If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured,

all rejoice together with it. 

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

(1 Corinthians 12:26-27 NRSV)

So much of the public discourse in our community seems to be a debate about right/wrong – disagree/agree – yes/no perspectives. Connected to this is the shrill nature of the dialogue itself. It is tempting to attribute responsibility for this dynamic to media, politicians, or personalities. It is driven by the need to be, or seen to be, right.

No matter how we view this reality it is a dynamic that is tiring and leads us to not listening to the other because we may have decided with whom we agree or disagree.

Now I may be naïve and not thinking realistically to hope for a different approach. One that could be  about discernment and based on answering the question ‘what is best in this situation?’. This take is beyond compromise and to a deeper gracious consensus. 

Yet proposing such a process seems to create a level of fear. People wonder what will happen to their distinctive view or opinion. Will what I think be lost in a grey average of uniformity.

For many years one of the distinctives of the Ecumenical Movement was the “roundtable'’. This process of involving all people, and particularly those without a ‘public voice’, was based in part on the pioneering work of the educator philosopher Paulo Freire.

The seeking of a common understanding, a consensus is the seeking of unity.  This unity is deeply rooted in the biblical traditions and clearly seen in the reflections of St Paul on the nature of the ‘body’ where differences exist and are valued and respected. 

The seeking of unity is a healthy human and spiritual quest, that does not take us into uniformity. It takes out of polarities and into a renewed understanding of ourselves and the other.

Rev. John Gilmore

NCCA President