Faith Groups Work on Unity Before Action
Something new is happening, said the general secretary of the Reformed Church in America after coming out of a new ecumenical body’s inauguration. And it is not just another national body in competition with the others.
Christians from five faith traditions went public in worship for the first time last week when they inaugurated Christian Churches Together in Pasadena, Calif. The new ecumenical network is six years in the making and includes members from the National Council of Churches (NCC) – a similar U.S. Christian group. It boasts the groundbreaking membership of evangelical/Pentecostal, Protestant, Orthodox, Roman Catholic and racial/ethnic groups along with such organizations as World Vision and Bread for the World.
CCT, however, did not emerge as an alternative to the NCC or the National Association of Evangelicals. Rather, it was birthed to provide a foundation for conversations and fellowship across denominational lines, including Roman Catholics.
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"I think it's happening now because it's the fullness of time," said the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, who serves as moderator for the CCT Steering Committee. "The time is right. There's openness."
There were a number of attempts over the past decades to create such an organization that formally includes Catholics and joins evangelicals with mainline groups. But they never succeeded, according to Granberg-Michaelson who said the time was not right then.
And the NCC and NAE, which is comprised mainly of more conservative evangelical churches and Pentecostal churches, were set up in "reaction to one another," said the CCT moderator. Members of the NAE are not permitted to also have membership with the NCC, according to Granberg-Michaelson.
"We had to do something that got beyond the institutional walls that we had built up," he said.
Leaders at the long-established U.S. ecumenical groups have welcomed such attempts as the one made by the CCT to achieve broader fellowship. The CCT now formally has the broadest fellowship of Christian "families."
"NCC has not seen this as a threat," said Granberg-Michaelson.
While exploration for the broad network began just days before the September 11 tragedy, participants did not finalize the decision to formally organize until the group received "adequate representation" from the five Christian families. The Roman Catholic Church did not sign on until a little over a year ago, and the process continues today as other churches decide on membership.
The achievement of unity across traditional lines amid increasing divisions within large denominations signifies a unity in Christ far greater than what Americans think, said Granberg-Michaelson.
"It is so important to demonstrate to the world that we who are Christians can learn how to both accept some differences, and in this case differences that have long been dividing the church, and that we maintain those that are distinctive to us," he commented. "You don't just become like one another. But you realize there are things that transcend those issues which have historically divided us."
"I think it really communicates a world of hope," he added.
CCT members agreed on an overall approach to the challenge of poverty and an emphasis on evangelism during their annual meeting which concluded Friday. Granberg-Michaelson, however, said the purpose of CCT is not to become another "big program agency in itself."
Before asking "What can we do together?" Granberg-Michaelson says the first question to ask when forming such an extensive body is "How can we really be together?"
"I think the foundation that we've laid is going to be trustworthy," he highlighted.
