Ecumenical Movements Within Christianity

Ecumenical movements within Christianity RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Focus ● Religious dialogue in multi-faith Australia – ○ Ecumenical movements within Christianity ○ Interfaith dialogue ○ The relationship between Aboriginal spiritualities and religious traditions in the process of Reconciliation

Stage ● ● ● ●

Studies of Religion II Stage 6 Year 12 Phenomenological approach

Outcomes for the topic

Students learn about: ● Religious dialogue in multi faith Australia: Ecumenical movement within Christianity

Students learn to: ● Describe the impact of Christian Ecumenical movements in Australia ● The National Council of Churches ● NSW Ecumenical movement

(Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Outcomes A student: H1: Explains aspects of religion and belief systems H2: Describes and analyses the influence of religion and belief systems on individuals and society H3: Examines the influence and expression of religion and belief systems in Australia H4: Describes and analyses how aspects of religious traditions are expressed by their adherence H5: Evaluates the influence of religious traditions in the life of adherents H6: Organises, analysis and synthesis relevant information about religion from a variety of sources, considering usefulness, validity and bias. H8: Applies appropriate terminology and concepts related to religion and belief systems H9: Coherently and effectively communicates complex information, ideas and issues using appropriate written, oral and graphic forms (Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Essential teacher background readings needed to present this learning and teaching strategy at a stage 6 level Useful websites: National Council of Churches in Australia

www.ncca.org.au

Uniting Church

uca.org.au/

NSW Ecumenical Council

www.nswec.org.au

Useful books and journals: ●

Chryssides, G. (2010). Christianity today. London: Continuum.

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Fitzpatrick, J. (2010). Receptive ecumenism and the call to Catholic learning: Exploring a way for contemporary ecumenism, edited by Paul D. Murray. New Blackfriars, 91(1032), 205-207. doi:10.1111/j.1741-2005.2009.01350_6.x

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Jacobs, S. (2012). Two takes on christianity: furthering the dialogue. Journal Of Ecumenical Studies, 47(4), 508.

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King, R., Mooney, J., Carnegie, E., Smith, H., Johns, A., & Johns, D. et al. (2009). Oxford Studies of Religion Preliminary and HSC Course. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.

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Tveit, O. (2012). Theology and Unity in World Christianity. The Ecumenical Review, 64(3), 366-382. doi:10.1111/j.17586623.2012.00181.x

Content to be learned What is ecumenism? ● ●

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Ecumenism refers to the movement towards religious unity amongst Christian denominations. Unity does not mean uniformity. It is not about combining all denominations into one, but rather an acknowledgement that their unity in Christ outweighs their diversity in practice and beliefs. In contrast to the historical conflict between Christian denominations, ecumenism is leading them to work, worship and dialogue together. Ecumenism began as a grass roots movement, driven largely by the experiences of individual believers who recognised that what Christians have in common is more significant than the things that divide them.

(Ceosyd.catholic.edu.au, 2015)

History There are various levels of ecumenical developments. ●

At the highest level there are joint commissions: Formal ecumenical bodies working to find official agreement on issues that have often divided denominations. ○ For example the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) has held discussions on Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry, Authority and Mary. The Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches have signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1998), now finding theological agreement on faith and works, which was one of the key reasons for the Reformation split between the two.

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On a practical level: Various Christian denominations cooperate on social justice issues and during times of crisis. ○ Examples of this action based ecumenical approach include the welfare agency Christian World Services, the Palm Sunday Peace March, the Drop the Debt campaign, and the response to the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004.

(Ceosyd.catholic.edu.au, 2015)

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At a local parish level: Various grass roots initiatives have been undertaken to implement ecumenism within the community, such as having inter-denominational prayer services and dialogues.

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On an educational level: There are initiatives such as the Sydney College of Divinity, which is an ecumenical federation of theological colleges working together to provide education in theology and ministry. ○

“The Sydney College of Divinity is a consortium of colleges providing quality accredited higher education awards in theology.”

