Richard Weis Installed as LTS Dean

Lexington Theological Seminary installed its 17th Dean on Sunday, January 22nd. Dr. Richard Weis, a Presbyterian, assumed this leadership role in a worship setting. The Rev. Mike Ward, Kentucky Council of Churches board president, brought greetings on behalf of the 12 Christian traditions of the Council and affiliates. A video of the ceremony is posted on the LTS web site. Rev. Ward's remarks begin at minute number five. 

Bishop's Ecumenical Award announced

The Rev. Sarah Ewing Ernst, Pastoral Assistant at the Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church, received the 2011 Bishop's Ecumenical Award during the recent United Methodist Kentucky Annual Conference held in Covington, KY.

This Louisville leader writes that "Receiving the Bishop's Ecumenism Award was a high point of the Kentucky Annual Conference for me this year.  It has been both a joy and a privilege for members of Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church to be involved in ministry with our Tri-Covenant partners The Cathedral of the Assumption (Roman Catholic) and Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) over the past seven years.  In receiving the award I felt I was truly "the face of Fourth Avenue." Through the years our churches have partnered in Epiphany and Lenten services, Easter Vigils, and celebrations of the Blessing of Animals.  Pulpit exchanges have been an awesome experience for both pastors and congregations.  We have joined together in "repair affairs", yard sales for the community ministry, Vacation Bible Schools, and learned to appreciate each others' doctrinal and social justice perspectives through ... dialogues. For Fourth Avenue, our ministry together has been ecumenism at its heart as we've gotten to know, appreciate and love each other - and be church together as God's people in Christ Jesus!"          

The Kentucky Council of Churches celebrates this testimonial and lifts up the example of giving ecumenical awards as a way to call even more believers into this work.

Become – or appoint – an ecumenical encourager and liaison

In scripture, the role of Barnabbas was crucial – he made sure Paul and Peter met each other and learned to work together. Please be “a Barnabbas” for relations among Christian traditions today. Or make sure your congregation cultivates a person for that role! Here are some good ways such a person can proceed:

• Help your faith community give an award from time to time for members who are engaged in ecumenical ministries or activism. Or sponsor an essay contest as a way to give an award to younger people!
• Find a way to mark the yearly Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Council can always help with this, but it is also possible to order the annual materials through http://www.geii.org/wpcu_index.htm
• Keep concerns of the world church before the congregation/parish during spoken prayers of intercession is a good activity, and a good way to stay in touch with those concerns is to subscribe to this news feed service and one of your own denomination too: https://secure.oikoumene.org/news/sign-up-for-e-news.html
• Explain Christian unity to the children, and help adult classes find ways to engage with other traditions.

Connect with other traditions through the KCC:

• Subscribe to the alert system of the KCC, respond to those alerts, and call them to the attention of the parish/congregation in appropriate ways. One registers for alerts at http://capwiz.com/kychurches/mlm/signup
• Attend our annual assembly in October (call 859-269-7715 for registration details) and then report back in your church about something especially meaningful or pertinent from the assembly.
• Inform the Council about how to promote ecumenical spirit and action in your context.
• Plan a time annually to highlight the work of the Council.