ECC Signing, September 19, 2003

"About a year and a half after our initial meeting in March, 2002, the first communities of our Communion met in convocation. During that convocation, on September 19, 2003, a total of thirteen communities signed the document uniting us into the ECC. We ratified the constitution and also a document I had written describing the distinctive teachings of the ECC.

The signers of that original document, and their community affiliations, were:

Rev. Armando Leyva, Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity,

Lakewood, California

Rev. Bob Blattner, Community of the Risen Christ,

St. Louis, Missouri

Rev. Delores Kropf, St. Michael Catholic Church,

Tucson, Arizona

Rev. Franciso A. Morales-Perez, Communidades Catholicas Ecumenicas

en Puerto Rico

Rev. James Lehman, Holy Family Parish,

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Rev. Kathy McCarthy, Pathfinding Community of the Risen Christ,

Bermuda Dunes, California

Rev. Mark Jaufman, Spirit of Peace,

Glendale, California

Rev. Ned Reidy, Pathfinder Community of the Risen Christ,

Bermuda Dunes, California

Most Rev. Peter E. Hickman, Saint Matthew Ecumenical Catholic Church, Orange, California

Rev. Scott Jenkins, Church of the Holy Family,

Aurora, Colorado

Rev. Steve Rosczewski, Holy Spirit Ecumenical Catholic Church,

Tampa, Florida

Rev. Zilvanas Jakstas, Ramove Catholic Church,

St. Paul, Minnesota

In addition, Rev. Mary Ramerman and Rev. Denise Donato, both of Spiritus Christi, signed as priests of the Communion.



With that convocation, our new Communion was formally established, and we were officially the Ecumenical Catholic Communion."



_________________________

Through An Open Door, by Peter Hickman and Judith Jones, page 62

“The Co-Founders of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion,” internal document,

signed September 19, 2003. From the ECC Archives.

In the evening on September 19, 2023, the Ecumenical Catholic Communion gathered via Zoom to celebrate with joy and thanksgiving our 20th Anniversary.

Please enjoy sharing in the our Celebration by reading the prayers, song words, and reflections so generously shared by the presenters.



Click here to begin watching The Parade of Parishes, created for Synod 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiLv5doyS08&list=PL9ZbB2xC44l2BGml-X2nZYVRNqQQBAxtF

Welcome!

Hello, Ecumenical Catholic Communion!

Happy Anniversary!!!! 

We are gathered tonight to celebrate our 20^th Anniversary! 

We will be your hosts for the evening. We are Therese Gabriel and Claudia Kirby and we serve as the Chair and ViceChair of the House of Laity.  On behalf of our Presiding Bishop Paul Burson, we welcome everyone to this celebration where we will not only look back on the last 20 years, but will look forward to being the church of the next 20 years and beyond.

Before we begin, we would like to invite everyone to have a candle that is lit with you, as well as a special glass of something for a toast.  We will be using these items as part of our ritual of celebration and blessing tonight.  

Our celebration together is organized in 3 sections. 

The first section is titled, “Ecumenical.”  

The second section is titled, “Catholic.”  

And, you guessed it, the third section is titled, “Communion.”  

 Each section will include prayer, song, a reflection, and the ritual to either raise a candle or a glass in blessing.  

 At the end of our full Communion gathering, we will take a 5 minute break, and then invite you to come back to your computers for breakout sessions of smaller groups so that everyone can share their own stories of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. 

Let us begin now, together, gathered as the Body of Christ and the Ecumenical Catholic Communion.  

We come from many places and sit at many tables.  

But in God we are one.   

Let us begin our evening with the Sign of the Cross,

in the name of the Father and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit. 

Amen.  

   

On this night, our 20^th anniversary, blessed by God to be blessing in the world, we remember the words of 1^st Philippians, that “God, who has begin the good work in you [the good work in us], will carry it through to completion.” (Philippians 1:6a)  





We focus this evening on our name, a holy name, inspired by God.   Erica Jong says that "To name oneself is the first act of both the poet and the revolutionary."  We are poets and revolutionaries known at the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. 

Let’s begin with the first word of our name: Ecumenical.

 Let’s say it together, Ecumenical.  

To be ecumenical is to see religion in a larger worldview than our own experience of God.  It is to be tolerant of other religions, but it is more than that.  It is to strive for unity, in a way that honors diversity. It is to know that we are part of the Body of Christ in the world, while recognizing that God moves in the world in a variety of ways.  God is the source of all things. 

Our ECC founding Bishop Peter Hickman once wrote that, “To be an Ecumenical Catholic means to affirm the proclamation (kerygma) of historic Christianity….. The kerygma of the Church is the living witness given by the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit……… It is not that we possess the Holy Spirit as much as it is that we must be possessed by the Holy Spirit in order to be a truly kerygmatic and interpretive community of Christ in the world.’



