The Big Crete Meeting

Closing thoughts

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:45:20 PST

I'm back in the Denver airport where I spent my first layover on this adventure, and now my last.

We didn't fully accomplish Christian unity in Crete, or in Chicago. But I will say that each time I meet with these wonderful folks, I am convinced that we need each other. We cannot be not whole without each other, and our dividedness keeps us broken.

Come Holy Spirit!

I look forward to carrying on these conversations in person - hello again, Santa Clara!

Quick quotes

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:53:27 PST

Last night, we had a panel discussion about ecumenism and justice. The three panelists were from Garrett-Evangelical Seminary where we're meeting, and each had a unique perspective on the question. I'm not going to go type up the whole thing, so here are some quick quotations from their presentations:

"What if church unity and diversity were like a musical fugue, a combination of singularity (one theme) and plurality (overlapping harmonies)? What if the church were more about texture rather than form?"

"African-American churches taught the world to fight evil with non-violence."

"What do we do for people who are born into pain?"

"We need conversation between the sinner and the sinned against."

Too much of a good thing

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:47:17 PST

So, I’m pretty fried.

I love Christian unity, I love being with great people from all walks of life and from all parts of the church, and I love talking theology.

But I’m really, really tired. And it’s not just jet-lag. These topics are complicated and require a lot of brain power, and I don’t have much brain power left.

This is an important reality in ecumenical dialogue: how tired we are, how much we have going on in our lives, the difficulties we face in our own contexts – all of these can enhance or inhibit our ability to listen and to understand each other.

Folks from parts of the world where war or conflict or poverty are the norm often have little extra energy or time in own lives to sit and ponder abstract theology. Staying in a hotel in Chicago and spending three days thinking about the church is a huge gift – one I’m both blessed and humbled to receive.

But tonight, I’m just tired.

Lost in translation

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:25:00 PST

In our last two sessions in Crete, my small group had an extended digression about translation.

The Nature and Mission of the Church document we were studying was translated into French, German, Spanish and Russian, all languages that originated in Europe. Translating is expensive and difficult, especially for highly technical theological jargon. The truth is that the World Council of Churches doesn’t have the money to translate the document into every language on the planet.

But, reflected some friends from Africa and Asia, we need to recognize that even the languages we choose to offer send a message about who’s important and who’s not, who’s valued and who’s not, or even who’s a priority and who’s not. When we translate documents into European languages alone and then ask the world community to respond, it can feel like the people who speak those languages are the ones we want to hear from most.

At these global church meetings, we often have conversations like this – about how to widen the table, how to invite more people into the conversation, how to make sure information is available to everyone and that everyone’s voice is heard.

This morning, I saw on CNN that a pastor in North Carolina is planning to burn Bibles that aren’t the King James Version (one of the earliest translations of the texts into English).

I wonder if he knows that all around the world people have been translating the Bible into all kinds of other languages, from Armenian to Zulu, for centuries.

Yep folks, there’s still work to do.

Faith and Order, Chicago-style

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:15:00 PST

The next few days, I’ll be at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary north of Chicago, Illinois, with the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ (U.S.A.).

As I’ve said, it’s a parallel group to the folks at the Crete meeting, except for it’s in the United States and we meet twice a year instead of once every seven years (which means, among other things, that I know these people better).

We’re broken into three study groups:

Unity in Mission: how can mission – or a common understanding of mission – help build the unity of the church?
The Nature and Mission of the Church: yep, the same topic as the global version
Justice and Salvation: How is personal salvation related to the transformation of the whole world? How is justice related to justification? How might we bridge the gap between churches that focus on social justice and those that focus on individual salvation?

I’m in this last group, and we’ve been studying this topic for five years already. It’s complicated.

For more details, click here. Or watch this space.

A big-enough boat

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:53:00 PST

On Monday, we took a group photo. Someone had used chalk to draw the outline of a huge boat on the ground, and we were supposed to stand within it.

But it wasn’t big enough for all of us.

It was a funny moment when, at this meeting promoting Christian unity, we discovered there wasn’t enough room in the boat for everyone to fit. We made a circle instead.

Here’s to the day when we truly have a boat big enough for everyone.

(And here's the photo - just click twice on the left-hand arrow. I'm dead center.)

Storm at sea

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:44:02 PST

The last day we were in Crete, the storm clouds rolled in. The wind picked up, the skies darkened, and late afternoon the rain came down in sheets. I was in a windowless room when it happened, but we could hear the rain pounding on the roof. We dashed out to witness the downpour and the roiling seas crashing against the rocky shore.

