What If?

As recounted in From Conflict to Communion, jointly produced by the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Reformation was an academic dispute that careened into a division of the church.
...
It's hard to read this without thinking what might have been. . . . if everyone had stopped, quieted, breathed, listened, talked, disputed, clarified, taken a decade off to sort through the issues. What then?

Source: Peter Leithart  -  "Careening Toward Division", First Things, 10 Jan 2017, https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2017/01/careening-toward-division

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

A Businessman Repents to a Colleague

I simply said, “I really failed you during the reorganization. I should have come and talked to you right away. My absence and silence must have hurt you deeply. I have no excuse or explanation. I failed you as a manager and I failed you as a friend. I was wrong, and I’m so very sorry. Can you please forgive me?”

His eyes softened as he said, “That’s all I needed to hear. I know you didn’t mean to let me down, but it helps to hear you admit you did. Jesus has forgiven me far worse things, so yes, I gladly forgive you. This is behind us; let’s move on.”

And that was the end of it. No explanation. No excuses. Grace flowed. We were back on course. Ministering together better than ever.

Simple, sincere confessions, without excuses … a great way to take hold of the promise:

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13).

Source: Ken Sande  -  "No Excuses", RW360 blog post, 11 Feb 2019
https://rw360.org/2019/02/11/no-excuses-2/

A Catholic Priest Preaches Methodist

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: Fr. Paul Symonds  -  As quoted by the Catholic Review in "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

Cantalamessa on Bergoglio

Long before he became pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was practising this “ecumenical ecumenism” in Buenos Aires, giving his support to huge joint Catholic-evangelical meetings in Luna Park stadium.
Two of them were attended by Cantalamessa, who was deeply impressed by the Archbishop of Buenos Aires’s extraordinary openness to the current of Grace. “I’ve never seen a bishop in front of an interconfessional audience declare, ‘this is the Church’,” he told me during a break on Thursday.

Source: Austen Ivereigh  -  "Jubilee in Rome highlights charismatic fruits in Francis’s Pentecost papacy", Crux, 3 June 2017, https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/06/03/jubilee-rome-highlights-charismatic-fruits-franciss-pentecost-papacy/

Joe Tosini, Phoenix

It's no secret that division in a family brings harm and pain on many levels. The church which is described as the family of God remains divided. The attitudes and harsh judgements amongst professing Christians have caused deep wounds and centuries of conflicts.

"Father I pray that those who believe in me will be one so the world will know you sent me."  That prayer of Jesus in the 17th chapter of the Gospel according to John is the reason Roman Catholics and a variety of Protestant Christians met together on May 23rd, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona.

There was a declaration made that day by those in attendance to see the Church in Phoenix becoming relationally unified in a way that would make the claims of Jesus visibly seen and felt by those within and outside of the church.

My impression of our day but even more of the effort and working together of so many leading up to Saturday's meeting gives me hope that the church in all of its rich diversity can live and work as one family in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Source: Joe Tosini  -  Founder, John 17 Movement, http://www.john17movement.com/

J.I. Packer

Across the years, Packer has been involved in theological conversations with Orthodox believers, Roman Catholics, charismatic Christians, as well as mainline Protestants. In each of these encounters, he has promoted a vigorous biblical and spiritual theology, in keeping with the Great Tradition. Packer has been ever mindful of the maxim of Richard Baxter, on whom he wrote his Oxford doctoral dissertation:
in necessariis Unitas,
in non-necessariis Libertas,
in utrisque Caritas.
Despite his charitable spirit and his desire to foster a unitive, irenic evangelicalism, Packer has not been able to avoid controversy. Nowhere have the reactions been more volatile than in the response to Packer’s participation in Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Like his friend Charles Colson, Packer became a major target of the initial evangelical protest against ECT.

