I greet you In the Spirit of the One who prayed that we might all be one.

Do you believe we are related? That is the essential question! Do you believe that we are blood relations—that is, related to one another by the blood of Christ? The ecumenical expression of Christ's Church is not dependent on membership or agreement, but rather it is built upon the God-given relationship that we share one with another. No one denomination can legitimately stand apart from the rest of the body. No one part of the body can say to another, "I have no need of you." There is one body. "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism."

We do not work for Christian unity. We do not strive for Christian unity. We do not achieve Christian unity any more than we achieve our own salvation. Christian unity is the already present gift of God through the love and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We choose either to live out that present reality, or to stand in its way. When we hear the words of Christ, "This is my Body broken for you," they are words of blessing! When we hear the words of Christ, "This is my Body broken by you," they are words of judgment.

The Colorado Council of Churches is not to be understood as a separate agency to which the communions appoint some representatives and allocate some funds so that it can carry out the ecumenical agenda for the communions. The Colorado Council of Churches is understood to be the expression of the communions, which allows them, together, to live out the unity and mission of Christ's Church in Colorado.

The individual communions do not relate to the C.C.C. The Colorado Council of Churches serves as the avenue which enables the individual communions to relate to each other. The Colorado Council of Churches is not itself the Body of Christ: rather it enables the member communions to come together to be a fuller expression and a more powerful witness of the Body of Christ than any one communion can be by itself.

Through the Colorado Council of Churches, our member denominations are providing a study curriculum, with video, on the affordable housing situation in Colorado. Our voice is being heard in the Colorado legislature on important issues of restorative justice, education, environment, poverty, racism and affordable housing. Training sessions are being held throughout the state to prepare clergy to respond when hate incidents occur in their local communities. Dialogue events are being held which seek to bridge the deep divide within the Christian community. A Christian-Jewish dialogue has begun on the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A task force has been formed to promote the principles of restorative justice throughout the state. A cooperative effort is underway to educate clergy and congregations about the moral and legal responsibilities of being a mandatory reporter of child abuse. Another task force is working throughout the state, to raise the importance of youth ministry in the life of congregations.

All of this is happening because the denominations have chosen to come together, in recognition of their relationship with one another, to live out the unity and mission of Christ's Church in Colorado.

Peace and Grace,