It was just a passing thunderstorm. An hour later, the ground was wet and the sky was gray, but the storm had dissipated. But that brief tempest gave me a new appreciation of St. Paul’s travel to Crete, and of all of Paul’s journeys by boat in stormy seas.

Every time I travel, I’m reminded of how much we are shaped by our environment and what’s familiar. Anyone who grew up in Crete would likely have a completely different understanding of the stories of the New Testament than I do having grown up it the United States, thousands of miles from the geography of the Bible.

What is familiar to us can define what we are able to see.

So one of the most important reasons to meet people from other Christian expressions in other parts of the world is because our vision of how God works will always be more limited if we don’t.

Faith and Order, Part II

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:45:01 PST

Well, it's been about 22 hours since I got up this morning in Crete. I'm now safely in a hotel in Chicago, and about five minutes from pajamas and and a full night's sleep.

The next three days, I'll do the same ecumenical work again, only this time with the Faith and Order Commission in the United States. We'll have neither the weather nor the food of Crete here in Chicago, but I think I'll probably get more rest than I've had the past week.

On my flights today, I've tried to write some more blog entries to sum up the Crete part of my adventure. I have about four different beginnings, but no conclusions yet. I'll continue to post about the Chicago meeting, but I hope to do some further reflecting on the last days in Crete, too.

Thanks for reading!

Looking back

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:01:27 PST

We’ve heard that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Christians, though, repeat history on purpose in order to remember it. We tell and retell the story of Jesus – including, for some of us, an actual recreation of Christ’s sacrifice – on a regular basis. And we do it because we believe we’ve been told to, as Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

One of the conflicts among the churches has to do with preservation of the faith from the earliest days of the church. We all agree that we want to live lives as close to that of the first disciples as we can, following in the footsteps of those who knew Jesus. But which ways of worshiping, praying, serving or organizing our communities of faith are the most true? What elements of their common life are the most important?

On Sunday morning at the Orthodox worship, I couldn’t help but wonder if Jesus himself would recognize the proceedings. But that's a Protestant perspective. The truth is, Orthodox Christians believe they have upheld the traditions of the apostles from the beginning. So do Roman Catholics, though with some variations from the Orthodox. Protestants believe the church strayed from its original faithfulness and needed to reform, but would now claim their way of understanding Christianity follows the traditions of early church, too.

Who’s right? Are we all right? Are some more right than others? Are none of us right?

It is clear that all of us seek to be faithful, that all of us want to follow Jesus, and that none of us is above error and correction. At the very least, the fact that each of us is equally convinced of our faithfulness should evoke one quite particular response.

Humility.

Picture this

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:12 PST

One of the presentations we heard was given by a man from Samoa who projected photos of Pacific island nature while he spoke. He wanted us to see images of his homeland, which he clearly loves.

He was the only person who used Powerpoint simply to show us beauty.

Centipede!

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:31:00 PST

So I’m sitting in the Athens airport, waiting for a flight to Munich and then Chicago, trying to catch up on this blog, and I look down and a three-inch centipede is crawling up my leg. (Yes, I jumped about a mile. Almost threw my laptop across the room.)

I ask myself, did I bring this guy with me on the last flight from Crete? If so, he’s evaded detection through some pretty serious security. Should we be concerned about the lack of insect awareness in international air travel?

I know it when I see it

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:29:14 PST

How would you know the church if you met it on the street?

Our task for Monday was to look at a text called “The Nature and Mission of the Church” (NMC for short). It’s a 60+ page document that tries to describe what the church is, does and is supposed to do. It’s long and dense, and includes sentences like, “The word of God is made known to us through the Gospel primarily and normatively borne witness to by the apostles, making the communion of the faithful a community that lives in, and is responsible for, the succession of the apostolic truth expressed in faith and life throughout the ages.”

It’s not the easiest text to read – especially if it’s not in your first language.

But the question it tries to answer is important: what, exactly, is the church?

For some Christians, the church exists wherever followers of Christ gather together. For some, the church is wherever the Lord’s Supper is shared. For some, the church is wherever tradition has been passed down from the first apostles. For some, the church is wherever the Scriptures are read and the gospel preached. For some, the church is wherever Christ’s healing ministry takes place.

