Note #9240 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06206 April 10, 2006
Catholics, Pentecostals included in new association of U.S. churches
Christian Churches Together bills itself as 'most inclusive' ecumenical group
by Chris Herlinger Ecumenical News International
NEW YORK - After nearly five years of discussions and planning, a new association of Christian churches in the United States, including Roman Catholics, Evangelicals and Pentecostals, has been formally launched.
Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT), which calls itself "the most inclusive fellowship of Christian churches and traditions" in the country, was inaugurated on March 28.
It represents the first time bodies representing the five major U.S. Christian traditions - Evangelical and Pentecostal, Protestant, predominately racial/ethnic, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic - have come together at a national level, although such churches often work together at local levels.
"We finally found the courage to confront our obvious and longstanding divisions and to build a new expression of unity, rooted in the Spirit, that will strengthen our mission in the world," said the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church in America and interim CCT moderator.
The CCT is the first such grouping that includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Thirty-four churches and church organizations are formal participants in the CCT; eight others, while considering participation, now are involved as observers.
The launch was delayed in mid-2005 after concerns were raised by leaders of predominantly black churches as to whether another national ecumenical body is needed alongside the National Council of Churches (NCC). They also questioned whether the new grouping would address concerns important to their members, such as racial and economic justice.
The statement announcing the launch of the CCT noted that overcoming poverty is "central to the mission of the church and essential to our unity in Christ," and that participants had committed themselves to work together to address the causes of poverty.
CCT is not seen, at least for now, as supplanting the NCC. The Roman Catholic Church, the largest denomination in the United States, does not belong to the NCC; nor do many evangelical or Pentecostal groups.
Participants in the CTT represent a wide variety of groups, including several Orthodox churches; Protestant groups such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal (Anglican) Church; and bodies such as the Salvation Army, Open Bible Churches, International Pentecostal Holiness Church and the humanitarian organization World Vision.
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