Concord: A Big Ol' Ecumenundrum

 

Published in the Concord, 13 April 2011

A couple of months ago, I asked my friend, Jenny, to write for the Concord because we were in need of an ecumenical voice. Together we mocked the term, disparaging the idea that only our non-ELCA Lutheran students can be considered inter-denominational. My confusion was such that I later turned to my personal expert in all things seminary and life, Krista Lind, for an answer. Surely she would be able to tell me why we haven’t come up with a better term for those brave folks around here who are outside of the Lutheran clique. Sadly, she reported, that Jenny is an ecumenical student simply because nobody has come up with a better term for her.

Have no fear! I thought, I will solve this big ecumenundrum! I descended into the Bockman Conclave for many a month, but I am happy to report that the white smoke is pouring out of the chimney and for once it isn’t from the hookah! After pouring through the Oxford English Dictionary, dwelling in many potential words, and testing a few out on my non-Lutheran friends, I found that one rose above all others.

It was so simple, so unexpected. The reason for my success in this endeavor in which so many before me have failed could only be attributed to their understandable need to think forward. Yes, it was tempting to make a new word—perhaps meterolutheranal, transfordenominational or congremissional. Or there was the possibility of redefining an already existing word—aha! We could call them “misdirected” students! Lastly, there was some hope for acronyms: Students Probing Our Religious Kinks (SPORKs) or Anonymous Protestants, Potential Lutherans, and Evangelical Strangers (APPLES) were obvious candidates.

But in the end, those proved insufficient. What I really needed was some genuine backward thinking. I found it finally in the word: “catholic.” How brilliant! (I hear you saying) Next time, I see Jenny I can tell her that she might consider herself non-denominational, but here at the seminary she is catholic to us—little “c,” of course! And Dr. Hess? Well, she’s a catholic professor who also happens to be Catholic.

Now, you might find yourself saying that this creates the same problem as the dreaded “e” term; surely, Lutherans are also catholic! True, but whereas “ecumenical” refers to a movement toward unity, “catholic” refers to a state of being; it is naming the unity we have as Christians.

Much of this article has been in jest—clearly, calling our students “catholic” would be more a distraction than it is worth—but I do wonder what would happen if we used terminology that named a reality, rather than words designed for movement. Or I guess we could always call them SPORKs.