Catholic parish, Reformed church join for events

The group sponsors talks, workshops, Bible study and pulpit exchanges to help facilitate ecumenical dialogue among Catholics and Reformed Church members. The events have helped parishioners from the two churches form friendships based in faith, according to Kathy Underwood, committee chairwoman from St. Catherine's.

"It's been very rewarding, and the people from Bethany Reformed are our friends," she said. "This has been a very good experience, and I'm sure it will continue to grow."

Working as one

The committee plans events centered around ecumenical or interfaith themes, such as the pulpit exchange between Rev. Kenneth Doyle, pastor of St. Catherine's, and Robert Peterson, former pastor of Bethany Reformed, during Christian Unity Week.

Each minister gave the homily at the other's parish, and this worked out well because the Scripture readings for both faiths coincided.

Joint activity

He remembers the first phone message he got from Rev. Peterson at St. Catherine's, but he didn't realize at the time that he was pastor of Bethany Reformed.

"I thought he was a salesman," Father Doyle joked. "In a way, he was a salesman, and he gave me the important pitch about doing something as neighboring parishes, and the program began."

Since Rev. Peterson recently retired, there will be no pulpit exchange this year. "I'm very hopeful that we can restore this practice as soon as his replacement is found," Father Doyle said. "It seemed to be an essential part of his vision and ministry."

Ecumenical efforts

There have also been guest speakers, ranging from a Russian Orthodox priest to Rabbi Daniel Orenstein, who recently spoke on "Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Judaism and Were Afraid to Ask."

Coreen Hallenbeck appreciates the ecumenical efforts between the two churches from a personal standpoint: She belongs to Bethany Reformed and is a member of the joint ecumenical committee, and her husband is a parishioner of St. Catherine's.

"I have a particular interest because we're an ecumenical family," she said.

Beneficial

"We've been physical neighbors, so it's nice to be spiritual neighbors," Mrs. Hallenbeck said.

Bethany Reformed probably will have an interim pastor before a permanent replacement is found, but Mrs. Hallenbeck hopes the joint ecumenical committee will remain intact. "I look forward to it continuing, and we have high hopes that it will continue," she said.

Other areas

"It's not just a religious relationship. We do exchange socially," she said.

The events sponsored by the joint ecumenical committee have been well-attended, but even parishioners who haven't participated in them are seeing Christian unity in action through the group's work.

"It's educating the people who attend, but its very existence is also educational for people so they know that this is the mission of the Church, and this is something we could and should be doing," Father Doyle said.

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