v from
statistics to conflicts
v a children's "denomination" very
much alive in a small town
v some wounds
to be healed
v Words
from Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham
v salvation:
two different beliefs
v final words:
The Body of Christ at a Nazi death camp
" I do not ask
in behalf of these [ His disciples ] alone,
but
for those who also believe in Me…that they may all
be
one. " ( Jesus praying to God : John 17: 20 , 21 )
Ecumenism:
Efforts by Christians of different Church
traditions
to develop closer relationships and better
understandings…[
leading to ]…unity. ( Wikipedia;
a generally accepted definition )
"
Unity in all that is necessary, freedom in all that is
subject
to opinion, and charity in everything. "
(
Saint Augustine of Hippo )
A few first words…Last
month's Exodus Trekkers reported how a large segment of our American culture
continues to change radically due
to polarization on all levels, in
Congress in communities, neighbors and between friendships of two individuals. Americans having coffee together are heard bemoaning that the fallout from
this polarization division has sapped
goodness from traditional American values, including fundamental morality.
Michael McGillicuddy, a globe-trotting ,
licensed social worker , blames this polarizing on an
unwillingness of Americans of all ethnic backgrounds to find common ground among themselves when issues divide them. He
says that an attitude of I'm right and you're " is "headed for disaster
." (1 )
Let's
look at some statistics that arguably
show why some of us wish or pray for Christian church
unity in America …
I From statistics to conflicts…
According to a 2017 report of the website
The Complete Pilgrim, there are no less
than 2,000 different
Christian denominations in America that are under common leadership
and linked ( many rather loosely ) to
a themselves as Christians. (2 ) Visits to
Christian book stores will reveal as many as 50 different versions of
the Bible ; most Biblical scholars
maintain there is only one foundation
Bible with many translations of it. (3)
With
these numbers in mind, it could explain why Christians in America have
different religious beliefs and
which sometimes ignite conflicts in the work place, politics, and in the family .
Still, different denominations
sometimes find common ground ( as
I have observed as a journalist )
when engaged in ecumenical dialogue . Nevertheless, cynics of labors
towards church unity will argue
that humans will always espouse different beliefs on critical issues
simply because we are different--
different DNA, different personalities. At a panel discussion about love and forgiveness,
I heard sincere yet different
beliefs voiced by a rabbi, two Protestants and a Catholic ;
a Buddhist and Muslim were also on the panel. (4)
II A children's "denomination" very much alive in Polo, Illinois…The most encouraging--and
delightful--scene of Christian unity I witnessed occurred in June, 2006 in
Polo,
Illinois, population then not quite
3,000. I was on assignment for a
newspaper article , which I have edited
for this report…
For
five days the rafters of the small church reverberated with cheers of more than 200 children of all
ages whose parents belonged to the town's
l3 churches . The kids had suspended their summer fun to hear a uniquely
delivered Christian message. Doctrinal differences—if there were any
amidst this youthful congregation—were
dispelled by the kids' laughter and
zealous applause incited by the
antics performed on the
"altar". The Rev. Monte Cox, pastor of
Polo's Church of the Open Bible, beamed
with profound satisfaction as he sat in a back pew. He was seeing awesome evidence that doctrinal differences
didn't matter here , but Jesus Christ
did..
The
Polo Community Vacation Bible School (VBS) , then its 20th year, was the payoff from 30 years
of give-and-take of the Polo
Community Council of Churches. ( More
satisfying to Cox and to Mrs. Nancy
Taylor, the VBS chairwoman, would be the
45 Bible school grads who, two weeks later, would approach their various
pastors to talk about God and salvation. )
"A lot of these kids don't go to church but their parents do,
" said Mrs. Taylor, mother of
two children and member of the host church, the Church of the Brethren.
Asked
about bumps in that council's ecumenical road, Cox said , " We just don't bring up doctrinal issues. We know we have common bonds such as
reaching out with the Gospel to the
community. " He added, however,
that "years ago the council had some pretty liberal pastors, one saying, '
I don't need Jesus. ' " Efforts
then to form a pastor's Bible study
group didn't "pan out,"
according to Cox, who has pastored his Polo church for 27 years. Nowadays, whenever a pastor leaves a
Polo church, Cox prays that God sends the right replacement
pastor, "one who is Biblical orientated and who has their head on
spiritually."
What
keeps ecumenism well and alive in Polo, according to Cox, is the weekly, one
hour meeting of pastors, who come together for fellowship and to share and pray
about their various needs and frustrations.
Pastors will disagree with
their denomination's stand on some
issues such as abortion or
homosexuality, Cox said.
The
only doctrine "preached"
during two of those five days I was with the VBS was salvation. A man named "Uncle" Tim Marsh made sure
the theology was assimilated smoothly and happily. With
puppets, humor, and his own brand of " Gospel Magic ," Marsh wove in Biblical stories, moral
exhortations, and religious songs that
actually left the kids chanting their
approval as if at a homecoming football game.
