Dear Friends:

I am drinking coffee and gettting ready for next fall.

Just finished Crossin's 10 points for new students.
This includes reference to the
Consortium New Student Orientation
at Caldwell Hall of Catholic University
on Thursday, September 7.

This is one of the most popular Consortium events.
It includes prayer and dinner at the 12 local Catholic religious communities.
During my 8 years as Consortium Director, many students have said that this
was the most memorable ecumenical event of their 3 or 4 years of study.

Meeting the people seems to be the key element
And sharing stories of the call to ministry.
And noting the similarities in the way God works
across our divides.

Hope you are having a great summer.

Peace,
John

Friends:

I have been drinking lots of coffee--but not blogging at all.

I will be blogging more in the future.

One big thing that kept me really busy was teaching
Introudction to Practical Ecumenism. This is the same course
I taught previously at Virginia Theological Seminary. This time it was at
Washington Theological Union in Takoma Park. The class was small but
of great interest to me. The discussion were excellent. Two of the students
were from Africa and they added a different point of view as they shared the
experience--good and not-so-good, of ecumenism in Africa.

I always learn a lot from these courses--for example, this time I not only got more of
a sense of ecumenism in Africa but also, from a student from the Orthodox tradition, I
got a better sense of Orthodoxy in the United States.

I have always hope to have an Orthodox presence in the Consortium--but now am convinced that it will not be a seminary but perhaps another mode of presence.

Peace,
John