Monday, July 7, 2014

Ecumenical news in Southern Virginia

By The Rev. Conor M. Alexander, Ecumenical Officer, Diocese of Southern Virginia

On June 30, the Tidewater LARCUM chapter hosted Dr. Mitzi Budde, Professor and Head Librarian at Virginia Theological Seminary and specialist in Ecumenism and Reconciliation. Holy Apostles' Virginia Beach hosted the evening, and held a program steeped in prayer, hymns, and Dr. Budde's reflections on the current state of ecumenism in the larger Church.

Dr. Budde's presentation focused on three major points: a theological rationale for ecumenism, several hopeful signs for how the movement is continuing, and discussion on two recent ecumenical agreements. Theologically speaking, our baptism is initiation into Christ's body, the Church. This is not limited to one denomination, but to all Christians everywhere. One participant in the evening remarked that for him, ecumenical work is not optional - to follow Christ is to seek Christian unity. Dr. Budde went on to describe several ways in which this theology is working itself out. One particular hopeful sign is the Global Freedom Network, an ecumenical and interfaith organization designed to combat global slavery and human trafficking, and has the support and backing of both Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby.

Two recent ecumenical agreements that Dr. Budde described were Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct put forth by The World Council of Churches, Ponitifcal Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the World Evangelical Alliance, and The Church: Towards a Common Vision again by The World Council of Churches. Both documents are available on the internet.