Testimonial to value of crossing faith boundaries

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Campbell spoke at a luncheon in Louisville on May 1, testifying to her own journey of growth in crossing boundaries within the Christian faith world and between Christians and other faiths. Her earliest such experience was as a school girl in Pasadena, when from her Presbyterian home she was allowed to take a class at a Catholic church. After listing many of the strengths of her own tradition that she loves, from reading scripture and singing psalms to loving God with the mind through study, she also spoke admiringly of spiritual gifts she would like to imbibe. These included the Benedictine traditions of hospitality and worship, and the ability of certain Pentecostals to preach with urgency and passion while also being informed by scholarship.The luncheon event was part of a monthly series in which two Louisville congregations, Second Presbyterian and Highland Presbyterian, come together to hear speakers. Rev. Campbell, the former president of McCormick Seminary in Chicago, is presently serving as interim pastor at Highland Presbyterian.

Disciples Women Gather

The first woman to serve as president of the Kentucky Council of Churches, Rev. Ellen Frost (1982-3), posed with current executive director Marian Taylor at the gathering of women from Kentucky's Christian Church Disciples of Christ churches. Some 200 women worshiped, sang and attended workshops in the Lexington event April 20-21. Keynote preacher the Rev. Jan Ehrmantraut encouraged all to testify to the ways that their communities of faith stretch them to new encounters with the living God in other people. Dynamic music by Andra Moran added vitality, as did workshops on ecumenical work in Kentucky, human trafficking, eating faithfully, some in the Congo, Bible study, Church World Service and uses of denominational publications.

What's an oplatek got to do with Christian unity?

A lot, as it turns out!

On February 12, church leaders of many Christian traditions came together to dine and then to lead worship. During the worship service, we learned about an Eastern European custom in which participants offer each other a bit of wafer in a gesture of peace. This is not a sacrament, it is a friendly custom, and so across these many traditions we were free to share our "oplatki" (plural of oplatek) with each other. The sharing was very lively.

Our host parish was Pax Christi Catholic Church, and the occasion was the recent Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the culmination of a series of Tuesday evening classes.

Confirmands serving tableA distinctive feature of the well-attended evening was the presence of many youths. Some of them, pictured here serving the dinner were members of a Pax Christi confirmation class.

Another distinctive feature was the variety of distinguished leaders gathered, pictured here just prior to the worship service. One leader from each tradition gave a brief homily on the "we shall all be changed" passage in 1 Corinthians 15.

The Kentucky Council of Churches commends Pax Christi, the Lexington congregations that work with Pax Christi on the event annually, and the youth who helped host everyone so well. We are also grateful that the offering collected will benefit the Christian unity work of the 12 member traditions of the Council.

"Receptive Ecumenism"

L to R: Jim Holladay, Steve Harmon, Carrie Gerard, Carlos Malave, Marian TaylorDo you think that you could receive gifts from other Christian traditions that would enrich your own discipleship? Many people have discovered that the answer is "yes."

Speaking to a group of 20 Kentuckians with a hunger for Christian unity, professor Steve Harmon appealed for an emphasis on "receptive ecumenism". This approach assumes commitment to one's own Christian tradition, but genuine openness to learning from another tradition. 

Alternating between table conversations and presentations, participants considered the ways our local churches already enjoy visible unity with other local churches, and in what ways we still lack that unity. We then brainstormed ways forward: support for couples with feet in two traditions, and learning from them; having more conversations about our traditions when we meet with other churches around social service programs we conduct together; making sure "confirmation" classes and adult formation or Sunday School classes invite people of other traditions to make presentations, and much more.

We also talked about causes of the waxing and waning of energies for Christian unity. Internal divisions in single traditions (denominations) divert

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Replacing the death penalty

Twenty-eight pastoral leaders who oppose the death penalty on moral and policy grounds attended training events on November 16 and 17. These events made us more effective in speaking and acting to end capital punishment.

Attorney Don Vish of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (KCADP) surveyed Kentucky’s history and current situation. Since 1956 Kentucky has executed four persons and we have 34 persons on death row now, and yet in that same period there have been 13,000 murders in the state. Juries have become less likely to hand down the ultimate penalty. Executions are on hold because of the supply of one drug, and judicial reviews.

Ms. Anne Holsinger of the national Death Penalty Information Center reviewed research on the capriciousness of the application of the death penalty and the number of persons who have been found innocent after being sent to death row. Most people polled would prefer a solution other than the death penalty, especially if that solution is “life without parole” and if convicted persons have to work to contribute to a restitution fund for survivors.

The Rev. Pat Delahanty (Catholic Conference of Kentucky and KCADP) and Kaye Gallagher of KCADP described proposed legislation coming up in early 2012 in Kentucky, and reviewed actions many people can take:

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