Hainburg, Austria

This year, 2020, marks a significant anniversary in the history of Hainburg, in fact for the whole country of Austria. In the year 1420, an expulsion of the Jewish people began in some communities such as Hainburg; the expulsion ended very tragically on March 12, 1421, with the remaining Jews who had refused baptism were burned at the stake in the present day third district of Vienna. The rich were put into prison, many were forcefully baptized, and those who refused were put onto small rafts and sent down the Danube river towards present day Bratislava. These were very dark days.

To remember this anniversary two small events took place. In July a small group from the TJCII Come and See Course gathered in Hainburg to pray and remember the events of 1420. We prayed that this history would not be forgotten. We realized that the old synagogue next to the Mysterium Christi house (that is about 700 years old) was probably last used as a synagogue 600 years ago. Yet, the building still stands and has surely seen much history. We want to hold it in remembrance. May it be as the stump from Isaiah 11:1!

The second event took place on the afternoon of September 27, right before the eve of Yom Kippur. A small group gathered in the Hainburg parish of Sts. Phillip and James to remember the events, pray together, and ask forgiveness for these events of the past.

Source: Sr. Mary Paul Friemel  -  Hainburg Report, December 2020 No. 18

Defining Ourselves as "Against"

The Catholic and Lutheran confessions have in the course of history defined themselves against one another and suffered the one-sidedness that has persisted until today when they grapple with certain problems, such as that of authority.  Since the problems originated from the conflict with each other, they can only be solved or at least addressed through common efforts to deepen and strengthen their communion.  Catholics and Lutherans need each other's experience, encouragement and critique.

Source: Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity  -  Conflict to Communion:  Report of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, p. 87

Bucer - The Other Martin

There were fourteen other points they agreed upon easily, but on the fifteenth, the exact nature of the Eucharist, they found no common ground. During the final hours of the Luther/Zwingli stalemate, the other Martin (Bucer) was asked to mediate. It was known that Bucer was open to some sort of compromise, but he was unable to broker any that day. Martin L. rebuffed Martin B, whom he referred to as a chatterbox. “Your spirit and our spirit do not coincide. On the contrary, it is obvious that we do not have one and the same spirit.”

So in the end, Luther and Zwingli made it an all-or-nothing proposition, parting without so much as a handshake. But the other Martin refused to give up. In the weeks following the Colloquy, Bucer called for unity even in the midst of disagreement. He wrote, “If you immediately condemn anyone who doesn’t quite believe the same as you do as forsaken by Christ’s Spirit, and consider anyone to be an enemy of truth who holds something false to be true, who, pray tell, can you still consider a brother?  I for one have never met two people who believed exactly the same thing. This holds true in theology as well.”

But few listened. This impasse set the stage for countless schisms and factions that would mar the church for centuries to come.

Source: David Peters  -  "The Other Martin", Church History Institute, April 2017, https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/blog/post/the-other-martin/

Ashton Cumberbatch

[In] 1998 … then Mayor, Kirk Watson, called together a group of leaders to draft a “Commitment to Racial Reconciliation” in response to a racially charged police event in the city.   That document declared the equality of the races and the evil of racism.  [It] used much of what had already been worked through by a small group of Christian pastors and their wives in 1996 in writing the “Pastoral Covenant for Racial Reconciliation.”

…

The team consisted of Pastor Geno Hildebrandt … Pastor Rick Randall … ; Pastor [Joseph] Parker … and Ashton Cumberbatch, a lawyer, pastor, and civic leader, both of African-American descent; and their spouses.  Ashton Cumberbatch described the document:  “It took a year.  It acknowledged that racism is a sin and set out some scriptures that supported that.  It said that we have fallen short of the glory of God in that area, and it talked about things we could do in our individual congregations, and what we could do collectively to combat that.  we presented our document to a larger group that existed at the time - Austin Pastors Prayer Fellowship.  They thought there was merit, so we had a signing event.  I think originally 65 to 70 pastors signed the document.”

Source: Thana Rolph  -  "Transforming Austin: A God Story", Chapter 5 "The Deep Soil of Relationship", pp. 43-44

Looking Towards Shared Future

In the document the leaders "confess our guilt before God on behalf of our churches, asking God and each other for forgiveness and committing ourselves before God to continue to deepen our togetherness."

A service "of penitence and reconciliation" will be held on 11 March next year in the German city of Hildesheim with local churches encouraged to follow suit.