" It's a gift the Lord gave me," Marsh said.. "You would not believe the stories that
come back to me about how lives have been changed. Kids get saved and then
eventually they influence their parents to the point where the parents start
going to church."
How
does he deal with denominational differences?
"I preach the love of Jesus," he told me . " Nobody
complains about that. I don't preach hell and damnation. The kids know what's
going to happen to them. Now and then a
pastor comes in and doesn't like what I
preach about salvation, who thinks
kids [ in his church ] are already good enough and don't need to
confess anything to the Lord."
Marsh
and his wife manage the Independent
Children's Bible Mission, a non-profit, non-denominational children's
ministry headquartered then in
Plainwell, Michigan. He's traveled several states for 27 years with his
ministry, absorbing many faith beliefs but always, he said, with a focus on
Jesus and the Bible. He recalls the time when his own denomination told him
they didn't like what he was doing. " I told them I'd keep doing it.
"
Polo
church denominations represented at the VBS were Baptist, Church of the
Brethren, Community Church, United
Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, Christian Church, and Church of the Open Bible.
III Some wounds to be healed… So, what's the real problem here ?
McGillicuddy spends his time examining and trying to heal the social wounds caused by what sees as
current epidemic in America—polarization. "Good people fear rejection if
they let down their guard and share unscripted opinions, so we don masks to
protect ourselves ," he said during
our interview. "Trust is eroding. Friendships are fraying. Families
members walk on egg shells for fear of becoming estranged. We seem to be detaching from our common roots
and retreating into parallel universes. "
 |
| An ecumenical dialogue about "love and forgiveness" in front of a public library audience by two Protestants, a rabbi, Catholic, Buddhist, and Muslim. |
McGillicuddy
believes that more transparent and empathetic dialogue between Americans would be a healing agent
for this polarization and also—he would likely argue—for today's disunity of
church denominations.
Speaking this winter to a large library audience , he
advised how Americans can "untie
the knots" of polarization. It went as follows:
Is
your faith [ church ] community polarized ? Do you feel
safe sharing your views and telling your story?
Know that
an attitude of I'm right , you're wrong
" is a formula for
disaster…We live in a world of gray;
it's not either-or, but both-and…"
Know
that having all friends "who think as you do is a drawback
to un-polarized thinking .
Find common ground . We must first
form a heart-relationship before a rational relationship.
McGillicuddy then had his audience pair-off and ask each
other the following questions:
What
do those who deeply disagree with you misunderstand about your core beliefs and
values ? What would you most like them to understand about your perspective ?
What
assumption do you make about people who hold very different beliefs and values
than yours ?
A
summing up of the opinions of many ecumenical-minded Christians
is that a Christian's calling makes him or her open to others, is able to reach an understanding with the
most diverse kinds of people, regardless of their age, their cultural background, their personality or
their character.
IV Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II… Yet road blocks to the unity of Christian
denominations clearly remain numerous ;
community church councils throughout America continue to dialogue about
ecumenism. Opinions of devout church-going men and women will say it's the culture
itself which prevents this unity, or simply it's the exercise of human free will ; they
might dismiss the entire issue as a
socio-economic dynamic—with the cliché, you know, birds of the same feather like to flock
together. Then there's the agnostic with the comment, Maybe, just maybe, a Higher Power or
whatever, wanted this variety of
churches . A mystery, of course. Or
maybe there's bitter-sweet truth to be found in this stanza of a Stephen Foster
melody, popular melody during the Civil War:
We live in hard and stirring
times,
Too sad for mirth, too rough for rhymes;
For songs of peace have lost their chimes,
And that's what's the matter!
The men we held as brothers true,
Have turn'd into a rebel crew;
So now we have to put them thro',
And that's what's the matter!
Too sad for mirth, too rough for rhymes;
For songs of peace have lost their chimes,
And that's what's the matter!
The men we held as brothers true,
Have turn'd into a rebel crew;
So now we have to put them thro',
And that's what's the matter!
That's what's the matter,
The rebels have to scatter;
We'll make them flee,
By land and sea,
And that's what's the matter!
The rebels have to scatter;
We'll make them flee,
By land and sea,
And that's what's the matter!
A
recent Wall Street Journal column by
Peggy Noonan, a Catholic and celebrated
author and former speech writer for
President Reagan , was headlined " Billy Graham , the
Ecumenical Evangelist " . In
explaining why Graham was considered by
several denominations as " America's Pastor " , Noonan quoted
the archbishop of Philadelphia , who told her, that Catholic families felt that Billy Graham was the Protestant preacher they could
feel a real kinship with because
"he had the ability to reach across all the fractures in Christianity and
speak to the common believing heart. " ( 5 )
 |
| Changes in the English language and translations have resulted in 50 different Bible versions without any fundamental change in the original King James version . |
We
talked with the Rev. Elizabeth Jameson, pastor of St. Simon's Episcopal Church
in Arlington Heights (IL) and a member
of the Arlington Heights Ministerial Association, which meets monthly for 90
minutes with 15 to 20 clergy from other denominations. The group has give-and-take dialogue, but not
always finding common ground, Jameson said . Ministers discuss a broad range of
ecumenical topics that include
mutual understanding and ways to support
various church goals. She asks herself, "What can I learn from someone who
thinks differently than I do ?" She
sees ecumenism as a "complex issue, "
adding "I see oneness [ of
churches] in a different way . She
admits to being "unsure on the
wisdom " of there being only
one Christian denomination . " We'd
have to give up ways that are meaningful to us . " She paused, then said,
" I can find oneness in people.
