Reflections from the Week of Christian Unity 2018
January 18 – 22, 2018
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” John 13:34 (NRSV)
Beautiful Beginnings: An Ecumenical Service & Reception
In the beauty of the Catholic Center Chapel on the University of Vermont campus, the Holy Spirit of Christian ecumenism blessed the space, as leaders of the Christian ecumenical movement in Vermont and the VECNCC gathered in prayer and song.
A true spirit of ecumenism and deep care was palpable among those guiding our gathering, Roman Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne, Episcopal Bishop Thomas Ely, Rev. Brigid Farrell, New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Roy V. Hill II, Emeriti President of the Vermont Ecumenical Council, New Alpha Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Fred Moser, Trinity Episcopal Church, Rev. Brian Cummings, Society of Saint Edmund as well as many other clergy and representatives from the Vermont Ecumenical Council.
Roman Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne extended deep ecumenical hospitality and offered a warm welcome with sincere appreciation to all those who offered their services in support for our first ecumenical prayer service at the University of Vermont Catholic Center. Bishop Tom Ely offered an opening prayer with these words, “Friends in Christ, as we gather to pray for visible unity in the household of Christ, let us thank God for our Christian heritage, and for God’s saving, liberating action in human history. With Christians everywhere, let us call upon the Holy Spirit to set our hearts on fire as we pray for the unity of the Church.”
Rev. Dr. John Armstrong, president and founder of the ACT3 Network did just that with his enthusiastic and fiery sermon that resounded through the hearts and minds of all present. No stranger to the costly love of letting go of paradigms to engage new possibility for evangelization, healing and renewal within Christianity, he offered stories of wisdom gained from twenty years of active ecumenical leadership. Rev. Armstrong challenged and encouraged a spirit of charity, clarity and love to inform, heal and transform Christian community.
All present were commissioned to action “to serve God’s mission of hope, justice, and love in our world….to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favor.”
Called to a moment of personal prayer in the Chapel, after attending the fine reception hosted by the Roman Catholic chaplaincy at UVM, the ecumenical Protestant chaplaincy at UVM and the Cooperative Christian Ministries, offered space to contemplate the spirituality of Christian ecumenism.
Foundationally, all human relationship is an opportunity to encounter the other with hospitality and kindness. As Christians, we’re invited to live with open hearts and open minds as we walk in imitation of Christ seeking to embody authentic Christian spirituality in service to each other, regardless of our denominational or faith affiliations.
Relationship and shared prayer are central in cultivating understanding as well as hearing and healing our stories. As people of faith, when we come to know each other, we can learn to deeply and respectfully love one another in our journey to embody the blessings that the teaching of Christ offers to all for this and future generations.
VIEW VIDEO FROM THIS SERVICE
This Changed Everything: Wisdom from 500 Years of Reformation
Martin Luther, the German Augustinian monk and Christian theologians strong words “Here I stand, I can do no other God help me” introduce the Christian History Institute’s documentary This Changed Everything.
Over twenty faith leaders and experts are interviewed throughout the three-part series to answer challenging questions about the 500 year old schism within Christianity sparked by Martin Luther in Germany, Huldrych Zwingl a leader of the Christian reformation in Switzerland, John Calvin, pastor and theologian in Geneva and others who called for reform within the Catholic Church including King Henry of England who rejected Papal authority and named himself head of the Church of England.
The historical documentary provided the context for the insightful and engaged presentations by University of Vermont Associate Professor of English Dr. Jennifer Sisk, St. Michael’s College Professor of Religious Studies, Dr. James Byrne, The Rev. Arnold Thomas, Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ and Pastor of Good Shepard Church and Rev. Nancy Wright, Pastor, Ascension Lutheran Church, So. Burlington facilitated by Professor Dr. Raymond Patterson, St. Michael’s College Religious Studies Department Chairperson.
Through diverse academic and religious perspectives presenters provided their unique contribution and inspirations to the forum. The entire forum is available to view on our website.
The invitation to reflect on the panel event has perhaps generated more questions than answers, which is a healthy thing. God meets us in our questions and our response to the questions form, inform and shape our spiritual and faith journeys as well as the way we encounter and engage with each other as Christians and people of faith in a contemporary world.
In the spirit of Christian ecumenism, you’re invited view the documentary and then bring together your own facilitated forum for discussion within your community. The VECNCC has purchased a copy of the documentary for viewing and engaging a broader conversation about the Christian schism and how we can work towards healing through Christian collaboration.
Inspirations and Insights in the Upper Room and on the Shores of Lake Champlain
Our collective voices of Christian wisdom resounded through the many gatherings of clergy and faith leaders through the state during the week of Christian Unity. Through engaged conversations over luncheons and dinners, inspiring offerings at events, and in our concluding gathering and time of prayer on the shores of Lake Champlain.
