ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601150095
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
Richmond will be host May 6-9 to about 400 church people from throughout the nation who enjoy getting together for the sake of learning more about each other's faiths and practices. They call themselves "ecumenists," from a Greek word that loosely translates as "worldwide."
Nine of these folks, representing Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, United Methodist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Lutheran, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations, met earlier this month in Roanoke to discuss the promotion of the National Workshop on Christian Unity through Western Virginia's churches.
They face apathy about the ecumenical movement among many church people these days. When folks in the pews are asked, for example, to list what they consider important in a new minister or bishop, his or her desire to be cooperative with other Christians ranks about 11 on a list of 12.
Today, many congregations are concentrating on themselves rather than venturing out with the vision of a generation ago of uniting with other Christian denominations. A blaze of interest has burned itself down to embers.
However, people like John Cosby, once an Episcopal administrator on the national level before his retirement to Floyd County, point out that ecumenism is not a dead issue. Church people are working together on projects like Habitat for Humanity, food pantries and tutoring needy children more than they did in the past, he asserted. Especially in Western Virginia's smaller communities, many of the churches join in cooperative projects to help the needy and to learn about each other's doctrines..
The Rev. Terry Sternberg, a Lutheran pastor from Pulaski, was at the recent planning meeting. Unlike Cosby, whose enthusiasm for meetings like the one in Richmond next spring goes back many years to national level conferences, she became interested in the Christian unity movement by chance while a seminary student.
A newcomer to the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, the Rev. Ronny Dower of Forest, recently became chair of its ecumenical committee. At the planning meeting he said average church members probably would be more likely to attend the Richmond conference if it were promoted as an event in which Episcopalians were playing a part.
On the other hand, the Rev. Dr. Paul Matheny, a Disciples of Christ minister, opted for promoting the meeting as ecumenical for its own sake. Though a relatively small number of church folk give a high priority to ecumenism, he said, those who do are committed and articulate. They are not threatened by sharing some ideas with Christians different from themselves, nor do they see some kind of super church destroying their own.
The two approaches are not contradictory. For whatever reason that people will register for the National Workshop, they will hear four widely known and admired speakers.
These include Bishop Walter Sullivan, who has just completed 25 years as spiritual and administrative head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond; Bishop Philip Cousin, leader of African Methodist Episcopal Church members in Virginia; Dr. Peggy Way, a professor of New Testament at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.; and Dr. Barbara Brown Zikmund of San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, Calif.
Several other denominational leaders also will speak and will lead the dozen workshops in which registrants can swap ideas among each other.
A sampling of these - all with an ecumenical slant - are youth learning together, responding to hate and violence, African-American churches and ecumenism, laity getting together without doctrinal barriers, sharing the sacraments, peace churches and their contribution, and ``sister churches'' where two or more congregations actually share worship and space regularly.
As Cosby pointed out, the workshop probably will attract mainly professional church workers and a small percentage of laity, but it is open to everyone. Like Sternberg, some will become converts to the idea that all who cherish Christ are one.
For registration details, call the Virginia Council of Churches at (804) 321-3300.
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