Bishop, chaplain sign statement to Muslim leaders

Our bishop and one of our priests, a Navy chaplain working with a global reconciliation initiative, recently had a hand—literally—in the making of religious history. Bishop Ted Gulick is among Christian leaders from around the world who have signed and published a statement responding to the most prominent leaders in the Muslim world. Originally 138 Muslim leaders and scholars published an open letter declaring the common ground between Christianity and Islam. The Muslims' letter, "A Common Word between Us and You," was released on Oct. 13 and has been described offering an "historic opportunity" for dialogue with breakthrough possibilities in Christian-Muslim relations. In response, four leading religious scholars at the Yale Divinity School prepared a statement, "Loving God and Neighbor Together, A Christian Response to ‘A Common Word between Us and You,'" which was published as a full-page ad in The New York Times Weekly Review on Nov. 18 along with the signature of 200 prominent leaders representing the broad spectrum of Christianity. Presently more than 300 Christian scholars and leaders have signed this groundbreaking response to the Muslim world. The document has also been translated into Arabic and published widely in Muslim newspapers.
Bishop Gulick became involved thanks to the work of Chaplain Brad Ableson, a Yale graduate working with the Religious Reconciliation Program at Yale's Center for Faith and Culture. Ableson, the senior Episcopal chaplain in the Navy, is posted with the U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha. Neb. and is canonically resident in our diocese.

Ableson learned about the initiative from one of his Yale colleagues, the Rev. Joseph L. Cumming, director of the Reconciliation Program and co-author of the response. The significance of the "A Common Word" and the Christian response is made clear in Cumming's correspondence with Ableson, which Ableson shared with Episcopal News.

"A Common Word," said Cumming, is viewed by many as "the most important interfaith document in nearly half a century." It invites Christians into "a new relationship focused on the commands to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, as Jesus taught." Its list of signatories is "a veritable ‘Who's Who' of the top Muslim leaders of the world," and, he added, they do not represent "just politically correct, liberal Muslims.... Rather the list of signatories includes the top tier of the mainstream, orthodox leaders who sway the masses of Muslims around the world."
Cumming continued: "It is unprecedented in history for such a broad coalition of Muslim leaders from all nations and all sects to come together to agree on anything, much less on such a constructive outreach to the Christian community. The fact that they want our relationship to focus on the commands of Jesus to love God and our neighbor is stunning. Clearly this warrants our sober and prayerful engagement." The impact of the Christian response, he noted, "would be enhanced to the extent notable Christian leaders were signatories."

After viewing the Christian response, Ableson signed the statement immediately as the senior Episcopal Navy chaplain and contacted Bishop Gulick and two other bishops with whom he has worked closely, the Rt. Rev. George E. Packard, bishop suffragan for chaplaincies, and the Rt. Rev. Joe Burnett, bishop of the Diocese of Nebraska.

Having spent considerable time over the last 20 years in the Arabian Gulf region, Ableson said he was delighted to sign the statement because he believes it is "a powerful step" in the process of reconciling Christians and Muslims. "The political and military issues of the past two decades have resulted in considerable interface between Christians and Muslims with, not surprisingly, an unfortunate level of misunderstanding and tension," he wrote. He also noted that he "was tremendously impressed by the response draft by the Yale team ... Their response was the most positive gesture I have seen from the Christian perspective, and I quickly signed the letter. Bishop Gulick, in particular, seized the opportunity to support this initiative. It makes me very proud to see my bishop's name on this letter."

To read a copy of "A Common Word," go to //www.acommonword.com and to download a copy of the Yale document go to //www.yale.edu/faith/abou-commonword.htm