Source: Timothy George  -  "Packer at Ninety", First Things, October 2016, https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/10/packer-at-ninety

Some Ideas

Learning from what others have done … a few examples that demonstrate humility, wisdom and creativity ...
4) Commemorative ceremonies
Significant dates … are becoming reconciliation events when believers gather to memorialize these painful memories in annual observances.  German Christians have led the way
...
8) Appreciation tours
Korean, Japanese, North American and European Christians moving beyond the traditional tours to the Holy Land and exploring the cultures of other nations in order to empathize with and appreciate the diversity of God's redemptive gifts within the peoples of the world.  Reconciliation is a featured part of many of these journeys.
...
11) Diversity in Unity Celebrations
Old wounds are eventually put behind us and unity can be celebrated as an accomplished fact.  Recently a Los Angeles city councilman visited a block party put on by a neighborhood filled with believers.  "If the city was like this block, LA would have no problems," said the amazed politician after observing the obvious harmony between a great diversity of cultures.
12) Receptions, Banquets and other Hospitality Based Gatherings
Eating together remains one of the most effective ways of bringing together eleemtns of society and Christians with a ministry of hospitality will always be at the forefront of the ministry of reconciliation.  This is an activity that begins in teh home and the church dining hall and extends all the way to the convention center.
...
14) Cross-cultural and Denominational Interchurch Hosting
It is increasingly common for pastors to exchange pulpits ore for whole congregations to visit one another for combined services and fellowship.  Congregations have specialty ministry gifts and the division of labor for that God has created becomes evident when believers really begin to explore and "see" one another in the life of hte city.
...
The methods listed above were discovered by united believers in the place of prayer.  The Holy Spirit will reveal the perfect plan for you and your team as you also seek God for wisdom.

Source: John Dawson  -  What Every Christian Should Know About Reconciliation, pp. 43 - 46

Cuthbert the Bridge Builder

The Lindisfarne Gospels were created on Holy Island by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 1300 years ago, to honour the memory of Cuthbert, born the year Aidan settled on Holy Island. As Cuthbert grew up and entered monastic life, Aidan sent the brothers Cedd and Chad on successful apostolic missions to the East Saxons (Essex) and the Mercians (the Midlands). Cuthbert became prior at Lindisfarne in 664, the year of the fateful Synod of Whitby when Rome demanded–and acquired–dominance over the independent and decentralised Celtic church.

Cuthbert the bridge-builder accepted the Whitby ruling. He stressed unity with diversity as he worked to reform the community and gained a widespread reputation as a holy man and worker of miracles. When the island was abandoned in face of the Viking threat, Cuthbert’s body and the Gospels crafted in his memory began an eventful journey ending 120 years later in Durham.

The Gospels richly embody Cuthbert’s emphasis on diversity in unity. Breath-taking in detail, colour and ornate design, the Gospels weave elements of book-making, ornamentation, script, illustration, theme and symbolism not only from the Irish Celtic and Roman traditions that were fused at Whitby, or from the scribe’s Anglo-Saxon roots. Experts have also identified elements from Coptic, Byzantine, Oriental and British Celtic sources.

The story of Lindisfarne and of the Gospels inspire many today to pray and strive towards a weaving together of God-given strands of spirituality which over time have become separated.

Source: Jeff Fountain  -  "The Book That Made Britain", Weekly Word eNewsletter, 27 July 2020
https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?e=0b86898e11&u=65605d9dbab0a19355284d8df&id=f4d0087745

The First Step - Forgive Those In My Own Tradition

My view of the episode was a bit different.  I saw the Lord giving me grace among these brethren as something of a first step in my progression toward forgiveness.  I knew that if I was to have any success at all with what the Lord had directed, if I was to be able to forgive the old main line churches, I had to first forgive these Pentecostal brethren, and bring them to a point of understanding one another.

Source: David du Plessis  -  From "A Man Called Mr. Pentecost", as told to Bob Slosser, Ch. 18, p. 170

An End-of-Life Review

Imagine when your earthly life ends and you relive your whole life - every moment.  Imagine the day God shows you how your faithful, loving acts of service produced a ripple effect in God's economy.  Dr. Mary Neal felt Jesus' embrace as she relived her whole life while trapped underwater in her kayak.

