Remarks by the Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler

105^th annual meeting of the

Massachusetts Council of Churches

January 20, 2007

One of the books I read after becoming executive director was Thriving on Chaos by Tom Peters.  People who know me may think this was a curious choice.  I like order, structure, and predictability.  I resonate with the Creation story when God starts with chaos and whips it into shape!  I ordinarily do not thrive on chaos, and I wasn’t sure that religious institutions did, either.

But I have seen the wisdom in Tom Peter’s idea.  If the mandate of an association is clear, its mission can be fulfilled in a variety of ways.  When one approach stops working, slough it off and try something new.  Just keep the vision constant. 

Councils of churches always are in a process of transition.  This sometimes can feel chaotic, but as long as the Gospel’s reconciling message guides everything a council of churches says and does, then being organizationally nimble is a sign of its strength.

Whether or not the Board of Directors was ready, I initiated some chaos last March by announcing my retirement at the end of June.  I fully expect that the Council will continue to thrive.  The transition probably will be disorienting. Change feels that way.   It’s possible that economic realities may prompt decisions down the road about the Council’s organizational structure. But because the members of the Search Committee and the Board of Directors are clear about the reconciling mission of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, all will be well.  

This Council is part of a world-wide ecumenical pilgrimage, now over a century old.  In some ways, this pilgrimage is similar to a Medieval spiritual quest.  In the Middle Ages, pilgrims didn’t have detailed tour books.  They had no travel agent to help them plan their itinerary.  The roads were unpredictable.  Nevertheless they went, trusting that Jesus Christ was with them as guide and companion on the way. 

That is how it is for modern ecumenical pilgrims.  The movement is global, but its size is modest.   Ecumenists are a prophetic minority.  The quest for healing divisions among Christians for the sake of the world sometimes takes us into unfamiliar territory.  We can’t see the outcome through the fog. 

It always has been this way. It helps to remember this so we don’t feel odd or impatient.  And yet this reconciling impulse is essential.  It’s at the core of what it means to be Christian.

Because this mandate is in constant danger of being extinguished, individuals and churches need structures like the Massachusetts Council of Churches to keep the vision focused, to serve as an advocate and witness.  If this Council didn’t exist, you’d have to invent it.   The Council provides systems to help people and churches live out their commitments to each other in this place.  Envoys for Ecumenism, an intentional association of individuals formed in 1991, gives ecumenical advocates a sense of solidarity.  The Northeast Ecumenical Institute, which will be held this coming May, transmits the ecumenical tradition to new generations.  The Strategy and Action Commission, staffed by our competent Associate Director Laura Everett, provides a means for the churches to speak with a common voice in the public arena.  The new power-point titled “Building a Culture of Peace,” created by intern Maggie Keelan, gives groups a way to move from ideas to action during what the World Council of Churches calls the Decade to Overcome Violence.  The Commission on Christian Unity deals with challenging issues, like basic understandings of human nature that impact everything from our approach to people with disabilities to developments in genetics.  Our interfaith dialogues with Jews and Muslims, enabled by our committed Adjunct Associate Director Carol Flett working with Fr. David Michael from the Archdiocese of Boston, has used “holy listening” as a means to speak about tender issues in the Middle East.  The Board of Directors enables representatives to explore issues with civility when they disagree—even issues as tough as those posed by disagreements about human sexuality.  These are some of the structures of reconciliation you have in place through this Council.  And we manage to do all this on a very modest budget.

 Are our churches making full use of these means of reconciliation?  The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a good opportunity for an examination of conscience.  How are we glorifying God by our ministries of reconciliation?  How have our churches, together through the Council, improved the climate for reconciliation in Massachusetts in this past year?  Have we removed any barriers between Christians? Have we strengthened our relationships with each other?  How about our connections with people of other faiths?  Have we erected any new barriers that call for repentance?  What are we going to do about this Gospel call next year?  The Week of Prayer, during which we schedule this annual meeting, provides an opportunity to recommit ourselves to be agents of reconciliation in the coming year.

This is especially important in a society where civility is in short supply, and where violent responses to threat may be the first, rather than the last, resort. If disagreements arise, even in the church, we may de-humanize those with whom we differ.  When we do not address conflict in healthy ways, innocents become the victims.

I see my own need for reformation.  We live in such a combative society that we sometimes are complicit without being aware of it.  I grew up in Ohio.  My 91-year-old Mother still lives there.  A few years ago, rather than flying, I drove to visit her.  I took my Boston driving habits with me.  I was at a stoplight in my hometown of Elyria.  When the light turned green, the car in the oncoming lane sat there, so I did what any self-respecting Boston driver would do.  I turned left.  We expect it.  But in Ohio, that was considered very rude.  I had become so accustomed to the dodgem-like approach to driving in Massachusetts that I had lost touch with driving etiquette (let alone, the law).  This is a small example to make a big point. 

       Just as it took a visit to Ohio to recognize my sloppy Massachusetts driving habits, sometimes we have to get outside our own religious contexts to become conscious of the ways that we mirror this culture of division.  This is not easy or automatic.  The Gospels wouldn’t spend so much time talking about peace-making if it were.  All of us tend to be comfortable with who we know, what we know, and why we think we know it.  We don’t like our assumptions challenged.  It can make us uneasy. 

       The Gospels caution us, however, that aloof toleration isn’t good enough.  We are called to get into each other’s skin—to identify with the other.  This might make us squirm, just as Jesus’ companions did when he associated with those on the margins of society.  I have learned, however, that if I stick with it—if I try to get to know another person in his or her humanity—I often am the one who receives the blessing.  The Spirit of Christ is present in the encounter.  Participation in the ecumenical movement involves a steady striving for coherence between faith and action.  The quest for Christian unity is a challenge to a Christian conscience that settles too readily for things as they are. Councils of churches help us to get outside our familiar denominational skin.  This is a counter-cultural approach that offers a constructive corrective to divisions in religion and society.  And in these dire days, the world desperately needs people with a reconciling spirit. 

       As Christians called to the Jesus life-style, we are counter witnesses to everything in this world that would pull us apart.  When we are tempted to define ourselves by saying “we are not like them!,” the ecumenical movement remind us that what unites us is far greater than what divides.  When we disagree, our faith keeps drawing us back to the table to find honorable ways through our differences.  When we see conflicts—sometimes bloody conflicts that threaten to rend the world—we seek peace with justice. 

       Jesus was a reconciler.  We can be, too.

       I have been at your service as an ecumenical professional for thirty-two years now.  I have learned a lot from you.  My heart swells with gratitude for the gifts of the Spirit you have shared with me and with each other out of the rich and diverse spiritual traditions we share through Christ.  I always will carry you in my heart with respect, affection, and gratitude. And I will remember you in my prayers, echoing the words of the Apostle Paul: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”