We are the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. 

 Let us sing, pray and reflect now on what it means to be Ecumenical.

Walk together, children, don't you get weary,

walk together, children, don't you get weary,

walk together, children, don't you get weary,

there's a great camp meeting in the promised land.

Sing together, children, don't you get weary,

sing together, children, don't you get weary,

sing together, children, don't you get weary,

there's a great camp meeting in the promised land.

Pray together, children, don't you get weary,

pray together, children, don't you get weary,

pray together, children, don't you get weary,

there's a great camp meeting in the promised land.

Work together, children, don't you get weary,

work together, children, don't you get weary,

work together, children, don't you get weary,

there's a great camp meeting in the promised

Bishop Peter Hickman

St. Matthew's

Orange, California

Prayer for Twenty Years as a Communion 

The Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,

the Love of God,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit,

be with you all!

Let us pray.

Almighty and Ever-Living God:

Bless our beloved Communion, our household of faith;           

Heal our divisions, that we might please you;

Renew our hearts, that we might love you;

Restore our vision that we might see you,

And lift us to new heights of Divine holiness and grace.

For You are Light and in You is no darkness at all...

therefore, You enlighten our minds

that we might have the mind of Christ.

You are Spirit without end...

therefore, we worship you in Spirit and in truth.

You are Love...

therefore, You transform us into perfect love

as we pledge to love each other.

And to Jesus, our brother,

Who lives and reigns...



Amen!

Mother Alice Bradley

Church of the Beloved ECC

Northglen, Colorado

Good Evening and

Happy 20^th Anniversary ECC Sisters and Brothers!



I’m Mother Alice Bradley of the Church of the Beloved ECC community in Northglenn CO and I’ve been invited to provide a reflection on the ECC as “Ecumenical.” 

The original Greek root word, oikos, means "house," and that grew into the word oikoumenikós, which means "the entire world." To me it is interesting to think that the etymology of the word “ecumenical” suggests, “the entire world is our house, our home.”

In the Rocky Mountain Region, our experience with ecumenism starts with sharing space. Most of our communities are nested within another Christian Church space.

For example, Mary of Magdala ECC community in Ft. Collins is in faith partnership with St Paul’s Episcopal Church, and Trinity Lutheran Church. Worshiping as individual faith communities, they share a large, lovely building and work together toward common goals in ministry and occasionally worship together.

St. Paul’s in Denver shares space with the 6^th Avenue United Church of Christ (UCC).

 Light of Christ is nested with Bethlehem Lutheran and Church of the Beloved is hosted by the Northglenn UCC.

Although usual worship is at separate times than each of our “host” churches, we work toward connection and celebration and times of shared prayer. One of my favorite times is when our community joins the Northglenn UCC for Tenebrae on Holy Thursday, and their members attend our church and participate in the Holy Thursday liturgy including the washing of feet. Ask Fr. Don Sutton about his experience with the 6^th Avenue UCC. You’ll see a depth of joy that warms your soul with ecumenical possibilities!

If you want to know about our ECC ecumenical spirit, the new book, Through an Open Door by Bishop Peter and Judith Jones is a must read. Brilliant, flowing, and easy-to-read, Bishop Peter tells us his story and ours. Included in the book is the prophetic keynote address given in 2002 at the first annual gathering of Ecumenical Catholic Communities titled, “Awake and Arise” presented Dr. Tony Battagglia, Merry’s husband who passed away last year. Dr. Battaglia discusses ecumenism as essential to the inclusive imperative of the ECC. He points out that the inclusiveness of ecumenism among Christian churches is kind of a no-brainer for us now – but that our future call to ecumenism includes connecting with broader faith communities. He states, “Our God is the God of Hindus and Buddhists, of Daoist and Confucianists, of Native Americans and similar religions everywhere. How do we include them, bridge to them? We have something to say to these neighbors, but we also have plenty to learn from them.”

I believe that the true spirit of ecumenism is lived out when each of us is faithful to the Spirit of our truest self, and extends outward, toward one another as we fulfill our baptismal call to love and be loved.

We are most at home in the entire world when the true self in me and the true self in you, connect in reverence and joy, honesty, and peace; when we share what we hold in common and are curious about and respectful of our differences.

In this place, in the ecumenical posture of the Body of Christ, we each come bathed in humility, clothed in love, and walk in justice and peace.

To end, I would like to point out that “ecumenical” is a word rich in paradox:

We are many and we are one.

We are different and the same.

We are at home everywhere and nowhere.

Grounded and always on the move.

Thus, ecumenically speaking,



the entire world is our home

and the home of the ECC is in each of us,

called by the Spirit,

connected to one another across space and time,

individuals both uniquely gifted

and intimately held together,

continually gestating in the Womb of Sophia Spirit,

called to love without end.

