Attended an ecumenical Thanksgiving service

[7_Sorrows]

Our small community has a traditional ecumenical Thanksgiving service each Thanksgiving eve. Last year, I attended for the first time. it was held at the local Catholic church. This year, it was held at a protestant church and most of the speakers were protestants.
It is hard to explain, but I didn’t enjoy the service as much as I did last year. There were protestant speakers last year also. Throughout the service, I kept thinking how thankful I am to be Catholic and to be able to celebrate the Mass.
I looked around at the people in the service as we were from many different churches in town and I just couldn’t understand what they were really getting from the service.
It was nice that all of us did come together to give thanks and sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, but, for me, there was something missing.

 

[gamewell45]

Our small community has a traditional ecumenical Thanksgiving service each Thanksgiving eve. Last year, I attended for the first time. it was held at the local Catholic church. This year, it was held at a protestant church and most of the speakers were protestants.
It is hard to explain, but I didn’t enjoy the service as much as I did last year. There were protestant speakers last year also. Throughout the service, I kept thinking how thankful I am to be Catholic and to be able to celebrate the Mass.
I looked around at the people in the service as we were from many different churches in town and I just couldn’t understand what they were really getting from the service.
It was nice that all of us did come together to give thanks and sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, but, for me, there was something missing.

I don’t think a traditional ecumenical service is supposed to replace the Mass; rather I believe it is designed to bring people from all religions together under a common bond to give thanks for what we have in life. If your not sure what others are getting from the service, perhaps a chat with your Parish Priest might help you to understand better.

 

[Eutychus123]

Our small community has a traditional ecumenical Thanksgiving service each Thanksgiving eve. Last year, I attended for the first time. it was held at the local Catholic church. This year, it was held at a protestant church and most of the speakers were protestants.
It is hard to explain, but I didn’t enjoy the service as much as I did last year. There were protestant speakers last year also. Throughout the service, I kept thinking how thankful I am to be Catholic and to be able to celebrate the Mass.
I looked around at the people in the service as we were from many different churches in town and I just couldn’t understand what they were really getting from the service.
It was nice that all of us did come together to give thanks and sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, but, for me, there was something missing.

Thank you for your insight. I, too, have been less than fulfilled by Ecumenical Thanksgiving Services. It is important that Christian communities work together wherever possible. In the worship context, we cannot all agree. What I have experienced is a service that offends no one and please no one.

Thank you again for sharing this.

 

[JonNC]

Thank you for your insight. I, too, have been less than fulfilled by Ecumenical Thanksgiving Services. It is important that Christian communities work together wherever possible. In the worship context, we cannot all agree. What I have experienced is a service that offends no one and please no one.

Thank you again for sharing this.

When I was a kid, our church usually participated in these services. I never particularly enjoyed them, either, though it is nice to see all of us gather to give thanks for our great country and all of His blessings.

Jon

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Our parish has an ecumenical service on Good Friday with the Presbyterians and some other non-denoms. They carry the cross down Main Street and pray together and meet at the local theater and watch the Passion of the Christ, things like that. They pray stations of the cross, etc. I never attend it but I suppose it’s an opportunity for Catholics and Protestants to interact and for Protestants to be exposed to Catholicism in a good light. Thanksgiving around here is a strictly Catholic affair, however.

 

[1ke]

The parish I now attend has an ecumenical service every year with the Methodist church in our little town. It rotates between our parish and the Methodist church for hosting/organizing. It’s a small community and apparently this service has been going on a long time.

I had just moved to the area and was asked to do a reflection. There were designated readings that would be done at the service, so I did a reflection on the Scripture. The Methodist (woman) minister got up and gave a really flaky new age-y talk that was just bonkers. I then gave a serious reflection on 1 Thess 5:16-18 (give thanks in all circumstances).

Yes, the *Catholic *giving a serious bible lesson on giving thanks.

After that, I stopped going to the e.s. because I thought that minister was a flake. They have a different one now, so maybe we’ll give it another try.

 

[7_Sorrows]

thank you all for sharing your experiences with ecumenical thanksgiving services.
i know their intention is not to replace the Mass, but to bring people from different religions together to give thanks.
the service was announced in our Sunday bulletin and the priest announced it during the service also. two priests from our Catholic parish spoke at the ecumenical service.
one other poster commented that the ecumenical service offends no one and pleases no one and i agree. it felt very uncomfortable to me.
if i am still living in this community next year, i am not sure i will attend.
once i attended an ecumenical service at a local synagogue when i lived in a larger city. so there was someone from the Jewish faith, someone from the Islamic faith, someone from the Catholic faith and i believe one other faith. it was very interesting.
again, thanks for sharing.

 

[Libertarian_FL]

They can be enjoyable I oddly was invited to one. It seemed odd since I openly support anti-denominationalism and picket their churches to pull souls from their corruption to the pure and simple worship of God when I can. But they invited me nevertheless.

When my turn came up I gave a nice talk on the beauty of the First Amendment and its freedoms that allow all to practice our beliefs, even when we seriously disagree with each other. And that influenced many things such as certain UN Charters to protect religious liberty. A thing many of us should be thankful for. After all where my rights or this other persons rights stop, so does all faiths whether small and great.

