Claire Clyburn reported for the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships. The mission of this body is to give expression to the unity of the church that is already given to us through Jesus Christ and to give expression and reality to the call for hospitality and true welcome to and by those of other faiths.
Clyburn shared and celebrated some highlights of ecumenical work from the past year. There has been a renewal of the relationship between our conference and the AMEZ church. The conference Cabinet held a joint retreat and meeting with the AMEZ Cabinet this year. On the local church level, she recognized a relationship between Knightdale UMC and the Amanah AMEZ church, a new congregation and the only AMEZ church in eastern Wake county. Knightdale has offered their facilities to Amanah for weekly worship and Bible study.
The Commission has a presence in both national and local ecumenical faith work including the Triangle Interfaith Alliance, the National Workshop for Christian Unity, the Wild Goose Festival, and ongoing disaster recovery work with the Muslim community in Tarboro and New Hanover county.
She thanked the conference for approving a resolution supporting entering the full communion relationship with the Episcopal Church and offered that although everyone on the Commission is not of the same opinion, they continue to have conversations around human sexuality.