Other ecumenical initiatives to mark the anniversary include a pilgrimage to Israel / Palestine by church leaders.

Pope Francis is also set to begin marking the occasion next month with a service alongside Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, at Lund, in Sweden. They will pray for forgiveness and ask for healing of the wounds inflicted on each other since the Reformation.

Source: Harry Farley  -  As quoted by Harry Farley, "After centuries of separation, evangelicals and Catholics look to shared future", Christian Today eMagazine, 22 September 2016, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/after.centuries.of.separation.evangelicals.and.catholics.look.to.shared.future/96072.htm

Creedal ... Baptists?

The Apostles’ Creed is one of the most significant compilations of Christian beliefs in the history of the church. However, Southern Baptists have avoided it throughout our lifetime, citing the Bible as their sole creed.
…
We picked [reading] the Apostles’ Creed because it is concise, clear, and well known.  When we detected that some members began to regard the creed with a sanctity that only belonged to scripture or as a point of ecclesiological pride, we occasionally replaced it with the Ligonier's Statement on Christology. We did this to demonstrate the vitality of new and serious corporate statements that reflected historical orthodoxy. We also did this to mitigate against ecclesiological and denominational pride (it’s a Presbyterian document being recited by Baptists!). Either statement serves the same purpose and emphasize the important things we believe both in the statements themselves and in the act of saying them.

Source: D. Jeffrey Mooney and Adrian Martinez  -  "How One Church Introduced Reading the Creeds", Center for Baptist Renewal blog post, 1 March 2019
http://www.centerforbaptistrenewal.com/blog/2019/3/1/how-one-church-introduced-reading-the-creeds

Phoenix, Arizona

Our J17 leadership has decided that our only mission is to bring Christians together in worship and prayer, believing that our unity efforts will be a significant factor in building kingdom collaborations for the good of our city and state. Direct and indirect outcomes of our J17 Movement include:
• AZ127 (www.az127.com), based on James 1:27, is a local church and parish movement to reduce significantly the number of foster children in our state system by getting kids into Christian homes. In the last couple years, AZ127 has place more children in foster care homes than all the other agencies of the state combined. The movement was initially formed and led by three evangelical megachurches, but in the last year, Paul Mulligan, President of Phoenix Catholic Charities, “translated” the AZ127 content into Catholic language, and the diocese has adopted AZ127 as a model for families in their parishes to open their homes to foster kids.
• For the last eighteen months I’ve been serving as the Phoenix Mobilizer for American Bible Society’s 6-city scripture engagement campaign. Bishop Olmstead has given me his full blessing to spearhead a decade-long Bible engagement movement for the Diocese of Phoenix. Key Catholic priests and parish leaders have come together to develop and implement a plan.
• The Arizona director of Alpha (http://alphausa.org/), Jad Levi, who also serves on our John 17 Movement advisory team, has had remarkable favor with the diocese. In the next six months, about two dozen of the 93 parishes in the diocese will be launching Alpha as a part of the the New Evangelization to bring Catholics and their friends into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. The website of the USCCB states, “The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize” (http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teac…/…/new-evangelization/).

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.

Good Questions from Fr. Hurley

But could Presbyterians tithe their Sundays to the Church of Ireland, i.e. go to the Church with the Anglicans rather than with their fellow-Presbyterians some five times a year? Could a member of the Church of Ireland reciprocate this ecumenical gesture or do likewise with the Methodists, worshipping with them on the occasional Sunday and also transferring the tithe of their support for the Church Missionary Society to the Methodist Missionary Society? Could Roman Catholics transfer a tithe of their support for Trócaire to Christian Aid? And sometimes buy and read the Church of Ireland Gazette instead of the Irish Catholic or Catholic Herald? Could Roman Catholic ordinands tithe their theological studies to another Church? In other words, could they study and live with Anglican, Orthodox or Presbyterian ordinands for a part of their course?

Source: Fr Michael Hurley  -  Christian Unity: An Ecumenical Second Spring? (Dublin: Veritas), p. 83-84, as quoted by Gladys Ganiel in her blog post "Fr Michael Hurley on Ecumenical Tithing", 5 November 2011, http://www.gladysganiel.com/irish-catholic-church/fr-michael-hurley-on-ecumenical-tithing/

Identificational Repentance

As for the non-indigenous leaders who grieve over the way elements of Christian civilisation have misrepresented Christ, like the British intercessors who came to Rukumoana Marae, they are found in increasing numbers living out the biblical practice of identificational repentance.

