Friends:

Teaching is always an exhilarating experience.

The discussions are particularly interesting.
I just finished the lectures for the course in the
Future of Ecumenism [taught with Dr. Mitzi Budde]
at VTS and I also taught a week's course for the Richmond
Consortium in January.

The discussions vary of course.

Up north, all the students came from churches with
similar, though not identical, ecclesiologies--all the students
at VTS have bishops for example [Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist students]

In Richmond, the church organizations [Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran] tended to vary--with more emphasis
on the local church and hardly a bishop to be sighted!! This makes for interesting
analysis.

The students note, however, that functionally many things are similar.
[The students often have grown up in another Christian Tradition than their
present one, so the experiences vary considerably].

Of course this is one of the marks of contemporary American Christianity--boundaries
have become more fluid in practice--if not always theologically.

As always, we have a lot to learn in discussion with one another.
For me, this is enriching.

Peace,
John

Friends:

Teaching is always an exhilarating experience.

The discussions are particularly interesting.
I just finished the lectures for the course in the
Future of Ecumenism [taught with Dr. Mitzi Budde]
at VTS and I also taught a week's course for the Richmond
Consortium in January.

The discussions vary of course.

Up north, all the students came from churches with
similar, though not identical, ecclesiologies--all the students
at VTS have bishops for example [Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist students]

In Richmond, the church organizations [Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran] tended to vary--with more emphasis
on the local church and hardly a bishop to be sighted!! This makes for interesting
analysis.

The students note, however, that functionally many things are similar.
[The students often have grown up in another Christian Tradition than their
present one, so the experiences vary considerably].

Of course this is one of the marks of contemporary American Christianity--boundaries
have become more fluid in practice--if not always theologically.

As always, we have a lot to learn in discussion with one another.
For me, this is enriching.

Peace,
John

The Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue of the Catholic University of America in conjunction with The Washington Theological Consortium

presents

A Roundtable Discussion

Interfaith Marriages:
Challenges and Opportunities for Couples and Pastors

Featured discussants:

Rabbi Michael Feshbach
Temple Shalom, Chevy Chase

Dr. Eugene Fisher
Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Mohamed and Sally Zakariya
Arlington, VA

4:30 - 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The Msgr. Stephen P. Happel Room, Caldwell Hall
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Ave., NE, Washington, DC
Brookland-CUA Metro Station, Red Line

This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Dr. Charles B. Jones at (202) 319-6882, or cua-iisd@cua.edu

Featured Member Event: Interfaith Discussion

Christianity, Islam & Peace
“Francis of Assisi’s Encounter with Sultan Malek al-Kamil:
A Paradigm for Doing Peace and Rebuilding the World”
– exploring the unprecedented venture of risk-taking

between Francis of Assisi and Malek al-Kamil.

Sr. Kathleen Warren, OSF, DMin

Tuesday, March 20, at 7:30 pm with reception to follow.

Free and open to the public.

Washington Theological Union. 6896 Laurel St, NW (Takoma Metro – Red Line) file://www.wtu.edu/ 202-726-8800

Friends:

I have not been blogging for awhile--my most busy
January-February on record.

One follow-up to last time when I was discussing
sharing our stories. One of my students in Richmond in
January, who works full time with homeless people and studies
theology part-time, noted that one thing that homeless people
have to share is their stories. We gain greatly from listening to
others.

Peace,
John