The NMC writers had a difficult task: trying to describe the church in a way that all of us can say, in one way or another, “yes, that’s the church I know.”

For better or worse, the past two days showed that while we appreciated all the work that’s been done, the document is not quite ripe yet. It needs more development, more time, more editing, more balance. In general, the Protestant churches were most likely to feel like, “this still doesn’t quite reveal the church we know.” We’re getting closer to common vision, but we’re not there yet.

So, my friends and colleagues, I want to know: how do you know the church when you see it?

The wisdom of the olive tree

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:03:00 PST

Last night we visited one of the oldest olive trees in the world. It might possibly be the oldest one, except no one really knows how old it is. Best guess is about 3,000 years. Branches from this tree have been made into the wreaths awarded to Olympic marathon winners.

I don’t know much about how olive trees grow, but this particular tree has a very distinctive trunk.

It’s hollow.

After years of gripping the ground through weather and time, the tree's knotty outer trunk has twisted around itself. But as it has done so, a hollow center has developed in its heart. You can actually see into the trunk itself. And the strong Cretan wind blows right through it.

The ancient tree remains rooted by being open to the wind.

(Here's a photo.)

Dinner and dancing

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:35:00 PST

In the past 36 hours, I’ve had Greek yogurt in manifest forms, including sweetened with honey, dusted with toasted and caramelized nuts, mixed with chopped cucumber and garlic, and stirred into creamy risotto. I’ve also been served at least nine courses of meat.

We’ve been experiencing Cretan culture.

Sunday we were treated to a vast lunch banquet: stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, sausages and meatballs, cabbage salad, sesame-studded bread, yogurt with garlic; tomatoes, cucumbers and feta drizzled with herbs and olive oil; risotto and chicken followed by lamb and potatoes; fresh grapes, apples and pears; and wine. Always wine. Then there were traditional Cretan music and dances, performed by youth who were about 12 years old.

Sunday at dinner, we were treated to another Cretan banquet: stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, sausages and meatballs, cabbage salad, sesame-studded bread, yogurt with garlic; tomatoes, cucumbers and feta drizzled with herbs and olive oil; risotto and chicken followed by lamb and potatoes; fresh grapes, apples and pears; and wine. Always wine. Then there were traditional Cretan music and dances, performed by youth who were about 16 years old.

Last night, we were treated to...another Cretan banquet: stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, sausages and meatballs, crispy bread with tomatoes and goat cheese, cabbage salad, sesame-studded bread, yogurt with garlic; tomatoes, cucumbers and feta drizzled with herbs and olive oil; risotto and chicken followed by lamb and potatoes; fresh grapes, apples and pears; and wine. Always wine. Then there were traditional Cretan music and dances, performed by youth who were about 20 years old.

Turns out we’ve been served the food of a traditional Cretan wedding. I expect tonight, our last night in Crete, the meal will reappear.

And I'm guessing the dancers will be in their mid-20s.

This could be you

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:09:38 PST

Every inch of the walls and ceiling of the relatively modern church where we worshiped Sunday were painted with brightly-colored pictures of saints and the life of the church. Seriously, every inch. I surreptitiously took pictures by holding the camera in my lap and just aiming it randomly around the room.

On one wall, though, the paintings were still in process. There were outlines and shapes of saints yet to be completed, but their faces were blank.

Maybe this could be a way to motivate a lazy congregation: open spaces on the wall of saints, with signs that say, “This could be you.”

Divine liturgy and ordinary bread

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:08:00 PST

Sunday morning’s worship was a Divine Liturgy with an Orthodox congregation in the nearby town of Kasteli. The service was in Greek, of course (though we had written translation, and the Scripture and sermon were offered in English for our benefit), and two hours long.

During worship I strained my ears for any words familiar from my seminary New Testament Greek class (koinonia/fellowship/community, Theos/God, Sophia/wisdom, doxa/glory, hagios/holy, dynamis/power), and was pleased to find I understood enough to know where we were on the paper (eureka!). For those of you who’ve attended Orthodox services before, you’ll be happy to know that there were chairs, so we didn’t all have to stand for the whole thing (standing is typical of many Orthodox services).

The difficult moment came at the Eucharist – no surprises there. Here we all were, gathered for the unity of the church, and divided at the table. Though we had worshiped and prayed together, most of us are not in communion with the Orthodox church and cannot participate in Christ’s meal together. The Metropolitan leading the service spoke openly and plainly about our separation. “Now we have come to a moment of pain,” he said. “I speak the truth: I have great pain that we cannot share the meal, but this is why we must keep going.”