This is a neglected protocol that can open floodgates of healing. Identification, as used in this sense, signifies the act of consciously including oneself within an identifiable category of human beings. Sometimes modern peacemakers begin this process by organizing events and ceremonies in which representatives of offended sub- cultures have an opportunity to express regret and /or extend forgiveness.

While recognizing that the human story is filled with complex issues and that today’s generation has inherited the task of both honouring righteous ancestors and seeking forgiveness for ancestral sins, it is their hope that their children will not have to deal with the hatred and alienation that have marked the experience of this and past generations. The inclination of these people is to uncover the ancient and modern wounds of injustice, pride and prejudice and to heal them in a biblical way - that is to say without self-righteous accusation or dishonest cover up.

Source: John Dawson  -  "Ngā Tapuwae / Following in their Footsteps: Stories of the Indigenous Missionaries of the Pacific", Ch. 8 "Kaitiakitanga – The Guardians Arise"

From "The Porches Of Holly"

Dylan thought about how odd it was that even after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He bore the scars that humanity pounded into His body. He pondered how God could carry the scars of angry men, yet release them from His judgment. 'Father, forgive them.' While men ripped the body of God to shreds, He submitted Himself to their sin, yet did not hold their wrongs against them. 'What kind of insanity was that?' Dylan wondered. 'If only I could do the same," he muttered.

Source: Traci Vanderbush  -  From her novel The Porches of Holly, as quoted on Facebook by the author on 18 June 2020

"Feet From Her Killer"

His daughter was murdered. This is why he sat down feet from her killer and forgave him:
The pair had last seen each other two decades earlier in court, but Lacy said Smith avoided eye contact with him then.
On this day, that wouldn't be an option. They would be sitting feet apart in a room at San Quentin prison, where Smith was incarcerated.
Following the mediator's lead, they each shared what they hoped to accomplish through the conversation.
As they both choked back tears, Lacy said three words that transformed both of their lives: "I forgive you."
Smith was in shock.
"It was almost like I didn't hear it. It's like he had to say it a couple of times for it to really register," he said.
Walking out of that room in San Quentin, Lacy felt "100,000 pounds lighter."

Source: Drew Kann  -  "His daughter was murdered. This is why he sat down feet from her killer and forgave him.", ESPN, 10 May 2019
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/27/us/redemption-project-donald-lacy-christopher-smith-forgiveness/index.html

Ask Yourself:

We are almost at the end of octave of The Week of Prayers for Christian Unity🙏🙏🙏 which is dedicated to the meetings and prayers of Christians from different denominations💒⛪️💒 for the unity of those whose Jesus is the Lord.

Prayer for unity is also in the heart of TJCII however we see strongly the key role of Israel🇮🇱 and repentance😥 in the work of healing and reconciliation of the Body of Christ. These are elements which are sometimes overlooked in the ecumenical initiatives.

What we discover in the TJCI journey🛤🛣 is that the beginning of all reconciliation and unity work lies in humility, repentance and deep sorrow over the division💔😥.

❓Ask yourself: Is your heart weeping because the Body of Messiah is broken❓

Source: TJCII Europe  -  Posted on Facebook, 24 Jan 2020

The Bishop of Malta

Why did the Bishop of Gozo make this gesture?  Here are a few thoughts: 

1) Jesus prayed to the Father that Christians would be one in him and the Father is answering this prayer.  (John 17)

2) There is a rising tide of Christians from all traditions whose passion is to offer themselves to see this prayer of Jesus become a growing reality in our day.

3) The Holy Spirit is breaking down barriers and opening up unimaginable possibilities. 

4) This Bishop is simply following the example of Pope Francis.

Source: Ryan Thurman  -  "Signs of Hope:  A Lenten Surprise", A2J Blog post on 2 March 2017, http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/signs-of-hope-a-lenten-surprise

Patty's Story

When I was a teenager I displayed my history and theology geekery to its fullest during Halloween.  As everyone walked around in various levels of dazed sugar highs and dressed as alter egos, I would proclaim to anyone interested or listening, “Happy Reformation Day!”

It was on October 31, 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  This simple act done by a Catholic monk and theologian was a pivotal act in history that sparked the Protestant Reformation.  2017 marks the 500-year anniversary of this event.