Amen



Let us Light Our Candles

Rev. Delores Kropf

St. Michael the Archangel

Green Valley, Arizona

God of Light,

You invite us to walk in your Light

and to be Your Light to the world

And so we Light our candles tonight 

as we celebrate 20 years of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion.

For the past 20 years the Ecumenical Catholic Communion

has been a Light to so many…

A Light in the darkness

A Light for those who had been hurt and felt abandoned,

A Light for those who had lost their way, 

A Light for those looking for hope,

A Light for those looking for a home,

a place to worship where they are loved and accepted,

no matter what their circumstances are

As we hold our lit candles tonight,

We pray that You will always be with us and guide us

That we will continue to be a Light to those searching,

That we will shine a Light for others to find their way to our door,

and that our Light will continue to grow brighter and brighter

to bring hope to all who are searching

for a Light in the Darkness.

Give us your strength and wisdom as we carry the

Light

of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion

into the future

Amen



Next in our name is the word Catholic.  

Let’s say it all together, Catholic.

Catholic with a big C.  

St. Ignatius of Antioch is the first person known to have used the word Catholic when he wrote, “where-ever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”  The origin of the word comes from Greek, and generally means “universal”.  But for us, it is also about how we experience God and our Catholic identity includes us being Eucharistic, Incarnational, Sacramental, and Graced. 

 Eucharist is at the very center of our being.  It is foundational for our gatherings in worship. We recognize Christ in the Body of Christ gathered as people, and in the Bread we break together and eat. 

Bishop Kedda Keough of the Pacific Northwest wrote about the Incarnational part of our Catholic identity stating,

"We Catholics use the stuff of creation to express mystery. 

We are earthy people and use the stuff of earth to speak to us

about God and mystery. 

We know that the way IN to people is through their senses.” 

We are the Ecumenical Catholic Communion.  

Let us sing, pray and reflect now on what it means to be Catholic.

"All Are Welcome"

Led in song with voice and guitar by

Greg Madden

Church of the Beloved

Northglen, Colorado

Let us build a house where love can dwell

And all can safely live

A place where Saints and children tell

How hearts learn to forgive

Built of hopes and dreams and visions

Rock of faith and vault of grace

Here the love of Christ shall end divisions

All are welcome,

All are welcome

All are welcome in this place

Let us build a house where prophets speak

And words are strong and true

Where all God's children dare to seek

To dream God's reign anew

Here the cross shall stand as witness

And a symbol of God's grace

Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus

All are welcome,

All are welcome

All are welcome in this place

Let us build a house where love is found

In water, wine and wheat

A banquet hall on holy ground

Where peace and justice meet

Here the love of God, through Jesus

Is revealed in time and space

As we share in Christ the feast that frees us

All are welcome,

All are welcome

All are welcome in this place



Songwriters: Paul Tate, Marty Haugen. For non-commercial use only.

Bishop Francis Krebs

St. Louis, Missouri

Let Us Pray...

Living God,

You are the infinity of authenticity.

You draw us to what is True

and to what is genuinely an expression

of your deepest intentions. 

As we commit ourselves to the Catholic nature of our calling,

we fully proclaim our desire to walk behind your Word Jesus

in a true and authentic way,

striving to live the very life,

our life,

that was passed from Jesus

to his community of apostles

and to communities of disciples

and from those early communities

to centuries of successive communities

on down to us. 

We commit to always discern

the true and authentic life

that Jesus lived with those communities,

that we may find a way to live that life in our own day,

a way that truly echoes the life

of the first communities in all their essential attributes.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the unity of the Holy Spirit be with us always! 

Amen.

On Being Catholic

Bishop Kedda Keough

Emmaus ECC

Olympia, Washington

September 2023



At the heart of what it means to be in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion is that we are Catholic. From our earliest days we have been Catholic. Our ecclesiology is Catholic. Our founders were alienated former Roman Catholics who could no longer remain within that system. They gathered in small groups and continued to express their Catholic faith as best they could. When the ordination of Mary Ramerman brought national attention to an Old Catholic bishop named Peter, a door opened before these seekers. What these Catholics discovered is a way to be Catholic, with an authentic history and theology. For many of us it felt like a secret that had been withheld or hidden. Our hearts leapt within us.

The first person we know of to use the word Catholic about the church was Ignatius of Antioch, a 2nd century bishop, in a letter he wrote before he was put to death in Rome. At this time all the followers of Christ were Catholics. The founders of the ECC did not see themselves as creating a new church or a new denomination. They were reclaiming the legacy and tradition of Catholicism at its roots and seeing themselves as continuing the Catholic tradition of the early church. For myself, I understood this as returning to an authentic Catholicism.

