Whats Happening In RE
Year 10 Church Walk
The Catholic Church’s decree on ecumenism, “Unitatis Redintegratio” defines the term ecumenical movement as “initiatives and activities planned and undertaken… to promote Christian unity” (UR 4). In Term 4, Year 10 learned about the meaning of ecumenism in the context of Christian unity and visited four churches of different Christian denominations in the local area to get a sense of the similarities and differences between them. On one hand our aim was to connect the distinct theological differences to our learning about the different periods of rupture in the Church. But also, more importantly, to learn that the things that unite us are far greater than those that divide us.
An experience of the various Christian denominations in our own neighbourhood is a starting point to realising Christian unity. Christ prayed that “they all may be one…so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Unitatis Redintegratio impresses upon us the reality that “division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature” (UR 1). The brief time we spend in each church provides a rich stimulus to reflect on not only division among those who profess belief in Jesus Christ but also division in our lives generally.
One of the profound experiences we have when we meet with representatives of each of the churches is their deep faith in the saving mission of Christ. They reflect a deep love of Christ and desire to be intimately united with Him. “This shows itself in their private prayer, their meditation on the Bible, in their Christian family life, and in the worship of a community gathered together to praise God” (UR 23). As a Christian, the concentration of communities in this suburb professing Christ and seeking restoration of the goodness that God intends for our lives and all Creation is reassuring. May this Christmas be an opportunity for the child Jesus to become manifest in our souls just as He was manifested in the manger in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men of the East.
The following are further reflections on Unitatis Redintegratio which inspire and inform our learning about Christian unity. Quotes from the decree are paired with images of the churches.
Churches of the East - From Unitatis Redintegratio
Entrance to the Sanctuary
Image taken from St Mary and St John the Beloved Coptic Church Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/WaggaCopticChurch/
Everyone also knows with what great love the Christians of the East celebrate the sacred liturgy, especially the eucharistic celebration, source of the Church's life and pledge of future glory, in which the faithful, united with their bishop, have access to God the Father through the Son, the Word made flesh, Who suffered and has been glorified, and so, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they enter into communion with the most holy Trinity, being made "sharers of the divine nature" (UR15)
In this liturgical worship, the Christians of the East pay high tribute, in beautiful hymns of praise, to Mary ever Virgin, whom the ecumenical Council of Ephesus solemnly proclaimed to be the holy Mother of God. (UR 15)
The Iconostasis
Image taken from https://www.facebook.com/WaggaCopticChurch/
Far from being an obstacle to the Church's unity, a certain diversity of customs and observances only adds to her splendor, and is of great help in carrying out her mission. (UR 16)
Churches of the West - Unitatis Redintegratio
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Image taken from https://www.facebook.com/BLCWW
A love and reverence of Sacred Scripture which might be described as devotion, leads our Brethren to a constant meditative study of the sacred text. For the Gospel "is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and then to the Greek".(Rom. 1, 16)
While invoking the Holy Spirit, they seek in these very Scriptures God as it were speaking to them in Christ, Whom the prophets foretold, Who is the Word of God made flesh for us. They contemplate in the Scriptures the life of Christ and what the Divine Master taught and did for our salvation, especially the mysteries of His death and resurrection. (UR 21)
Image: Interior Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Whenever the Sacrament of Baptism is duly administered as Our Lord instituted it, and is received with the right dispositions, a person is truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ, and reborn to a sharing of the divine life. As the Apostle says: "You were buried together with Him in Baptism, and in Him also rose again - through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead".(Col. 2, 12; cf. Rom. 6, 4) (UR 21)
Baptism therefore establishes a sacramental bond of unity which links all who have been reborn by it. As of itself Baptism is only a beginning, an inauguration wholly directed toward the fullness of life in Christ. Baptism, therefore, envisages a complete profession of faith, complete incorporation in the system of salvation such as Christ willed it to be, and finally complete ingrafting in eucharistic.
Image: St Aidan’s Presbyterian Church
https://www.churchesaustralia.org/
Their faith in Christ bares fruit in praise and thanksgiving for the blessings received from the hands of God. Among them, too, is a strong sense of justice and a true charity toward their neighbour. This active faith has been responsible for many organizations for the relief of spiritual and material distress, the furtherance of the education of youth, the improvement of the social conditions of life, and the promotion of peace throughout the world.
Image: Wagga Adventist Church https://www.facebook.com/waggaadventist/
David Chaston | RE KLA Coordinator