Ecumenical movements within Christianity

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Focus
Religious dialogue in multi-faith Australia
Ecumenical movements within Christianity
Interfaith dialogue
The relationship between Aboriginal spiritualities and
religious traditions in the process of Reconciliation

Stage

Studies of Religion II
Stage 6
Year 12
Phenomenological approach

When students
understand what subject
area they are covering, they
can create a mind map of
how content is linked.

Outcomes for the topic

Students learn about:

Religious dialogue in multi faith Australia:
Ecumenical movement within Christianity
Students learn to:
Describe the impact of Christian
Ecumenical movements in Australia
The National Council of Churches
NSW Ecumenical movement

(Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Outcomes
A student:
H1: Explains aspects of religion and belief systems
H2: Describes and analyses the influence of religion and belief systems on individuals and society
H3: Examines the influence and expression of religion and belief systems in Australia
H4: Describes and analyses how aspects of religious traditions are expressed by their adherence
H5: Evaluates the influence of religious traditions in the life of adherents
H6: Organises, analysis and synthesis relevant information about religion from a variety of
sources, considering usefulness, validity and bias.
H8: Applies appropriate terminology and concepts related to religion and belief systems
H9: Coherently and effectively communicates complex information, ideas and issues using
appropriate written, oral and graphic forms
(Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Essential teacher background readings needed to present

this learning and teaching strategy at a stage 6 level
Useful websites:
National Council of Churches in Australia

www.ncca.org.au

Uniting Church

uca.org.au/

NSW Ecumenical Council

www.nswec.org.au

Useful books and journals:

Chryssides, G. (2010). Christianity today. London: Continuum.

Fitzpatrick, J. (2010). Receptive ecumenism and the call to Catholic learning: Exploring a way for contemporary
ecumenism, edited by Paul D. Murray. New Blackfriars, 91(1032), 205-207. doi:10.1111/j.1741-2005.2009.01350_6.x

Jacobs, S. (2012). Two takes on christianity: furthering the dialogue. Journal Of Ecumenical Studies, 47(4), 508.

King, R., Mooney, J., Carnegie, E., Smith, H., Johns, A., & Johns, D. et al. (2009). Oxford Studies of Religion Preliminary
and HSC Course. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.

Tveit, O. (2012). Theology and Unity in World Christianity. The Ecumenical Review, 64(3), 366-382. doi:10.1111/j.17586623.2012.00181.x

Content to be learned
What is ecumenism?

Ecumenism refers to the movement towards religious unity amongst

Christian denominations.
Unity does not mean uniformity. It is not about combining all denominations into
one, but rather an acknowledgement that their unity in Christ outweighs their
diversity in practice and beliefs.
In contrast to the historical conflict between Christian denominations,
ecumenism is leading them to work, worship and dialogue together.
Ecumenism began as a grass roots movement, driven largely by the
experiences of individual believers who recognised that what Christians have in
common is more significant than the things that divide them.

(Ceosyd.catholic.edu.au, 2015)

History
There are various levels of ecumenical developments.

At the highest level there are joint commissions:

Formal ecumenical bodies working to find official agreement on issues that have often divided
denominations.
For example the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) has held discussions on
Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry, Authority and Mary. The Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches have
signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1998), now finding theological agreement
on faith and works, which was one of the key reasons for the Reformation split between the two.

On a practical level:
Various Christian denominations cooperate on social justice issues and during times of crisis.
Examples of this action based ecumenical approach include the welfare agency Christian World
Services, the Palm Sunday Peace March, the Drop the Debt campaign, and the response to the Boxing
Day Tsunami of 2004.

(Ceosyd.catholic.edu.au, 2015)

At a local parish level:

Various grass roots initiatives have been undertaken to implement ecumenism
within the community, such as having inter-denominational prayer services
and dialogues.

On an educational level:
There are initiatives such as the Sydney College of Divinity, which is an
ecumenical federation of theological colleges working together to provide
education in theology and ministry.

The Sydney College of Divinity is a consortium of colleges providing

quality accredited higher education awards in theology.

Focusing on the learn to

National Councils of Churches in Australia
NSW Ecumenical Councils
Uniting Church Australia
Students learn about:

Students learn to:

Ecumenical initiatives undertaken by the NSW Ecumenical

Council - www.nswec.org.au/
Who are they?
The NSW Ecumenical Council, which was formed in 1982, consists of 16 churches throughout NSW and the
Australian Capital Territory. The NSW Ecumenical Council is one of seven state/territory ecumenical councils
in Australia, and all of which are affiliated to the National Council of Churches. In the 1990s the NSW
Ecumenical Council expanded to accommodate the 11 dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in NSW and the
Australian Capital Territory.
What do they do?
The NSW Ecumenical Council seeks to promote ecumenism through four major types of initiatives.
1- Allow the different churches to reflect upon theology in a united way.
2- Provide local initiatives which promote ecumenism on a grass roots level.
3- Unites the different denominations by providing a platform for different churches to address social justice
issues, for example by setting up the House of Welcome to assist refugees.
4- Recognises that in order to maintain a constant spirit of ecumenism especially through to the next
generation, educational initiatives need to be undertaken to advocate ecumenism.
(Nswec.org.au, 2015)

