The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 100 years old apparently.  This year I attended the most - apologies - monotonous and boring united service for this purpose I have been to in many a long year.  The ecumenism extended to the readings being done by myself and a retired Methodist, whilst the current Methodist preached and the vicar did everything else.  The service itself was incredibly wordy - printed liturgy at its worst - and the creativity and mutli-sensory activities we've used in the last four years were conspicuously absent.

Looking at it another way, ecumenism was lacking in terms of numerical representation - around half a dozen Methodists, half a dozen Anglicans (in their own building for goodness sake) and a couple of dozen Baptists.  That's sad too.  My people are starting to comment quite a lot - and rightly - that everywhere we go we out number the hosts.  What does that say about us and about others?

I'm not an advocate of organic union (i.e. one single church with one way of doing church organsiation) because I'm not convinced that at this point in history - if ever (I'm not convinced it existed in Bible times) - that is helpful or healthy.  But I am quite passionate about ecumenism, I do think that we honour Christ more in unity than division.

Overall, then, I am disappointed in today and not at all convinced we made any inroads in answering Christ's prayer of John 17.