parishes" "
“Ecumenical parishes”, according to canon law, do not exist, but the number of parishes that experience a rich and regular ecumenical life, in the most different forms and ways, is growing in Europe. For many Swiss parishes especially in the German-speaking area ecumenical life shared between the communities of different denominations is however a choice, since the distribution between Catholics and Reformed in Switzerland is approximately half and half. For instance, at Arbon, a little town on the shores of lake Constance, ecumenical collaboration began in the 1970s, following Vatican Council II: meetings between pastoral workers, meetings on the Word of God, formation for adults, and teaching of religion at school are the main fields in which the Churches cooperate. How do people react? According to the parish priest Leo Ruedi and his assistant Beda Baumgarten, “people are satisfied with this openness and mixed couples especially benefit from it”. What are the main obstacles? “Many fears, and the disinterest or “distraction” linked to work and to the stress of daily life, need to be overcome”. Apart from regular contacts with the Evangelical Church, the Catholic parish of Arbon is also developing projects in cooperation with some “free churches”: the Salvation Army, the Pentecostals… “We meet together to pray and organise meetings”. A particularly important event is the gospel weekend that is held every summer. Last year, as part of the “Bible Year”, all the churches joined together to organise an exhibition on Holy Scripture.
