wfn.org | Young adults add 'New Fire' to the future of ecumenism

[Philip Jenks <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

Young adults add 'New Fire' to the future of ecumenism

>By Jordan Blevins

Denver, November 25, 2008  -  Over the course of three days, spanning the w eekend of November 8 - 10, approximately 40 young adult ecumenists gathered  here in the Renaissance Hotel to explore how they could be in better relat ionship with one another, work more effectively to be the body of Christ to  the world, and how they might add New Fire to the ecumenical movement.

"It is clear that there is a renewed young adult movement emerging in the U .S., both on an institutional as well as grassroots level, but there has be en little coordination to see that awareness and relationship and is mainta ined-until now," said David Fraccaro, young adult ecumenical formation coor dinator for the U.S. Conference for the World Council of Churches. "New Fir e provided a space for representatives from numerous young adult ecumenical  initiatives to connect with one another, and to build the foundations for  a sustainable movement."

"We were deeply impressed by the depth of the participants' questions and t he intelligence of their engagement with us," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kin namon, National Council of Churches General Secretary. "The energy at New F ire bodes well for the future  -  and the present  -  of the ecumenical mov ement."

The participants of the "New Fire: Young Adult Ecumenical Days" issued a st atement to the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches and Chu rch World Service that followed their meeting. 
"We understand that our present unity in Christ is not the end goal, but th e beginning of engagement with the world," the statement said. "We have a d eep commitment to conversations and relationships with our fellow Christian s, including those with whom we most deeply disagree, and those who have no t yet been part of our conversation.  We hope to use these deepening relati onships with one another to share resources and knowledge that will enable  us to act cooperatively on diverse issues in diverse contexts."

Representatives from the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches,  the National Council of Churches Ecumenical Young Adult Ministries Team, th e Young Adult Ecumenical Forum, Canadian Student Christian Movement, the Na tional Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association, the World Student Christi an Federation, Ecumenical Advocacy Days, and the Eco-Justice Program of the  National Council of Churches, as well as various others connected to the e cumenical movement, expressed a strong desire to work together more effecti vely, and to grow into stronger relationships with one another. Commitments were made to increase the breadth of the ecumenical movement by  reaching out to partners who were not at the gathering, to develop a mecha nism to better share resources with one another of time, funding, staff, an d more, and to deepen the personal relationships that exist within the move ment.

Out of the weekend came the unveiling of a new website, http://www.faithcon nectsus.org/, housed by the World Council of Churches U.S. Conference, whic h will provide a space for young adult ecumenists to share with one another , view resources and events, and deepen their involvement in the movement.
Coming out of this weekend, the feeling that the future of the ecumenical m ovement was bright and burning was affirmed by the General Assembly of the  National Council of Churches and Church World Service.

"We pushed our boundaries, shared our vulnerabilities, and grew together as  brothers and sisters part of something larger than ourselves," the group d eclared in their common statement. "By deepening our relationships as ecume nical groups and individuals, we solidified the relationships that will kee p this fire burning, and brighten it into the future."

Jordan Blevins is assistant director of the National Council of Churches Ec o-Justice program.
For more information see http://www.ncccusa.org/

NCC Media contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228, pjenks@ncccusa.org