AUTHOR: (Revd Dr) Ray Williamson OAM

There is an enormous breadth to the ecumenical vision, making it a vision that challenges us to work together not only for the unity and renewal of the church, but also for the unity and renewal of the whole human community and the entire earth.  It has been expressed in countless places in many different ways, such as in a World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith & Order Paper:

[t]he divisions among the churches and the failure of their members to live in true koinonia … affect and hinder the mission of the Church.  Mission has as its ultimate goal the koinonia of all.  The mission belongs to the essence of the nature and being of the Church as koinonia.  This makes the restoration of unity between Christians and the renewal of their lives an urgent task.

This paper covers the following topics

The Ecumenical Way

Unity in Diversity

Unity as Gift and Goal

Unity is of the Essence of the Church

An Alternative Reality