Then most of us remained seated while some came forward to receive the sacrament.

After the service, we shared blessed – but not consecrated – bread. A symbol of our partial unity, and the distance left to travel.

Watchful eyes

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:25:00 PST

On Saturday night, the African delegates led worship. The sermon, offered by a professor and pastor from Cameroon, was chockful of brilliant one-liners, too many to remember. But the one that will stick with me for some time was about suffering and oppression:

"God's people are dying under the watchful eyes of the church."

Power: the uninvited guest

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:18:00 PST

So we’re sitting in the moral discernment conversation, and we’re talking about stem cells. And this pastor from Malawi made a comment that stunned me, as so often happens when I sit at table with people from the other side of the world:

“Sometimes moral decisions are imposed on us, and then we have to deal with them even if they are not ours.”

The context of his comment was that sometimes moral choices are made in more powerful parts of the world and then handed down in some kind of policy form to other countries – like many in Africa – which then are forced to wrestle with their aftermath.

The pastor gave the example of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) being imposed upon African countries by the United States and Europe. On moral grounds, Zambia banned GMOs from entering the country. The reaction from wealthy countries – who were in the business of providing the genetically modified seeds and related pesticides – was to question Zambia’s morality of not feeding its own people.

I have heard before that the moral debates happening in powerful countries get imposed upon less powerful ones. That wasn’t news to me. And of course to some extent each of us, having come to a particular moral position, believes everyone else should follow it, too.

What struck me in this conversation, though, was the role of power, an uninvited (but ever-present) guest.

In our unbalanced, unfair world, we do not all have equal power even to define the moral questions before us. Some of us have more power to shape our destinies – and even the questions we ask about our lives – than others do.

When was the last time a moral question being debated in Malawi dictated the legislation taken up by our Congress?

How we decide what's okay...and what's not

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:56:00 PST

One of the three major topics at this meeting is “moral discernment” – which behaviors and actions the church thinks are okay, and which aren’t.

But the question for us wasn’t so much about what it is okay but how we decide what is okay. We were looking at the process of how we come to our particular beliefs about moral and ethical behavior.

The reason for looking at process rather than end product is simple: the churches around the world – and even our own countries – often come to different opinions about what behavior is okay and what isn’t.

And in the body of Christ, it’s not good enough to simply assume that those who disagree with us are not faithful, or not reading their scriptures correctly, or are just plain wrong. All of us are seeking God’s leading, all of us are trying to be faithful disciples. So maybe there is something to learn from each other about how we come to our points of view. If nothing else, even if don’t agree about moral positions maybe we can at least look at each other and say, “I understand how, as a faithful Christian, you got to your position.” That’d be a big step forward, and might at least enable us to stay at the table even when we disagree.

So we each had a case study to read (mine, as previously noted, was on controversy around stem cells), and in small groups we tried to figure out how the people in the stories had come to their convictions on each side of the issue. The trick was that we were not supposed to take sides on the issue itself – or even discuss the merits of one argument or another.

That proved difficult. My group, like all of them, was diverse: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Reformed, Presbyterian; from Germany, Argentina, Myanmar, Malawi, Greece, Zambia, Sweden, and the United States. The morning session on Saturday left me feeling wary – our group had a hard time getting away from “but the Bible says…” or “my church teaches…” There was a lot of confusion about what, exactly, our task was.

But by afternoon, we found our stride. We moved from what we liked and didn’t like about the case study into new ways of thinking:

what we appreciated about how others came to their conclusions
where we saw faithfulness in the other that we hadn’t before
perspectives on discernment that we hadn’t considered
the challenges of dealing with issues not directly addressed by Scripture
a fuller understanding of the ways in which we come to our own perspectives

It’s one thing to say, “We believe Scripture is the ultimate authority.” It’s another thing to admit to each other that we preference particular verses over others, or that our culture impacts our interpretation, or that our emotions, our personal experiences, or our sense of power (or lack thereof) figure heavily in our moral discernment.

These things are not necessarily bad. They are at the very least human realities, and we’re all subject to being human no matter how much we want to believe otherwise.

Being able to admit that to each other – especially as we discern moral “absolutes” – may be the key to sticking together in times of disagreement.

Hangry

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:19:25 PST

My siblings and I have this joke about getting "hangry" - it's when you get so hungry you get angry.

