Exploring Ecumenism

Ecumenical blogs

I have been searching for ecumenical blogs and have found an interesting post about how ecumenism might be carried forward through discussion about religions on blogs.  The blog is Something New in Ecumenism: Blog-level Ecumenism. 

This was posted in May 2007 and I wonder how the author views his work 18 months later.  The blog is from an American context (so far I haven't found any British blogs about ecumenism, although I'm still looking).  My impression is that most blogs about ecumenism from the States originate from a Catholic or Orthodox background which suggests a rather different context to my experience in Britain.

I have maintained that blogs and web2 applications generally have a role to play in ecumenism as an adjunct to face to face conversations and so I have some reservations about blog-level ecumenism.  However, one major advantage is the potential for conversations between people who would not otherwise meet.

A search for ecumenical resources

Time for a break from conversations, to explain more about this blog.  It can be too easy to be bogged down in ecumenical conversations and activities and so I hope to include ideas for churches and ecumenical groups.  I don't in any way wish to portray ecumenism as an activity that is not worthwhile but it can come across as worthy and, well, dull.  It shouldn't be this way and so one of my responses will be to gather in one place resources for ecumenists.  There will be loads of reflection, much of it theological, because it interests me and also because I want to encourage debate about why we do ecumenism.  Here are some examples of other things I would like to collect:

1. Stories - some maybe contributed by committed ecumenists, along the lines of why I am still a ..., others will be stories I add in from time to time from various sources.
2. Neighbourhoods - most ecumenical work is done in neighbourhoods - I hope to add posts showing how churches have developed work in their neighbourhoods.
3. Images - apart from logos and pictures of groups of people posing during some ecumenical meeting, ecumenism seems short of images.  Is there any exciting stuff anywhere? 
4. Worship materials - for use in any worship not just joint services.
5. Humour - there must be some ecumenical humour out there somewhere - I've rarely encountered any - there must be some - surely?  If you have any examples, please ensure they are funny before sharing them!

If you have resources to share, directly or through a link, I would be delighted to add your material, acknowledged and with due regard for copyright restrictions of course. 

Theological departure points

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.

Ecumenism - New Horizons

Ecumenism is not all about Local Ecumenical Partnerships and the Faith and Order debate. Indeed this is why I wanted to start this blog - to explore some of the wider issues and possibilities - I believe ecumenism has a lot of potential to surprise in all sorts of ways if only we can shift the log jam of debate about church structures. The exploring of each others traditions, the deepening of understanding of our and other traditions can open up many new possibilities. Let's identify the real issues as we search for meaning in the modern (post-modern?) world.

Possible features - this list is an attempt to indicate what I hope to cover.  The aim is to explore possibilities rather than criticise what's happening; to widen the scope of ecumenical conversations, rather than continue the existing ones.

1.     To share stories - this is important but I'm not sure how this will happen on a blog.  It would be good to find out why readers are still with their own tradition (or moving on) and how they got there in the first place. This is a reflection of recent developments in ecumenical work as some of the new Pentecostal churches have started to show interest in ecumenism.
2. Websites, books - where are issues being addresed that open up new horizons?
3.  Ecumenism means the reconciliation of the whole cosmos in God - isn't it time we took this seriously?
4.  If it's not Faith and Order - what are the issues we should be addressing?

5.  Re-framing full visible unity - it's not going to go away - how can it adapt to our changing context? And are there really no credible alternatives?
6.  Exploration of the role of consensus, participation, finding the spirit of the meeting - practical ways to engage people in real conversations. John 1:1 'It all started with a conversation' - my translation.
7.  Deep listening - there's a lot going on in this area, so why are the churches so bad at it?
8.  Complexity theory and ecumnenism.
9.  Starting with the local - why have the fresh expressions become so disincarnate (or have they)? The flight from the technicalities of property and finances - why do we make our spirituality so unreal?