It was in that context that four denominations of the Reformed family of churches and representatives of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops launched an official conversation in the United States. This year, 2005, marks the fortieth anniversary of that dialogue.
An exploratory meeting had been held in Washington, D.C. on July 27, 1965, just eight months after the promulgation of the Decree on Ecumenism and five months before the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. The United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Presbyterian Church (U.S.), the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ appointed a team of pastors, theologians and lay members to initiate an ongoing consultation that is now engaged in its seventh round of such dialogues. At several points over the years, including the present, other members of the Reformed family, such as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Christian Reformed Church and the Hungarian Reformed Church, have also participated in the process. Happily, the Christian Reformed Church is again an active partner in the current seventh round of the consultation.
This fortieth anniversary of the consultation provides an appropriate moment to review what has been done and where we have come. The conversation has ranged from the heady days of an optimistic ecumenical movement, through what some considered a neardeath experience at the end of the twentieth century and into what now seems to be an era of maturing accomplishment. The emerging importance of bilateral and multilateral dialogues, such as this series, is a significant sign of this maturity. (Note: A detailed summary of the six rounds of dialogue is available on-line at www.usccb.org/seia/journey.htm)
The first round in the series met to discuss and share their insights on the topics of revelation, the Scriptures, and tradition. This work was foundational to the collaboration on various topics that has occurred since. Over its lifetime this consultation has produced eight important publications, some of which continue to inform both Reformed and Catholic traditions, as well as others, in their ecumenical relationships and work. The titles of these publications relay some sense of the scope and variety of their work and accomplishments:
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Reconsiderations: Theological Conversation on Scripture, Doctrine, and Ministry (1967)
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The Ministry of the Church (1970)
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Women in the Church (1972)
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The Unity We Seek (1977)
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Ethics and the Search for Christian Unity (1980)
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Partners in Peace and Education (1988)
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Laity in the Church and in the World (1998)
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Interchurch Families: Resources for Ecumenical Hope (2002)
The fruits of that labor must not be lost. Institutions, especially those in transition, can have shortened memories. This is especially true of those ecclesial bodies whose membership and organization have evolved and changed as dramatically as have the Reformed churches involved in this dialogue. The United Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) have reunited after more than a hundred years of separation, while the United Church of Christ and the Reformed Church in America have undergone significant structural reorganizations, staff changes, relocations and transitions of various kinds. The Christian Reformed Church recently joined the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and has engaged in a significant reassessment of its confessional tradition and its effect on its ecumenical relationship with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, likewise, continues to develop in its implementation and interpretation of the second Vatican Council. Some of these circumstances place institutional memory in jeopardy, open up new possibilities, and call for an appraisal, assessment and consolidation of the current state of the dialogue.
The fortieth anniversary provides an occasion to take inventory of this important ecumenical enterprise as we seek to understand the nature of the unity given us in Christ and to express that unity in community. This appraisal takes place within the context of global ecumenical relationships, since all of our churches have been influenced by such developments as the Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry project of the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order, the continuing influence of the Second Vatican Council, the ecumenical influence of Pope John Paul II, the historic Lutheran- Catholic agreement on justification, and conversations taking place under the auspices of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Holy See.
The dialogical task undertaken by these two traditions over the past forty years in the United States, and in a variety of contexts around the world, is a continuing journey in faith. Parent bodies of the U. S. consultation approved the seventh round now underway.
The topic for the seventh round was proposed by the ecumenical staff of the sponsoring Catholic and Reformed bodies, including the Christian Reformed Church in America for the first time in several years. Members of the delegation have agreed upon the following prospectus for the round:
“This seventh round of these historic dialogues will focus on the meaning and practice of Baptism, the relationship of Baptism to Eucharist, and the role of both sacraments in shaping our churches and drawing them toward fuller communion. The dialogue will be methodologically designed to address issues that are theological, ecclesiastical and pastoral.”
Co-chairs for this round are Bishop Patrick R. Cooney of the Diocese of Gaylord in Michigan, who also cochaired the previous round, and the Rev. Dr. Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary in California.
Thus, the gradual process of reconciliation continues. Together we move in such a way that none of the gifts of the Spirit with which our diverse church traditions have been endowed is lost despite our separation. By that same Spirit the churches move toward reclaiming their unity in diversity that is the will of Christ. Our churches have been blessed by the levels of agreements reached thus far. It is important to us all that these gains be understood and remembered, and that we continue to build together on the foundation that has been laid for us.
Underscoring the continuity of the process, some questions from the fourth round (“Ethics and the Search for Unity”) continue to challenge us as we face together the future God is giving us:
“If we maintain – we believe we must – that ecclesial unity is possible, then can we describe this possibility realistically? Can we so give shape to this possibility of Christian unity that we will be able to state future goals with Christian realism?”
And, in the words of the first consultation, forty years ago: “The Holy Spirit as promoter of koinonia (2 Cor. 13:13) gives to those who are still divided the thirst and hunger for full communion. We remain restless until we grow together according to the wish and prayer of Christ that those who believe in him may be one (John 17:21). In the process of praying, working and struggling for unity, the Holy Spirit comforts us in pain, disturbs us when are satisfied to remain in our division, leads us to repentance, and grants us joy when our communion flourishes.”
JOHN C. BUSH is immediate past co-chair of the Reformed-Catholic Consultation in the United States (Round Six.) A retired Presbyterian minister with extensive ecumenical experience, he is now a member of North Alabama Presbytery.
JEFFERY R. GROS is associate director of the Secretariate for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C.
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