An “ecumenical” Christmas

Although usually Christmas isn’t an ecumenical occasions, religious services will be shared by the different Churches. Peter Colwell of “Churches Together in Britain and Ireland”, John Bradley of “Churches Together in England” and Michael Earle, of the “Irish Council of Churches”, interviewed by Silvia Guzzetti for SIR Europe, explained that for the forthcoming holidays the different Churches prefer to focus upon their individual traditions, although important changes are in progress. Sharing a feast. A card with all the services offered by the different Christian Churches for Christmas in the cities will be distributed in homes, ecumenical religious celebrations of the Christian faiths will give a primary role to Christmas carols, and a large Christmas tree, on which those who wish can place a star with a special thought for a dear one who passed away, will be placed in the main square of the city. These are the most relevant ecumenical moments held throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland for Christmas. The faithful and the priests from the different churches will also march together following different paths to the city’s outskirts and gather in a meeting point to share communal prayer. These are however exceptional events that are organized in those places marked by vibrant communal activity. “After all, Christmas is not an ecumenical occasion like Easter or the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, jointly admitted the ecumenism coordinators from the different faiths. “However, joint Christmas initiatives are a good idea”, declared Peter Colwell, Secretary General for Interreligious relations of “Churches Together in Britain and Ireland”. “Unfortunately Churches normally focus their energy on their own religious services. We have to wait for the different denominations to ask us to intervene. Until today, they did not convey the need to undertake common initiatives, although I believe it would be a good idea”. A communal chant. Things appear to be different in England: “my church in Milton Keynes, in south of England, is the place of worship of four different religious denominations: Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists and United Reformed Churches”, explained John Bradley, who is in charge of ecumenical relations in South England on behalf of “Churches Together in England”, encompassing the Country’s religious denominations. “We organise joint religious services for the Advent and for Christmas, where the chants represent the peak moment of sharing”. At Christmas the faithful prefer the tradition. I believe that each church is busy with its own preparations and has little time to devote to shared initiatives with other churches. Indeed, Christmas is deeply rooted in tradition, thus the faithful expect traditional celebrations, like Midnight Mass. They would not appreciate major changes in the Christmas liturgy”, Bradley pointed out. Michael Earle, Secretary General of the “Irish Council of Churches”, which encompasses all Christian communions of Irish islands, expressed agreement on this point. “At Christmas ecumenical functions are the exception, not the rule”, Earle explained. “In some parts of Ireland it would be difficult to carry out common initiatives, but changes are in progress”. Advent walk. The different Christians denominations had a moment of sharing in Ireland where a joint march for the Advent was held. “Last month in Dublin, the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Orthodox and Lutheran churches marched together towards their own churches reciting prayers or stopping for a cup of tea”, Earle said, “The Orthodox Indian church organized a liturgy of the Advent for Christmas eve and invited the other churches. The leaders of the four major Christian Churches of Ireland: Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian each year broadcast a joint Christmas message on “Radio Telefis Eireann” for the local media, while ecumenical services in different languages for non-native English-speakers, are held in different cities”. “Last week-end we published a new yearbook with information on 361 new churches marked by a large presence of immigrants from Nigeria, Eastern Europe and other African countries. We hope this will help local parishes to be in communion with these new religious communities in each Country by next year’s Christmas”.