Once again, local religious leaders led fruitful ecumenical discussions about their shared hope in Jesus with participating Christians of all denominations during the Paterson Diocese’s final Christian Unity Roundtable event on March 30 at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Sparta.
Panelists Sister of Charity Rosemary Moynihan, vice president of mission integration of Trinitas Regional Medical Center; Rev. Elizabeth Ivell, rector of the Church of the Messiah in Chester and St. Mary’s in Sparta; and Rev. Jeff Markay, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of Chatham, were panelists for the March 30 event. Each shared their perspectives about having hope in Christ.
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As part of its observances for the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, the diocese held three roundtables on Sundays in March, each in a parish in its three counties. Previous events occurred at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Wayne and St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany.
The roundtables allowed people of Christian faiths to listen, share, and learn from one another. These informal gatherings included a panel discussion with local Christian leaders, a question-and-answer period, and small-group sharing.
The events were designed to lead to the diocesan Jubilee of Christian Unity ecumenical prayer service at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson at 3 p.m. on June 22, the feast of Corpus Christi. They were designed to invite Christians everywhere to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard Majella and Our Lady of Pompei parishes, both in Paterson, spoke about the Jubilee Year. Msgr. Raymond Kupke, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne and diocesan archivist, discussed the Council of Nicaea. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney attended the roundtable and spoke about hope and ecumenicism.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