"I was shown events in my life, not in isolation but in the context of their unseen ripple effects.  It is easy for all to see the impact our words or actions have on our immediate surroundings, but to see the impact of events or words dozens of times removed was profoundly powerful.  Through this experience, I was able to clearly see that every action, every decision, and every human interaction impacts the bigger world in far more significant ways than we could ever be capable of appreciating."


Source: John Burke  -  "Imagine Heaven", Ch. 17, p. 243

Bearing-with-Love

Just then she looked up the cliff beside the tiny waterfall.  To her delighted surprise she saw a beautiful little plant.  It was growing in a tiny crevice of rock and on its stem grew a single flower.  Much-Afraid stared at the brilliant red petals.  "What is your name, little flower?  I have never seen another like you before?"

"My name is 'Bearing-with-Love,'" the little plant seemed to whisper.  "But some call me Forgiveness."

Much-Afraid realized at once that this was the new lesson the Shepherd wanted her to learn.  "Why is that your name?" she asked.

A little whispering laugh seemed to pass through its leaves.  "I was taken away from my family and friends and put in the prison of this rock.  The ones who did this left me alone, not caring what happened to me.  But I didn't stop loveing, and Love helped me push through the crack.  Now look at me!  What flower is more blessed and satisfied than I?"

Much-Afraid looked at teh flower's tiny glowing petals and wanted to be like it was.  She knelt beneath the imprisoned flower and whispered, "Here I am.  My name will be Bearing-with-Love too.  No matter how I am hurt or mistreated, I will choose to forgive."

Source: Hannah Hurnard  -  "Hind's Feet on High Places", arranged and illustrated for children, pp. 71-72

Evangelicals Visit Rome

At the press conference, Annette Kurschus of the evangelical leadership highlighted the importance of “reconciled diversity” and emphasized that the ecumenical visit to Rome—“the global city of Catholicism”—on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation also has “significance” for the Protestant world on the journey to unity.

The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United Protestant regional churches and denominations in Germany, with some 24 million members. The federation’s Bishop Bedford-Strohm, in greeting Pope Francis said, “Our churches feel a special responsibility to develop ecumenism further, since the divisions started with us in Germany.”

Source: Gerard O'Connell  -  "German Evangelical Church issues historic invite to Pope Francis", America : The Jesuit Review, 6 Feb 2017, http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/02/06/german-evangelical-church-issues-historic-invite-pope-francis

The Repentance Project

I AM SORRY that our nation has prospered at the expense of African Americans for 400 years through slavery, slave codes, Jim Crow, segregation, and lingering inequality in many systems in America.
 
I RECOGNIZE that many of the most devastating social problems in our country and local communities are direct results of these deeply-rooted injustices.
 
I KNOW that there is nothing I can do to change what has happened or to fix everything, but I can say that I am truly sorry. I acknowledge this legacy and its effects and I grieve.
 
BECAUSE OF WHAT I RECOGNIZE, I repent and I will respond by seeking to build genuine relationships with those who bear the brunt of this legacy.
 
I WANT TO listen, learn, and better understand how the perpetuation of systems that leverage benefit for some and pain and disadvantage for others, continues today. I will also do what I can to promote communities of equality, justice, reconciliation, and love for one another.

Source: Repentance Project  -  An American Lent, Week 7, Day 6
https://mailchi.mp/b17d3704f85c/an-american-lentstatement-of-repentance-502107?e=4afc552e4b

The Bold Prophets of Unity

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

Themes of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (1968-2017)

