Convergence and Ecumenicalism
Today I posted an appreciation for Dean Freiday up on the Friends General Conference site (I'm FGC's webmaster). It's well worth a read: Dean has been "convergent" for at least half a century, long before us internet kiddies started talking amongst ourselves (he's probably the only Friend featured on both the FGC and Barclay Press websites!). Johan Maurer could have easily cited Dean when he recently wrote that Convergent Friends are echoing the kinds of conversations that have been taking place among the leadership of the larger Friends organizations for decades.
The appreciation comes from FGC's Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee, universally called simply "CIRC" (even I had to check that I had the full name right). Now, I think its safe to say that CIRC is not one of FGC's sexiest committees. I mean that as an observation, not a dig, because I think it does fascinating stuff. For one thing it works with the World Council of Churches. Quakers were a founding member of the organization and we've always been something of a theological thorn in its side. Whenever the WCC tries to come up with a definition to unify world Christians it runs up against the peculiarities of Friends. And not just of Friends: I think we implicitly challenge the body to find a definition that would include the early primitive Christian communities. (The second link is to a British text but it gives a sense of this brand of Quaker ecumenical work).
CIRC is also the FGC committee most likely to hang out with Friends from the other branches; for example it appoints FGC's official observers to the Friends United Meeting Triennial. To use the new lingo, it's convergent.
Which begs the question: what's different between the new Convergence and the old Ecumenicalism? Are there points of connection? Are there opportunities for cross-fertilization? There are style differences, to be sure and I wonder if Robber Webber's generational chart (which I posted in my first Emergent Church piece) applies in any way, but any of these could certainly be creatively bridged, no?
The logistical process of putting Freiday's appreciation online involved an email back-and-forth with Tom P., an active committee member of CIRC, and that conversation suggested this post. He sounded quite excited when I gave the briefest overview of the Convergent Friends talk and wants to bring it to the attention of the committee. It could be very interesting.
More:
- For more on Convergence, see Robin Mohr's coinage and C. Wess Daniel's Quaker Life article, plus of course much of what gets posted up on QuakerQuaker.org.
- Even Swarthmore likes Dean Freiday: this overview of his correspondence shows the breadth of his friendships.
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Very cool. Your post will help me look at CIRC differently now, now that you relate its work to the Convergent conversation!
Interestingly enough, I heard some about Friends' impact on the World Council of Churches when I attended Canadian Yearly Meeting as an appointed visitor from FGC. This year the Friend who reported on the WCC had brought along a slide show, which made the presentation so much richer.
In particular, I remember that the WCC is moving--or has moved?!--towards a consensus-building model of decision-making, which, according to the Friend, grew out of the Quaker presence at the WCC.
I really don't have anything more to add. But your post reminded me of how much I got out of that presentation (if only I had taken notes!)...
Blessings,
Liz Opp, The Good Raised Up
Interesting and thought provoking piece. I seem to recall that the focus of the Ecumenical movement was to get the Lutherans, for example, to talk to the Episcopalians (or the Roman Catholics, or the Baptists).
The convergence movement invovles having the Evangelical Friendsand the Liberal Friends in the same room at the same time, which seems more like trying to get the Norwegian Lutherans to talk to the Swedish Lutherans. So maybe the convergence movement is biting off a smaller piece to chew..
I'm not sure the ecumenical movement ever got anywhere. There was a brief moment a few years ago where some brand of Lutherans (German, I think) and Roman Catholics were considering the possibility of sharing communion, but the RC Bishop threatened any Catholic who participated with ex-communication, which effectively popped that ecumenical bubble. Since that particular bishop is now the pope, I think the ecumenical movement has probably just lost a major player.
Maybe starting with a smaller piece, such as getting Evangelical and Liberal Quakers to talk to one another, will have better results. In any event, this seems to be the direction the spirit is leading at this time, so it is the direction to go.
Gosh, I hadn't really heard of Freiday before, but now I'm glad you wrote this.
I'm actually glad when I find out that convergent type conversations have been going on longer and more broadly than I knew about - it's encouraging, less lonely.
One of the things that has been important to me is to find out that there are Friends in other branches with whom I have much in common - I didn't know a year ago that this would be such an interesting and fun conversation. Finding a definition of what makes us Quaker - or even Christian - is not very important to me at this time.
"In any event, this seems to be the direction the spirit is leading at this time, so it is the direction to go." David says it nicely.