The commission is now known as the Ecumenical and Interfaith Dialogue Commission to conform to the definitional intents of both our national church center and the National Workshop on Christian Unity, an ecumenical gathering of Christians celebrating the unity which already exists among Christians and searching for ways to overcome the divisions that remain. Our mission is to pray that “we all may be one.” We meet as an Episcopal/Lutheran group four times a year.

This past year, our convener, the Rev. Barbara Mudge, attended the National Workshop on Christian Unity. Another Episcopal priest, the Rev. Chris Laing, attended the Educational Initiative for Interfaith Dialogue in Washington, DC in 2005. The commission presented a workshop at the 2004 diocesan convention, led by Chris Laing and Rev. Franklin Wilson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The commission also organized a “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” throughout the diocese. The Rev. Barbara Mudge also was a member of the companion diocese delegation that visited the Diocese of Madhya Kerala, Church of South India, immediately following the South Asia tsunamis in 2004. During the visit, we learned how the Church of South India formed as a coalition of Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and United Church of Christ churches.

Contact:
The Rev. Anthony Petrotta, Convener
apetrott@ix.netcom.com