The meals at this meeting have been at 7:00 - 8:00 a.m., 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. and 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. We have tea and coffee breaks at 10:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., which include little cookies.

I know that we do not live on bread alone, but we do occasionally need a good dose of protein to make it through the day. I brought a stash of granola bars, but those are only getting me so far. All of us have short-shrifted our sleep, and many are also jet-lagged.

And so I wonder: has anyone considered whether the divisions of the church happened among people who really needed a snack? Or a nap?

Friday recap

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:54:52 PST

Today we heard five presentation from theologians around the world. Some highlights:

a teacher from Finland told of the students in her religion classes, who, steeped in pluralism, wonder why they should be concerned about church unity. "Aren't difference, diversity and independent thought things we should value in Christianity?" they ask
a pastor from the Episcopal church in Cuba shared stories of the church's work to connect with and learn from practioners of local traditional religions. A community leader told her that she believes Afro-Cuban traditions were the way God spoke to her ancestors in Africa, and for her that is the same God she now worships in the Episcopal church
a Catholic sister from Hong Kong reminded us that Christianity, though born in Asia, "is still today regarded in most Asian countries as a 'foreign import,' and that Christian churches are still looked upon as 'bonsai-churches,' trees planted from abroad and still growing in borrowed pots"
a Presbyterian professor from South Africa recounted the painful story of churches divided by apartheid and their struggle for reunion that still continues today - though the split over race is not even ecumenical but within the Presbyterian family in South Africa
an Orthodox Metropolitan expressed his belief that unity of the Church will be achieved only through repentance, humility and return to our common roots - though it is hard to say which roots all these bodies would consider "common"

I don't have time for commentary on all these presentations, but suffice it to say the global church is fascinating in its breadth and desire to be faithful in each time and place. All the presentations were designed to get us thinking about our own contributions to the unity of the church - as well as, perhaps, our own need for repentance and renewal.

Tomorrow, we break into our small groups to tackle the issues of authority and moral discernment.

Why unity matters

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:31:12 PST

Growing up, I didn’t really think about divisions in the church. I was raised Presbyterian. I knew one of my sets of grandparents and some of my aunts and uncles were Methodist, but their church and ours seemed pretty much the same to me: music, sermon, prayers, offering, benediction, punch and cookies afterwards.

In junior high, I remember arguing naively with a Lutheran friend over politics, and I had a vague understanding that her church had something to do with the side she took. In high school, there were Christians with whom I disagreed about the Gulf War and Oregon ballot measures about homosexuality. I had a Greek Orthodox friend down the street who celebrated Easter on a different day than I did, but I didn’t really know why.

Then, my freshman year of college, someone told me that anyone who hadn’t spoken in tongues wasn’t really Christian. I wasn’t even sure what that meant, since I didn’t know people could speak in tongues. But the point was that I’d never before heard that my way of being Christian – the tradition of my family, my home, my whole existence up to that point – wasn’t valid to someone else who claimed to be Christian, too.

Two years later while traveling in Europe with other students and attending Mass at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, I remember a stark moment of indecision – as Protestants should we receive Eucharist or not? Some of us went forward, others didn’t. I have never forgotten that moment of uncertainty – am I welcome here? – though, oddly, I have forgotten how I responded to it.

Church division is historical, doctrinal, theological, social, cultural, racial. It’s about tradition and power and preference and conviction and interpretation and change and revelation. But what's undeniable is that division is always personal. It slices you from me, and it it separates us and them.

The hand cannot say to the foot, “I have no need of you.” In the body of Christ, I am impoverished without you, and you without me.

That’s why unity matters.

If you have lots of time...

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:54:00 PST

...and nothing else to do, there's plenty of reading material available from this meeting - including presentations and news stories about proceedings thus far:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/faith-and-order-plenary-commission-2009/the-crete-meeting.html

Christian skin

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:04:43 PST

This morning in our small groups, we had prayer and Bible study on Galatians 3:25-29, “There is no longer Jew nor Greek, no longer slave nor free…”

A bishop from the Armenian Orthodox Church shared a saying from his community: “Christian is the color of our skin.” In Christ we are new creations where race and gender and culture are no longer what defines us. Being Christian is beyond religion, beyond belief, he said. It seeps into our being, and becomes the very color of our skin.

