So, where am I coming from and why ecumenism? Surely I can't fill a blog day by day solely about ecumenism? Wherever you turn ecumenism comprises long winded documents, constitutions for Local Ecumenical Partnerships which take forever to approve, an annual cycle of events for churches who are mainly not terribly enthusiastic.
Ecumenism can be like that. But this is not what I hope to explore. My main interests are not in the minutiae of ecumenical conversations. It is in the dynamic, the theology, the understanding of conversations. Let me illustrate what I mean with some biographical data.
I studied at university first in biology and then in computer science. I have always been interested in science although I have done no research since 1979. Ecumenism is about the reconciliation of the whole world (or cosmos) to God - it is not in essence about reconciling denominations. There is a cosmological dimension to ecumenism.
Since then I have been a community development worker in Tyneside, Teesside and South Yorkshire. The presence of churches together in neighbourhoods, the building of wide partnerships, local regeneration have interesting parallels and overlaps.
In Teesside I first encountered the power of listening through a churches project called RESPOND! and its Dark Holy Ground course. From there I have increasingly seen the importance of deep listening and the power of conversation to make a difference.
Through community development I have developed a keen interest in community enterprise and particularly in mutuals. The economy of ecumenism is fascinating from the arrangements to share buildings to the vision of a world where economy serves the people.
I have had a long association with the Urban Theology Unit in Sheffield and from there I have followed my own path with the help of the Christian Praxis Group, a group of friends who meet to study radical theology and for support 2 -4 times a year for 25 years now. I also studied applied theology at Westminster College specialising in mutuals and social auditing.
In recent years I have worked for the Methodist Church in the fields of ecumenism and resourcing mission. This continues to be a privilege and of course this work will inform my writing from time to time. But this blog is not in any way an exposition or critique of Methodist Church policy.
I suppose ecumenism will be a central thread around which I will organise my interests. At times I might drift far away but hopefully being drawn back to my starting point from time to time will add a degree of coherence to what might otherwise by a confusing whole.
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