National Council of Churches in Australia -www.ncca.

org.au
Who are they?
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is an ecumenical body that aims to deepen the
relationship of member churches "in order to express more visibly the unity willed by Christ" and strengthen the
cause of Christian unity in Australia by leading different denominations to work, pray and grow
together.
Initiatives undertaken:
It comprises of 15 member Christian churches that dialogue and collaborate in a range of ways.

For example , the NCCA has an aid and development agency called the Christian World Service that
works to develop a better future for people suffering from injustice and poverty. Aid and development is
delivered through overseas ecumenical partners in Africa, Asia, Middle East and the Pacific.

In Australia, the Christian World Service supports refugees and displaced people through advocacy,
education and the work of ecumenical state council networks.

The NCCA also provides resources for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
(Ncca.org.au, 2015)

Uniting Church - www.uca.org.au

A great success of the ecumenical movement in Australia is the formation of the Uniting Church.

It was founded in 1977 through a merger of all Methodists, 65% of Presbyterians and 95% of
Congregationalists.

The Uniting Church is the 3rd largest Christian denomination in Australia and is the only
notable religious denomination of Australian origin.

The Basis of Union, the foundational document for the Uniting Church, states that the reason for
this merger is their "seeking to bear witness to that unity which is both Christ's gift and will
for the Church.

The name "Uniting" was specifically chosen (rather than "United") to indicate this ongoing
commitment to promote ecumenism among the churches of Australia.

(Uca.org.au, 2014)

Learning and teaching strategy

1. Work in pairs to develop a timeline that highlights significant events in the development of the
Ecumenical movement in Australia.
The timeline should begin from 1945 - 2015
1945 <> 2015
2. Visit these web pages below and analyse and summarise their contribution to the Ecumenical
movement in Australia. Make sure to include a year, the event and its significance.
National Council of Churches in Australia

www.ncca.org.au

Uniting Church

uca.org.au/

NSW Ecumenical Council

www.nswec.org.au

Preparing for the HSC

3. Using the knowledge acquired during research
and in the timeline activity, work individually to
complete the sample HSC questions
The churches should act together in all matters
except those in which deep differences of conviction
compel them to act separately
- Conference on Faith and Order, 1952
Using the above statement and your own knowledge,
describe the impacts of Christian movements in
Australia.
Worth 5 marks - Approximately 150-200 words
(Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Providing students with

practice questions, marking rubrics
and sample answers helps them
understand the standards which
they are expected to achieve.

Understanding action verbs

Describe
Provide characteristics and features

In order to cater to a
variety of learning abilities, it is
important to break down the task to
the simplest form, starting with
understanding what the task is asking
you to do. This will provide lower ability
students to gain understanding of
how to answer the question
correctly.

Sample answer

Provide
sample answers at
different levels so students
can visually see how to
reach the standard
they want.

4. Once the question is answered, compare their answers to the sample answer

Make sure sample answers are at a band 6 level or of an exemplary standard!

Two well known ecumenical bodies in Australia are the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and
the NSW Ecumenical Council. The NCCA works to bring together a number of Australian Christian churches
in dialogue and practical cooperation. The NCCA works in collaboration with the ecumenical councils around
Australia. Some of the initiatives of the council includes the service for reconciliation. This project is connected
with working with indigenous youths. The aim is to speak and act on the needs of the youth in crisis. It works
with existing strategies to support church agencies who are currently working with these youths. This work
also involves a research component to access the needs of the young people in relation to their spirituality and
view of Christianity as it is expressed in various denominations. The NSW ecumenical Council also includes
initiatives such as Christmas Bowl which was first held in 1949. It is a significant fundraiser for the council
which its initial reason to help immigrants and refugees. They focus on education and practical support
through volunteer work, financial support, prayer and advocacy. Therefore, the impact of Christian
ecumenical movement in Australia has been very successful.
(Boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au, 2014)

Peer review

Provide students with a marking criteria for the question.

Asks students to peer review others answers based on the criteria
This can be anonymous by using tools such as google docs
Criteria

Provides a detailed and accurate understanding of the purpose and role of the
ecumenical movement in Australia
Makes relevant reference to examples

Marks
5

3-4

Provides some accurate details of the purpose and role of the ecumenical
movement in Australia
Makes some reference to examples

Makes simple statements about the ecumenical movement

May make some reference to examples

1-2