And now the fun begins

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 PST

It's Friday morning, and the sun has risen in Crete (trust me, I saw it happen, which if you know me means I was up earlier than I typically like to be. I actually heard a rooster crow after my shower. That's too early).

The past two days have been largely orientation and introduction to the work ahead of us. Today we get started in the nitty-gritty discussion of issues, and hearing from different traditions. It might sound boring to have had two days of introduction, but in truth it’s all groundwork – by now, the 150 of us who are gathered actually know each other a bit, and have already shared worship and meals and fellowship.

It's all part of the journey together. Somehow Christian unity seems more possible when you’re working with the person who was eating scrambled eggs and toast across the table from you just a few hours ago.

Ecumenical English

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:24:57 PST

Being a native English speaker at meetings like this is definitely an advantage, given most of the procedures take place in English. There is simultaneous translation (with little headsets like the UN) to French and Spanish, and periodically at this meeting to Greek and German, but mostly we work in English.

Over time, we develop what we tenderly refer to as “ecumenical English” – a mishmash of different accents and idioms, and the gradual learning that when we use words like “evangelical,” “liturgy,” or even “church,” we don’t always mean the same things.

And we also learn new words, occasionally through simultaneous translation offered by people for whom English may or may not be a first language. Yesterday, while listening to translation of a presentation given in Greek, I smiled when the translator, struggling to keep up and trying to express the intent of the speaker, offered the word “fructiforous.” I’m guessing he meant “fruitful.”

But here’s hoping that our work here might not just be fruitful, but “fructiforous.”

Snapshots

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:23:00 PST

chatting with a Samoan delegate whose own community was not affected by the recent tsunami, but who sent relief supplies and a work team from his congregation to assist with devastated areas before he boarded a plane for this meeting in Crete
hearing from a pastor from Malawi, who said that in his country they say “AIDS has the face of women,” because so often women not only contract the disease, but are the ones most affected by the consequences of illness and death in families – and are frequently blamed for them, too
eating dinner last night with Dr. Sharon Watkins, the president and head of the U.S. Disciples of Christ denomination, who preached at the worship service in the National Cathedral the day after the inauguration of President Obama, the first woman ever to preach for a presidential inaugural service
catching up with Lucy, a Presbyterian woman from Kenya I met five years ago at a meeting in Ghana, who though she has finished all her training is still awaiting ordination in the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, along with other Kenyan women who expected ordination before now
praying with a pastor who expressed concern for his church and for Christians living under an oppressive government, who asked me not to share any specific information about him because of his fear of retribution, but covets prayers from around the globe

We are the church

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:15:00 PST

In the past 24 hours, I’ve met dozens of new and old friends: Janet from Belfast, Christian from Hamburg, Lucy from Nairobi, Alfred from Paraguay, Bruce from Quebec, Odair from Brazil, Nevell from Florida. It’s always such a privilege to be in an international setting and to connect with people from all over the world. It makes the earth seem somehow a lot bigger and a lot smaller at the same time.

We just heard an address by His All Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch. I posted about him earlier. It turns out this is a Big Deal for Crete – like having a papal audience. Bartholomew came with a host of police and secret service types (they even had those little ear buds with the curly cord running down their backs), news cameras, and a lot of Orthodox priests dressed to the nines. I’ll try to post some photos of the various liturgical garb later.

Bartholomew has been a long supporter of ecumenism and the unity of the church, and his address was great. As I mentioned, he's known as the Green Patriarch for his environmentalism. “We must never forget that the world is inherited,” he said. “It is a gift from above, offered as a means of communion with God.”

We were also asked to pray for the next round of Roman Catholic/Orthodox dialogue in Cyprus, which will deal with the thorny issue of papal and patriarchate authority (otherwise known as “who’s in charge?”). These questions - which have kept the churches separated for 1,000 years - won’t be solved quickly or easily.

But it’s nice to know even if it takes a thousand years, we can and do look back at our past (the word repent, by the way, means “to turn around”) and do what we can to make amends. Praise God that in Christ, there is always, always the chance to start life anew.

Sacrament of words

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:46:06 PST

My favorite thing about international ecumenical meetings is the Lord's Prayer. In worship, when the congregation is invited to pray together the prayer of Jesus, each speaks in his or her own language. The result is something like the flames of Pentecost - a fabulous babbling of native tongues whooshing like the a fierce wind around the room. It's as close to the sound of the Holy Spirit as I can imagine. I almost can't speak my own prayer for the incredible impact this sacrament of words has on my soul.

