By Elena Dini
ROME — The 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is approaching and The Lay Centre has organized, together with the Centro Pro Unione, an afternoon dedicated to young people.
On Jan. 24, Dr. Paula Gooder, writer and lecturer in biblical studies, as well as a member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), will offer her thoughts on the theme, “Walking the Way: Accompanying Young People on the Journey Towards Christian Unity.” Her presentation will be followed by testimonies of young people and an ecumenical celebration of the Word.
We reached Dr. Gooder beforehand to ask her some questions.
Q. What are the main challenges and rewards you have experienced in young people’s ecumenical accompaniment?
Dr. Gooder: I think one of the greatest challenges is that ecumenism is “out of fashion.” In many of the circles in which I travel, ecumenical accompaniment is no longer regarded as a key imperative. As a result, the real challenge is whether people will engage with ecumenism at all.
Having said that, once people catch the vision of unity and of walking together on the way, then the rewards are great. I think young people can be the best champions of greater unity and of life together since they are less interested in the historic obstacles and focus more fully on what difference it makes to us now.
My great hope is that more and more young people will catch the vision of a life in Christ, no longer encumbered by barriers and division. And by living it out, they will model for us all what an ecumenism in the future could look like.
Q. As a Biblical scholar, what role do you think Scripture plays in this path?
Dr. Gooder: My view is that Scripture is one of our greatest assets in ecumenism. As we gather together around Scripture and hear the words of God speaking deep within our hearts, then our vision for ecumenism can only be clearer. So much of the New Testament is about the problems that division between Christians brings and about the vision of what life in Christ could look like. The more we read it, the more it challenges us to overcome our differences and to live together in the harmony that Jesus spoke about in places like John 17.
Q. You worked on resources for children, young people and adults to help them live the important seasons in the life of the Church. One of these is “Love Life Live Lent/Advent.” What would “Love Life Live Christian Unity” look like?
Dr. Gooder: I think that’s a brilliant idea! In our “Love Life Live Lent/Advent” booklets, we provided people with a reflection for each day and an action to do to live out that reflection. The booklets were designed for families and young people, as well as for adults.
It would be great fun to do something similar for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, in which there was something to think about each day and then something to do together. One of the challenges of ecumenism is that we often think about it in the abstract. Our commissions, such as the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) on which I serve, discuss ideas, concepts and theology. This is right, as it is these discussions that affect the ways in which our ecclesial structures relate to each other. But it is ecumenism on the ground—doing things together—that changes people’s vision and makes the biggest differences.
Q. Could you share a personal experience with the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission?
Dr. Gooder: I have been enormously privileged to have been a member of ARCIC since it began the third stage of its work in 2011.
One of the things that always happens on commissions, such as ARCIC, is on one level, very simple but nevertheless very important, that is the commission members become friends. And when you become friends, you begin to see the world as they see it. As soon as that happens, then you begin to understand why people think what they do and the ecumenical journey begins to unfold.
I can’t share one single experience. For me, the power of the work we have done on ARCIC lies in the multiple moments of greater understanding that have taken place, so that as we publish our most recent report I can state how very much I have learned along the way.
*Join us and Dr. Paula Gooder on January 24 at Centro Pro Unione (Via Santa Maria dell’Anima 30) for our ecumenical event. Register here
