Committee on Interchurch Relations issues call for nominations.

The Committee on Interchurch Relations (CIR) has issued a call for stories as nominations for the 2006 Ecumenical Citation. The 2006 citation will be given to a congregation of the Church of the Brethren. CIR is a joint committee of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference and the General Board.

The CIR's focus this year is on congregations working at ecumenical relationships, which include interfaith ecumenism. In keeping with the goals of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), a program of the World Council of Churches, the committee has announced that "the search is on for Church of the Brethren congregations that are involved in ecumenical, including interfaith, peacemaking."

"At a time when tensions are elevated between different religions and groups around the world, there are congregations who are reaching out, each in their own way, to bridge the gap and be the embodiment of Christ amid hatred and misunderstanding," the committee said in its call for stories.

Previous congregational recipients of the citation include Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, Calif.; Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Easton (Md.) Church of the Brethren. The 2006 citation will be presented at CIR's Ecumenical Luncheon at Annual Conference in July.

Nominations may be submitted online at www.brethren.org, type in keyword: CIR/Ecumenical. Deadline for nominations is March 15.

Source: 2/1/2006 Newsline
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