Being Catholic was summed up by St. Vincent of Lerins who said that what defines Catholic is “what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.” In other words, we are Catholic in so far as we continue our conversation with the past while simultaneously moving forward into the future. We share this concept with Old Catholics and Orthodox Catholics. We are open to new conversations, open to creativity, but firmly rooted in the past. As the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, we remain authentic Catholics in good faith, because we are tracing the faith and order of our Catholicism back to the beginning, to the early church.

We have a trinitarian faith. Catholic means that we are a community of love and in self-giving we participate with God, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to draw all things together into the Unity of God’s love. God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s salvation is for all of creation. Catholic means here comes not just everybody, but everything. We have unity with great diversity. Down through history we have absorbed culture and made it part of us. We are inclusive of all prayer types and spiritualities.

Because we are rooted in the Old Catholic tradition from which we get our apostolic succession, this is our main source for understanding what it means to be Catholic. It is why we encourage each other to study this tradition and encourage our members to go to Utrecht. But there are key elements to being Catholic that we feel in our Catholic souls. For example, we are a eucharistic people. All that we do flows toward the “breaking of the bread” and all we will do flows out of that eucharist. Eucharist is central to being Catholic. Being a eucharistic and liturgical people is a chief identifier of being Catholic.

People know when they are walking into a Catholic church.

We are an earthy people,

using the stuff of creation to express mystery.

We are incarnational using many symbols, movements,

and the stuff of earth to speak to us about God and mystery.

Our sacraments are transformative, celebrating change,

celebrating new life.

Our theology is a theology of communion.

God invites every kind of diversity to come into communion.

As Catholics we believe that

salvation is the same thing as communion with God

and is accomplished

through the reconciliation of broken relationships.

It is this desire for unity that makes us Catholic

because we know that salvation is for everyone,

everywhere.

The desire for unity makes one small faith community

want to be part of a diocese,

it makes a diocese want to be part of the

Ecumenical Catholic Communion,

it makes the ECC want to be part of the

National Council of Churches.

The desire for unity makes us Catholic.

Blessing as We Light Our Candles

Raul Rosario

Todos los Santos

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Santísima Trinidad,

Vivimos en un mundo que constantemente margina,

excluye

o rechaza a nuestros hermanos y hermanas

por el color de su piel,

a quien aman,

su estatus económico social

o sus orígenes étnicos.

Encendemos una vela para celebrar

con todos nuestros hermanos y hermanas

la obra de tu espíritu en medio de las tinieblas.

Encendiste un fuego dentro de un grupo de tus hijos hace más de 20 años

para reunirnos como familia,

una familia hecha de amor,

esperanza,

comprensión

e inclusión….

Una verdadera definición de lo que significa ser católico.

Nos reunimos hoy aquí tal como somos y en un solo cuerpo,

como Comunión Católica Ecuménica.

Un grupo con una visión

y una misión

para vivir y enseñar tu evangelio

sin los límites impuestos por nuestras faltas

o por nuestro mundo.

Te pedimos que nos ayudes a mantener esta luz...

para honrarlo a usted y a nuestros hermanos y hermanas.

Que nuestra luz ayude a otros a ver la tuya.

Amén

Holy Trinity,

we live in a world that constantly marginalizes,

excludes

or rejects our brothers and sisters

because of the color of their skin,

who they love,

their social economic status

or their ethnic origins.

We light a candle to celebrate

with all our brothers and sisters

the work of your spirit in the midst of darkness.

You lit a fire within a group of your children more than 20 years ago

to reunite us as a family,

a family made up of love,

hope,

understanding

and inclusion….

A true definition of what it means to be Catholic.

We meet here today as we are and in one body,

as an Ecumenical Catholic Communion....

A group with a vision

and a mission

to live and teach your gospel

without the limits imposed by our faults

or by our world.

We ask that you help us keep this light...

to honor you and our brothers and sisters.

May our light help others see yours. 

Amen.

Finally, let us focus on the word Communion.

  Let us say it together, Communion. 

We are a Communion of communities.  

The people are the church, and the church is the people.   

Our ECC constitution goes into more detail in the very first words that open the constitution where it says,

“We are People of God baptized in Christ

and professing our faith in a living Catholic tradition.

We are members of a communion of communities,

the ecclesial body herein referred to as

the “Ecumenical Catholic Communion,”

or

the “ECC,”

or

“The Communion.”

"We are lay and ordained,

joining together in response

to the messianic call of the Spirit to preach the Gospel of justice,

liberation, reconciliation and peace;

to offer a refuge in Christ for those who suffer prejudice,

exclusion, or neglect;

to be open to dialogue with others so called,

and to conform our lives

to the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”



We are the Ecumenical Catholic Communion.  