1968 To the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1: 14)
1969 Called to freedom (Galatians 5: 13)
(Preparatory meeting held in Rome, Italy)
1970 We are fellow workers for God (1 Corinthians 3: 9)
(Preparatory meeting held at the Monastery of Niederaltaich, Federal Republic of Germany)
1971 ...and the communion of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13: 13)
(Preparatory meeting in Bari, Italy)
1972 I give you a new commandment (John 13: 34)
(Preparatory meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland)
1973 Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11: 1)
(Preparatory meeting held at the Abbey of Montserrat, Spain)
1974 That every tongue confess: Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2: 1-13)
(Preparatory meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland)
1975 God’s purpose: all things in Christ (Ephesians 1: 3-10)
(Material from an Australian group. Preparatory meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland)
1976 We shall be like him (1 John 3: 2) or, Called to become what we are
(Material from Caribbean Conference of Churches. Preparatory meeting held in Rome, Italy)
1977 Enduring together in hope (Romans 5: 1-5)
(Material from Lebanon, in the midst of a civil war. Preparatory meeting held in Geneva)
1978 No longer strangers (Ephesians 2: 13-22)
(Material from an ecumenical team in Manchester, England)
1979 Serve one another to the glory of God (l Peter 4: 7-11)
(Material from Argentina - Preparatory meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland)
1980 Your kingdom come (Matthew 6: 10)
(Material from an ecumenical group in Berlin, German Democratic Republic -Preparatory meeting held in Milan)
1981 One Spirit - many gifts - one body (1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13)
(Material from Graymoor Fathers, USA - Preparatory meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland)
1982 May all find their home in you, O Lord (Psalm 84)
(Material from Kenya - Preparatory meeting held in Milan, Italy)
1983 Jesus Christ - the Life of the World (1 John 1: 1-4)
(Material from an ecumenical group in Ireland - Preparatory meeting held in Céligny (Bossey), Switzerland)
1984 Called to be one through the cross of our Lord (1 Corinthians 2: 2 and Colossians 1: 20)
(Preparatory meeting held in Venice, Italy)
1985 From death to life with Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-7)
(Material from Jamaica - Preparatory meeting held in Grandchamp, Switzerland)
1986 You shall be my witnesses (Acts 1: 6-8)
(Material from Yugoslavia (Slovenia) - Preparatory meeting held in Yugoslavia)
1987 United in Christ - a New Creation (2 Corinthians 5: 17-6: 4a)
(Material from England - Preparatory meeting held in Taizé, France)
1988 The love of God casts out fear (1 John 4: 18)
(Material from Italy - Preparatory meeting held in Pinerolo, Italy)
1989 Building community: one body in Christ (Romans 12: 5-6a)
(Material from Canada - Preparatory meeting held in Whaley Bridge, England)
1990 That they all may be one...That the world may believe (John 17)
(Material from Spain - Preparatory meeting held in Madrid, Spain)
1991 Praise the Lord, all you nations! (Psalm 117 and Romans 15: 5-13)
(Material from Germany - Preparatory meeting held in Rotenburg an der Fulda,
Federal Republic of Germany)
1992 I am with you always ... Go, therefore (Matthew 28: 16-20)
(Material from Belgium - Preparatory meeting held in Bruges, Belgium)
1993 Bearing the fruit of the Spirit for Christian unity (Galatians 5: 22-23)
(Material from Zaire - Preparatory meeting held near Zurich, Switzerland)
1994 The household of God: called to be one in heart and mind (Acts 4: 23-37)
(Material from Ireland - Preparatory meeting held in Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
1995 Koinonia: communion in God and with one another (John 15: 1-17)
(Material from Faith and Order, Preparatory meeting held in Bristol, England)
1996 Behold, I stand at the door and knock (Revelation 3: 14-22)
(Material from Portugal - Preparatory meeting held in Lisbon, Portugal)
1997 We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5: 20)
(Material from Nordic Ecumenical Council - Preparatory meeting held in Stockholm, Sweden)
1998 The Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8: 14-27)
(Material from France - Preparatory meeting held in Paris, France)
1999 He will dwell with them as their God, they will be his peoples (Revelation 21: 1-7)
(Material from Malaysia - Preparatory meeting held in Monastery of Bose, Italy)
2000 Blessed be God who has blessed us in Christ (Ephesians 1: 3-14)
(Material from the Middle East Council of Churches - Preparatory meeting held La Verna, Italy)
2001 I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14: 1-6)
(Material from Romania - Preparatory meeting held at Vulcan, Romania)
2002 For with you is the fountain of life (Psalm 36: 5-9)
(Material CEEC and CEC - Preparatory meeting near Augsburg, Germany
2003 We have this treasure in clay jars (2 Corinthians 4: 4-18)
(Material churches in Argentina - Preparatory meeting at Los Rubios, Spain)
2004 My peace I give to you (John 14: 23-31; John 14: 27)
(Material from Aleppo, Syria - Preparatory meeting in Palermo, Sicily)
2005 Christ, the one foundation of the church (1 Corinthians 3 1-23)
(Material from Slovakia - Preparatory meeting in Piestaňy, Slovakia)
2006 Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them (Mt 18: 18-20)
(Material from Ireland - Preparatory meeting held in Prosperous, Co. Kildare, Ireland)
2007 He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak (Mark 7: 31-37)
(Material from South Africa - Preparatory meeting held in Faverges, France)
2008 Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5: (12a) 13b-18)
(Material from USA - Preparatory meeting held in Graymoor, Garrison, USA)
2009 That they may become one in your hand (Ezekiel 37: 15-28)
(Material from Korea - Preparatory meeting held in Marseilles, France)
2010 You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:48)
(Material from Scotland - Preparatory meeting held in Glasgow, Scotland)
2011 One in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer (cf. Acts 2:42)
(Material from Jerusalem - Preparatory meeting held in Saydnaya, Syria)
2012 We will all be Changed by the Victory of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58)
(Material from Poland - Preparatory meeting held in Warsaw, Poland)
2013
What does God require of us? (cf. Mi 6, 6-8)
(Material from India - Preparatory meeting held in Bangalore, India)

