Meetings, meetings, meetings

I have learned that here in the Ecumenical Centre things are done with meetings. We meet and we discuss. Decisions are made. Decisions are postponed. We decide to meet at a later date to decide things. Meetings. I spend a lot of my time in meetings, both official and unofficial.

There are the "official" meetings that are planned weeks, months, or even years in advance. The Ecumenical Centre is also the scene of "unofficial" meetings. We meet and talk and learn and discuss because we all have the same passions, but we all have very different understandings about where these passions derive their meaning. Yet, we are all united under the title "Christian." Today at lunch I sat with two young men, from very different parts of the world, and heard them discuss intelligently the political situations in their respective countries. It was fascinating to listen to them, both relatively well informed about the situation in the others' country, as they really began to learn, as I really began to learn, what is going on in the eyes of a countryman. These are also meetings.

When we have these unofficial meetings we learn from each other. When we have these official meetings we learn from each other. The difference is in the content of our learning. Often the official meetings we learn about people's theological opinions and their organization's official stance. In these unofficial meetings over lunch or coffee or ecumenical drink we learn about their personal background, their personal feelings, their personal beliefs, their personal story. Both of these kinds of meetings are Ecumenical. Both of these kinds of meetings are the work of those of us that choose to live our lives in this way. Those of us that choose to live into existence this Ecumenical Movement that we are creating in the here and now.