The Contemporary Ecumenical Movement in Relation to the Black Church

In October, Beverly Goines, a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute, a Ph.D. candidate at The Catholic University of America, and an assistant pastor at National City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Washington, D.C., presented her research on the ecumenical vision of the Black Church in the theologies of Thomas Hoyt, Jr., Fredrick Ware, and Kortright Davis to a group of religious leaders in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. According to Beverly, ecumenical dialogue in the United States has become increasingly complicated because of denominational divisions due to race. Given this historical background, whenever black Christians enter into ecumenical dialogue, issues of race, ethics, and morality become part of the discussion in addition to questions of doctrine, theology, and ecclesiology. Insofar as the rhetoric of the church transcends race and ethnicity but the social dynamic does not, Beverly’s presentation explored the Black Church’s ecumenical vision as focused on social justice–a focus that insists that visible unity cannot take place unless social justice issues are resolved. Beverly’s informal presentation was followed by lively discussion.