A Moment for Mission
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. … By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God.” — Hebrews 11:1-3a, NRSV
Ecumenism is alive and well throughout Jesus’ universal church, and Christ’s followers are continuing to build relationships and be in ministry together, despite their differences. Here’s an example I recently witnessed.
The Interdenominational Theological Center was chartered in 1958 in Atlanta. At that time, four separate seminaries came together to form one school of theology, maintaining their unique identities but cooperating together in an ecumenical cluster. Today the ITC includes five seminaries: Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary (Pentecostal), Morehouse School of Religions (Baptist), Phillips School of Theology (CME), Turner Theological Seminary (AME) and our own United Methodist Gammon Theological Seminary.
Students not affiliated with one of the five denominations/families are enrolled in the Richardson Ecumenical Fellowship Program. Matriculation is through the individual seminary, but worship, fellowship and education are united through a shared faculty and campus. This is the only graduate theology program in the world with this unique model that is exclusively African American but inclusive to all people.
The idea of this kind of ecumenical endeavor for African Americans training for vocational ministry began to form in the early 1940s. With major financial backing from John D. Rockefeller Jr., instruction began in 1959 with 21 faculty and 97 students.
Through congregational support of the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund, United Methodists encourage work with other faith groups. The fund provides support of the basic budgets of the organizations that relate to the ecumenical responsibilities of the Council of Bishops.
Children’s Message
Have you ever visited another church in your community? Perhaps a friend invited you to worship or to vacation Bible school. Maybe your family helped with, or was helped by, a food giveaway during the pandemic.
If you went to another church for worship or Sunday school, you probably learned about God’s most special gift of Jesus Christ. You heard familiar Bible stories and sang familiar songs.
We go to church in different buildings with different names, but we’re actually quite a bit alike. Whether we are United Methodist or members of another faith, we share a love for Jesus Christ. Often, we work together on VBS, food pantries and other programs that reach out to others and show them God’s love. Isn’t that wonderful?
Offertory Prayer
Loving God, thank you for the gift of faith that prepares us to go into the world and serve you. Thank you for the opportunity to work in ministry with other Christ followers. We love you. Amen.
From Discipleship Ministries: Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — God of love and grace, we bring our offerings this day and ask that they might be dedicated to strengthening your church for the making of disciples for Jesus Christ. Your prophet Isaiah reminds us that offering money or possessions is not enough. Isaiah proclaims to the Israelites that unless their offerings are accompanied by a wiliness to “learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow,” the offerings are futile. Open our ears to hear what pleases you and open our eyes to see the opportunities all around us. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen. (Isaiah 1:1, 10-20)
Newsletter Nugget
Located on 10 acres between Morris Brown College and Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center is the largest freestanding African American theological school in the United States. It offers master of divinity, master of arts in Christian education and doctor of ministry degrees. It is fully accredited by the American Association of Theological Schools, with about 25 faculty and more than 300 students. Of the thousands of graduates, our Council of Bishops is well represented.
Christian unity comes in many forms and is lived out in many ways. A consortium of ecumenical seminaries is one way that Christians preparing for vocational ministry in the universal church of Jesus Christ can learn from one another, receive a diversity of gifts and strengthen the bonds between communions across communions.
Through congregational support of the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund, United Methodists encourage work with other faith groups. The fund provides support of the basic budgets of the organizations that relate to the ecumenical responsibilities of the Council of Bishops.
Adapted from “Interchurch Theological Center: Perfect Example of Christian Unity in Theological Education,” Jean Hawxhurst, United Methodist Council of Bishops. Used by permission.