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Doing Theology
in an Ecumenical Setting
by Tim Wiebe
I had been looking forward to the event
for months. Participation in an ecumenical
forum. Discussion of relevant
social issues. Doing theology with per:sons
from a variety of denominational traditions.
And, of course, experiencing the
marvellous city of Halifax! These were
among my expectations of the 1988 edition
of the Canadian Theological Students
Conference, (CTSC), which was held in
February at the Atlantic School of Theology
in Nova Scotia's lovely capital city.
Generally speaking, the conference
fulfilled the expectations I'd had for it.
Opportunities for worship in a variety of
denominational styles proved enriching,
and this "son of Menno" was privileged to
participate in the Catholic worship service
on Wednesday morning. (No one seemed
to mind my use of a quote from the writings
of Hans Denck to introduce the Lord's
Prayer!) Workshops, field trips, and
related group discussions identified such
widely varying issues as homelessness,
racial discrimination, sexuality, and the
place of music and dance in worship; each
of these concerns in keeping with the
conference's theme of "Spirituality and
Justice For Our Time." And Halifax, of
course, was beautiful. Especially enjoyable
was a visit to historic St. Matthew's
United Church and an arduous jog up
Citadel Hill. The only experience lacking
was a dinner on the town; a sin of omission
brought on by a $50 spending spree
at the superb book display set up at the
conference by the United Church Publishing
House!
My expectations, by and large, were
met. However, I feel that one significant
aspect was lacking in the week's agenda;
an emphasis essential to the very
ecumenism which the CTSC wishes to
promote. Quite simply put, we didn't sufficiently
"do" theology. We worshipped.
We discussed. We interacted socially in a
variety of ways. But we didn't address in a
coherent and focussed manner the question
of the biblical-theological basis for
our approach to spirituality and justicerelated
issues. As a result, a number of
questions foundational to the building of
genuineecumenism remained unanswered.
What, for example, is the nature of the
biblical witness to issues ·of spirituality
and justice? How are the two concepts
related theologically? What is the character
of the faith community as described
in scripture? How do the Bible's overarching
themes - Creation, Fall, Redemption,
Consummation - inform the
ethics of the church-as-moral-community?
What is our understanding of the
nature of God, and how should this
understanding impact on our approach to
such diverse issues as inclusivism in worship,
human sexuality, social justice and
peacemaking? The establishment of a
theological frame of reference based on
these kinds of fundamental questions is
essential, I believe, if we are to move from
simply sharing our diversity in the
ecumenical environment toward genuinely
debating and· applying the practical
relevance of the theological ground
we hold in common.
It is precisely in keeping with a concern
for promoting more focussed theological
discussion on the issues which the larger
Christian church must address, I would
suggest, that we Mennonites have something
to offer at future gatherings of this
kind. We have a tradition of scripturebased
praxis, voluntary commitment, and
non-violent discipleship which needs to
be expressed in ecumenical contexts;
especially at a time when. other denominations
are struggling to articulate a
theology which can inform their ethics.
By the same token, we have much to learn
from other traditions with regard to the
systematic use of scripture during the
church year; the articulation in word and
song of the mystery and transcendence of
God, and the appreciation in our worship
planning of the richness ofliturgical forms
of faith expression. The exchange of ideas
at events such as CTSC can only serve to
strengthen each group in its own sense of
identity, and help encourage participants
to be open to new ways of making their
particular faith traditions more relevant
to a world sorely in need of the Good
News.
In conclusion, I would like to commend
the leaders and organizers of the CTSC for
their largely successful attempt at
providing an ecumenical forum for representatives
of denominations from across
the country. The week's activity reflected
a coming together from far and wide
which was in the best tradition of the
biblical vision of the kingdom of God; a
portrait of renewed humanity painted so
powerfully by Paul in Galatians 3:28: "For
there is no such thing as Jew and Greek,
slave and free, male and female ... for
we are all one people in Christ Jesus."
Tim Wiebe, a student at CMBC, attended
this conference under the sponsorship
of the CMBC Student Council.
mennonite mirror/april1988/15