News of Ecumenical Organizations:
United States
Kinnamon raises questions about ecumenical communication
   National Council of Churches (NCC) general secretary Michael Kinnamon has raised key questions for the NCC communication commission that can be applied to other ecumenical bodies, as well:
* Is more work needed on the theology of communication rather than reducing it to a technique?
* How do we balance the freedom to communicate and the potential of communication to harm some who are vulnerable?
* What should be the style of ecumenical communication? Given new communication technologies, what of face-to-face direct dialogue, which is the central discipline of the ecumenical movement?
* Does the council get communicated as a cooperative agency or as a community of Christians?
Presbyterian Jerry Van Marter chairs the NCC commission. |
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Christian Churches Together
How can expansive ecumenism be expressed locally?
Christian Churches Together (CCT) is now the most diverse ongoing ecumenical forum in the U.S. But it has been only a national effort to date. How can it be expressed locally? The CCT steering committee, meeting recently  , encouraged local use of four features of its model:
- Consensus decision making
- Designation of "families" of churches for purposes of participation and decision making : Catholic, Historic African American, Orthodox, Evangelical/Pentecostal, and historic Protestant
- Participation by as many churches as can claim three affirmations: believe in Christ according to the scriptures, worship and serve the Triune God, work together to present a credible Christian witness
- Inclusion of local organizations, up to 20% of participants (e.g., at the national level, Bread for the World, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, American Bible Society, etc.)
Any local expression of CCT should avoid undercutting existing means by which Christian unity is encouraged and practiced in a community. CCT nationally may help network local CCT-type expressions. |
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CCT has priorities for evangelism and poverty
Christian Churches Together is the broadest ecumenical table of conversation yet to exist in the U.S. It uses discernment and consensus as its primary decision-making model. Most participants also are fully involved in another entity such as the National Council of Churches or the National Association of Evangelicals. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a provisional member. On January 13-16, 2009, over a hundred leaders from 43 participating communities are scheduled to meet in Baltimore. There will  be a young leader participation day on January 14 (for which registration is required by December 5, 2008).
Leonid Kishkovsky is the current CCT moderator and Richard L. Hamm (pictured) is executive administrator. Asked how he would know if CCT is succeeding, Hamm offered three benchmarks: that CCT have a growing number of participants, speak to relevant topics, and maintain its focus. See FAQs about CCT.
CCT's general tasks, as defined in its by-laws, are to:
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celebrate a common confession of faith in the Triune God
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discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and theological dialogue
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provide fellowship and mutual support
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seek better understanding of each other by affirming commonalities and understanding differences
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foster evangelism faithful to the proclamation of the gospel
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speak to society with a common voice whenever possible
- promote the common good of society and engage in other activities consistent with its purposes
CCT is committed to two basic emphases for the period ahead, evangelism and fighting poverty. Read the CCT statement on poverty and study papers on evangelism.
Experience is bringing change in CCT's look at racial/ethnic churches
The PC(USA) has particular concern that Christian Churches Together be a hospitable place that encompases racial and ethnic churches. (See Minutes, 217th General Assembly, p. 574f.) And CCT itself is learning from its experiences. At the annual meeting in January 2009, participants will be asked to change a CCT "church family" designation to "Historic African American churches" from "racial/ethnic." Other racial/ethnic churches -- such as the Korean Presbyterian Church in America -- would fit into other "families." The current list of CCT participant churches lists a number of African-American bodies as being in the decision-making process or present as observers.
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Church Women United
Children's art project furthers a campaign for rights of the child
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"Strengthening families worldwide in the 21st century" is the quadrennial priority of Church Women United (CWU) for the years 2004-2008.
- An intergenerational art project is central to its current phase in a campaign for U.S. ratification of the Convention for the Rights of the Child. Children, parents, and grandparents are asked to describe in art their answer to the question, "What will the world be like when children's rights are respected?" The art may range from poetry to photographs to drawings. Art work received by December 31, 2008 will be sent to the White House, State Department, and Congress. See myths and facts about the Convention for the Rights of the Child.
- CWU has also echoed the call for action to end trafficking of children, child prostitution, and child pornography originally issued by ECPAT-USA. See its 2008 work plan for this objective.
- A project for "Changing Girls' Lives" addresses adolescent girls in the global South who need help amidst poverty, lack of sufficient schooling, and the lesser amount of freedom they enjoy as compared with boys in their settings. CWU supplies suggestions and resources for action.
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The National Council of Churches / Church World Service
| NCC member church list | CWS affiliated organizations | Seeking Justice: economy and ecology |
 The NCC is an instrument of its member communions
In 2008, the National Council of Churches is celebrating the one hundred years since the Federal Council of Churches was established in the U.S. General secretary Michael Kinnamon has emphasized that the essence of a council is "not just what we do, but what we are." This same spirit lies behind a characterization of the November 2008 NCC/CWS general assembly as being focused on a "heightened consciousness" between member denominations "of their calling to proclaim individually and together the Lordship of Jesus Christ in prayer and worship; through redemptive actions of social service; through political advocacy for those who are voiceless, victimized, exploited, and forgotten; and by challenging the U.S. and other first world nations to behave in ways that promote the coming of the Kingdom of God and the Beloved Community."
In keeping with this focus, the general assembly enabled cross-denominational fellowship. There was a "new balance between substantive Faith and Order work--including interreligious relations--and our ongoing work for justice and peace," reported the Episcopal Church's ecumenical officer, Christopher Epting. Kinnamon later spoke about these issues at an ecumenical UN Advocacy Week. Kinnamon has also pledged to make the challenge to overcome racism a priority.
