “[foster and develop] vision, skills, and heart for racial unity.”

Source: Christianity Today - "Latasha Morrison: The Church Is the ‘Only Place Equipped to Do Racial Reconciliation Well’", interview by Morgan Lee, January 2017, http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/january/latasha-morrison-church-is-only-place-equipped-to-do.html

I Love Working Here

Father Symonds was to be the first Catholic priest to give a sermon at Ballymena’s Methodist church for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Jan. 18-25.

“I love working here,” he said. “I’ve made great friendships, both within my own congregation and within the Protestant communities. Members of the Presbyterian Church have been particularly supportive of my ministry. I am convinced that I am doing what God has wanted me to do.”

Source: Catholic Review - "English priest receives awards for work in Northern Ireland", 5 Jan 2008, http://www.catholicreview.org/article/faith/vocations/english-priest-receives-award-for-work-in-northern-ireland#sthash.kh59mvOi.dpuf

Becoming a Catholic

Though my doubts were all resolved and the choice was made in 1959, my senior year at Calvin, actual membership came a year later, at Yale. My parents were horrified, and only gradually came to realize I had not lost my head or my soul, that Catholics were Christians, not pagans. It was very difficult, for I am a shy and soft-hearted sort, and almost nothing is worse for me than to hurt people I love. I think that I hurt almost as much as they did. But God marvelously binds up wounds.

Source: Peter Kreeft - Hauled aboard the Ark, http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/hauled-aboard.htm

Father Spencer

In 1838, Father Spencer instituted a great “Crusade of Prayer for the Conversion of England” and soon after being appointed as the chaplain to the seminarians at Oscott College in Birmingham, preached at St. Chad’s in Manchester on the need for unity between Catholics and Anglicans in England. He went to Oxford to talk to John Henry Newman, Vicar of St. Mary’s the Virgin, Fellow at Oriel, and leader of the Oxford Movement to discuss the goal of unity in truth but Newman refused to meet with him.
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His zealous efforts in the cause of unity between Catholics and Protestants, and his desire for England’s conversion, have earned him the title of “Apostle of Ecumenical Prayer”.

Source: Stephanie Mann - Blog post 6 Sept 2016, "Servant of God Ignatius Spencer: Apostle of Ecumenical Prayer", http://www.ncregister.com/blog/stephaniemann/servant-of-god-ignatius-spencer-apostle-of-ecumenical-prayer

The Catholic Mystics

Then one summer, on the beach at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, I read St. John of the Cross. I did not understand much of it, but I knew, with undeniable certainty, that here was reality, something as massive and positive as a mountain range. I felt as if I had just come out of a small, comfortable cave, in which I had lived all my life, and found that there was an unsuspected world outside of incredible dimensions. Above all, the dimensions were those of holiness, goodness, purity of heart, obedience to the first and greatest commandment, willing God's will, the one absolute I had discovered, at the age of eight. I was very far from saintly, but that did not prevent me from fascinated admiration from afar; the valley dweller appreciates the height of the mountain more than the dweller on the foothills. I read other Catholic saints and mystics, and discovered the same reality there, however different the style (even St. Thérèse "The Little Flower"!) I felt sure it was the same reality I had learned to love from my parents and teachers, only a far deeper version of it. It did not seem alien and other. It was not another religion but the adult version of my own.

Source: Peter Kreeft - Hauled aboard the Ark, http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/hauled-aboard.htm

Gosh Darn Similar

Until I, as an evangelical Protestant, met some halfway decent Catholics I had no idea what they believed. Likewise, if it wasn’t for my Anglican friend I’d have no ideas how gosh darn similar we actually are.
It’s not until we actively begin to reach out and meet each other where we are that we can begin to take down these walls, brick by brick.

Source: K. Albert Little - The Cordial Catholic on Patheos, 1 May 2015, "Dear Christians: Take Our Unity Seriously, Because Everyone is Watching", http://www.patheos.com/blogs/albertlittle/dear-christians-take-our-unity-seriously-because-everyone-is-watching/

No Unity Without Clarity

Since his student days in Berlin, Bonhoeffer had been deeply involved in the emerging ecumenical movement, especially through the group called the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship Through the Churches. With some exceptions (the great Dominican Yves Congar being one), most Roman Catholics stood aloof from such movements. Bonhoeffer had been attracted to aspects of the Catholic Church since his first visit to St. Peter’s in Rome in 1924. He was also familiar with the Una Sancta movement, an effort to overcome confessional divisions through the renewal of faith among both German Protestants and Catholics, to establish “fraternity in Christ across all barriers.” While Bonhoeffer appreciated this effort, he had reservations about it. His main concern was not the goal, which he shared, but the lack of theological clarity. Without such clarity, he believed, no enduring unity could be built.