Coming to consensus

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:36:00 PST

All the meetings of the World Council of Churches, including this meeting of the Faith and Order Plenary Commission, are run by “consensus model” decision-making. Meetings used to follow parliamentary debate and decision by majority (“I move that we adjourn to the beach.” “Is there a second?” “Second.” “It has been moved and seconded that we adjourn to the beach. All in favor say ‘aye.’” “Aye.” “The motion carries.”)

But in recent years, the World Council of Churches figured out something: the process we use to talk to each other and the outcome we get are related to each other.

In other words, the way you do things affects to how things turn out.

Debate-style decision-making forces participants to be either “for” or “against,” and doesn’t allow for more than those two options (like “I’m not sure,” “I’m confused,” or “What about another direction?”). “Majority rules” means the minority always loses. It puts participants into opposing camps rather than trying to find a common way forward. It tends to build polarity rather than mutual understanding. (Want proof? Watch 5 minutes of C-SPAN.)

So, if you’re in a situation where the goal is to try to build unity among an already divided group (like, say, Christians from around the world), you might want to try a method of conversation that fosters “I understand” rather than “I disagree.”

Enter the “consensus” process. In consensus, the goal is to get as many people in the room as possible to discern together what’s best for the whole, and to come to general consensus about it. Dialogue – rather than debate – is the name of the game. The buzzwords of consensus are respect, mutual support, empowerment, prayerful listening, common understanding, discernment. In the end, everyone is heard, and together we try to seek the mind of Christ. The goal is simple, and biblical, from Acts 15:28, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...”

Now if only the U.S. Congress would adopt this model.

(For more on consensus-model decision-making, see http://www.pcusa.org/nnpcw/resources/consensus-model.htm or http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/browse/9/article/1634/consensus-a-colourful-fa-1.html)

Good morning from Athens!

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:08:07 PST

My computer says it's 8:00 a.m. in California, and after almost 24 hours of travel I'm in Athens awaiting my final flight to Crete. As predicted, it was raining in Frankfurt, but I enjoyed a nice (if very tiny for $3) espresso during my layover there.

For all you travel bugs out there, here's the latest: in Frankfurt, you don't have to take off your shoes when you go through security, though you do have to go through security even though you just got off a plane.

In Athens, same deal. But my shoes made the detector beep, so I got to put my feet (one at a time) on this little machine which then, after testing them for who knows what, lit up with a green "okay" sign, and I was good to go.

I sometimes wonder what aliens from another planet would think of the strange rituals we have here, like x-raying our shoes and putting our liquids in little plastic bags. Or getting instructions about life vests for a water landing, and then flying over the Austrian Alps.

Now, aren't you glad you took the time to read this brilliant, jet-lag post?

I'm learning about stem cells

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:29:17 PST

For the discussion on moral discernment in the churches, we're being divided into discussion groups to review case studies on current moral and ethical issues. I discovered on my first plane ride that I'm in the "stem cell" group.

So I've now read the stem cell case study, which is based on Protestant/Catholic debate on the issue in Germany. The other discussion groups will be looking at:

sexuality (including homosexuality, polygamy, divorce and abortion)
wealth, poverty, globalization, and the morality of economics
evangelism and proselytism, particularly by evangelical and Pentecostal churches in Orthodox areas of Eastern Europe

The idea behind the case studies is to examine the methods by which churches come to their positions. The goal is not to come to any conclusion about the particular issue, or even argue the merits of one side or another, but to look at how we can stay in dialogue even in the midst of disagreement with each other.

I'm particuarly excited about this area of the meeting, since my masters thesis was about how we talk to each other about difficult issues. Strategies for sticking together even when we don't agree would sure be useful these days, wouldn't they?

Weather report

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:16:00 PST

Some of you asked about the weather where I'm headed. I'm pleased to report it's raining outside as I sit here in the Denver airport (rain always pleases me).

I'm guessing it'll be raining in Frankfurt, too - I've never been through that airport when it wasn't raining, or at least overcast.

Forecast for Athens, where I'll be for a couple of hours after Frankfurt : 78 degrees and sunny. For Chania, on Crete, my final destination, arrival around 8:00 p.m. local time Tuesday, the forecast for the week is low to mid 70s all week, and clear.

Let's talk

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:05:00 PST

In the early days of the movement toward Christian unity in the 20th century, there was a sense that if we could just get all the churches in the same room to talk about our differences, we'd be able to get past them.