Let us sing, pray and reflect now

on what it means to be part of this Communion.

Pan de Vida

Led in song with voice and keyboard by

Mark Stenson

Light of Christ ECC

Longmont, Colorado

Fr. Scott Jenkins

Celtic Spirituality

Denver, Colorado



September19, 2003

ECC 20^th Anniversary Celebration

+ + + +

Prayer

I’d like to begin this prayer this evening in memory,

as a reminder that none of us got here by our own power.

I’d like us to re-member for a moment those who have passed from this life,

those who live in the fullness of God,

those who live in this Eternal Light,

those who have been our inspiration in our Faith.

In the spirit of communion with the Saints of Light,

Let us just speak their first names out loud all together…

The names of those people who fill our hearts with Christ’s Love.

(each speaking the names of loved ones….)

And for the many, many more we mention in the silence of our hearts,

We give you thanks.



Communion.

Lord, this is both our deepest longing and our greatest gift to offer the world.

We struggle with both,

but we are grateful for both.

May the ECC continue its work and continue to surrender,

that we might rediscover the great longing in our hearts:

to have communion with you,

with one another

and with the natural world around us

Grant us the courage to offer this deep longing and tremendous gift of communion to our lands, wherever we find ourselves.

Our lands that are filled with people who have great spiritual hunger,

who suffer all kinds of brokenness in the midst of a very divided country.

Thank you so much for the beauty and the sacrifice,

the talents,

the wisdom

of all the laity who have come to our communities

to offer their experience and skills on behalf of the work of the Gospel

Thank you for those who are ordained,

who, through the waters of their Baptism,

have found the courage to lift up the Gospel in faithfulness.

and continually answer their call with humility.

Thank you, God,

for You are the Great One who pursues us day in and day out.

May we embrace You as we embrace one another

As we embrace the world around us.

We ask this, longing for communion in our hearts with Christ our Lord…



Amen



20^th Anniversary Reflection

George Von Stamwicz

Sts. Clare & Francis ECC

St. Louis, Missouri

Last Saturday, I celebrated my wedding anniversary. During dinner, I had emotions we can all relate to: despite ups and downs, mistakes and regrets, there is a feeling at these moments of profound gratitude for the communion we share. So, as I ponder our 20^th anniversary, I would like to express some of the gratitude I am feeling for the communion we share.

Having been an invited member of the Leadership Council for most of these 20 years, I am full of gratitude for the countless hours of volunteer effort. Despite some progress in our financial life, we remain largely a volunteer army, driven forward by the passion of time and effort freely given. This is all the more remarkable as many of these volunteers have been left behind or kicked out of other ecclesial organizations yet find it in themselves to build communion anew. I am grateful.

I am grateful for the structure of communion that has evolved through this effort, a structure codified in a constitution that has and will inspire many. It is a structure that calls for laity to come together in communion with each other and from this place of communion, exercise rights as electors, legislators and guardians of finance. It call for clergy to come together and create communion with each other and from this place of communion, exercise their rights as electors, legislators and reviewers of key documents. It is a structure that calls for our Bishops to come together and create communion together and from this place of communion exercise their role as unifiers, teachers and guardians of the constitution. Everybody matters. All decisions should evolve from communion with each other. We can always make it better, but it is a prophetic structure built on communion for which we can be grateful.

I am grateful for our theology preached and practiced over the two decades. A theology not derived by long documents or expert meetings, but by observing how the communion behaves. Like the early church we had to do communion before trying to describe it, and what we have done is embrace in practice a radical inclusiveness, a radical equality, an open table, an ecumenical spirit which all point to an elevator speech that God is present in everyone, everywhere, equally. We have somehow tapped into an ancient insight of the mystical catholic tradition embodied by Francis and Clare of Assisi, St. Benedict, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton and many others: A theology that looks as much within as to the sky, a theology that says our ultimate goal is to give birth to the divine spark already given in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Like many 20 year olds we do not have a lot of experience and we do not have a lot of money. But, like a 20 year old, we are not tied down with mortgages and long term contracts.

We are free to dream, adapt and evolve.

Equipped with the passion of our members for communion, a structure based on communion and a theology of mystical communion, we can look ahead to our 40^th anniversary with hope.

We Raise Our Glass To You!

Leo Champagne and John Grady

St. Francis Ecumenical Catholic Church

Largo, Florida

To the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, the ECC, our Communion of Communities,

 “We raise our glass to you”

From where we have come from in the last 20 years and to where we are going in the future,

“We raise our glass to you”

Bishop Peter Hickman told the community of St. Francis ECC in 2014 when we started, “You are not here so much for yourselves, as for those who have yet to walk through your doors”.

