Something worth pondering: 500 years since the Reformation!

A number of us well recall the time when the Reformation wasn’t exactly the topic Catholics might ponder. Yet, across the country this year, it has really fired passionate energy, with groups meeting to consider why it marked such an important moment in church history, why it is a timely topic for our consideration and what we continue to learn about the way the Spirit moves in our world.

Dr John May, who will be with us on 16 November for our own Reformation event, is a person engaged across his lifetime in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, having recently recording this personal journey in his book, Imagining the Ecumenical. A Personal Journey. So he is well able to ponder with us this ‘crisis’ in our history.

We know that crisis, painful though it may be at the time, arises because something is awry, needing attention. John will reflect on some of the reasons why the church was invited into this significant period of ‘reform’. He will then explore the ensuing Ecumenical movement – it’s imperative in Christ’s heartfelt command ‘that we all be one’, and its emerging shape. He will consider what is working well, how it might be enhanced and how it then overflows into the call to interreligious dialogue and understanding.   

We have Jesus’ word that conversion and change of heart are at the core of the church’s faith. This seminar will give us the opportunity to consider well some of the ways we handle change and the invitation to be attentive, responsive, ‘reforming’ people of God in our contemporary church and society. 

Find out more about the seminar.   

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Vivien Williams Image
Vivien Williams

Vivien Williams is an Adult Faith Formation Officer for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.