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REFLECTION
‘Teach me to care and not to care’
I guess it all began for me the day Shari Lowen and her family moved in across the street. She was Jewish and became my first Jewish friend. We were young children, and I recall hearing about her “Christmas” that included a “Hanukkah bush” and daily presents for more than a week! Shari was my first experience of interfaith dialogue, and thankfully, not my last. This September, for the seventh year, the people of St James, Columbus, hosted an Iftar during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. One of my Muslim friends, Amad, brought me a crucifix – a very special gift – from his home in Jerusalem. Our Muslim neighbors are my most recent experience of interfaith dialogue, and thankfully, not my last. And there have been a lot more over the years in between. My early years in the Girl Scout organization, Brownies, provided an introduction to ecumenical dialogue. We met in a Congregational church — a Christian church whose worship space looked a bit different than my Episcopal Church: there were no kneelers, and they had a table with a Bible open upon it rather than an altar with a candle burning above it. Later a friend or two would take me to church with them — one a Lutheran, another a Roman Catholic. At a young age, I didn’t think a lot about making an effort to be in relationship with people whose Christianity wasn’t quite like mine or whose religion didn’t seem anything like mine. These relationships were not intentional. They just happened. There was no real effort made on my part to reach out or reach across to learn or even join in collaborative opportunities to do what my own faith expected of me. T.S. Eliot, in his poem, “Ash Wednesday” penned an important line that he chose to include twice within the poem: “Teach us to care and not to care.” Jesus put it another way in response to his disciples who complained and tried to stop someone who was not following them but was casting out demons in Jesus’ name: “Are you nuts?” Jesus asked. “Don’t stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally. Why anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice.” And then Jesus followed it up with the cautionary reminder that “if you give one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck.” (The Message) Ah, teach us to care and not to care. As ecumenical officer of the diocese, I had the privilege earlier this year of attending the annual National Workshop on Christian Unity in Phoenix, Ariz. Within the context of
Lynn CarterEdmands
that four-day confer- munion between the Moravian and Episcopal ence, I also participat- churches. The Northern and Southern Provinces ed in the annual con- of the Moravian Church will consider this proference of Episcopal posal as they convene their Provincial Elders Diocesan Ecumenical Conference in the coming year. Ah, teach us to and Interreligious care and not to care. The United Methodists are looking at Officers. Through the week, national 11 issues as they continue to work on full representatives from communion with the Episcopal Church. various denomina- Important differences remain relating to the tions met in plenary real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the sessions and work- United Methodist Church’s perception that shops and engaged in embracing the historic episcopate would opportunities to listen somehow invalidate or diminish the ordinaand discuss matters of interest concern- tions of those previously ordained outside ing Christian unity. As diocesan representa- apostolic succession, and the 1972 statement tives, we focused as a group on the upcom- of the United Methodist Church on human ing General Convention in July, and we sexuality. In other words, there remain many questions — some theoaddressed our relationlogical, some practical, ship with the Moravian Interfaith event some both — as we look Church, the United The Interfaith Center for Peace is to full communion with Methodist Church and offering the first annual conference, the United Methodist the Presbyterian Church. Children of Abraham: Building Interfaith Church. Of interest to us as Peace and Community, on Oct. 25 We also continue Episcopalians is how from 1 to 8:30 p.m. at the Nationwide our dialogue with the other Churches underand Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, Presbyterian Church stand and appropriate 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, Columbus. The (USA). Again the issue the four instruments Diocese of Southern Ohio is one of the of the episcopate is critiof unity as outlined in sponsors for this event. cal. For those denominathe Chicago-Lambeth Register online at: tions that do not have Quadrilateral of 1886, www.interfaithcenterforpeace.org bishops, let alone those 1888 (found in the Book in apostolic succession, of Common Prayer, pp our relationship may be 876-878). These four instruments of unity are: the Holy Scriptures less one of full communion and more a matof the old and new testaments; the Apostles’ ter of how we can share mission work and and Nicene creeds; the sacraments of witness. It