wfn.org | New Fire Stokes Flames of Ecumenical Unity

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

>  New Fire stokes the flames of unity

> By Jordan Blevins

Minneapolis, November 9, 2009 ? On the second day of the ecumenical
young adult gathering New Fire 2009, nearly 40 young adult
participants from across the country attended Sunday worship at the
Church of All Nations, a multi-cultural Presbyterian Church (USA)
congregation in Minneapolis.

After church the New Fire delegates met with ecumenists over 35 --
"seasoned ecumenists" in the lexicon of young adults -- to talk about
building momentum to keep the New Fire movement going forward..

Worship was a blend of the Church of All Nations sharing their
multicultural vision for the church and the New Fire movement sharing
their ecumenical vision ? and exploring the intersections between the two.

The Church of All Nations was chosen as the New Fire movement seeks
unity not only among communions, but unity in Christ among different
ethnicities and genders. The church describes itself as, ?high-risk,
low-anxiety church because our hope is in Jesus Christ. We are
committed to being honest, transparent and vulnerable with one
another, just as Jesus modeled." Following worship, members of the
church exchanged stories with members of New Fire about what it means
to be vulnerable in the church, and share with one another.

After worship, participants moved to doing the work aimed at
sustaining the New Fire movement into the future. The afternoon began
with sharing of methods of communication to continue building the
relationships that have been formed, and that will continue to be
formed, and then moved into a fundraising opportunity to sustain the
movement.  Entitled ?Ecumenists of all Ages?, participants were
challenged to give their age in a donation to the movement ? donations
which the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches and
Church World Service will be challenged to match in the coming week.

Plans were also laid for a more sustained fundraising proposal ? with
a concept paper presented including things like a permanent New Fire
Movement coordinator, a New Fire Task Force, and young adult
participation in ecumenical events. Even more significant, in an
effort to build local participation in the movement, were ideas around
local ecumenical training, seed grants for local ecumenical events,
and regional events to make the movement more grassroots.

The evening was spent sharing the vision of the movement with seasoned
ecumenists, including National Council of Churches staff and
denominational representatives. The New Fire Movement participants
shared their vision, proclaiming, ?New Fire is movement-building work
to call the Church to re-imagine its mission to live out the God-given
mandates of love, justice, unity, and peace on a global, regional, and
local level.?

An intergenerational conversation around the goals and vision explored
how the seasoned ecumenists can aid the members of New Fire in
achieving their goals  - but also saw the young adults calling on the
seasoned ecumenists to join them in this revitalization of the
ecumenical movement.

With a vision, goals, and fundraising momentum behind them, the
participants of New Fire will spend Monday exploring ways to stay
connected, stay involved, and keep the flames of the movement burning.

Jordan Blevins is assistant director of the NCC Eco-Justice Program
and a member of the New Fire delegation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office),
646-853-4212 (cell) , pjenks@ncccusa.org