Focusing on the ‘learn to’ ● National Councils of Churches in Australia ● NSW Ecumenical Councils ● Uniting Church Australia Students learn about:

Students learn to:

Ecumenical initiatives undertaken by the NSW Ecumenical Council - www.nswec.org.au/ Who are they? The NSW Ecumenical Council, which was formed in 1982, consists of 16 churches throughout NSW and the Australian Capital Territory. The NSW Ecumenical Council is one of seven state/territory ecumenical councils in Australia, and all of which are affiliated to the National Council of Churches. In the 1990s the NSW Ecumenical Council expanded to accommodate the 11 dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory. What do they do? The NSW Ecumenical Council seeks to promote ecumenism through four major types of initiatives. 1- Allow the different churches to reflect upon theology in a united way. 2- Provide local initiatives which promote ecumenism on a grass roots level. 3- Unites the different denominations by providing a platform for different churches to address social justice issues, for example by setting up the House of Welcome to assist refugees. 4- Recognises that in order to maintain a constant spirit of ecumenism especially through to the next generation, educational initiatives need to be undertaken to advocate ecumenism. (Nswec.org.au, 2015)

National Council of Churches in Australia -www.ncca. org.au Who are they? The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is an ecumenical body that aims to deepen the relationship of member churches "in order to express more visibly the unity willed by Christ" and strengthen the cause of Christian unity in Australia by leading different denominations to work, pray and grow together. Initiatives undertaken: It comprises of 15 member Christian churches that dialogue and collaborate in a range of ways. ●

For example , the NCCA has an aid and development agency called the Christian World Service that works to develop a better future for people suffering from injustice and poverty. Aid and development is delivered through overseas ecumenical partners in Africa, Asia, Middle East and the Pacific.

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In Australia, the Christian World Service supports refugees and displaced people through advocacy, education and the work of ecumenical state council networks.

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The NCCA also provides resources for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Ncca.org.au, 2015)

Uniting Church - www.uca.org.au ●

A great success of the ecumenical movement in Australia is the formation of the Uniting Church.

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It was founded in 1977 through a merger of all Methodists, 65% of Presbyterians and 95% of Congregationalists.

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The Uniting Church is the 3rd largest Christian denomination in Australia and is the only notable religious denomination of Australian origin.

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The Basis of Union, the foundational document for the Uniting Church, states that the reason for this merger is their "seeking to bear witness to that unity which is both Christ's gift and will for the Church.

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The name "Uniting" was specifically chosen (rather than "United") to indicate this ongoing commitment to promote ecumenism among the churches of Australia.

(Uca.org.au, 2014)

Learning and teaching strategy 1. Work in pairs to develop a timeline that highlights significant events in the development of the Ecumenical movement in Australia. The timeline should begin from 1945 - 2015 1945 <———————————————————————————————————————————> 2015 2. Visit these web pages below and analyse and summarise their contribution to the Ecumenical movement in Australia. Make sure to include a year, the event and its significance. National Council of Churches in Australia

www.ncca.org.au

Uniting Church

uca.org.au/

NSW Ecumenical Council

www.nswec.org.au

Preparing for the HSC 3. Using the knowledge acquired during research and in the timeline activity, work individually to complete the sample HSC questions ‘The churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately’ - Conference on Faith and Order, 1952 Using the above statement and your own knowledge, describe the impacts of Christian movements in Australia. Worth 5 marks - Approximately 150-200 words (Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Understanding action verbs

Describe Provide characteristics and features

Sample answer 4. Once the question is answered, compare their answers to the sample answer ●

Make sure sample answers are at a band 6 level or of an exemplary standard!

‘Two well known ecumenical bodies in Australia are the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and the NSW Ecumenical Council. The NCCA works to bring together a number of Australian Christian churches in dialogue and practical cooperation. The NCCA works in collaboration with the ecumenical councils around Australia. Some of the initiatives of the council includes the service for reconciliation. This project is connected with working with indigenous youths. The aim is to speak and act on the needs of the youth in crisis. It works with existing strategies to support church agencies who are currently working with these youths. This work also involves a research component to access the needs of the young people in relation to their spirituality and view of Christianity as it is expressed in various denominations. The NSW ecumenical Council also includes initiatives such as “Christmas Bowl’ which was first held in 1949. It is a significant fundraiser for the council which its initial reason to help immigrants and refugees. They focus on education and practical support through volunteer work, financial support, prayer and advocacy. Therefore, the impact of Christian ecumenical movement in Australia has been very successful’. (Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Peer review ➔ ➔ ➔

Provide students with a marking criteria for the question. Asks students to peer review others answers based on the criteria This can be anonymous by using tools such as google docs Criteria

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Provides a detailed and accurate understanding of the purpose and role of the ecumenical movement in Australia Makes relevant reference to examples

Marks 5

3-4

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Provides some accurate details of the purpose and role of the ecumenical movement in Australia Makes some reference to examples

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Makes simple statements about the ecumenical movement May make some reference to examples

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