by the Rev. Marc McDonald – Diocesan Ecumenical Officer
My life has been a sort of lesson in ecumenism. Having grown up as a P.K. (pastor’s kid) in the Church of the Nazarene, spending nearly 19 years ministering in the United Methodist Church and then becoming Episcopalian in 2014, I have experienced the depth and breadth of the Christian tradition.
As an Episcopalian, the Diocese of Arizona assigned me to a small mission church in Williams, Arizona that was owned by the Diocese but was a hybrid congregation of Episcopalians and Lutherans. Born out of the necessity of a small rural community, St. John’s had become a hybrid congregation sometime in the mid-1980s, long before the ELCA and the Episcopal Church agreement “Call to Common Mission” was in place. “Called to Common Mission” is the official agreement between the ELCA and TEC that sanctions mutually shared ministry and Eucharist celebration. Being small, necessitated working together and St. John’s did it well. The liturgy was a blending of both the best of the ELCA and Episcopal traditions. While serving St. John’s and with the assistance of an ELCA retired Bishop, I helped reconnect the parish to the Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA. This raised the spirits of the leadership in the Church who came from the Lutheran tradition and allowed them to access potential resources for their future.
A year ago, the Episcopal Dioceses of Kansas, Western Kansas, West Missouri, and East Missouri along with our colleagues from the Central States ELCA Synod celebrated the 20thAnniversary of “Called to Common Mission” in Kansas City. It was a great meeting with interesting panel discussions about our life together and looking for future ways to continue connecting through outreach and social justice opportunities. We have come a long way in ecumenical agreements in the church, but I often wonder how those agreements are being lived out in our local parishes and in our communities.
This spring, I had the privilege of representing the Diocese of Kansas at the 2023 National Workshop on Christian Unity in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (May 8-11). I had a great time connecting with my colleagues in EDEIO (Episcopal Diocese Ecumenical and Inter-religious Officers) from all over the United States, hearing about how Dioceses are working towards greater cooperation with our ecumenical partners (particularly in the ELCA, UMC, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Disciples of Christ and a smattering of ecumenism minded Baptists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals.) The training was given by the Mennonite Lombard Peace Center on how to be in dialogue with one another. One of our Keynotes was Stephanie Spellers author of “The Church Cracked Open” who invited us to explore ‘The Way of Jesus as The Way of Justice.’ She grounded us theologically on why we do the work of justice as followers of Jesus. We explored the avenues of overcoming white supremacy through the building of relationships.
All ecumenical and justice work is about the building of relationships. We were given specific tools by the Lombard Center to enter into difficult discussions around theology, practice, and justice ministries. The Wesleyan Holy Conferencing model was just one of many that gave practical applications to our conversations with one another.
I came away from the Workshop energized and with a desire to communicate the importance of ecumenical discernment and involvement in the future of the church. The reason ecumenism is important is clear. Everything we do is counter-cultural because at our heart we believe the Church should provide a unified witness to the world. The grounding of our joint discernment is a part of “receptive ecumenism.” Receptive Ecumenism focuses on listening and receiving from the other or in other words, “let me hear you and learn who you are.” This active listening becomes the basis of mutual relationship building.
The Pandemic helped break down those barriers for St. Andrew’s and the First Christian Church of Emporia. When it looked like “in-person” Christmas Eve services would not be happening (2020). The Pastor of First Christian (DOC) and I put our heads together and put together an interactive online service called “Home for Christmas.” Not only was this challenging and fun, but it created the space for us to listen and learn our uniqueness and work together to make something special for our parishioners and others who would participate online.
I want to encourage the clergy and lay leadership of our Diocese to look for new ways to enter into receptive ecumenism in your respective communities. Sometimes, all it takes is for us to make the first move. Invite an ELCA, UMC, DOC, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, or Non-denominational colleague or lay leader to coffee in order to discuss ways your parishes can work together to provide that unified witness. It takes courage to break down the silos and competitive walls that we have erected over the years. It takes time to build relationships of trust with one another but the difference that can be made will only be strengthened by our unified witness.
835 SW Polk St.