“I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

Edward Everett Hale

Friday, 27 May 2011

Transcending Boundaries

This week I was invited to speak to a small Christian house-group which is attached to the ecumenical church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes. Two members of the group come along to Northampton Unitarians on 2nd and 4th Sundays, and they wanted the rest of the group to learn a little about Unitarianism. So I went.

It was a good experience - the half dozen or so people there learned a bit about Unitarianism, and I learned that there is a very wide range of beliefs within the Christian witness, and a heartening amount of mutual tolerance and inclusiveness.

As a result of that talk, I went to have a look at the Christ the Cornerstone website, which was fascinating. Five Christian denominations - Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed - "are covenanted together to share their life in worship, understanding of each other and service to the community and to the wider world" to quote the home page. They seem to co-exist happily and peacefully in one ecumenical building. The four Protestant denominations lead ecumenical Protestant worship, taking it in turns. The Catholic members are expected to attend their own services, but are also able to attend the ecumenical services. They are also good on social witness and outreach, being involved in many aspects of the Milton Keynes community.

The church has loads of activities going on, including Friday lunchtime Prayers for Peace, in the little side chapel, which I have just attended. Led by a lovely Northern Irish lady who has just returned from a trip to Jerusalem, the readings and prayers came from many different faith traditions, and I could join in with a clear conscience. It was an interval of peace in a busy week, for which I am grateful.

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