7th Sunday of Easter

Today's Readings:
Acts 1:6-14  • 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11  •  John 17:1-11

Ask a group of ecumenists why they do what they do and some of them will mention these verses from John 17. 

"A group of who?" you might be asking. What did she say? Did I miss something in that accent of hers again? Sounded like she said a group of economists? Or maybe it was communists? Did she just say communists??

No, not economist or communists. What I said was a group of ecumenists.  Ecumenists are people who work for the unity of the church – the big church across and within our different denominations. The ecumenical church, the church united, is very active in Renton, and has been for a long time.  It’s where I do much of my work.  As I do that work I am asked now and again, “Could we find a word other than ecumenist to describe who we are?  It’s so….unusual….difficult to say….we are not sure people understand it.” But it’s a word with a particular meaning and history and that I think teaches something important about who we are.

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