2004 Conference of the North American Academy of Ecumenists

Columbus, Ohio, was the venue for the September, 2004, annual conference of the North American Academy of Ecumenists. This report highlights the theme and discussions of the three-day gathering from the perspective of one participant. theme chosen, The Church: Its Faith and Unity, identifies with the theme of a second Conference on Faith and Order in North America, which is proposed to take place in 2005 in New York. In that vein, academy presenters and participants focused their attention on issues that both unite and divide the churches today. Dr. George Lindbeck, Professor Emeritus of Yale University, opened the N.A.A.E. gathering by sharing venues of his ecumenical journey. His keynote address, Paris, Rome, Jerusalem: An Ecumenical Travelogue, first invited hearers to journey back to the initial experience that helped shape the ecumenical commitment of this well-known theological educator and dialogical interlocutor. Lindbeck was a member of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States for many years. In that capacity he helped forge the way toward the Lutheran-Roman Catholic accord on the understanding of the doctrine of justification reached in Augsburg in 1999. Lindbeck, who looks upon theological dialogue as a conversation enabling its members to draw closer together in Christian unity, spoke of the malaise that hinders such encounter. Not only is there the enduring pain of not being able to share the eucharistic table, but today there is also a growing de-Christianization of our culture that thwarts ecumenical initiatives and weakens ecumenical enthusiasm. Laissez-faire thinking has lost sight of fundamental Christian teaching. Lindbeck takes the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification as an example. What happened in Augsburg makes little impact today. Contemporary culture no longer accepts the seriousness of sin in the way our forebearers of the sixteenth century did. Other attitudes also blur vision on the ecumenical journey today. Interdenominational activity become par with ecumenical relations. Interfaith concerns take precedence over the ecumenical imperative. Despite these odds, Lindbeck's story was a narrative of one man's passion for Christian unity and gratitude for the advances made toward the churches' seeking and finding their unity in Christ. He spoke of the structures that have supported the ecumenical movement, such as councils of churches. He also referred to the participation of churches that were initially outside the movement, in particular the Roman Catholic Church and its contribution to ecumenical dialogue. (See a revised form of the address in this issue, pp. 389-408). autobiographical touch continued in the presentations that followed. In response to the keynote address, Professor Margaret O'Gara of the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto, praised the commitment of George Lindbeck and pleaded for renewed commitment to the gift of exchange that characterizes ecumenical encounter. …