Source: Timothy George - "Bonhoeffer at Ettal: Advent", First Things, 12 Dec 2016, https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/12/bonhoeffer-at-ettal-advent-1940

The Catholics Are Wrong, Aren't They?

We lived in New Jersey, and we went to New York City a lot as tourists — I'm an only child — with my parents, and we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, just to see it, and I'd never seen anything like that before. I was stunned. It was just like the gate of heaven. It was a different kind of beauty. I said to myself, this is the most beautiful piece of architecture I've ever seen in my life. And I turned to my father and I said, "Dad, this is a Catholic church, isn't it?" And he said, "Yes." And I said, "The Catholics are wrong, aren't they?" And he said, "Oh, yes, of course; they're very, very wrong." And then I said, "Then how can their churches be so beautiful?" And it was the first time in my life that my father didn't have any answer to a question at all; he was just stumped. I saw the confusion on his face. I think I was at the time much more scandalized by the fact that my hitherto-infallible father didn't have the answer to a very simple question than my doubts that the Catholic Church was as bad as I had thought it. Well, sermons in stone: You can argue with thoughts; you can't argue with beauty.

Source: Peter Kreeft - Conversion to Catholicism, Catholic Education Resource Center, http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/apologetics/dr-peter-kreeft-s-conversion-to-catholicism-part-1.html

Gary Kinnaman

For decades I have been passionately engaged in bridge-building and collaboration in Phoenix and Arizona. My personal pilgrimage is based on an essential understanding of the gospel as St. Paul expresses it in the context of division in the church in Corinth: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Simply stated, this is Jesus plus nothing. He died not only to reconcile us to God, but to one another, and those two outcomes of the Cross are inseparable.

St. Paul writes, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Ephesians 2:14-16).
As Pope Francis stated recently in a meeting which I was privileged to attend, “We must make Jesus Christ our center, not the church.” We have our differences, but if we share faith in Christ, we can’t allow our distinctives to become reasons for division.

Source: Gary Kinnaman - Presented during Movement Day NYC, representing the John 17 movement and Greater Phoenix and Arizona Catholic/Evangelical Bridges, as posted on the John 17 FB page on 1 November 2016.

Fr. Martin Magill

Fr Martin Magill’s Ecumenical Tithing: Shankill Gospel Hall
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This weekend I happened to be cycling to another church in North Belfast for worship when I noticed Shankill Gospel Hall with a member of the congregation coming out the door and on the spot I decided to worship there.

Source: Fr. Martin Magill - As quoted by Gladys Ganiel on her blog Building a Church Without Walls, 13 April 2015, http://www.gladysganiel.com/irish-catholic-church/fr-martin-magills-ecumenical-tithing-shankill-gospel-hall/

A Catholic Honors His Evangelical Roots

I love the Evangelical Church.

I loved being an Evangelical.

I cut my teeth as an Evangelical Christian and cut them deep.

I read my Bible, prayed, and worshipped alongside the most devout and wonderful Christians I have ever met.

I went overseas, twice, and spent time bringing the Word of God to all kinds of places where I felt it needed to go. I’ve lead small groups, Bible studies, and campus outreaches. I’ve interned and volunteered and was even an incredibly poor worship leader at a middle school youth group.

I wouldn’t trade my Evangelical past for anything but it was in the Catholic Church, ultimately, were I finally found a solution to a broken situation.

Source: K. Albert Little - "The Evangelical Church is Broken (A Love Letter)", The Cordial Catholic, Patheos, 8 Feb 2017, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/albertlittle/evangelical-church-broken/

Hanna & Markus

74 – Hanna’s parents were gassed in the death camp at Chelmno, Poland, on May 3,1942. On May 3, 2015 she read from her book in the city of Bonn, Germany.
75 – When Hanna finished Markus came to the microphone. “Hanna, my grandfather was an SS Officer at Chelmno when your parents were there.”
76 – He continued. “I don’t know what to say. I can only stand here and ask for forgiveness.” Hanna went to him. “I forgive you.” They embraced.
77 – With tears the grandson of a German SS Officer asked forgiveness of a Jewish Holocaust survivor. She forgave him. The ground became softer.

