wfn.org | Churchwide Ecumenical Consultation Plots Course

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14-November-1996                  
 
 
96448    Churchwide Ecumenical Consultation Plots Course  
         for Presbyterian Church's Interchurch Relations 
 
                           by Theo Gill 
                  Office of the General Assembly 
 
HUNT, Texas--For the first time since the reunion of the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) in 1983, a churchwide ecumenical consultation was convened 
at Mo Ranch here in mid-October to review the course of interdenominational 
and interfaith initiatives and to suggest new directions for Presbyterians 
to take in local, regional, national and international involvements. 
 
     The conference was described by organizer Mary Caroline Mitchell, a 
member of the Advisory Committee on Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations 
(ACEIR) from Springfield, Ill., as "an opportunity for conversations 
between persons involved locally in ecumenical and interfaith activities 
with those who are involved nationally and internationally."  She said "the 
conversations about what it means to be one through the body and blood of 
Christ vibrated with energy and excitement." 
 
     The consultation, "Ecumenism among Us: A Presbyterian Conversation," 
was attended by 110 Presbyterians and 13 representatives from Presbyterian 
partner churches.  They were drawn from congregations, campus ministries, 
local ecumenical and interfaith agencies and councils, Presbyterian 
theological institutions, middle governing bodies and national staff. 
 
     Invitations to the consultation were accepted by persons associated 
with conciliar bodies such as the National and World Councils of Churches, 
as well as by Presbyterians active in nondenominational parachurch 
organizations such as World Vision and Promise Keepers. 
 
     The group compared notes on various dialogues and cooperative efforts 
currently under way between faith communities and explored ways in which 
the PC(USA) might more effectively address the needs of congregations as 
they support local interreligious agencies and councils.  The consultation 
included worship, Bible study, keynote speeches, panel discussions and 
small-group work. 
 
     Some of the speakers featured at the gathering were Beverly Gaventa, a 
New Testament professor at Princeton Theological Seminary; Bishop Thomas 
Hoyt of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Jane Dempsey Douglass, a 
professor of church history at Princeton who is president of the World 
Alliance of Reformed Churches; and Michael Kinnamon, a Christian Church 
(Disciples of Christ) minister and dean of Lexington (Ky.) Theological 
Seminary who is a prime mover behind the Consultation on Church Union 
(COCU). 
 
     Panelists who reflected on the themes that emerged from the 
consultation included the Rev.  Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the 
General Assembly; the Rev. David Ramage, retired president of McCormick 
Theological Seminary and ACEIR chair; and current General Assembly vice 
moderator Gay Mothershed. 
 
     Key among the issues raised by consultation participants was the need 
to link the local church to the global Christian movement and to keep 
global Christian leaders aware of their dependence on Christians in local 
ministry.  "For many, this event connected the head trip of ecumenical 
dialogue with the heart and spirit of what it means to be one in Christ," 
Mitchell noted.  "Many stories were shared about real situations in local, 
national and international arenas which are exacerbated by current 
fragmentation or, conversely, enabled by progress being made in breaking 
down the walls which divide." 
 
     Ramage promised consultation participants that their recommendations 
and areas of agreement will be the focus of discussion at ACEIR's next 
meeting, in early January of 1997, as the advisory committee shapes future 
policies and develops concrete proposals to submit to future General 
Assemblies. 
 
     Some of those broad areas of agreement include 
 
     *    a recognition of the interdependence of local and global ecumenism 
     *    a plea for greater denominational support of interfaith 
          initiatives 
     *    a commitment to Christology as the motivation for church unity 
     *    a profound regret that all Christians cannot gather at one 
          eucharistic table 
     *    an impatience at the slow pace of movements toward full 
          communion between churches 
     *    a desire for hands-on engagement in ecumenical and interfaith 
          activities rather than lofty pronouncements 
     *    an enthusiasm for seizing immediate opportunities for dialogue 
          and joint mission. 

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