Ecumenism

“50,000 Catholics gathered for the National Eucharistic Congress…. Catholic bishops and other worshippers in the stands, hands raised in worship like Pentecostals, singing ‘How Great Is Our God,’ ….Others included ‘Way Maker,’ ‘Build My Life,’ ‘Come to the Altar’ and ‘Praise,’ the latest hit from Elevation” - RNS

“However bracing or even harsh pieces like Ashenden’s can be, they tell the truth: visible unity is, if anything, even further away than when the various dialogues among and between various Christian communities began officially a century ago.” - Word by Word

“Evangelicals in Italy say the participation of an international Evangelical group in an ecumenical prayer with Pope Francis and other Christian-identified organizations was tantamount to ‘crossing a line’ that could potentially threaten Church unity around the world.” - CPost

“It still has 37 member denominations. But, like those denominations, it is a shell of its former self, with a small staff and budget. What remains of the NCC is nestled in a small suite in the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. What happened?” - World

“In their first joint statement ever, the spiritual leaders of Christianity’s three largest denominations addressed the United Nations.” - C.Today

Also in the news: Preach Progressive Climate Policy, Ecumenical Group Advocates

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, Christians are replacing in-person events with prayer walks and drives, drive-in prayer meetings, conference calls, Facebook Live events and Zoom and Skype video gatherings, according to Dion Elmore, National Day of Prayer vice president for marketing and public relations.” - BPNews

“If Amish and Baptists singing hymns together in rural Appalachia isn’t an expression of Christian unity, Joshua Hearne says, nothing is.” - BNG

“The Way” began in Spain in 1964, but got the Vatican’s imprimatur only in 2008 under Pope Benedict XVI. It now claims more than one million adherents in 6,000 parishes worldwide, making it one of the “most important in a galaxy of new movements and associations” within Roman Catholicism. Crux

“Last month, the national evangelical alliances of Italy, Spain, and Malta—all members of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)—wrote an 8-page open letter charging their parent organization with ‘moving away from its historic position’ of holding the line against Catholic and liberal Protestant theology.” CToday

“Megachurch pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and California Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann recently opened up about their years-long friendship and cooperation as a model for evangelicals and Catholics around the world to follow.” CPost