Ten years ago the new curate in the parish next door asked me what an Ecumenical Officer did. My response was that I spent most of my time encouraging Christians of different traditions to be nice to each other. His unnervingly astute reply was, “You could do that as a full-time job without going outside the Church of England”. It is certainly easier in some places to get like-minded Christians to work and worship together across denominational boundaries than to get Christians of the same tradition to co-operate. In this diocese there are four Ecumenical Officers: one in each county and one in
To keep parishes in touch with what we are doing “Ecumenically Yours” comes out with each diocesan mailing from STEM. Those who are interested in ecumenical work but don’t see it regularly should either nag their incumbent or contact me to get on the mailing list. My address is in the Diocesan Year Book. The Ecumenical Officers’ pages are towards the back in the “Central Services” section. We advise
- How far can I involve an Orthodox priest in a wedding between one of my folk and a young man of Greek ancestry?
- Is it in order for a Baptist minister to take a funeral in parish church?
Each of the Ecumenical Officers has a particular area of expertise. One deals with diocesan synod matters and has a special interest in the Anglican-Methodist covenant. One represents the diocese on General Synod and is particularly engaged with the “Fresh Expressions” agenda. One has an international role in relation to Christians in other parts of Europe, particularly vis-à-vis our diocesan partnership with the Diocese of Växjö in
So no question is too big – or too small for an ecumenical officer to be involved. The simplest guideline is “If in doubt – shout!”
Tony Dickinson.