That was sort of true. Over the past 50 or 75 years, we've found by talking to each other that we have a lot in common, and in most parts of the world we've stopped killing each other over things like whether you need a sprinkle or a dousing or a full-blown dunking to join the body of Christ.

In recent decades, though, it's become clear that just getting people in a room together isn't always enough. New questions have emerged, like who gets to be in the room? Where is the room located? What shape is the room? What shape is the table in the room? Who gets to sit at the head of the table? Who calls the meeting? Who leads the meeting? What language is spoken? Who sets the agenda?

Churches have learned a lot about how to talk to each other. But they've also learned there's more to unity than talk: we need to eat together, pray together, spend time socializing and getting to know each other. We need to share our lives so we're not afraid of each other anymore.

It turns out maybe the best way to get past our historic differences is become friends.

The Faith and Order Plenary Commission will still follow a fairly academic style: professors and theologians and pastors and lay people writing papers, and reading them, and responding to them. But we'll also incorporate storytelling, case study, and illustration into the formal study. The personal will enter into the theological in a deliberate way. We'll also share meals, and fellowship, and worship.

And we'll have Eucharistic celebrations separately, which always feel a bit like a defeat to me.

But it will be more than just talk. And that's what it will take.

Where is Aimee going again?

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:39:00 PST

Check it out - there are photos of the conference center. Try not to hate me, please:

http://www.oac.gr/htm/facilities_accomodation_en.html

Bartholomew I to open the Faith and Order Plenary Commission meeting

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:30:00 PST

Who is Bartholomew I, you might ask? He's the ecumenical patriarch. And what's the ecumenical patriarch? He's the head of all Orthodox Christians on all continents which do not fall under the jurisdiction of the autocephalous (independent) or autonomous (semi-independent) Churches.

Confused?

Christianity has a long and complicated history, and even within one "communion," like Orthodoxy, things aren't always clear-cut. But here's what you need to know about Bartholomew I:

- He's the head of a whole bunch of Orthodox churches and bodies around the world, and you can think of him kind of like an Orthodox pope.

- His offices - the Ecumenical Patriarchate - are in Constantinople, otherwise known as Istanbul, Turkey.

- He's known as the "Green Patriarch" because of his commitment to environmentalism.

For more on the ecumenical patriarch, check out this link: http://www.patriarchate.org/

We'll also be hearing from other interesting folks throughout the week:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/faith-and-order-plenary-commission-2009/news/bios.html

Be yourself

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:44:00 PST

At most ecumenical meetings like this, we quickly get "labeled."

"What country are you from, which denomination or communion are you with, what's your title or degree, what did you study?"

The labels are complicated. On the one hand, it's helpful to know where people are from, or what church they belong to. On the other hand, none of these answers is simple.

"I'm from the United States (really Oregon, which is different from Texas or California or New York). I'm Presbyerian (but Presbyterian Church USA, which is not the same as Cumberland Presbyterian or Presbyterian Church in America). I'm Reverend (but I'm also Ms., and daughter and granddaughter and sister and friend)..."

In ecumenical settings, we're all trying to represent our traditions and bring them to the conversation, but we're also just individual people who've encountered God through a particular Christian lens, particular congregations, pastors or priests, cultures and contexts, life experiences. We bring all that and more to these meetings, each person with a story to tell.

So, when we're trying to work through historic divisions, which labels matter, and which ones don't? Which ones get us closer to finding unity as the body of Christ, and which ones keep our divisions front and center? Which ones honor the richness of our traditions, and which ones need to be put to rest?

What will all these people be talking about?

amoiso@scu.edu (Aimee Moiso) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:01:00 PST

So, more than 120 people are gathering to talk about the church and its divisions. What's on the agenda?

What it means to be church: Is the church a building, a group of people, a particular tradition, a worship style, a theological conviction, a type of mission work? We'll be looking at a draft of "The Nature and Mission of the Church," which was written over recent years by people from diverse Christian traditions, seeking common ground about what it means to be the church.
Sources of authority: It's an old argument: Scripture vs. tradition. By looking at how churches use sources of authority, the commission will take a new approach to the old debate - less theory, more real, personal stories of faith.
Moral discernment: How does the church make moral choices? Through case studies – some of them on controversial issues like proselytism, homosexuality and stem-cell research – the commission will critically look at how churches arrive at their moral and ethical positions.