Promoting Better Cooperation Among Christian Churches, Part IV

This series began as a commentary on the state of the ecumenical movement. After additional reading on the subject and further reflection, I am coming to the conclusion that maybe we are about done with the word “ecumenism,” especially from an evangelical perspective.

The word itself is associated these days with mainline Protestantism and liberalism, probably related to the decline of denominationalism and religious institutionalism.

That is not to say that there are not significant things happening in the Christian world that have to do with Christians working together.

My wife and I were privileged in 1997 to host overnight a Christian worker, Wilson, from Rwanda. Our church at the time, St. Luke’s United Methodist in Kokomo, Indiana, was involved with a mission organization training developing world Christians on how to function with the barest of resources (farming, well digging, building, etc.)

There was a training center in Michigan. A carload of newly-arrived trainees was traveling cross country and, in order to save lodging costs, we were asked if we could house the travelers overnight. Our guest, Wilson, ran an orphanage in Rwanda, which had just experienced its terrible civil war, in which nearly a million had been killed (thus the need for the orphanage). It was a great humanitarian crisis.

Wilson arrived in late afternoon and since there were still several hours of sunlight I offered to introduce him to America by giving him a tour of the area.

Since Rwanda is largely rural, I thought perhaps he would be interested in farms and farming. And so we toured some rural areas and I gave commentary on how Americans farmed. We saw 100-acre fields of corn, silos, granaries, barns, cattle operations, and grain trucks. I commented on a tractor that probably cost $300,000. I then was sorry I said that because I knew such a sum would probably operate his orphanage for five years.

When we were done in the countryside, I showed him the city: factories, marvelous churches, parks, ball diamonds, and baseball games underway. We visited a shopping mall and modern stores and the library and the court house. We saw the high school and the gymnasium that, Indiana style, could seat 7,000 for basketball games. Wilson hardly spoke a word.

Then, while traveling up Washington Street in downtown Kokomo, we came to a former funeral home with some men milling about. A 16-foot plywood cut-out of Jesus with arms open wide stood adjacent to a sign reading “Jesus Saves.”

Suddenly, Wilson was agitated: “What’s that?” I responded that this was our Rescue Mission.

“What do they do?” Wilson asked. I responded that those who are hungry can come to the mission at noon and in the evening for food. Those without lodging can stay inside the building. Those in trouble, like the recently jailed, can get classes. Chapel services were offered in the evening so that people can accept Christ.

“How much does it cost?” Wilson asked. Well, nothing, I replied. “Nothing?” Nothing. “Who does this?” Churches, the Christian people of this area. They pay for this. The government pays nothing.

We talked some more. I felt quite guilty for not realizing that this was the place I should have brought Wilson to at the beginning.” I was, after all, a member of the board of the mission. Wilson asked a lot of questions, about hungry people, about the homeless, about people who had been in jail.

Wilson was silent for a time. Finally, he made a comment.

“America is a great nation.”

Of course. Why was I not thinking in that way? Did I not also believe what Wilson had voiced? If America was great it was not because of 100-acre corn fields, or barns that held 50 cattle, or $300,000 tractors, or churches with tall steeples, or school gymnasiums that could seat 7,000 people, or impressive court houses, or ball games in the park. No, if America had anything about it that might be considered as great, it was because it was here that ordinary people sought to be faithful to the words of Jesus: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (Mt. 25:35-36).

I might have told more. The mission was not planned by the federal, state, or even local government. It was not launched by any council of churches or church bureaucrats or denominational committees or bishops. The mission dates its beginning to 1953 when the women’s group of Zion Evangelical United Brethren Church, a rural, open country church, was discussing the problems of hunger and homelessness in the area and decided to do something.

They began serving meals, then expanding to offer housing for homeless men. Their enthusiasm was catching and soon other churches were helping. After some time they organized a rescue mission and hired staff.

Interestingly, none of the early directors were clergy. Nor were they known as community leaders. Sam Hannagan, the first director, was a former postal employee,  Robert Lundeen, who served as director at age 31, had served in the army. Ken Beals had been a barber. Bob Cox had been a fireman. Van Taylor had been a farmer. None were professionally trained, but what they lacked in training they made up in zeal for the work. They, and the church people who supported the mission, were ordinary Christians trying to follow the teachings of Jesus. The mission at the beginning operated in several different houses or store fronts until they were able to purchase the old funeral home. In 1979 the mission purchased a home to minister to women and women with children. In 1983, the mission housed over 4,000 men, served 74,000 free meals and had housed 345 families in the family house. In 1987 the mission assembled and delivered 1,650 Christmas boxes to homes in the community. The collection of donations, wrapping of presents, filling of boxes, and delivery to families was almost entirely done by volunteers from churches. In 1998, the mission raised $1.9 million to erect a new building (to go with 5 or 6 warehouses and thrift stores and women’s shelters already part of the complex). The 16-foot plywood cut-out of Jesus, not exactly a great work of art, was replaced by a 16-foot masonry image of Jesus.

I was not linking “ecumenism“ and our Rescue Mission in those days. But the longer I was involved with the mission (I chaired the board from 2002-2011) I grew more convinced that besides World Councils of Churches and National Councils and State Councils, the ordinary Christian outreach of local churches and individuals is also a part of the united effort of Christian world outreach. And what the mission was doing (and many other ministries like it) was an entirely different way of service. It was not just talking about social and physical and spiritual needs, it was feet-on-the-ground service. I remember being at a church conference where poverty was discussed and what the church and/or the government should be doing. This discussion was taking place among persons who at that very moment were staying in hotel rooms that cost $130 a night. What about ordinary people sacrificing time and resources to serve those in need?

The ecumenism of the Rescue Mission is different from that of the mainline churches. At the mission one can find progressive and fundamentalist Christians talking together about serving others. Here one can find high church Episcopalians and Roman Catholics working side by side with low church Baptists. Here one observes bank presidents assembling Christmas boxes with hourly factory workers. When I was president of the mission board, I visited many churches. The churches that received recognition for fundraising and volunteering were not always big churches in the city, but often small town and rural churches. One year, the church that received the award for raising the most money for our “Walk a Mile” fundraising effort, was a country Pentecostal Church (I visited the church to present the award on a Sunday morning and was blessed in a three-hour and twenty-minute service.)

At the present moment the mission is expanding again, this time with a $10 million building. Helping in the effort are 586 churches in our six-county area. Also helping are other non-church groups caught up in the outreach of the mission. Other outreach ministries are operating around the world.  I read somewhere that there are now 70,000 Americans serving in mission-related work overseas. Most are no longer associated with mainline denominations. Megachurches have their own mission outreach. I have grandchildren and great-nieces and nephews who speak of mission trips, in the U.S. and overseas, mostly with parachurch groups.

In a time of declining church attendance and growing agnosticism in America, there are reasons for hope.

Riley B. Case is a retired United Methodist clergy member of the Indiana Conference.

More:

‘Covenant Communion’ and the Failure of Quasi-Mergers

Promoting Better Cooperation Among Christian Churches

Promoting Better Cooperation Among Christian Churches, Part III