Christianity: The Role of the Church in the Wider World Flashcards
What is Ecumenism?
The idea of creating Christian unity. It seeks to reconcile Christians from different denominations.
What is the meaning of ‘Church’?
Jesus’s body of believers.
What are ‘churches’?
Individual communities, of various denominations.
What is Taize?
- An ecumenical community in France
- Set up in 1940 to give refuge to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution
- Dialogue and friendship between Protestants and Catholics in encouraged
What is Iona?
- An ecumenical community in Scotland
- Holy island, site of Christian pilgrimage
- Welcomes all denominations
- Works for peace, social justice, rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship
Corrymeela
- An ecumenical community in Northern Ireland
- Founded to encourage good relations between Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians
What is the Churches Together Movement?
- Encourages churches to work together
- Aims to strengthen the relationship between the different denominations
- Nurtures new believers
- Helps those in need
- Fights injustice
What is the main purpose of the World Council of Churches?
- Set up by both Orthodox and Protestant Churches
- To be united, despite their differences, in their work to bring glory to Jesus’s name
- Reconciliation through ecumenism
- “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
How is the Church being persecuted in the 21st century?
- Around 100 million Christians are facing persecution today
- Christians who are evangelical cause offence to people, resulting in further conflict
- Christians in countries where other religions are dominant are in danger of being discriminated against, arrested, beaten, or murdered.
What organisations support the persecuted Church?
The Barnabas Fund:
- Directs aid to Christians through existing churches or Christian organisations in the countries where persecution is happening
- Publicises the cases of persecuted Christians and lets governments and international groups know about the persecution
- Petitions, letter writing campaigns, constant prayer
Persecution.org:
- Aims to create a bridge between the free Church and persecuted Church, informing the free Church about persecution
- Provides aid, encouragement, and prayer support
- Aims to provide Assistance, Advocacy, and Awareness
What is the purpose of Christian aid agencies?
- Acts of service through meeting people’s needs in practical ways
- Fulfilling ‘love your neighbour as yourself’
- The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: those who help others will enter Heaven
What is Cafod?
A Catholic agency that works in the developing world to bring hope to those in poor communities.
What is Christian Aid?
A Christian development charity that works to get rid of poverty in around fifty countries.
What is Tearfund?
- A Christian agency that works to alleviate poverty around the world by helping local communities to help themselves
- It works through partner churches in the local area.
- It teaches people to read and write, develop handicraft skills, provides farmers with seeds
- Also responds to disasters
