Last week I attended the National Workshop on Christian Unity in Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1963, a group of Roman Catholic ecumenical representatives, in the spirit and context of the Second Vatican Council, met to equip local leadership for the task of ecumenical ministry. In 1969, they invited leaders of other Christian communities to join this annual gathering, and today the officers of ecumenical ministry from a wide array of Christian denominations continue to meet annually and continue their oversight of the workshop, which is planned by national and local committees. There are both denominational and ecumenical sessions during the workshop.
The National Workshop on Christian Unity’s charter is to provide meeting seminars for all who are involved in the ministry of Christian unity, laity, clergy, ecumenical officers, theologians and staff of ecumenical organizations. The workshop provides a stimulating exchange of ideas and experiences among people concerned with Christian unity. It is a wonderful resource and balance between national planning and local responsibility, general ecumenical discussions, particular interchurch conversations, regional leadership efforts and local realities. The gathering is an annual opportunity to celebrate the unity that already exists among Christians, as we search for ways to overcome the divisions that remain.
The opening prayer service was held in the historic Smithfield United Church of Christ. Taking part in the leadership of the service were bishops, governing body executives from various denominations, with a number of eastern rite leaders from the many eastern rite parishes in the Pittsburgh area. The sermon was delivered by Bishop Donald McCoid, executive for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In his address he highlighted the words of Pope Benedict XVI, who reminded us all that the search for Christian unity is not an option to be pursued but is an imperative that must be actively sought by all the baptized.
One of the highlights of the general program was an interactive session on racism. Attendees took part in the third of what is to be four annual opportunities to address the issue of racism and its impact upon ecumenism. The plenary speaker was The Rev. Canon Harold T. Lewis, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh. Since 1971 he has served congregations in Honduras, England, Washington, D.C., New Haven, Conn., and his native Brooklyn, N.Y. He also served on the staff of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church as director of the Office of Black Ministries. The program also included responses from three other African American church leaders and questions and answers from the assembly.
Seminar offerings for the entire body included: Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs, intended for new ecumenical officers; Ecumenical Consultation on Ethical Decisions, provided a framework for approaching ethical and moral concerns from drawing from a theological, ecclesiological and ecumenical perspective; Spiritual Ecumenism, how prayer and spiritual discernment play a role in fostering unity; Harvesting the Fruits, exploration of Cardinal Kasper’s works, Vatican II documents, bilateral agreements; New Fire-Intergenerational Ecumenism, how to add to the depth and diversity of participation of young adults in the work of ecumenism; A Tale of Two Pontiffs — Ecumenical and Interreligious, exploration of the ecumenical stances of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI; Global Christianity, exploration of the growth of Pentecostals and Evangelicals; The Church and the Holocaust, look at the churches’ role in the Holocaust; and Orthodox Spirituality, historical overview of “the spirituality of the Christian East.”
“One in the Apostles’ Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayer,” is the theme of this year’s prayer for Christian Unity. Brother Jeff Gros, former associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops addressed the assembly at the final workshop plenary using this theme. After giving an in-depth overview of the history of the ecumenical enterprise from his vast experience he challenged all those involved in the quest for unity to continue the work that Jesus Christ has charged all the baptized to strive for unity in all things.
Father Joseph D. Wallace is coordinator, Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, Diocese of Camden.
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