The Inclusive Community began with a dream of what might happen to the Word of God if Christians proclaimed it without division. There was more. An effort would be made to preserve Church differences without making them divisions. Catholics and Protestants did not merely disagree; they developed diversity and perspectives on Christian living that are worth preserving. The Catholic readiness, for example, for ritual, sacrament, and universality is balanced by the Reformation preference for simplicity, preaching and individuality. The Catholic tendency towards structure and authority is complemented by the Reformation tendency toward charism and conscience.

In 1986, an ordained UCC pastor, a woman whom I had taught at Ramapo College of New Jersey, invited me to share with her the co-pastorate of First Congregational Church in Passaic, New Jersey. A year-long dialogue had led the Protestant community there to invite a Catholic priest to lead them, together with the Protestant pastor. The Community would re-name itself The Inclusive Community and it would invite Catholics and Protestants to join it as Catholics and Protestants.

The Catholic priest would be evaluated by a search committee, the Church Council and, finally, by the Congregation. If the candidate was approved by these three bodies, he would be appointed by the Congregation as the Catholic Pastor of The Inclusive Community. This process was completed after a vote of the Congregation on November 2, 1986.

Since The Inclusive Community was legally part of the larger United Church of Christ, a further process would be put in place to create ecumenical history. The national United Church of Christ, working through an archdiocesan-like structure called the New Jersey Association, would evaluate the candidate as a Catholic pastor with national credentials and full standing. This had never been done before, as far as we could determine, by any mainline Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant Church.

It was extremely important to me that I be seen as Catholic and appointed as Catholic and, indeed, to have this done in terms of my ordination as a Catholic priest.

These expectations were exactly what The Inclusive Community wanted since this experiment required pastors who were unmistakably Catholic and Protestant respectively.

A year long evaluation process followed as a select committee led the candidate through papers and examination on the history and structure of the United Church of Christ, a review of academic and ordination credentials, a detailed paper on the faith journey of the candidate, and a theological explanation of the nature of The Inclusive Community experiment.

The select committee passed its recommendations on to a clergy standing committee for approval. It recommended full standing of the candidate as a Catholic pastor and called for an Ecclesiastical Council to give this national, church-wide recognition.

An Ecclesiastical Council is a state, region-wide Association (read: archdiocesan) assembly of the pastors and lay leaders of all the churches in the area.

On September 26, 1987, I delivered a paper on the theology and spirituality of The Inclusive Community. A long and comprehensive question and answer session followed. A vote was taken (unanimous) and a standing ovation paid tribute to the promise this experiment offered for Christian Unity.

On October 4, 1987, Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, I was formally installed as the Catholic pastor of The Inclusive Community. This colorful ceremony was widely publicized in local and national media.

The Mission Statement of this Community declares that it "incorporates and celebrates the traditions, sacraments and spirituality of Catholics and Protestants, for the sake of Christian unity and global harmony." "We embrace Catholicism in its all-inclusiveness and the Reformation in its yearning for authenticity."

The Mission Statement cites three primary goals: 1. Catholic-Protestant worship, which preserves the spirituality of both traditions 2. Outreach in social services, with a particular concern for couples in Catholic-Protestant or interfaith marriages 3. The development of an educational program for children and adults, through which all may encounter Christ and experience a Christian community without artificial boundaries. The Mission Statement concludes with the observation that the community is "a family of Christians, rooted in our faith in Christ and challenged by our vision of unity."

When The Inclusive Community began, it held its services in the parent Church, which sponsored it, First Congregational UCC, Passaic. That church celebrated its one hundredth anniversary in 1985 and called The Inclusive Community into being the next year.

The Inclusive Community eventually sold that large building and now holds services in Nutley, New Jersey, renting a chapel from St. Paul's UCC.

A service of historic significance celebrated the tenth anniversary of The Inclusive Community in 1996. A large gathering of Catholic, Protestant and civic leaders assembled on September 29, 1996. In attendance were the many members of our Catholic and Protestant clergy team, ordained ministers who are colleagues of the pastor and leaders of the Congregation. The national president of the UCC, Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry, presided at the services and spoke of the extraordinary character of the witness this Community gave.

The Inclusive Community now enters its sixteenth year. It has touched the lives of large numbers of people over the years.

We have never experienced the growth we had once anticipated. It seems that people remain in traditional Catholic or Protestant structures if they continue to go to Church at all. There is a reluctance we had not foreseen to continue Church attendance in settings that are unfamiliar. We are probably a generation ahead of the reform culture which, we believe, will bring us communities like this in the future. A further problem has been the lack of substantial resources to maintain the programs which give the Church viability as it offers services for others.

Nevertheless, we have endured; the vision has been uncompromised; the witness stands.

The most lasting memory of this Community for me is the character and quality of the lay members. It was their courage which first supported this effort. I do not know of many, if any, Catholic or Protestant communities which would welcome a co- pastor from another Church tradition. The Church Council presidents, Harry Dilk and Wayne Ortelli, have shown over the years both wisdom and grace in leadership. This is a blessed assembly of God's People, called into an unknown wilderness, to create there a promised land, a sanctuary, a light in the darkness to lead a broken Christian family home.

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Prayer of the Inclusive Community

Gracious God, we thank you for calling us to faith in the name of ~Jesus and through the life of the Spirit. We are aware that Jesus called all disciples to love one another as he loved us and to become a united community of love and service.
Help us to celebrate the diverse gifts and traditions of the Catholic and Protestant Churches and to harmonize these into a lived experience as we seek ever to become more dedicated Christians. May our hearts be sensitive to each other's traditions.

Enable our Inclusive Community to become a witness to all of the imperative need to heal the fractured Christian family. Be with us as we break bread together every Sunday and as we share the Word of God.

Gracious God, make us instruments of your peace, ministers of your love, witnesses of faith and justice, apostles of hope, and a community of grace. Amen