"Receptive Ecumenism"

L to R: Jim Holladay, Steve Harmon, Carrie Gerard, Carlos Malave, Marian TaylorDo you think that you could receive gifts from other Christian traditions that would enrich your own discipleship? Many people have discovered that the answer is "yes."

Speaking to a group of 20 Kentuckians with a hunger for Christian unity, professor Steve Harmon appealed for an emphasis on "receptive ecumenism". This approach assumes commitment to one's own Christian tradition, but genuine openness to learning from another tradition. 

Alternating between table conversations and presentations, participants considered the ways our local churches already enjoy visible unity with other local churches, and in what ways we still lack that unity. We then brainstormed ways forward: support for couples with feet in two traditions, and learning from them; having more conversations about our traditions when we meet with other churches around social service programs we conduct together; making sure "confirmation" classes and adult formation or Sunday School classes invite people of other traditions to make presentations, and much more.

We also talked about causes of the waxing and waning of energies for Christian unity. Internal divisions in single traditions (denominations) divert

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Replacing the death penalty

Twenty-eight pastoral leaders who oppose the death penalty on moral and policy grounds attended training events on November 16 and 17. These events made us more effective in speaking and acting to end capital punishment.

Attorney Don Vish of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (KCADP) surveyed Kentucky’s history and current situation. Since 1956 Kentucky has executed four persons and we have 34 persons on death row now, and yet in that same period there have been 13,000 murders in the state. Juries have become less likely to hand down the ultimate penalty. Executions are on hold because of the supply of one drug, and judicial reviews.

Ms. Anne Holsinger of the national Death Penalty Information Center reviewed research on the capriciousness of the application of the death penalty and the number of persons who have been found innocent after being sent to death row. Most people polled would prefer a solution other than the death penalty, especially if that solution is “life without parole” and if convicted persons have to work to contribute to a restitution fund for survivors.

The Rev. Pat Delahanty (Catholic Conference of Kentucky and KCADP) and Kaye Gallagher of KCADP described proposed legislation coming up in early 2012 in Kentucky, and reviewed actions many people can take:

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Immigration and Kentucky's Churches

What person in the Bible was aided in a land not her own because she had been married to a native son? Ruth, the ancestress of King David. How long does it typically take for an employer in the US to prove that no American applied for a laborer position and to obtain a visa for someone abroad who wants that job? Ten years. How many visas are available annually for the entire United States, for unskilled laborers? 5,000.

These were among the lessons shared at the Council’s annual assembly in October of 2010. So the churches could study the immigration issue in depth, the theme was chosen for greater emphasis in 2011 (see Assemblies tab under Events).

Guiding Vision:

The policy paper of the Council concerning immigration issues, now available in Spanish, starts with key citations from the Bible on the subject, including "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the

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Peer Groups Funded!

Health and Hospitality – what do they mean to you personally and in your ministry? How might you be refreshed by exploring that question in a small group of your peers?

The Kentucky Council of Churches invites you to find out. We have received funding from the Lilly Endowment to foster such groups around Kentucky. We welcome hearing from interested church leaders, especially clergy. A form for expressing your interest is now available. Or call 859-269-7715 or email us.

This is a three-year program. The small groups will form themselves ecumenically (members from various Christian traditions) and set a schedule for gathering for times together. They will develop some goals for themselves in relation to the themes of health and hospitality.

Each year in October, the groups will all be assembled in one place for a special program, dovetailing with the opportunity to attend the Council’s own annual assembly.

The team guiding this new program wants to hear from you. Pictured here, they include (from left to right):

The Rev. Marian Taylor, Council Executive Director
The Rev. Greg Alexander, Christian Church in Kentucky (Disciples of Christ)
Sr. Mary Luke Jones, OSB, of Our Lady of Grace Monastery
The Rev. Gregory Waldrop, United Methodist Church
Ms. Jeanie Hartman, Council Administrative Assistant
The Rev. Tobias Pace, African Methodist Episcopal Church