Matters ecumenical

This Sunday falls in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; an event which Fr. Ted might have described as, “an ecumenical matter”- a box into which tricky issues could be placed- rather than explained.

The word ecumenical has a Greek root meaning ‘the whole world’ and it has been used to describe the movement which seeks the unity of all Christians. The idea being that the unity of the Church should act as a signpost for the wider reconciliation of the whole of humanity.

Now you may feel that the multiplicity of Churches mean that we are not doing a very good job, however, unity and uniformity are not the same thing. When I attend other churches I am often struck by the particular gift of differing traditions and that is something which might be lost if we all tried to be the same. Instead we need to realise that when it comes to faith, we only ever possess part of the picture. Indeed, through learning and sharing with other Christians we often gain a deeper and richer vision of the glory of God.

These ecumenical practices do, I believe, have something to offer to the wider world. A world in which we need to do more to celebrate our global diversity, exercise humility and be better at giving and receiving from one another. Indeed, as we are beginning to see in Haiti, these are far from abstract ideas but are in fact powerful forces which can save lives.

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