ecumenical

What does that mean? It was a word we heard often last night at the Ryman. Of course it means "concerned with establishing unity among churches and religions".

Ecumenical is not a word we hear often in my fellowship.But it is a word worthy of use. Last night at the Ryman, these folks participated in person : a Nazarene minister, the mayor of Nashville, the Otter Creek worship team, Temple Baptist worship team (black), the minister of the 4th Ave. Church of Christ, George Rowe, rising Christian singer, Jason Curry(chaplain of the Fisk University Chapel), and two other black pastors. On tape were an Hispanic minister, a Messianic Jewish rabbi, and a Native American Christian (who surprisingly appeared on the stage in person after his testimony and played Amazing Grace on his Native American flute.)

I was sitting beside a striking black woman dressed to the nines with a lovely turban around her head. She was so unlike me--tall, thin, stylishly clad. As we held hands for the prayer, I was struck by the fact that her hands were not like my smooth teacher hands, but rather were dry, calloused and spoke loudly of hard work.

It was a night of unity when no one cared that drums and keyboards accompanied the singing, when no cared (at least I didn't) as the black men and women in the crowd responded to the minister giving the message with shouts of Yes and Amen and lots of hand clapping. No cared what colors were represented or which of the 25 sponsoring churches were represented on the pew we were sitting on.

It was a great night and Brandon and the Otter Creek worship team helped make it so.