So, to those who have yet to find the ECC and to walk through the doors of the churches in our Communion, no matter how large or small that church is,

“We raise our glass to you”

We in the ECC share and bring the message of Jesus Christ to those who are here with us, and to those who have yet to find us. Yes, we raise our glass to those of you here in our Communion, and to the future of the ECC.



Our Communion is now 20 years old.

May the Holy Spirit continue to be with us and guide us,

as we make our way going forward,

for the next 20 years and beyond.

To the future of the ECC,

“We raise our glass to you”

No Church Gathering is complete unless there are...

Announcements!

John and Bea Phelps

Guardian Angels Catholic Community

Tempe, Arizona

Truth & Reconciliation Commission

Good evening to everyone!

I am John Phelps, and this is my wife, Bea.

The World Council of Churches issued a challenge to Bishop Francis a few years ago, asking him about the racial inequity in America. Huge topic. Our Bishop did not shy away. He commissioned Deacon Joan Crawford to begin a group and we became the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the ECC.

Part of what we have done and one of our primary goals was to script an Anti-Racism Statement for our church. It is something that can be read and shared with all of our ecumenical brothers and sisters. 

The first meeting we had was in June of 2017. We have read books, watched movies and had all sorts of discussions concerning this. We meet monthly.

 One of the things we are currently doing, we took on what I think is a monumental task. We are privileged and we are lucky that this falls right into place. I would like to invite every one of you to join us tomorrow evening, Sept 20, as well as Sept 27 as we delve into discussing The 1619 Project.

I’m not certain as to how many of you are familiar with this work. I will tell you…it is not an easy task. It causes every emotion you might have to be displayed. I have cried. I have smiled. Very little to really laugh about because it is such deep thoughts. It challenges. It calls the need to question my beliefs, my feelings, and where we are going.

So, if you have the time and you can make the time, please join us for this discussion. It is not for the meek, it is not for the weak of heart but we have to start somewhere. Perhaps you, like I, have questioned why we have not moved forward as a people, as Christian people, as people of Love, as Followers of Jesus, how we have not moved beyond from where we are. It has indeed been one step forward and 3 steps backwards. I question...what am I doing? Have I done enough? I question humanity and, for the life of me, I cannot understand how we can treat each other the way that we do.

Jesus was about LOVE and we’ve got to get there!

The way we get to LOVE is through TRUTH.

What we intend to do is to bring truth to the LIGHT. Deal with whatever it is. Because we cannot solve problems without addressing and acknowledging the truth. 

So, if you can, please join us.

Help us as we try to understand where we are in this country and where we are going.

+ + + +

We will also have a PILGRIMAGE we are planning for 2025 to the City of Montgomery Alabama.

We are going to need help. So, if any of you are versed in event planning, we plan to call upon your expertise to assist us as we make arrangements to make this pilgrimage, to visit locations, to understand what happened, to have a real feel for what was going on that particular time as we continue to work towards equal justice for everyone.

And we will continue in that endeavor.

Thank you for your attention.

For more information: jennlay331@gmail.com

Read the ECC Anti-Racism Statement here.

If you were unable to attend our Zoom gathering, but would like to continue in our discussion, please feel free to contact us: jennlay331@gmail.com

Please mark your calendars now for the

ECC Holy Synod of 2024

Dates

Friday October 11 through Monday October 14th.  

Location

YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado.   

Start planning who your community delegates to the House of Laity and House of Pastors will be.     

Be watching our Newsletters in the months ahead for more information!



Bishop Frank Krebs

St. Louis, Missouri

Bishop Peter Hickman will forever be remembered among us as playing a pivotal role in the founding of the ECC.

In 2018, three years after stepping aside from 12 years of service as Presiding Bishop, Bishop Peter suffered a couple of strokes. When Peter had regained a good deal of his abilities and was anxious to serve again, the Council of Bishops proposed an idea to him of putting his story in writing along with the story of the beginnings of the ECC. Peter accepted the idea and began working with Judith Jones a writer/editor in Seattle, and a friend of Bishop Kedda. 

As the project evolved, Judith wanted to include the voices of others in the Communion so that the book would show forth what I would call the conversation that is our Communion, like jazz musicians making music together with our different contributions on various themes.

The end product definitely expresses Peter’s own story in Peter’s own words. It goes from there to be an occasion for others to chime in. It is not meant to be some definitive expression of all things ECC. But I believe it beautifully expresses both Peter’s own life in his own words AND that the Ecumenical Catholic Comunion is and hopefully always will be a Holy Conversation among many voices who riff on the themes of our founding and themes that have developed along the way.

We are very happy with this book which is entitled, “Through an Open Door, a Life and a Ministry.” It is available on Amazon in paperback (for $19.95) and through Kindle as well as through Barnes & Noble. Proceeds from the book go to the ECC, not to Amazon. 

