United Methodists, Catholics meet in Dallas
5/8/2003 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York By United Methodist News Service United
Methodists and Roman Catholics continued to explore how each
denomination operates, both globally and locally, during a recent
dialogue session in Dallas.
The April 24-26 meeting was the fifth
in a round of dialogue that began in 2001. Officials with the two
traditions have been discussing their faiths together since 1966.
The
focus on "The Church in Each Place and in All Places" is being led by
United Methodist Bishop Walter Klaiber of Germany and Roman Catholic
Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino, Calif. The United Methodist
Commission on Christian Unity and the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops are assisting the dialogue teams.
In Dallas, Sister
Barbara Reid of Catholic Theological Union and the Rev. Elaine Robinson
of Bright Divinity School presented papers outlining Catholic and United
Methodist theological understandings of the church's mission, as well
as the relationship of mission to the understanding of the universal and
local dimensions of church life. Different perspectives on sacramental
life, such as baptism and the Eucharist, were presented by the Rev.
Richard Gallarditz, University of Toledo, for the Catholics, and the
Rev. Jarrett Gray, Saint Paul School of Theology, for the United
Methodists.
Dialogue team members decided to begin drafting a
text to be used as a report of the theological discussion for churches.
They also plan to provide pastoral resources to help congregations and
seminaries hold similar discussions.
During their gathering, the
group members engaged regularly in prayer, celebrated a "love feast" on
the model of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and were joined one
evening by two Dallas-area bishops, Catholic Bishop Charles Grahmann and
United Methodist Bishop William Oden.
Perkins School of Theology
at Southern Methodist University also sponsored a dinner to bring
together the dialogue team with its faculty. The Rev. Scott Jones of
Perkins, a member of the international dialogue between the World
Methodist Council and Roman Catholic Church, was a dinner host and
joined in meeting discussions.
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