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March 26, 2008
National Workshop on Christian Unity set
45th annual event will be April 14-17 in Chicago
LOUISVILLE — Ecumenical officers, theologians, ministers, lay leaders and others interested in interchurch relations will gather at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare April 14-17 for the 45th annual National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU).
The event is hosted by the Ecumenical Millennium Committee of Chicago’s Christian faith groups.
The theme of the event, “Pray without Ceasing,” will play out in worship, joint eucharist services, Bible study, 16 workshops, a panel discussion on the nature of the local and global church, and a keynote address by the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister who is general secretary of the National Council of Churches
NWCU workshop topics include the Emerging Church movement; the Anglican/Orthodox joint statement on “The Church and the Triune God”; the influence of race on ecumenism; the ecumenical implications of the theology, ritual and practice of baptism; ecumenical advocacy on global moral issues; ecumenical coalitions on gun violence, immigration and community organizing; and Muslim and Christian women’s dialogue in Chicago.
Bible study leaders are the Rev. James Fleming, director of the Explorations in Antiquity Center in LaGrange, GA, and Sr. Lorelei Fuchs, theological consultant for The Interchurch Center in New York, who will also preach at the opening prayer service on April 14.
The panel discussion, which will conclude the event on April 17, will be moderated by the Rev. John Blessington, executive producer of cultural and religious broadcasts for CBS Television. Participating on the panel will be Margaret O’Gara, professor of theology at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto; the Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, director of external affairs and interchurch relations for the Orthodox Church in America; and the Rev. Joseph Small, director of theology, worship and education for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The NWCU celebrates ecumenism by:
- Providing meeting seminars for all who are concerned with Christian unity;
- Stimulating an exchange of ideas and experiences among people concerned with Christian unity and the groups they represent;
- Bridging local, national and interchurch ecumenical conversations and activities;
- Encouraging the development of and interaction between denominational ecumenical networks; and
- Celebrating the unity that already exists among Christians and searching for ways to overcome the divisions that remain.
Participating NWCU churches include the American Baptist Churches in the USA, the Catholic Church, The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, The Episcopal Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.
For more information and online registration, go to www.nwcu.org.
Information for this story furnished by David Skidmore, Office of Communication, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, (312) 751-4207, dskidmore@episcopalchicago.org |
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