US Catholic Church joins Christian Churches Together in the USA

Ecumenical News International
June 10, 2005

The US Catholic Bishops took an historic ecumenical step by joining the new national ecumenical forum, Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT).

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, CA, chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, presented the proposal to the bishops and urged its adoption, calling CCT a “fresh and creative initiative to broaden the ecumenical table.” The bishops approved the proposal to join CCT by a slightly more than 2-to-1 margin.

The decision, marking the first time that the US Catholic Church has become a partner church in a national ecumenical body, was warmly greeted by the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church of America and chair of the CCT Interim Steering Committee. “The decision of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops to become a founding participant of Christian Churches Together in the USA is a truly significant development in the life of Christian churches within the United States. This moves CCT closer to the goal of drawing the various parts of the Christian family into one place of fellowship, in order to strengthen our witness.”

Christian Churches Together in the USA is unique among ecumenical endeavors in its commitment to be inclusively representative of the wide diversity of Christian churches in the United States. Its organizational meetings have engaged participants from the five “families” of churches – Catholic, evangelical/Pentecostal, Orthodox, historical Protestant, racial/ethnic. CCT anticipates that, at its formal launching in 2005, founding churches and organizations will be representative of this diversity.

In addition to the Catholic Church, twenty-two national organizations and churches have agreed to become founding participants of CCT; an additional number of churches are considering participation.

“We will continue to extend the invitation to other denominations and support their prayerful consideration of joining this initiative,” Granberg-Michaelson said, “as we look forward to the CCT Assembly in June 2005.”

The purpose of Christian Churches Together in the USA is to enable churches and national Christian organizations to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen Christian witness in the world.

CCT welcomes churches, Christian communities and national Christian organizations that: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the Scriptures; worship and serve the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; seek ways to work together in order to present a more credible Christian witness in and to the world.