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March 15, 2007
Dear
Friends,
The Faith
and Order Commission of the
National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the USA (NCCC)
will be celebrating its 50th
Anniversary on July 19-23,
2007 in Oberlin, Ohio. For some, the very phrase “Faith and Order” seems
stifling – after all, in a pluralistic, multi-ethnic and radically
changing world, what is the significance of seeking\ consensus in the
expressions of Christian claims to meaning and truth? My answer is
usually summed up like this: The Faith and Order Commission is at its
heart plurality seeking consensus – Consider above all else that the
Faith and Order Commission represents more than 50 communities of
Christian faith, including Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Orthodox,
historic Protestant, historic African-American churches and Evangelical
churches. In the midst of a soup of theological features and
ecclesiological differences, all of these communities pursue and reach
consensus through ongoing scholarly dialogue.
For fifty
years the NCCC Faith and Order Commission has invited members from the
churches to engage in scholarly dialogue together in four-year-long
groups around particular topics important to Christian unity in the
United States and the world. In the past four years, topics have ranged
from “The Authority of the Church in the World” to differing
conceptualizations of the “human person.” Pertinent questions were: How
does the church continue to address urgent social issues in the world?
What is the nature of human beings made in the image of the divine? And,
what about a loving God is central to human interaction for seeking
peace in a broken world? Our office was delighted to learn that twelve
dynamic, emerging leaders in the ELCA have asked to attend the
celebration in Oberlin. A new online journal through Faith and Order
called “New Horizons” is also inaugurated with this issue of
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious
Life! Faith and Order
will continue through this generation to raise and reach consensus
around the pressing theological and ecclesiological issues of our day.
Faith and
Order is not the only vehicle, of course, for ecumenical work through
the
auspices of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ.
Please view this issue of
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Life
to read about: the Lutheran World
Federation’s 60th
anniversary,
ecumenical and inter-religious scholarships available to you this
summer, the emerging relationship
between the ELCA and the United Methodist Church, the latest news from
major outlets around the world, and much more.
All the
best to you from ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations!
In God’s Grace,
Dr. Michael R. Trice
Associate Director of
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
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