Most were shocked I tend to be rather a firebrand at times on the area I’m passioned on but it was not the place for it but rather to set aside our differences for one day. By the way the ethnic dishes were amazing we had food from many fronts.

 

[puzzleannie]

I don’t think a traditional ecumenical service is supposed to replace the Mass; rather I believe it is designed to bring people from all religions together under a common bond to give thanks for what we have in life. If your not sure what others are getting from the service, perhaps a chat with your Parish Priest might help you to understand better.

there are many many ways for Christians to join in prayer and praise which are not liturgy, and this is one of them. I applaud your pastor for looking for opportunities for ecumenical prayer and gathering. OP’s reaction is also the one we would hope for: renewed appreciation for distinctly Catholic liturgy and sacraments. But just because every meal is not a 3 course perfectly balanced gourmet presentation does not mean we can’t gather for milk and cookies, or beer and pizza, with the non-gourmets sometimes.

 

[shawn38]

2 Cor 6:14 Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?

Beware of ecumenicalism or anything that perverts the Word! The message always should be Christ centered.

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

 

[Lapey]

2 Cor 6:14 Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?

Beware of ecumenicalism or anything that perverts the Word! The message always should be Christ centered.

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

With soooooooo many denominations now in existance, who has the perverted version and who holds the truth? Please inform us who we must “beware of”.

How can attempting to bring people together, in the name of Christ, be a bad thing? Can’t we begin by looking at our likeness?

I speak out of ignorance, because I have never been to an ecumenical service; not trying to derail this thread, just asking.

 

[bpbasilphx]

\I don’t think a traditional ecumenical service is supposed to replace the Mass;\

**Ecumenical services are, by their very nature, not traditional.

The best “Thanksgiving service” is the Eucharistic Sacrifice.**

 

[1ke]

2 Cor 6:14 Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?

Beware of ecumenicalism or anything that perverts the Word! The message always should be Christ centered.

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

*Ecumenism *is dialog with other *Christian *groups. Dialog towards unity. Dialog on ways in which we can work together in social concerns (for example pro-life work) and ways in which we can foster Christian goodwill in our communities. Your 2 Corinthians quote is misplaced as is your Galations quote.

Dialog with non-Christians is not ecumenism. It is called interreligious dialog. That has a goal of evangelization and promoting goodwill between the religions (which is the foundation of effective evangelization).

 

[JonNC]

*Ecumenism *is dialog with other *Christian *groups. Dialog towards unity. Dialog on ways in which we can work together in social concerns (for example pro-life work) and ways in which we can foster Christian goodwill in our communities. Your 2 Corinthians quote is misplaced as is your Galations quote.

Dialog with non-Christians is not ecumenism. It is called interreligious dialog. That has a goal of evangelization and promoting goodwill between the religions (which is the foundation of effective evangelization).

Jon

 

[7_Sorrows]

\I don’t think a traditional ecumenical service is supposed to replace the Mass;\

**Ecumenical services are, by their very nature, not traditional.

The best “Thanksgiving service” is the Eucharistic Sacrifice.**

i agree with you that the BEST Thanksgiving service is the Eucharistic Sacrifice… i was going to say that in my post, but was afraid that someone would find fault with it who is not Catholic.

 

[shawn38]

With soooooooo many denominations now in existance, who has the perverted version and who holds the truth? Please inform us who we must “beware of”.

How can attempting to bring people together, in the name of Christ, be a bad thing? Can’t we begin by looking at our likeness?

I speak out of ignorance, because I have never been to an ecumenical service; not trying to derail this thread, just asking.

What is the Gospel?
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importancea: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Why believe it?
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:

Eph 1:13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

When confronted with unbelievers (those believing in a gospel, a false gospel, that doesn’t completely conform to Christ)
Romans 16:17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

2 Cor 6:14 Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?

The consequence of following a false gospel:
Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

There’s one true gospel of Christ. By its own definition, ecumenism means someone believes in a false gospel, if not all involved in that discussion. We are all called to preach, not compromise, the gospel of Jesus Christ to those unbelievers. This is precisely what Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians.

1 Cor 1:13 Is Christ divided? No! One Christ, One gospel!

 

[wisdomseeker]

What is the Gospel?
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importancea: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Why believe it?
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:

Eph 1:13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

When confronted with unbelievers (those believing in a gospel, a false gospel, that doesn’t completely conform to Christ)
Romans 16:17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

2 Cor 6:14 Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?

The consequence of following a false gospel:
Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

There’s one true gospel of Christ. By its own definition, ecumenism means someone believes in a false gospel, if not all involved in that discussion. We are all called to preach, not compromise, the gospel of Jesus Christ to those unbelievers. This is precisely what Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians.

1 Cor 1:13 Is Christ divided? No! One Christ, One gospel!

what you do? just pick verses of the Bible and read them without any idea of what you ar e talking about?

who are the umbelievers? do you even know?

and how do you figure who was called out? is your church 2000 yrs old?

these verses have been read and thought by the CC for 2000 yrs. when did you learn about these verses. dont you thing it is easy for any one who have a Bible read anything they want if they desire so? where is you reason?