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Christian Churches Together in the USA

Can progressive mainline Christians, conservative evangelicals and Roman Catholics work together to strengthen the Church universal?

That is the question that will be considered next week in a bold experiment for the divided Body of Christ. Delegates representing most of the Christian denominations – both Protestant and Catholic – will gather in California to formally establish a new organization to be called Christian Churches Together in the USA. Their web site reports:

Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT) will hold its organizing meeting June 1-3, 2005 at El Retiro, the Jesuit Retreat House in Los Altos, California. Over 35 representatives of Christian Churches and National Christian Organizations (25 Churches and Christian organizations is the threshold number for establishing CCT) have already indicated they will attend the meeting. At the meeting those Churches and Christian organizations who have decided to become founding participants will select a Steering Committee and adopt Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Dues Structure. Together, they will pray, worship and consider the future of CCT. Additionally, they will hear about plans for the September celebration launching CCT which marks the historical coming together of the major Christian Faith Families in the USA. Following the meeting founding members will be announced to the public. Planning for the June, Los Altos meeting is under the leadership of Father Ron Roberson, Chair, Rev. Roberta Hestenes, Rev. Carlos Malave, and Rev. Robert Welch.

A worship service and celebration to mark the formation of CCT has been set for September 18, 2005 at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

CCT will not be a replacement organization for the existing National Council of Churches USA (NCC helped to develop this new organization). The new group will have a broader membership base – and that diversity will mean that CCT will be unable to speak on the same broad range of issues that NCC speaks on. The value in CCT will be the role it can play in fostering dialogue between different Christian bodies.

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