Over the next week (18-25 Jan), Christians across the globe are praying for reconciliation and unity among believers. As I stumbled across this article (and this one) and the prayer specifically written for this year’s event (see below) – it made me think of Paul’s admonition to Timothy that a necessary quality of a leader/minister in the community is that he (she) has their own household in order.

Our OC/IC house has been in disarray now for over 70 years. Perhaps this week of Christian unity is an opportunity for us to reach out to one another and be a part of the healing process, witnesses of Christ’s teaching to one another. A small act here, a kind word there, an offer to collaborate, a sharing of ideas – no grand gestures or pseudo-organisations will do it, no one person or synod will stand at the centre (the rest of us won’t allow it, thank God), but we can, in the interests of fufilling our baptismal calling to bear witness to the teachings of Christ, and in the interests of professing our OC/IC identity, stand together, and begin the process of building relationships – “community” among our own people.

Prayer is only the first step. It is an acknowledgement that we need help, but it is also a focussing of our own mind on the issue at hand. Prayer must be lived, it must be followed up by praxis, or it is hollow and without substance. Here then is the prayer composed for this year’s week of Christian Unity:

We pray to you for the unity of all Christians
According to your will,
According to your means,
May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division
To see our sin and to hope beyond all hope.
God, you alone are our hope
You alone are our hope

Throughout my 20 years of active OC/IC life I’ve encountered dozens of attempts by individuals and groups to forge a unified OC/IC (now ISM) “body”; particularly in the US. Every one of them fails miserably, and – at least in those cases I’ve closely observed – creates more division, and at least three more “synods” in the process. Getting indie folk to come together under one roof is an exercise in herding cats . . . . angry cats! We get that now.

But . . . .

What is also interesting to me is the amount of cooperation and friendship that flourishes in our motley movement; friendships, which emerge in the strangest ways, and under the most curious circumstances. This . . . working method . . . shall we say, is I think stronger than any “institution” we might craft, and has the tendency to transcend the silliness of “jurisdiction”, praxis, and the variety of theologies we see waxing and waning across the indie spectrum throughout the years. In his interview for the Indie Voices Archive John Plummer notes – “we all need friends” and indeed we do, and friendship – I think is stronger than a formal association for one simple reason – friendship is sacramental; and we are a sacramental people.