RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

of the local, regional, and national expressions of
the life of our church. Disciples hunger for an
antidote to the divisions and divisiveness of our
world. They seek wholeness, and they seek it in their
church first of all.
Disciples hunger for an antidote to the
divisions and divisiveness of our world.
They seek wholeness, and they seek it
in their church first of all.
The second, closely related overarching theme was a
new awareness of the great, and growing, diversity among
Disciples today. Disciples as a whole know, at long last,
of the vibrant liturgical and prophetic witness made
by African-American Disciples to the church. But
beside African-American and Anglo participants
stood Disciples from Haiti, from Hispanic cultures,
from Asian and Pacific cultures; in addition to
English one could have heard Spanish, Korean,
Vietnamese, various Pacific languages, French and
Creole. Our theological and liturgical diversity was
more in evidence than usual; we were reminded that
not all Disciples gather at the Lord’s Table weekly; and
that some among us seek a more positive relationship
to the classic creeds of the Church. Our institutional
diversity was embodied in persons from the general,
regional and local expressions of Disciples life, from
ecumenical staff and organizations, from financial
and benevolent staff, and from seminaries. And all
these diversities were cross-cut by others—by the
rubrics of lay persons and ordained, women and
men, younger and older persons.
Some majority participants understood for the first
time what exclusion means for those who experience
Best • The Journey Ahead
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it. At least one old wound in the life of our church
was re-opened—though healing hopefully had the
last word. Disciples will need gifts of the Holy Spirit
to honor this diversity while finding a just
coherence in our life as a church. This is the
challenge of catholicity à la Disciples! Here and
there, new possibilities were glimpsed.
A third overarching theme was a desire that we move
forward together into a more authentic life as a church, that new
things actually happen. Theologically, there was a strong
affirmation of the Lord’s Supper as central to our
life, but also a call to rediscover baptism as central,
and to explore anew the relation between baptism
and the Lord’s Table. We longed to clarify some of
our conundrums: What does an “open Table” really
mean, and how can congregations live out that
openness not just at the Table, but in their wider
life? How can joint action by congregations become
the norm, and not the exception, in our church
life? How can we practice ecumenical formation,
and foster an “ecumenical culture” in congregations,
regions, and all the general ministries of
our church? In all these areas, Disciples are longing
for their church to move forward. We need to show
progress; if we cannot, we will soon have even more
serious problems on our hands.
In summary, this Second Visioning Conference
could—and should—have a major impact on the life
of our church over the next decade and more. This
was one of those rare meetings which gave energy to
its participants rather than taking energy away from
them. May that energy now be felt throughout the
whole church. May the Council on Christian Unity
now lead the whole church to recapture its primal
calling: to witness to the unity of the church.