By Chris Duncanson-Hales
On the eve of the first ever joint Lutheran-Catholic commemoration of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden in October 2016, Archbishop Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of Uppsala in Sweden and Primate of the Church of Sweden declared, “we are now ready to state publicly that Catholics and Lutherans are on their way from conflict to communion, and that we share what is most important: the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
At this historic commemoration, Pope Francis, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop Munib Yunan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, signed a Joint Declaration committing to five ecumenical imperatives to move their respected communities from conflict to communion.
During the joint commemoration service, “brothers and sisters representing the various Christian World Communions and Fellowships” were invited to remind our Catholic and Lutheran communities of these commitments and through prayer and continued dialogue to encourage the continued healing of the body of Christ.
For the past year, the Christian community of northeastern Ontario has done just that, and more.
Beginning in late 2016, I have had the privilege of working with Catholics, Lutherans, United Church, Anglican, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Baptist and non-denominational Congregationalists as we’ve planned and prepared for the local commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation.
The Conference, “Rebels with a Cause?,” being held at the Holiday Inn on Regent Street on Sept. 21-22 , is a sign of the visibly united body of Christ that has reinforced for me the power of ecumenism from the pews.
The first of the five imperatives committed to in Lund compels us to always “begin from the perspective of unity and not from the point of view of division in order to strengthen what is held in common.”
This imperative reminds us that we are already, though imperfectly, visibly united, through our baptism, into the one body of Christ. From here, we can begin to appreciate the joys and sorrows of our Christian sisters and brothers as our own joys and sorrows, remembering that “when one part of the body of Christ hurts, the other part hurts.”( 1 Corinthians 12:16).
In concrete terms, this means that the struggles of part of the body is a struggle for the whole body of Christ. For instance, the whole body shares in the sorrow, pain and hope of the United Church of Canada’s national restructuring. Similarly, the joy of the celebration of the baptism of a child or adult into the body of
Christ is an event to be celebrate through out the whole body.
It is from this perspective of unity that Christians from across northeastern Ontario are gathering in Sudbury as a visible sign of the body of Christ for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation.
This, however, is not the end of the journey for our Christian communities. In the words of the joint-declaration signed by Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Yunan, at the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund, Sweden “By drawing close in faith to Christ, by praying together, by listening to one another, by living Christ’s love in our relationships, we open ourselves to the power of the Triune God. Rooted in Christ and witnessing to him, we renew our determination to be faithful heralds of God’s boundless love for all humanity.”
By drawing close in faith to Christ, our organizational team has been transformed as we’ve lamented the walls that divide, celebrated the bridges that unite, and acknowledged the imperative for ongoing reformation of the Church through dialogue and meaningful reconciliation with the Anishinaabe community hurt by the legacy of residential schools. By drawing closer in faith to Christ, our communities are committing to continue our journey from conflict to communion.
Five Ecumenical Imperatives Adapted for wider ecumenical community. From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation, is a Report of the Joint Lutheran—Roman Catholic Commission on Unity.
The five imperatives are:
1. Christians should always begin from the perspective of unity and not from the
point of view of division in order to strengthen what is held in common even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced.
2 . Christians must let themselves continuously be transformed by the encounter with the other and by the mutual witness of faith.
3 . Christians should again commit themselves to seek visible unity, to elaborate together what this means in concrete steps, and to strive repeatedly toward this goal .
4 . Christians should jointly rediscover the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ for our time .
5 . Christians should witness together to the mercy of God in proclamation and service to the world.
Chris Duncanson-Hales is one of the co-ordinators for Nord500North. He is Catholic and his wife is United Church, so, they live the Ongoing Reformation experience!
