The Committee on Interchurch Relations (CIR) will pursue, promote, and celebrate respectful conversations, loving relationships, and shared ministries with other communities of faith to create an ever-widening circle of the Gospel of Peace.

Core Areas of Responsibility

To pursue, promote and celebrate ecumenical conversations, relationships and shared ministries with other communities of faith in order to create an ever-widening circle of the Gospel of Peace on the following levels of ecumenicity:

1. Church of the Brethren congregations, individuals, groups, and districts
2. Other Brethren bodies and peace churches
3. Other believer churches, including but not limited to associated relationship with the American Baptist Churches (USA)
4. Other Christian churches, including but not limited to the National Council of Churches of Christ and the World Council of Churches
5. Other faith traditions

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Current Priorities

• Promote and celebrate cross-cultural and ecumenical partnerships and interfaith conversations;
• Promote and celebrate participation in the Decade to Overcome Violence;
  • focus on involving youth and young adults
  • focus on partnerships with On Earth Peace and Witness/Washington Office
  • encourage and recognize congregational and individual participation
  • encourage cooperation with Brethren and historic peace churches
• Confer with National Council of Churches of Christ and World Council of Churches delegates from the Church of the Brethren for mutual support, and to help promote implementation of larger church initiatives as appropriate within our congregations;
  • hold conference calls with delegates
  • meet at CIR dinner at Annual Conference
• Encourage the Church of the Brethren to think about Christ’s call for us in this time when people of various world religions are increasingly in contact and experiencing conflict, or opportunities for friendship and community.
• Communicate the work of the Committee on Interchurch Relations to the Church of the Brethren constituency;
  • suggest Messenger articles
  • submit updates to Newsline
• Model hospitality
  • ask local judicatory leadership or their representative to join the Committee activities at the Annual Conference
• Nurture and evaluate the Church of the Brethren associated relationship with the American Baptist Churches USA.
• Discern the nature of the unity for which Christ prayed. (John 17:20-23)

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Suggestions for Building Local Ecumenical Relationships

Invite other churches or groups to your church for selected events

Pick a congregation with whom you have a natural connection. Seek groups with whom you share common activities or personal friendships, groups located nearby, or people with whom you genuinely desire to build bridges of understanding across cultural and/or racial differences.

Make contacts at whatever point or level is natural; share ideas and hopes; encourage your contacts to follow-up within their congregations as you follow-up in yours.

Keep in touch and pray for openings and positive responses in your congregation and theirs. Special events can include ecumenical services (e.g., Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorations, AIDS vigils) peace or environmental stewardship events, joint community service project, etc.

Work with your congregational leaders to choose a particular worship service or event to invite your friends to attend. Extend formal invitations to the congregation and also repeatedly extend personal invitations to individuals that you know within the congregation. Express genuine hospitality.

Encourage wide range participation in planning and conducting the event so that so that there will be widespread ownership and participation within your congregation. Communicate early, openly and often with both congregations/groups to remind people of what will be happening and why.

Enjoy the event together. Be thoughtful and considerate hosts. Don't assume everyone knows what you're doing and why. Communicate explanations naturally and in a mature manner.

Afterwards, evaluate the event in your congregation and seek feedback from your contacts in the other congregation. See if there is interest in and support for a return invitation or an ongoing relationship.

Work jointly at relationship building in the following ways:

Explore what another church is doing, and then think about how our participation might be welcome.

Continually invite individuals and entire congregation(s) to share in each other's activities and events. Don't expect large numbers to go or come except for special events. Encouraging occasional visits and participation in events can help foster our mutual respect, support and relationship over time.

Brainstorm ideas together. Try not to feel rejection if your ideas are not adopted in part or in whole. Remember, you are seeking opportunities to learn from each other and build a mutual relationship.

Do not plan too many special events together. Your congregation may have a full schedule and may not support more than two or three events a year. Encourage many informal, individual contacts.

Pastoral preaching exchanges, joint choir concerts or exchanges, joint service projects, etc. are ways of having significant contacts. If well planned, these events can help build ongoing relationships.

Periodically, reflect together on what you are doing and why. Are mutual understanding and diversity valued in your relationship? Are new approaches or changes needed? Is God calling you to take your relationship to a deeper level? Is the congregation ready to respond to God's call and if so, how?

Remember that God moves in mysterious ways and not according to our plans. We pray that God's grace and guidance will lead your congregation forward peacefully, simply and together.

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CIR Members