Over at Busted Halo, they’ve posted this compelling and interesting piece by an Anglican priest (with the compelling and interesting name of Astrid Joy Storm). She writes about the Vatican’s recent document on Catholicism as the “one true Church”:

Much of the ecumenical work that is going on—and will continue to go on—at the grassroots level is at least as important as anything coming out of the Vatican. The Rev. Keith Pecklers, Jesuit liturgist at the Gregorian University, calls it “underreported practical ecumenism.” Practical ecumenism refers to all the joint work between Catholics and Protestants (not to mention other faiths) that goes on every day in soup kitchens, thrift stores, homeless shelters, peace rallies, and church educational groups. It also refers to joint statements issued by church leaders against war and poverty, or to bishops of different denominations sharing responsibilities when need arises.

In that same vein, I experience a lot of what I call “relational ecumenism,” as well. For instance, a Roman Catholic friend of mine routinely takes communion from me because we have a strong spiritual relationship that precedes our current denominational affiliations. She isn’t going to wait until her church says I’m legitimate; she already knows that. Likewise, I wouldn’t for a moment think that the Catholic friend with whom I had dinner on Tuesday is somehow an unfit spiritual companion just because he doesn’t agree with my views on, say, papal authority.

Such relational ecumenism may be the strongest among us Christians in our 20s and 30s, the so-called “post-denominational” set. Upwards of 60% of us no longer consider denominational affiliation as important as it was to previous generations, and we also get around more, experiencing different denominations before possibly committing to one—if at all.

There’s a lot there to provoke thought (or, in some quarters, dismay), but it’s worth reading and pondereing. (And I just love her name.)

Photo: Astrid Joy Storm from Busted Halo