In Christ, we are already one.
"
There
is a hint of similarity and also a tension
between the dynamic of religious
fervor and that of the human passion for freedom. American patriotism .
Many Americans demand they be allowed to
behave and decided on what is best for them, the individual, while many
devout Christians believe that the
truest freedom comes from dying to one's self,
that is, one's ego ( admittedly a
tall order ! ) .
When
it come to building consensus and community, former Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice Rice and other political figures with a bent towards philosophical answers and sociological solutions are not fans of
that traditional slogan "lift
yourself up by the bootstraps " ;
some also sound skeptical about a
lifestyle of individualism as a way of
life.
V That sticky question about salvation
…The doctrinal question of how does one receive salvation—a pass to heaven— undoubtedly occupies minds and hearts of millions of Christians.
The question asked is: Who goes to heaven and who to hell ?
Put simply, Catholics believe that the final
decision is God's , while Protestants proclaim that an individual is saved in
the moment that he confesses with his mouth
his or her sins and accepts
Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of his life
( There is some disagreement, however, between some Protestant
denominations about whether a Christian
who makes his or her vow is
"saved" for the remainder of his life. )
VI Final words: The Body of Christ…Would denominational unity
coalesce if there was a united educational effort to
churches all over this country ( and world ) to preach the Biblical truth that each Christian
is a member of one and only Body
of Christ and that these churches teach it with life examples with workshops
and other experiential learning . Then maybe a living mission for church unity
will be sparked , giving birth to a universal creed , one which stirs in the
hearts of many non -Christians , a creed
of WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER !
That
creed literally took on human flesh at
the Nazi concentration camp Dachau during World War II among the 2,579 Protestant and Catholic clergy from more than
10 countries imprisoned there . Today at
the site of than camp northwest of Munich
is a Catholic chapel, an Orthodox chapel, a Protestant church and Jewish memorial--all honoring those inmates, especially the more than
thousand who were executed, tortured, and
died of starvation, disease, and brutal surgical experiments without
anesthesia.
Wrote
one survivor, Fr. Münch: "Dachau
was, , in the designs of Providence, the cradle of ecumenism lived out
completely. Never in history of the
people of God had there been so many secular and religious priests of
all Christian confessions united in a community of life and suffering, as during the great witness of Dachau … In Dachau,
we were united fraternally in the breath of the Holy Spirit, strengthened in
Christ t o serve Him behind the watchtowers, the electrified fences and the
barbed wire. We sought unity in our discussions and our dialogue…In authentic
fraternity and common prayer, we laid the foundations for new relations between
different churches. ,,,The priests in Dachau and the Christian laymen took home
with them, to their churches and their
families, the lived experience of unity. "
(8 )
I have
to wonder if Jesus ever told a parable
to make the point that all who believe in Him
are one body and He the head. Yes, though
His Father might have seen wisdom in creating us to believe
differently , but to
love and work as this one body.
An hour ago I learned from that there are many varieties of common corn—in fact , 55 varieties grown in
Peru alone. Assuming that though many of these varieties have similar taste and color and that harvesting
them requires different soil, climate, and resources to
bring them to market…Well?
The End
Robert
R. Schwarz
All
comments are welcome.
rrschwarz7@wowway.com
©
2018 Robert R. Schwarz
____________________ NOTES
(1) website: Michael.McGillicuddy@gmail.com
( 2 ) TheCompletePilgrim.com…several other
websites cite similar statistic which, their
authors admit, are estimates at best .
(3) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list _ of_ english _bible-translations…
Changes in the English language since the 1611 King
James version and the ensuing translations have
resulted in these different versions. For a list of the
English versions, go to the above website.
(4) From the " Interfaith Dialogue on Love,
Understanding and Forgiveness " at the
Arlington Heights (IL) Memorial Library
(5 ) The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24-25, 2018,
p. A13
(6) National Catholic Register, Feb. 24-25, 2018
issue, p. 9, "News Analysis" by Edward Pentin
(7) Summa
Theologiae II-II, q.39. a.2)
( 8 ) Maurus
Münch , Pretres allemands a
Dachu, ( Amiens, France: Fraternite
Saint-Benoit, 1977 ) ,
93 .
From the book The Priest Barracks by
Guillaume Zeller , translated by
Michael J. Miller ; Ignatius
Press, 2017
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