As a committed ecumenist, I have an ideal of what I would love true church unity to look and feel like. Unfortunately, the reality falls far short of the John 17:21 prayer. However, sometimes an authentic ecumenical fellowship creeps up almost imperceptibly.
Three years ago, I was appointed by The Salvation Army as the Denominational Ecumenical Officer for Wales, alongside leading our work in Newport, South Wales. I felt very strongly that before I could fulfil my ecumenical role effectively, I needed to live out the values in Newport, but there was no functioning ecumenical community. Around the same time, a local Church in Wales priest was appointed Diocesan Ecumenical Officer. A mutual friend introduced us and we discovered a kindred (ecumenical) spirit in each other.
We drank coffee together, prayed together, then felt led to convene an ecumenical service in the local Cathedral and invited to the service anyone who would listen. From this we held an informal coffee morning during Advent with an open invitation for church leaders, where we drank coffee, ate cake and prayed. Friendships were made or re-established, in some cases, telephone numbers were shared.
The journey from that day was organic and beautiful. Next came a Good Friday Walk of Witness, followed by a monthly prayer walk. From the earliest days, Jeremiah 29: 7 became a watchword for us: ‘But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.’
Our motivation has many facets: we want the Church to be unified and enjoy shared worship and witness, we want to deepen personal relationships with brothers and sisters from different traditions, we want to bless this city – where God has placed us – some for a season, some for a lifetime.
Joining together over coffee, cake and prayer fostered an intentionality, and helped a desire to learn more about each other emerge. We now uphold each other in friendship and prayer. Rather than establishing a committee, constitution and membership criteria, our focus from the outset was on ‘ecumenism of the heart’: Rather than focusing on strict institutional, formal, or theological debates, it emphasises mutual affection, common prayer, and walking alongside one another to foster reconciliation and love. (World Council of Churches).
We are styled as the ‘Newport Ecumenical Pilgrims’, reflecting that we journey together in our everyday and welcome anybody who desires to share fellowship. Our point of commonality is the Nicene Creed. We pray together, drink coffee together and enjoy cake together. We also worship together, witness together and support one another in friendship and mutual encouragement. We have smaller, cell groups and accountability partners, and supporting one another in denominational worship is also a regular occurrence. We do not expect anyone else to be like us, we celebrate the diversity of our different traditions but enjoy coming together in mutual bonds of love and fellowship.
Amongst the Pilgrims we have Roman Catholic nuns, priests and laity, Salvation Army officers, Church in Wales clergy and laity, Presbyterians, Methodists, a United Reformed Church moderator, Baptists and a whole host of others. We do not get everything right, but when we return to Christ’s prayer in John 17: 21 that we would be as one, as Christ and His Father are one, the Newport Ecumenical Pilgrims agree that our fellowship goes a long way towards Christ’s desire for his followers.
Captain Kathryn Stowers is a Salvation Army officer serving as Corps Officer (Minister) at Abertillery in the South Wales Valleys and as Denominational Ecumenical Officer for The Salvation Army in Wales. She is currently Chair of Trustees for Cytûn: Churches Together in Wales and is an ecumenical Canon of Newport Cathedral.