At the beginning of Advent I set out on a journey – not to Bethlehem but to the Christian conference centre at Swanwick in Derbyshire. I travelled there by bus and train rather than donkey (although scripture doesn’t tell us about the donkey). The following morning we awoke to snow on the ground, so at least that bit was like the first Christmas (or so some of our Christmas carols would have us believe). Snuggling down under my duvet at night in my en suite room with all mod cons I might have reflected how far removed it all was from the manger bed in which the infant Christ lay that first Christmas night. Not only have we embellished the story, we have also embellished the way we live out the story as followers of Jesus Christ in today’s world.
We have also succeeded in replacing the humble setting of Christ’s birth with the complicated structures of the church. The conference was arranged by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, an ecumenical organisation set up by jointly by many of the churches, and whose basic principle was once summed up by the late Cardinal Hume as ‘to do together what we can, and to do separately what we must.’ This is a realistic summing up of where we are at ecumenically; some issues continue to divide us and set us at odds with one another, but at least we recognise that the churches are on a shared journey and that our destination is to show a full and visible unity in Christ. Here in Cardiff I am used to working alongside friends and colleagues from Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, United Reformed and Presbyterian churches as a part of local Churches Together groups, but it was a real privilege to sit in my conference group
As was the experience of those who gathered around the manger, my
time at the conference gave me much to consider, ponder and celebrate.
We
heard three uplifting talks on the future of the ecumenical movement:
Bishop Nick Baines gave reflections on the recent Lambeth Conference of
the Anglican communion and emphasised the importance of listening to
one another; Dr. Anthony Reddie spoke from a black perspective about
the importance of understanding your roots and learning to celebrate
diversity; and Canon David Porter, now Director of the Centre for
Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral, shared something of his
experience in Northern Ireland in building concensus and working
through dialogue.
On that first Christmas night the angels
sang of the glory of God and offered a message of peace. In the coming
year may our commitment to work together with other Christians be a
sign of that same peace, and so bring glory to the God of heaven and
earth. May there be peace this Christmas amongst the churches and
communities of this part of our city. And may the blessing of the
Prince of peace be with us all.
Happy Christmas!
Phil Drake