The deepening of ecumenical dialogue and communion
For the Iona Community, whose members are drawn from ten different Christian denominations and from many countries, the commitment to ecumenical formation is both a necessity and an enduring source of life and creativity. It is our spiritual habitat. It is where we discover that we can indeed love each other though we are different, where we experience God’s transforming grace.We find within this formation
- the belief that the Spirit of God is with us in our search and struggles, in solidarity with other committed people, for a model of life that respects people and shows care for the environment
- a legacy of fundamental values which make up the social teaching of the churches
- a long history of experience of change and adapting to the new
- the inspiration, wisdom and energy of significant numbers of people who are committed to Jesus’ work of justice and love
The 1991 Vatican document, Dialogue and Proclamation, distinguishes four kinds of dialogue:
- The dialogue of life, ie, the sharing of joys, sorrows and concerns
- The dialogue of action, ie, collaboration in furthering human development and liberation
- The dialogue of theological exchange
- The dialogue of religious experience, ie, the sharing of spiritual riches such as ways of praying
Partners in dialogue allow themselves to be challengedat a deep religious level. Not only may they learn much from others; they may also see aspects, perhaps undervalued, of their own spirituality in a new light, and may see distortions or inadequacies in it.
The Working Group on ecumenism has led this dialogue within the Community, engaging with individual churches, local and national action of churches together and international ecumenical bodies. In all of these, members are actively involved. The Community is also a participant in the WCC process on the Reconfiguration of the Ecumenical Movement. The Working Group’s present priority is in ecumenical formation of young church leaders, and it has sponsored a number of events to this end.
