National Workshop on Christian Unity Day 2
After resting for a luxurious 4-5 hours, your sleep deprived
seminarian woke up to a miracle today. The sun was shining brightly over
downtown Minneapolis and in sheer disbelief I looked down at the weather app on
my phone to find that the temperature was all the way up to the high 50s!!
Maybe it was the groans and grumbling prayers of so many Christian ecumenists
that prompted this blessing from on high, but regardless, today was the first
day of the conference that your sleep deprived seminarian was able to walk
around outside without a heavy winter coat and to get that natural Vitamin D
energy boost courtesy of some serious sunlight over Minnesota this afternoon.
The first plenary session this morning was entitled “After
500 Years: Catholics and Lutherans on the Way Together” and this discussion was
hosted by The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, the presiding Bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America and the Most Rev. Denis J. Madden, the retired
Auxiliary Bishop from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Both have
been key figures in the Roman Catholic-Evangelical Lutheran dialogues for many
years. Bishop Eaton remarked very poignantly that 500 years ago no one could
have ever envisioned all of us meeting in a room like that and having a
conversation about coming ever closer together towards unity. I also thought it
was significant when Bishop Madden said that when celebrating the Eucharist
here at the workshop, he feels an acute pain because we cannot all share at the
table. It’s a sobering reminder that there is still so much work left to be
done and that ecumenism should really be an imperative not just for a few
people gathered at a conference, but all Christians.
Much of their discussion revolved around the 2015 joint
document between Lutherans and Catholics called “Declaration on the Way:
Church, Ministry and Eucharist” which I’ve linked here: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/ecumenical/lutheran/upload/Declaration_on_the_Way-for-Website.pdf
Check it out if you get a chance. You should be able to
finish it in one afternoon. It clocks in at a light 120 pages…which is an easy day’s
worth of reading for us seminarians!
Our lunches are a wonderful ecumenical affair as well. We
are told to sit with people we don’t know and to continue the conversations
that began at the plenary. Even though the food was making me tired, it was
wonderful sharing a meal with Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Episcopalians. Then,
the host of the luncheon Fr. Don Rooney went around to various tables with a
mic asking for volunteers to stand and speak to the whole gathering about three
particular questions. One question was on the importance of ecumenical
theological exchange. He asked: “As ecumenical officers and representatives, as
educators and as individuals who live by Christ’s high priestly prayer that all
may be one, what can we do to deepen our understanding of the heritage and
values of others?”
Your sleep deprived seminarian quickly downed his Starbucks
coffee to get the life flowing back into his veins, raised his hand, stood, and
took the mic. I talked about the Consortium class “Ecumenism” that I did at the
Pontifical College Josephinum a couple of years ago, which to this day, is one
of my favorite courses that I’ve ever taken. It was amazing to learn from
different perspectives, as well as grow alongside those of different Christian
traditions. I said that ecumenical learning must be an imperative for theological
education because it will not only inspire and equip our future leaders to
continue on in our work, but that also, as pastors, it will lead to more
grassroots ecumenism; partnering with people of other Christian traditions to
build better towns, communities and cities. This was met with applause so it
was worth the brief heart palpitations that followed from drinking my coffee
too quickly.
The afternoon session was a joint dialogue between the
United Methodists and the Episcopalians. Incidentally, one of the major
speakers was The Rev. Dr. Thomas Ferguson, who was one of my professors in the
aforementioned Ecumenism class. The first half of the session was a lecture on
where we are with the United Methodist-Episcopal dialogue. I’ve posted pictures
of the Powerpoint if this interests you. Sorry about people’s heads being in
the way…you do the best you can! This was followed by a lovely round-table,
small-group discussions by United Methodists and Episcopalians. There’s just
too much to write about here for that (and I’ve got finals to work on!),
suffice to say that I’m thankful to MTSO for this SEP grant and that I’m so
blessed to be here having these conversations! It’s moments like these today
that really reinforce how I want to be doing this kind of work for the rest of
my life….
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