Source: George Miley - Maturing Toward Wholeness in the Inner Life, Chapter 1, "Restore the Ancient Anointings"

When It's Unimaginable ... Pray!

But there were women and men who, in times when this joint commemoration was still unimaginable, already gathered together to pray for unity or to form ecumenical communities. There were theologians, women and men, who already entered in dialogue, seeking to overcome doctrinal and theological differences. There were many, who together offered themselves to serve the poor and the oppressed. There were even some who suffered martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel.

I feel deep gratitude for those bold prophets. As they lived and witnessed together they began to see one another no longer as separated branches but as branches united to Jesus Christ. Even more, they began to see Christ in their midst and to acknowledge that even in those periods of history when dialogue was broken between us, Christ continued talking to us. Jesus never forgot us, even when we seemed to have forgotten him, losing ourselves in violent and hateful actions.

Source: Rev. Dr Martin Junge - Rev. Dr Martin Junge, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, Sermon on the occasion of the Joint Commemoration of the Reformation, Lund Cathedral, Sweden, October 31, 2016, https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/joint_commemoration_mj_sermon_final_en.pdf

I Think My Catholic Friends Have Got Some Things Wrong

Now at The Stream I’m working with both Protestants and Roman Catholics here at every level of leadership and production. I still come down firmly on the Reformation side of Christian doctrine, so I think my Catholic friends have got some things wrong. But that’s okay — they think we Protestants have some things wrong, too. And we’re friends.

Above all else, we’re completely in agreement with Christianity’s historic, orthodox creeds. We all believe “in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son Our Lord….” We’re colleagues and partners in this united enterprise providing news, insight and commentary from a creedal Christian perspective.

Source: Tom Gilson - "Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: Catholic and Protestant Changing History Together", The Stream, 4 March 2017, https://stream.org/tolkien-cs-lewis-catholic-protestant-together/

The Knowledge Deficit

A church book discussion about lynchings piqued Wesley Edwards' curiosity in area hate crimes, leading to Austin Callaway. A longtime African-American friend, Bobbie Hart, confessed ignorance to the lynching, prompting them to form the group "Troup Together." Through archival research and interviews, they pieced together parts of Calloway's story.

The "knowledge deficit" is what worries Edwards. If Callaway's lynching remained a mystery all these years, what else don't they know about?

"If white people have one version of history and African-Americans have a different one, then we don't know what we don't know," he said. "We've got to bridge that gap."

Source: Wesley Edwards - Quoted in "'Justice failed Austin Callaway': Town attempts to atone for 1940 lynching", Emanuella Grinberg, CNN, 28 Jan 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/us/lagrange-georgia-callaway-1940-lynching/index.html

If I Pray For Workers ...

So when I encourage my evangelical brethren to extend their ministries among Catholics, I hope to be adding to the number of people who say “Yes” to God. I do hope they say it also to Christ’s Body the Church in all the dimensions Christ intended for his Church; but, above all, I hope that they say it. Many evangelicals are good Christians, many Catholics are bad Christians, and if some bad Christians become better Christians through the influence of evangelical Protestants, Deo gratias . If I pray that there be more workers for the harvest, I shouldn’t mind when they show up, even if they are not exactly what I expected. And, as the animosities between Catholics and evangelicals subside, as Catholics and Protestants come to realize that they are already in communion, however imperfectly, I am confident that many Christians who live in the Marian dimension of the Church will continue to discover the fulness that the Holy Spirit bestows in the ministry of Peter, who is called by the Good Shepherd to feed all the sheep.

Source: Daniel P. Moloney - "Evangelicals in the Church of Mary", First Things, December 2000, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2000/12/evangelicals-in-the-church-of-mary

I Didn't Listen ...

“You spoke at our church last weekend,” she responded. “You were teaching on Matthew 5:23-24, reminding us that Jesus commands us not to put off reconciliation. You said we should go today because tomorrow might be too late But I didn’t listen,” she went on. “And now it’s too late."

Source: Ken Sande - "Reconcile before it's too late", Relational Wisdom 360 blog post, 2017 Jan 8, https://rw360.org/2017/01/08/reconcile-before-its-too-late/