Prophetic Ecumenism

I DEEPLY APPRECIATED Jim Wallis' "Renewing the Heart of Faith" in the February-March 1993 issue. He has clearly described a "new place to stand together." Many of us have longed for years for such an articulate statement of prophetic ecumenism.

I was formed spiritually in the 1940s by one of the founders of the modern ecumenical movement, John A. Mackay of Princeton. Recently I have published the first biography of this spiritual giant of the 20th century. Dr. Mackay defined "ecumenism as the science of the Church Universal, conceived as a missionary community as to its nature, mission, relationships and strategy" (1963). Now we have Jim Wallis to thank for translating that classic definition into a practical agenda for the 21st century: "a quiet coming together ... around a new theological convergence ... in covenantal relationships."

John H. Sinclair

Roseville, Minnesota