 A comprehensive NCC strategic plan for 2007-2011 supports a lean organization. José Luis Casal of the Presbytery of Tres Rios (pictured) is the elected secretary of the NCC board. Michael Livingston is immediate past president. Presbyterians on the executive board also include Jerry Van Marter, Gradye Parsons, and Robina Winbush.
Download an NCC brochure specifically for Presbyterians and a general brochure. See the report of the Presbyterian delegation to the NCC for 2006-2007. See a list of resources for a "sacred conversation" on race posted by the United Church of Christ.
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Assembly hears about social ethical heritage of ecumenism
Delegates to the 2008 NCC/CWS general asssembly heard Gary Dorrien, a social ethicist, interpret historically and theologically the role of faith communities in shaping the ethics and moral initiatives of the United States in the past. In fulfilling this same calling in the present and future, the ecumenical movement has a "historic opportunity to change," he told them. The current economic crisis, he said, creates new needs for churches whose original response to economic globalization was the social gospel. See Dorrien's full speech. The assembly looked at issues of
immigration reform, the meaning of Christian unity in a pluralistic era, and the phobias that stand in the way of ecumenical unity, racial justice and interfaith dialogue. See a summary of the meeting's dynamics.
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Kinnamon describes tensions for council in advocacy work
Speaking as the keynoter at the ecumenical UN Advocacy Week, Michael Kinnamon pointed to the danger of becoming "so caught up in the allure of political influence that we lose our distinctive and more prophetic voice." He pointed to the tensions among the churches between unity and justice. Kinnamon also noted the tension between the churches' need to engage in a "realistic assessment of our social situation" and "a willingness to imagine alternate realities." Among those he cited for assisting his thinking were Presbyterians Lewis Mudge and Heidi Hadsell. Read Kinnamon's speech.
Church World Service articulates its current foci
On the occasion of World Food Day on October 16, CWS articulated the current points of focus in its delivery programs: bolstering climate change-adapted local agriculture capacities for poor farmers, and providing microntrient supplements and ready-to-use food products (RUF) to arrest severe malnutrition among small children worldwide.
Faith and Order study themes address today's ecumenism
 The vice-chair of the U.S. Faith and Order Commission is currently Presbyterian Aimee Moiso (pictured). The commission is pursuing as studies in 2008-2011:
- Unity in Mission (involving more than NCC member communions)
- Justification and Justice: Beyond Dichotomies (going beyond the Catholic-Lutheran "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" to include various denominational principles, biblical research, and ecumenical documents)
- The Nature and Mission of the Church (leading to a collaborative response to an important World Council of Churches' study process)
From the previous eight years' of study, Faith and Order has produced two documents, a response to the Catholic paper, A Petrine Ministry, and a consensus document, The Authority of the Church in the World (plus an introduction to the latter by Antonios Kireopoulos.)
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Churches Uniting in Christ
| Predecessor COCU's history | Marks of CUIC participation |
Racism at center of CUIC's mission and CUIC's floundering
  CUIC is in a period of moratorium and reconciliation-seeking following its January 2008 plenary, the first since the inaugural event of the ten-member body in 2002. At the plenary, two of its three historically black churches were missing, the African Methodist Epistopal Zion Church (AMEZ) and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Both had already stated their intention to suspend participation. Ironically, dismantling racism was the announced plenary motif, but AME's ecumenical officer, Bishop Earl McCloud Jr., affirmed his church's suspension of its membership, saying, "We were concerned that the organization had gotten away from its original mandate, which was to deal with some of the issues of racism and racial discrimination and white privilege.”
Two Presbyterians -- Robina Winbush (pictured, right), representing the PC(USA), and Michael Livingston (pictured, left), representing the International Council of Community Churches -- are part of a high level group working "to examine the efficacy of CUIC's governance and programmatic structure" and to design steps for moving forward. A moratorium on the work of CUIC task forces is in effect. Its officers remain in place, including Presbyterian James Tse as treasurer.
From its beginning, CUIC faced challenges around two issues:
- Dismantling racism
- Dealing with questions revolving around the reconciliation and/or recognition of ministry between the churches, with special attention focused on Presbyterian-Episcopal conversations
At CUIC's inauguration, it said, "To envision unity without addressing racism is to ignore our history in North America and deny the insidious nature of that which divides us." CUIC's coordinating council had recommitted to work toward dismantling racism. CUIC's intentions on racism rested on key understandings:
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There is a link between the churches' search for unity in faith, sacraments, and ministry and the struggle to overcome racism in the churches and the human community.
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Authentic unity is inclusive and requires justice within the churches and in society.
- Our prophetic witness against racism and the powers of oppression is a test of the churches' faithfulness.
Dealing with CUIC's open sore requires steps beyond bureaucratic repair, a February 2008 interview with National Council of Churches general secretary Michael Kinnamon seems to say. He commented that CUIC is a new way of being church that "demands that the churches relate to one another and not rely on an office to do it."
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CUIC plenary recommited it to eight visible marks of unity
In their January 2008 plenary, CUIC members recommitted themselves to the visible marks of unity they had adopted at CUIC's beginning:
- mutual recognition of each other as "authentic expressions of the one church of Jesus Christ"
- mutual recognition of baptism
- mutual recognition of apostolic faith
- celebration of the Eucharist together with intentional regularity
- engagement together in Christ’s mission
- intentional commitment to promote unity and oppose marginalization / exclusion in church and society
- appropriate means for consultation and decision-making
- an ongoing process of theological dialogue
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