RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

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David Artman Thomas Best Viann Bristow Sue Shadburne Call Kris Culp Beverly Dale Chimiste Doriscar Robyn Fickes Liv Gibbons Darla Glynn Report of the Visioning Conference on Christian Unity Participants in the Conference Darlene Goodrich Howard Goodrich Amy Gopp Richard Harrison Jamie Haskins Cathy Hubbard April Johnson Gary Kidwell Michael Kinnamon Gene Lawson 56 Mark Leach Kyung-Min Daniel Lee Douglas Lofton Jose “Al” Lopez Andy Mangum Paul Matheny Christopher Morton Patrice Rosner Jenn Simmons Joe Stalcup Nancy Stalcup James Suggs Kim Tran Sharon Watkins Suzanne Webb Jonathan Webster Robert Welsh Newell Williams Nathan Wilson
Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Best, a pastor of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), recently retired as Director of the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches. I believe Reflections on the Disciples Visioning Conference: that the Second Joe A. and Nancy V. Stalcup Visioning Conference, sponsored by the Council on Christian Unity and held June 14-17, 2010 at Mercy Center in St. Louis, will prove to be one of the most significant events of the decade for the Disciples of Christ. Under the theme “A Century of Witness, A Journey of Wholeness,” the conference reviewed Disciples current ecumenical engagements, challenges and prospects. It then asked such questions as: What distinctive witness do we, as Disciples, bring to the ecumenical movement? What challenges does our ecumenical engagement pose for our understanding of Church, and for our selfunderstanding? And, not least: Can we discern “an ecumenical vision for our future” as Disciples of Christ? Can we identify “foundational principles” to guide our ecumenical engagement in the years to come? How can congregations live out these values in practical ways in their own day-to-day life? Being Disciples, these issues were tackled in light of the Lord’s Supper as our focus and inspiration: what does our gathering regularly—and more frequently than most other Protestants—at the Table tell us about our own identity? How does being fed regularly at the Table compel us to work in the world, in order that none need to be hungry? In addition to the Lord’s Supper, Baptism emerged as another key Disciples theme, indeed one which should receive more attention in the future. A host of pressing challenges were also on the agenda: ongoing efforts to deal with racism in the The Journey Ahead Thomas F. Best 57 life of the church; recognizing the gifts of African- American Disciples in the life of the church; recognizing the gifts of Disciples churches from “new” Asian (for example, Korean and Vietnamese), African, and Haitian constituencies; how to live as Disciples in an interfaith context; how to relate our commitment to the unity of the church and our prophetic witness to the world; and how to witness to the unity of the Church and humankind in an era which celebrates individualism and radical diversity. At one remarkable moment, and not long ago, the heads of at least five major national and international ecumenical bodies were from the Disciples of Christ. A Century of Witness The conference theme celebrated, first, a century of witness. Christian unity has indeed been our polar star, and the visioning conference did well to celebrate our ecumenical achievements of the past and present. We sometimes forget this, but it is important for us to know that few other Christian communions have had such a history of ecumenical commitment and engagement. The leadership offered by Peter Ainslie, George Beasley, Paul Crow and now Robert Welsh has been exemplary. At one remarkable moment, and not long ago, the heads of at least five major national and international ecumenical bodies were from the Disciples of Christ (the Secretaries of Christian World Communions, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA,
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Call to Unity Resourcing the Church
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Call to Unity Resourcing the Church
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Celebrating 100 Years as a Movement
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spiritual foundation of prayer. Rob
Page 9 and 10: challenges that we will explore in
Page 11 and 12: Local and Universal We don’t talk
Page 13 and 14: Understanding the Lord’s Supper f
Page 15 and 16: “Christians cannot partake at the
Page 17 and 18: himself, excluding and excommunicat
Page 19 and 20: Being a Multicultural and Inclusive
Page 21 and 22: than our own cultural and tradition
Page 23 and 24: To help stimulate discussion of the
Page 25 and 26: approved a resolution in 1927 to ex
Page 27 and 28: of time and capacity. Who on earth
Page 29 and 30: ogists would call this the bonding
Page 31 and 32: nations. This yoked relationship ha
Page 33 and 34: Christian Unity, Prophetic Witness,
Page 35 and 36: persons remains particularly releva
Page 37 and 38: 1. Thanks to Mandy Burton, Kristel
Page 39 and 40: leaders proclaim themselves experts
Page 41 and 42: and denomination. To my surprise, t
Page 43 and 44: necessary. You can live without an
Page 45 and 46: Rev. Andy Mangum serves as Senior M
Page 47 and 48: a pluralistic context, Christians w
Page 49 and 50: egarded segregation as acceptable,
Page 51 and 52: Sermon Winds of Unity John 3:1-10 D
Page 53 and 54: Dr. Sharon E. Watkins is the Genera
Page 55 and 56: in Christ Jesus? What if we would e
Page 57 and 58: • The challenge and opportunities
Page 59: prayer for Christian unity. It is m
Page 63 and 64: I believe that the Second Joe A. an
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