KENTUCKY COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
Commission on Local Ecumenism Statement of Purpose
Adopted by the 44th Annual Assembly, October 11-12, 1991
In the Statement of the Vision of the Kentucky Council
of Churches, "We Are a Household of Faith", we read:
"As members of this one family of God, we seek to live together
in unity, understanding, equality and justice, and to express
this unity through fellowship, prayer, worship and service."
In order that we may be more intentional in fulfilling
this vision, the Executive Board of the Council has seen fit
to establish a Commission on Local Ecumenism (COLE).
Using the document "The Nature of the Unity We Seek"
as a basis for its activities, and working in close relationship
with the Commission on Christian Unity, COLE will seek:
· to encourage local churches and communities to
engage in worship and prayer together often, for example, on
such occasions as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pentecost
and other appropriate religious and civic occasions. When appropriate,
this could include designating a "lead denomination"
or some other group which would be asked to initiate and promote
celebrations of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in local
communities;
· to work closely with local churches and ministerial
groups in promoting speakers and workshops on various aspects
of Christian unity;
· to encourage and/or support joint retreats and other
spiritual activities which will give the participants an opportunity
to share together the richness of each other's spiritual tradition;
· to foster the establishment of local covenant relations;
to develop models and guidelines for inclusive covenant groups;
to publicize and celebrate existing local covenants; and to encourage
the expansion of local covenants where appropriate;
· to gather and make available models and ideas for ecumenical
ministries in communities of various types and sizes, with attention
to those which promote Christian Unity, social service, justice
and peace, community involvement and spiritual formation;
· to act as a catalyst for promoting cooperation between
existing local ministerial groups particularly where such cooperation
has been lacking;
· to work jointly with Christian Unity to promote theological
discussion, where feasible, among the clergy and laity of a local
area so as to foster a better understanding of appreciation for
each denominations's tradition; and better understanding of and
appreciation for each denomination's tradition; and
· to encourage or sponsor from time to time local or regional
ecumenical celebrations.
The membership of COLE should include individuals with
direct experience in local ecumenical projects and structures
from various types of communities, and should include a mix of
clergy and laity, men and women, while at the same time being
representative of ethnic and denominational factors.
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