It is a perfect read for our 20^th anniversary. I recommend it to you. And I thank Bishop Peter, the donors who made it possible, and all those who contributed their reflections that made up the conversation, and Judith Jones who worked tirelessly on this project. 

Carolyn Sue Cecil will be giving us links to the Amazon site as well as Barnes & Noble with other pertinent information by both posting on the ECC Facebook page and by sending out a Constant Contact email blast to all attendees of the last two synods. 

I’m sure you will enjoy this book!



You can order through Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Through-Open-Door-Life-Ministry/dp/B0CFZJK474/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1693256651&sr=1-2

Barnes & Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Peter%20Hickman



or

If you would like to support your favorite local bookstore,

ask them to order a copy for you!



Rev. Teri Harroun

Light of Christ ECC

Longmont, Colorado



“our God is a Poet”

(Adapted for the 20^th Anniversary of the ECC)

in the beginning

was God:

the God of all beginnings

in the beginning

was a single stone

with jagged edges

to break stained glass ceilings

a rock of faith

a faith that rocks

building one brick at a time

a communion of communities

in the beginning

was a single word

whispered

and heard

by two or three who gathered together

to experience God swaddled in flesh and bones

and starting a conversation

of ecumenical proportions

in the beginning

was a single table

with an empty chair

for everyone

and there was bread and there was wine

the scent of all are welcome in what is blessed and broken

revealing a God who presides

at all tables

and our lives blessed and broken

in the beginning

was a breath

an inhale

with our ancestors

and our families

and all those yet to be,

a holy communion

of saints

praying and playing

in the beginning

was grace begetting

sacramental justice the heartbeat

of love working in the streets

building up the kin-dom

revealing God’s new beginnings

oh God of all beginnings,

as we lean forward together from our beginning

blessed be this day beginning

blessed be this 20^th anniversary where past and future brush up against one another

blessed be the Ecumenical Catholic Communion

blessed be the ones we serve, and share our stories with

blessed be the work we join hands to share

blessed be the roots stretching deeper

blessed be the wings emerging

blessed be the glasses we raise here

blessed be the song we sing together

blessed be the prayer God’s planted within us

blessed be

blessed be

blessed be

blessed be the God who is our beginning

is now

and ever shall be

beginning

blessed be

by Teri Harroun

for the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion

October 2020

Let Us Pray....

I am going to invite everyone to pray together now

If you would like ….  lift up your hands.

I am going to ask you to close your eyes…

to open your heart 

your spirit, 

your soul, 

your mind

to the deepest possible place…

We give You thanks, Holy Beloved God,

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, for being with us this evening.

We thank You for being with us in all these years

that You have journeyed with us

that have called us forth

that have called us into being.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you, Spirit of God 

for filling our lives and our hearts

and giving us a way forward. 

When many of us felt lost, abandoned and discarded,

thank you for giving us a home.

Thank you!

Thank you, Holy One!

We pray this evening that You would anoint us anew

with Your spirit,

that You would empower us to be 

Your light,

Your grace

Your mercy,

Your compassion

Your call to justice in our world.

We pray we would reach out and be connected to those 

who have been marginalized,

those who the world considers to be “less than”

We pray that You would call us into the deepest possible relationship with You, and in union with You.

We pray that, in this union with You, 

in our reaching out 

and in our building of our communities

 people will find us and see that we are Your Light.

They will walk into our communities and feel

OH MY GOSH, look at the LOVE they have for one another!

Look how they forgive one another!

Look how they encourage one another

And serve one another!

We pray that You would bless our minds 

with an openness to keep on studying

to find the truth that is so available to us.

We pray for the openness to hear

how You would like to lead us and teach us about the past

and the way forward.

We pray for the openness to see the injustices 

caused by empire building,

repent from it

and be a part of this wave of transformation of our societies.

Thank you, God.

May be our lives this evening be filled with an ongoing openness

To each other

To hearing each other’s stories

And to being blessed by the presence of each one of us



Peace and grace and mercy and goodness be upon all of us

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.



Amen.



Rev. Michael Kieran Seger, OSB

Prayer for the 20^th Anniversary of the

Ecumenical Catholic Communion

September 19, 2023

Colorful God,

every skin tone of humanity is your skin tone,

every color and style of hair is your hair,

every spectrum of color produced by a prism is your color,

and colors of pride is you.

With your amazing spirit,

we have become

a Communion of colorful Faith Communities,

led by colorful spiritual leaders,

and colorful people who gather for liturgy, prayer,

good conversation, and relationship building.

Together, each faith community

is a part of a beautiful stained-glass window

showing forth the colorful brilliance of the Son/Sun

….. the Christ.