also may be that we participate Baptism and the Eucharist; and the historic in what may be called “eucharistic hospitalepiscopate. Admittedly, the first three are ity,” which is already happening at Indian more easily understood by our sisters and Hill Episcopal-Presbyterian Church in our brothers in Christ. The historic episcopate, diocese. The point is: How can we be in however, is greatly scrutinized. What do we relationship with one another, celebrating mean by insisting on an historic episcopate? our differences as well as our similarities? And for those who do not find the historic Ah, teach us to care and not to care. General Convention also adopted a episcopate an essential matter of Christian unity, how, then do we come together as “Statement on Interreligious Relations.” This the body of Christ and join in Jesus’ prayer statement encourages us to reach out in love and that the Church might be one, as he and the genuine openness to know and to understand Father are one (John 17:20,21)? Ah, teach us those of other religions. Therefore, we commend to all our members: dialogue for building relato care and not to care. The Moravian Church believes they are tionships, the sharing of information, religious part of the unbroken apostolic succession, education, and celebration with people of other although there is scholarly debate on the religions as part of Christian life. matter. They trace their episcopate to the We believe that such dialogue may help people apostles of Jesus through another Church of different religions grow in mutual understand(the Waldensians), and maintain, at the very ing and provide common ground for peacemakleast, that it has always been their intention to ing, social justice and religious liberty. continue the historic episcopate. The document provides historical and curQuestions about how the Moravian Church rent contexts and reminds us of the resources understands the role of the bishop were raised at the of scripture, reason and tradition for interreliconference. But evidently at General Convention gious dialogue. The document also addresses this summer, those concerns were addressed sat- the sensitive issues of salvation in Christ in isfactorily enough for both the House of Deputies interreligious relations and the missional and the House of Bishops to approve full com- and evangelical nature of Christianity in
the context of interreligious dialogue. (See http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/ Statement_on_Interreligious_Relations.pdf) Ah, teach us to care and not to care. As I’ve aged, I’ve tried to be more intentional about learning about and from folks from other religions and other Christian communities of faith. I’ve learned that certain things really do matter to me. I’ve learned to care about my own faith tradition. I’ve learned that it’s important to take my stand as a Christian but not to push it down someone else’s throat. My evangelism has become more a matter of articulating my faith by action and responding to questions with honesty and sometimes that infamous “I don’t know.” And I’m learning to care and not to care. I’m learning to care about finding that common ground with those who share the same or similar religious imperatives in the areas of peacemaking, social justice and religious liberty, but not about what others think about me as I attempt to live out the command of the gospel of Jesus to love God with everything I am and to love my neighbor as myself — including people of other religious traditions. I’m learning to care about that important shared work and ministry. And I’m learning not to care that there are some folks who have a problem with it. In ecumenical work — seeking unity with other Christians — I am learning to care about how we can better agree than disagree about this common faith in Christ Jesus we share. Oddly enough, I find this more difficult work than the dialogue I experience with my non-Christian neighbors. It’s easier, I think, to enter into interfaith relationships rather than ecumenical relationships and ministry. The one allows us to not risk real change – no one is trying to convert the other to their way of religious thinking. We are relating to one another from our own perspectives as people of faith, albeit different faiths. But with ecumenical efforts, we are asked to reassess what is really important and needful to be people of faith and practice as Christians. Ah, teach us not to care about the little things, and help us better understand which are the needful, great things. I am learning to care about unity, but I still struggle with not caring about some of the specifics that I’ve learned to love. So I remember Shari Lowen, and Amad who brought me a crucifix from Jerusalem this year, and the local ecumenical clergy with whom I gather monthly. And I will continue to pray that God will teach me to care and not to care for the sake of God’s Kingdom, because I still have a lot to learn. The Rev. Lynn Carter-Edmands is the rector of St. James, Columbus, and the ecumenical/ interfaith officer for the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Contact her at: cartered@sbcglobal.net