Praying
for unity
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
PHILADELPHIA — Father James T. McGuinn, 47, pastor of St. Mary of
the Assumption Parish, doesn’t just practice ecumenism during the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from Jan. 18 to Jan. 25.
For him, it has become a way of life.
As a member of the Manayunk/Roxborough ministerium, he meets every Thursday
morning with 10 to 20 other clergymen, for prayer and worship. He is the
sole Catholic among a group that includes Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist,
independent, Lutheran, nondenominational and Salvation Army churchmen,
among others.
“We take turns leading the prayer, and fill each other in on what’s
happening at our church,” Father McGuinn said. “We also pray
for each other.”
Father McGuinn considers ecumenism part of the evangelical mission of
the Church. In fact, he describes it as “intermediate evangelization
— bringing Christians together.”
A product of St. Helena School and Cardinal Doughtery High School, Father
McGuinn always had an interest in ecumenism, but putting it into practice
has been a recent development. He was not a founding member of the ministerium,
but ever since he was invited to join about a year ago he has put his
heart into it, even to the point of inviting other Christian pastors to
join.
“We respect our differences, but we always stress what we share
in common,” he said.
As well as attending their weekly meeting, the members of the ministerium
also invite one another to evening prayer services at their churches,
after which there may be a question-and-answer period.
“I went to Pilgrim Presbyterian Church one evening,” Father
McGuinn said. “It started off with a prayer service, and there were
refreshments in the church’s fellowship hall, with Catholics and
Presbyterians sitting together.”
Other recent initiatives have included a dinner for the pastors and their
wives at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish to say farewell to a member
who was leaving the area for a new post. “Many of the people had
never been in a Catholic rectory before,” Father McGuinn said.
On Jan. 12, his parish was also scheduled to host a Christian men’s
ecumenical prayer breakfast — which was expected to draw a large
crowd — and on Jan. 17, a ministerium retreat day will be held at
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
Father McGuinn said there is genuine curiosity about Catholicism among
Protestants. At the same time, he is learning to appreciate better the
differences between the various Christian denominations.
“As Catholics we have good theology. They have good methodology,”
he said. In other words, the teachings of the Church are sound, but we
can learn from others how to be better evangelists of those teachings.
Although the ecumenical movement traces back centuries, the Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity was instituted 100 years ago through the efforts of
Father Paul Wattson, a convert from Episcopalianism and the founder of
the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement (Graymoor Friars). The week ends
every year on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.