Christians of all denominations are invited to share their perspectives about having hope in Christ during any of three Christian Unity Roundtable events by the Paterson Diocese, one in each of the diocese’s three counties, to be held on the remaining Sundays in March.
The roundtables will provide an opportunity for people of Christian faiths to listen, share, and learn from one another. These informal gatherings will include a panel discussion with local Christian leaders, a question-and-answer period, and small-group sharing.
As part of the diocese’s observances for the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, the roundtables will be held on Sundays, March 16 in Passaic County at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Wayne, March 23 in Morris County at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany, and March 30 in Sussex County at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Sparta. Each event will occur from 4 to 6 p.m.
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. It’s a practice of mutual listening, learning, and understanding that encourages unity among denominations.
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.
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Each session will follow the same format with different panelists as available. The speakers will include the following:
- Sister of Charity Rosemary Moynihan, vice president of mission integration of Trinitas Regional Medical Center,
- Rev. Susan R. Ironside, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison,
- Rev. Jeff Markay, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of Chatham,
- Rev. Elizabeth Ivell, rector of the Church of the Messiah in Chester and St. Mary’s in Sparta, and
- Jan Figenshu, volunteers at her Roman Catholic parish of St. Gerard Majella in Paterson and has 27 years of Catholic pastoral experience.
“St. Paul writes that three things remain: faith, hope, and love, the greatest being love. Hope gets lost in the middle, but it’s the driving force behind love. Hope is the foundation of who we are as Christians,” Figenshu said.
Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and Our Lady of Pompei Parish, also in Paterson, will give an introduction about the Jubilee Year at the roundtables. Msgr. Raymond Kupke, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne and the diocesan archivist, will speak about the Council of Nicaea. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney is scheduled to visit and speak at the roundtables.
Msgr. Kupke and Msgr. Hundt coordinate the roundtables with Figenshu. The two priests also lead the diocesan ecumenical observances for the holy year.
“We want to spark a conversation among people of different Christian denominations about their hope in Christ from their faith traditions. They are also encouraged to reflect on hope as the impetus for working together to create a world closer to the kingdom of God in heaven,” Msgr. Hundt said.
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