2014
Has Christ been divided? (1 Corinthians 1:1-17)
(Material from Canada - Preparatory meeting held in Montréal, Canada)

2015
Jesus said to her: Give me to drink (John 4, 7)
(Material from Brazil - Preparatory meeting held in São Paulo, Brazil)

2016
Called to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord (cf. 1 Peter 2:9)
(Material from Latvia – Preparatory meeting held in Rīga, Latvia)

2017 Reconciliation - The Love of Christ Compels Us (2 Cor 5: 14-20)
(Material from Germany – Preparatory meeting held in Wittenberg, Germany)

Source: Vatican  -  "Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017", Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/weeks-prayer-doc/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20160531_week-prayer-2017_en.html

Reformed Churches assent to Doctrine of Justification

“A new phase of friendship and cooperation, said Pope Francis, on welcoming the adherence of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) to the ecumenical consensus on the Doctrine of Justification, on July 5, 2017 at Wittenberg in Germany, where Luther’s Reformation began in 1517.
...
Monsignor Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, represented the Catholic Church at the signing. He read a message of Pope Francis who welcomed it as “an eloquent sign of our commitment to continue together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, on the path from conflict to communion, from division to reconciliation.”

Source: Pope Francis  -  Quoted by Anne Kurian in "Pope Welcomes Adherence of the Reformed Churches to the Declaration on Justification", Zenit, 14 July 2017, https://zenit.org/articles/pope-welcomes-adherence-of-the-reformed-churches-to-the-declaration-on-justification/

Terry Mitchell

Went to a small gathering of couples tonight .. . By happenstance, we listed to a speaker talk about divisiveness, hate, bigotry, racism, political slandering . . . And often people use "selected" rules and viewpoints to support their position . . . Everyone looks for a loophole through which their behavior is condoned and justified . . .
In reality, we are simply called to love one another. Not love one another if they are this or that, or believe this or that, or have this style of behavior or that . . . It is not a wish, but a command. The command is simply "love one another". No conditions. No loopholes.
And then ask yourself today and every day, "What does love require of me?"
It was convicting, yet freeing. If we simply "love one another" unconditionally, so many issues just go away.
Love one another. I will try to do just that.

Source: Terry Mitchell  -  Posted on FB 10 Nov 2016