It was significant to me as a youth because I had undergone a reformation of my own.  Against all odds as a Thai American, I grew up in a family of Christian faith.  It’s estimated that there are only 300,000 Thai Catholics worldwide.  Thailand is a Buddhist country and less than 5% of its population counts itself as something other than Buddhist.  Thanks to French missionaries that came to Thailand in the 1700s, I count it a privilege that my family has worshipped at St. Xavier Parish in the heart of Bangkok for generations.  I also need to thank my tenacious maternal grandmother who had the forethought to ensure one condition in my parents’ informal prenup - all of their children were to be raised Catholic.

 I’m also a member of a living community of people who have had a sublime, metaphysical, faith experience.  In some cultures, people refer to this as being “born again”.  Whatever those connotations, I can at least affirm that it was a life-changing experience for me.  In fact, it happened to me while I was in junior high. Since I attended a school that was grades 7-12, when I graduated, I was voted “most philosophical” as well as “most changed.”  It’s a memory that is real, and deeply personal.  It changed me then, and continues to shape who I am now.

​For example, I love science fiction. I often think that I find this genre appealing because the idea of an alternate reality or a portal to another world isn’t so far-fetched to me.  Even though I’m an intelligent, rational person, I touched, saw, and experienced something other. Not only do I believe in a God, I believe God is good and mysteriously powerful enough to care about me personally and still manage to handle the weight of the world. 

It was after this experience that my faith and worldview began to expand beyond my Catholic upbringing.  After meeting God in such a visceral way, I had an unquenchable thirst to know more about the God that I’d met.  My family went through a lot of grief as they watched me go through a “rebellious” stage as I began to question things at the parish I attended, at my Confirmation classes, and in my family.  I went through a vitriolic apostasy phase.  At age thirteen I found myself sitting in the reference section of the city library reading extremely large, bound, hard copies of the Encyclopedia of Religion.  I am thankful to many friends who invited me to different churches and youth groups of various non-denominational and mainline Protestant churches.  That was my first experience with non-Catholic Christians and it felt foreign.  It was in that environment of welcome while feeling a sense of alienation that I had an epiphany about a fundamental aspect of my Christian faith - I could own it.  What did this Thai American have in common with Latin and German speaking, white, male monks like Luther or Augustine?  Same God, same faith, same family, same tradition.  I could own it like I owned my family tree. 

Through providential circumstances I also attended a small evangelical Christian college in the Midwest.  I was culture shocked in more ways than one.  As a native Southern Californian, I learned the definitions of the words “cold” and “autumn”.  I learned that “15 miles from downtown” meant something completely different in the Midwest than it did in LA.  I learned that evangelical Christian culture is a world of its own and also imperfect.  As I entered a new phase of apostasy with evangelical Christianity, I found myself making peace with my Catholic tradition.  In an evangelical environment that I wanted to disown, I found myself taking refuge in Catholic liturgy that spoke to the inexpressible mysteries of faith in my heart.   After much heartache and wrestling, I eventually made peace with my faith “families” both Catholic and Protestant.

The problem with this is that I feel like the child of divorced parents.  Along with my personal journey, my love of history makes me aware of centuries of bad blood between Catholics and Protestants, Protestants and Protestants, Christians and Jews . . . The list goes on.  I can’t disassociate myself from these traditions because I’ve been adopted into this family, and even if it’s not my fault that there are skeletons in the closet as well as skeletons paraded around public discourse, it’s my family and so I own it and take responsibility for it.  And when I examine my own life, I know that I’ve been guilty of closing the door to keep those skeletons from view.

This makes me all the more grateful to be here in this time and place.  Today, I write this from a hotel in Berlin, Germany.  I have the privilege and honor of serving on the Board for Wittenberg 2017, a movement dedicated to reconciliation through prayer, repentance and unity.  Rather than culminating in 2017, the goal is to be a springboard for healing and unity as we gather an international and ecumenical group comprised especially of Catholics, Protestants and Messianic Jews.

While there is a vast amount of diversity within the Church community, most everything that divided us in 1517 doctrinally is no longer an issue.  Yet the Church today faces a new set of issues.  It is still seen as fragmented rather than diverse, scandalized rather than transforming, hurtful rather than healing.

As we approach 2017 we are truly in a kairos moment.  In Greek, “kairos” refers to a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens.  Growing up, preachers referred to pregnant women about to give birth as a kairos moment.  Another example can be found in physics.  This morning I read an article about the physics lab in Cern, Switzerland.  Regarding the results of the Higgs mass measurement, there are scientists who believe that our state of the universe is at its least stable. That we are on the verge of a “phase change.”  The article made the analogy to “supercooled water poised to freeze or superheated water on the point of boiling.” Like the pregnant woman analogy, one minute you’re pregnant and the next minute you’re not.  That’s a kairos moment phase change.