Your Spirit empowers each one of us to preach the Gospel

with not only word,

but with action.

We are people committed to the work of justice,

liberation,

reconciliation,

and peacemaking.

We, our Communities, are safe harbors

who welcome those who suffer prejudice of all kinds,

exclusion and abuse,

neglect and harshness from other churches

and peoples who are hurtful and judgmental.

We are a Communion,

 Reflecting the communion of You, God of three persons.

Like the wonderful spirit-inspired icon of the Trinity by Rublev,

there is a place for all your people at our communion table,

as we have a place at the communion table

of Your magnificent divine fellowship.

As we emerge from our youth into young adulthood as a Communion,

and move in wisdom and age in the next 20 and 40 years,

steer us in the direction

of being the kind of people and Communion

that You envision us to be,

leading us forward to discern Your Will for us

and to do the work You desire us to do.

There is an enormous amount of people

who have discontinued attending a faith community,

those who are disenfranchised

and those who totally walked away from the church.

What is our calling,

our mission,

our purpose among them, dear God?

Help us to discern that

as an ecclesial body seeking your wisdom

and the seasons of your caring love.

In our dialogue and conversation with other,

may we always listen with the ear of the heart,

which St. Benedict instructs us,

and like St. Francis who knelt before the San Damiano Cross,

may we hear those same words,

“go out and build up my church, for it has declined.”

Especially during our various gatherings in our communities,

among our communities and during our times of synod,

keep us united,

faithful to our inherited Catholic Tradition,

and rooted in the radicalness of the Gospel.

We pray as always in your most holy name.

Amen

At this time, we’ll break into Breakout Rooms where people will be able to share and meet new people to share their stories about how they came to the ECC, what has given them life and what continually brings hope to their lives by being part of us

We will do this for 30 minutes then return here for our closing prayer with Fr. Frank Quintana.



Fr. Frank Quintana, OFR

Church of the Beloved

Denver, Colorado

Let us Pray on this Anniversary Day.

Our hearts are filled with gratitude.

We praise you for all the joy we have

in all these past 20 years in our Beloved Communion

within the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church.

We pray for all those, together,

who make up this Communion of communities.

We ARE your people

.and our Communion is a real home for those who share its life.

We pray in gratitude for Bishop Peter,

who, like the first Peter,

led our Communion in its infancy

and brought us to a place where we were called,

where we could stand firm.

Gratitude for all those priests and deacons

who advised and consulted with him

We praise you!

We pray in gratitude for Bishop Francis

who, like Francis of Assisi

heeded the call to build Christ’s Church. 

We thank you for the strides made through his leadership.

We thank you for Bishop Pablo

who, like Paul the Apostle,

is filled with missionary zeal

and an apostolic motivation for evangelization.

.

For all our Bishops,

we ask that you bless them with longevity, health and fruitful ministry

We especially remember Kae, who celebrates her second anniversary

in the Episcopate today

For all our priests and deacons, pour out your spirit

that Sophia may guide them.

Imbue them with strength

And, since the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,

grant that none of your priests or deacons

be overbooked with viable ministry

Lord, we give thanks for their work and witness.

Lord, we exalt you with the women and men of this Communion 

who sustain this family of faith.

For those who provide us with music,

Those who enhance our worship with their decoration

and environment ministry,

And we thank you for those who serve

in various offices of administration and governance.

They are the ones who keep the vision and work alive.

Increase their members.

Multiply them as you multiplied the fish caught up in the nets.

Especially we pray for our young.

We thank you for their candor and honesty.

May yourSpirit draw them to conversion

that we may be revived and revitalized.

Draw many vocations to us from their number

that they may keep our vision robust.

Grant that day by day we grow as a family

And that we work together towards justice,

righteousness,

and

equality

May we always draw in diversity.

May we always overturn oppression,

marginalization and strife.

May we build the vision of our Beloved Communion

through Christ, our Lord and Brother

Amen

I want to thank everyone for being here and joining us!

What a blessing!

It makes me so proud and happy to be connected to you

and the ways that you shine your light.

Thanks to Fr. Teri for helping to organize this,

To Therese, Claudia,

To Carolyn Sue, Mallory.

Thanks to all the presenters, the musicians,

those who prayed, 

and those who raised their candles and their toast.

What a blessing!

Happy 20th Anniversary, ECC!

Thank you to everyone for coming!

I look forward to our next gathering!

Buenos noches!

Good Night!

Bishop Paul J. Burson

Presiding Bishop

BishopPaul@ecumenicalcatholics.net

303-587-7961



Photo by Bishop Pablo Burson, July 4, 2023, Juneau, Alaska

Please enjoy sharing our Special Edition of the OPB Newsletter celebrating ECC's 20th Anniversary!