Resuming a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):Norman A. Hjelm (ed.), Faith and Order: Toward a North American Conference. Study Guide (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2005). This small book (50 pages) provides a fine introduction to the Faith and Order stream of the ecumenical movement, which is really the movement’s indispensable theological heart. This study guide was conceived to introduce North American Christians to the importance of Faith and Order ecumenism in preparation for a major Conference on Faith and Order in North America in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark 1957 Oberlin, Ohio conference on “The Nature of the Unity We Seek.” While the envisioned conference was ultimately not held, this book continues to serve as a useful introduction to an increasingly neglected dimension of ecumenism. It is notable for its attention to the concerns of evangelical and Pentecostal communions that have not historically been involved in Faith and Order ecumenism.
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Steven,
ReplyDeleteThe 50th anniversary Oberlin conference was held in 2007. I was there. For a while it was thought that there would not be a conference, but it eventually came together.
Nick
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note--I should have offered the qualification that this particular study guide was prepared for the conference that was envisioned by William Rusch as something that would be held without official sponsorship of the NCCCUSA as a way of attracting participation by evangelical and Pentecostal traditions that have historically stood distant from the NCCCUSA while still involving the historic member bodies of the Council.
Steve