What phase change will the Church undergo post-2017? That is a question I find myself dreaming about and imagining almost daily.

Source: Wittenberg 2017  -  "Patty's Story", from the Wittenberg 2017 (US) website
http://www.wittenberg2017.us/pattys-story.html

A Reformed Theologian Honoring ... a Catholic Bishop

I want to share a simple story of friendship this month. One of my greatest joys in my work of ecumenism has been the deep and abiding friendships I have been afforded. One of my real friends is the well-known Catholic teacher and evangelist Bishop Robert Barron. If you do not know the ministry of Word of Fire I heartily urge you to tap into their many resources. Yes, it is Catholic. But it is a Christian ministry that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel. Every Christian will benefit if you are humble and teachable.

I first heard Bishop Barron on Chicago radio about fifteen years ago. As I drove to preach at a church about twenty minutes from home each Sunday I listened to Fr. Barron. I was delighted by his Christ-exalting  exposition of the Gospel text for the day. He almost always spoke directly to both my heart and mind. Later, I met Fr. Barron and a friendship developed. Fr. Barron and I have done presentations in many diverse settings, including Catholic and Protestant audiences. I have never shared a pubic meeting with him without being more determined to love Christ better. He once told me I was a Barnabas. I am not sure that is true but it gave me grace to continue in the work of teaching and encouragement.

Source: John Armstrong  -  November 2020 Friends Letter, 4 Nov 2020
https://mailchi.mp/f0592e0aa9ae/november-2020-friends-letter?e=4c0e810bbb

A Catholic Recognition of the Pope's Prayer Answered In ... a Protestant Church

On January 1, 1901, Pope Leo XIII prayed to the Holy Spirit. He sang the Veni Creator Spiritus by the Holy Spirit window in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. That same day, in Topeka, Kansas, at the Bethel College and Bible School, the Holy Spirit came upon a group of Protestants who had been praying to receive the Holy Spirit as the early Church did in Acts chapter two. Agnes Ozman prayed in tongues, and people began to welcome the Holy Spirit to work in them as in the early Church with healings, miracles, deliverance, and power to effectively evangelize and help people convert to Jesus Christ. This beginning of the charismatic renewal highlights its ecumenical nature that continues to be experienced over 100 years later. The commonly shared experience of being filled with passion and love for God has been a major way that the charismatic renewal helps bring Catholics and Protestants together to build relationships and learn to recognize many common areas of Christian living.

Source: Catholic Diocese of Arlington  -  "Our History" page, http://www.arlingtonrenewal.org/about.html

The Lutheran Church Repenting For ... the Lutheran Church

Norway's state Lutheran Church has condemned the anti-Jewish legacy of Martin Luther, the 16th century German theologian who started the Protestant Reformation.
 
In a statement issued Friday ahead of next year's 500-year anniversary of the Reformation, the Church of Norway's General Synod said some of Luther's writings were later used in anti-Semitic propaganda, including in Nazi Germany.
 
Noting that such propaganda was also spread in Nazi-occupied Norway during World War II, the synod said that "in the Reformation anniversary year of 2017, we as a church must clearly distance ourselves from the anti-Judaism that Luther left behind."

Source: Norway's state Lutheran Church  -  As quoted in "Norwegian church denounces Luther's anti-Jewish writings", YNET news, 25 Nov 2016, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4884355,00.html

Gozo, Malta

Yesterday, during the Ash Wednesday service in the Anglican church here in Gozo, we were all surprised, including the priest, to find out that the Catholic Bishop of Gozo had written a letter to us, and sent his secretary to read it on his behalf.  In this letter the Bishop shared with us that during this season of Lent he was calling on all the Catholic churches in Gozo to take up a special Lenten offering that would go to the Anglican church to help with the very costly and necessary renovations of St. Paul's Church in Valletta where the Anglican church has been worshipping for 175 years.  Can you imagine this?  How did this happen when Catholics and Anglicans have such a painful past, each having deeply wronged the other and both historically viewing the other “with suspicion and hostility,” 

Source: Ryan Thurman  -  "Signs of Hope:  A Lenten Surprise", A2J Blog post on 2 March 2017, http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/signs-of-hope-a-lenten-surprise