Along with the Christians of many Churches and ecclesial Communities, may we remember each other in prayer each day with these words first prayed at the Seventh General Assembly of the World Council of churches at Canberra in 1991.
“Come Holy Spirit! Giver of life – Sustain your creation! Spirit of truth – Set us free!
Spirit of Unity – Reconcile your people! Holy Spirit – Transform and sanctify us!”
Amen.
VIEW VIDEO FROM THIS EVENT
TESTIMONIAL FROM Dr. Jennifer Sisk Associate Professor of Literature and Religion at UVM.
John Armstrong was a guest speaker in an upper-level English course I teach at the University of Vermont on medieval literature. The class was reading William Langland’s fourteenth-century dream-vision poem, Piers Plowman-a text that to today’s college students may seem to emerge from long ago and far away, though as Armstrong reminded them, it asks “modern” questions about the place of the church in the world and the spiritual unity of Christians within it. Written by a medieval Catholic poet, it urges a pre-Protestant-Reformation reform of the church, and for this reason it was later embraced as an authorizing text by both Catholic and Protestant readers. Armstrong’s visit helped set the poem within the long arc of Christian history, in which reform emerges as a common concern on both sides of the Reformation divide, remaining vital for Christians to this day. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Armstrong brought to life the poem’s contemporary relevance, and he helped my students see that Christian ecumenism responds to concerns about the church that have a very long history, which they can glimpse in Langland’s representation of the church as a woefully besieged “Barn of Unity.” Armstrong’s class visit, early in the semester, set the tone for the entire semester. Some of my students have even cited his lecture in the papers they have submitted!
200 Years of Witness for Christian Unity – A Brief History
The Octave of Christian Unity was inaugurated in 1908 as a Christian movement in the United States that by 1993 grew to encompass all Christian communities nationally and internationally receiving sponsorship from the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.
Paul Irénée Couturier (29 July 1881 – 24 March 1953) a French priest is considered by many to be the “father of spiritual ecumenism” and an initial promoter, along with members of the Anglican and Orthodox Christian communities, of the Week for Christian unity.
Resources for Additional Information about Christian Unity
The Pontifical Council for Christian Unity at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/index.htm
The Faith and Order Council of the World Council of Churches at https://www.oikoumene.org/en/what-we-do/faith-and-order
About the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible was translated by a group of scholars representing Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christian groups. Scholars of the Jewish representation were responsible for the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. This version was translated by the Division of Christian Education (now Bible Translation and Utilization) of the National Council of Churches recognized as a leader within the Christian ecumenical movement. The translators were given the guidance to translate the scriptures “As literal as possible, as free as necessary.” (https://www.nrsv.net/about/faqs/)
About the Prayer of the Holy Spirit
This was the prayer of Christians of many Churches and ecclesial Communities at the Seventh General Assembly of the World Council of churches at Canberra (1991) invoking the Holy Spirit who sustains, liberates, transforms, sanctifies, reconciles and unites. The same intentions and invocations are often to be found in the hymns and prayers of the various Christian traditions, such as Veni Creator Spiritus (Come Creator Spirit) of the Latin tradition, the Vasilev Ourànie Paràklete (Heavenly Paraclete King) of the Byzantine tradition, as well as those form other Christian traditions of both East and West, each with its own specific characteristics.
In these days Christians are asking the Holy Spirit, light of eternal wisdom, to reveal the great mystery of God the Father and the Son united in one love. This prayer makes us aware of the grace with which the creator Spirit fills the hearts by him created, and of the consolation and anointing which increases faith, hope and charity in the believer. We ask that he strengthen us with his gifts: stir in us the Word, kindle the light of the intellect, and arouse our hearts while also healing our wounds. We ask to be protected from evil and to receive the gift of peace. In the context of division between Christians and the search for a growing communion between Churches and ecclesial Communities, we ask that together we may be introduced through the Holy Spirit to a knowledge of and greater sharing in the mystery of love that is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May the Spirit nurture in our communities a keener desire for and commitment to communion and a greater readiness “to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Rev 2, 7)
Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/magazine/documents/ju_mag_01091997_p-49_en.html on March 10, 2018.
Resources for Further Study of Christian Spirituality
Classics of Western Spirituality published by Paulist Press offers an extensive library of historical texts on Christian spirituality.
Traditions of Christian Spirituality Edited by Philip Sheldrake, this series, published in cooperation with DLT, London, makes the riches of the Christian spiritual tradition available through key themes while presenting their relevance for the modern seeker.
Reflection offered by Spiritual Director, Carol A. Fournier, LCMHC, NCC, member of the Executive Council of VECNCC, director and founder of the Silver Dove Institute.
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