Rev. Jeff Markay, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of Chatham, didn’t expect to befriend a Catholic priest from the Vatican while attending the World Methodist Council in Sweden last summer.
At the Protestant minister’s invitation, the priest, Benedictine Father Martin Browne from the Vatican’s Dicastery of Promoting Christian Unity, preached at United Methodist during his visit to Morristown last October.
“I can’t tell you how many people came up to us after that worship service, Catholics and Protestants, and said, ‘Seeing you two bless one another and respect one another was a glimpse of the kingdom of God,'” Rev. Markey said.
Rev. Markay spoke about how his hope in Christ and local interreligious efforts are helping to build God’s kingdom during the inaugural Roundtable of Christian Unity event on March 16 at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Wayne. The well-attended event showed hope and ecumenicism active in the local Christian community.
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As part of its observances for the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, the Paterson Diocese has been sponsoring a roundtable in each of its three counties over the three remaining Sundays in March. They provide an opportunity to listen, share, and learn from one another. These informal gatherings include a panel discussion with local Christian leaders and small-group sharing.
The remaining roundtables will be held on March 23 at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany and March 30 at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Sparta. Each event will be from 4 to 6 p.m. The sessions follow the same format, with different panelists available.
On March 16, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney said differences among Christians have prevented them from realizing Jesus’ prayer “that all of them may be one.”
“We need to be together and lead by example, focusing on what we have in common, especially that love that Jesus calls us to live,” Bishop Sweeney said. “I’m filled with hope that this [roundtable] is just the beginning of something wonderful that will be a blessing for all of us — all Christians and all the people that live in these three counties. Let’s keep walking together in hope and praying with one another.”
The roundtables are also a way for the diocese to invite Christians everywhere to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in a spirit of receptive ecumenism.
The events are 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.
Another roundtable panelist, Jan Figenshu, recently found hope in preparing Abbey and Penny, two granddaughters, almost 12 and 15, to receive their first Holy Communion during the Easter Vigil. She volunteers at St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson and has 23 years of Catholic pastoral experience.
“Knowing they are beloved sons and daughters will help kids through trials when they can place their hope in the Lord. I know it’s more complicated than that, but I am happy Penny and Abbey have found an anchor, the symbol of hope, to keep them afloat,” Figenshu said.
Rev. Susan R. Ironside, a panelist and rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, experienced ecumenical hope during COVID-19. Local Christian leaders gathered weekly on Zoom to pray.
“Even in the world that is so vastly divided, we have this steadfast belief that even in the face of terrifying things, we have Jesus and each other, and somehow, someway, that’s always enough,” Rev. Ironside said.
Msgr. Raymond Kupke, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, historian, and diocesan archivist, spoke about the First Council of Nicaea, which gave Christianity a common creed.
The priest also talked about the modern history of ecumenicism, starting with the sinking of the troop ship, the S.S. Dorchester, in 1943 in the North Atlantic during the Second World War. Four chaplains — two Protestants, a Jew, and a Catholic — handed out life vests and then gave up theirs for others, dooming them to death. They were last seen, arm in arm, praying together on the ship as it sank. This event influenced ecumenicism for decades, he said.
“It’s meetings like this that help us realize what a gift this opportunity is and to help us to rededicate ourselves to moving it forward until the next level…certainly in the year of hope,” Msgr. Kupke said.
Msgr. Kupke said that this year, all Christian denominations will celebrate Easter on the same day, Sunday, April 20. The date is set due to a rare alignment of the lunar cycles.
Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and Our Lady of Pompei Parish, also in Paterson, spoke about the Jubilee Year and the roundtable’s purpose. He is coordinating the events with Msgr. Kupke, and Figenshu. The two priests also lead the diocesan ecumenical observances for the holy year.
One participant, Matthew Bradford of St. Gerard Parish in Paterson, lived ecumenically. Raised in the Church of England in the United Kingdom, he became a Catholic, his wife Mary’s faith, in 2015.
At his former parish, St. Vincent Martyr in Madison, Bradford got involved in the synodal process of the Synod on Synodality, which other Christian churches joined. He also led Alpha, which helps people deepen their relationship with God. He invited nearby Presbyterians.
“We welcomed conversations sharing our traditions. It made us ask, ‘What divisions?’ We wondered if we could pray together. We could — and did,” said Bradford, a father of three.
Learn more about the remaining roundtables and register.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
