by Cathy Slade

The arrival of Fr. David Michael to our Cluster, has brought a new tradition among us. On January 24, St. John Chrysostom Church hosted an Ecumenical Celebration of the Word during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year's gathering had three special concelebrants: Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston; His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston; and the Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches.

The evening began with the St. John's children's choir. Under the direction of Rena Pamper-Rodriguez and her husband Omani, their fifteen angelic voices sang one of the responsorial passages from Psalm 96 to a lively beat, accompanied by the congas. Next, a melodious rendition of "Christians Let Us Love One Another" was sung.

Passing through the full church, approximately 25 clergy processed to the altar. Pastor David Michael welcomed everyone to St. John Parish, one full of joy, vibrancy, and hospitality. The focus of the service was to accent the similarities between the different faiths, pray for unity, and listen to the call of the Lord. All were summoned to embrace silence in order to hear the suffering of others and help them.

The service was filled with hymns, including "The Cry of the Poor," "Abide with Me," "My Soul Rejoices," and "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace," interspersed between the readings, litanies and intercessions. The entire congregation joined together in praying the Lord's Prayer, with many holding hands. The Word of God was proclaimed in readings from I Samuel 1: 1-18, Psalm 28: 1-2; 6-9, St. Paul's 1 Corinthians 12: 12-29, and in the Gospel according to Mark 7: 31-37.

The homily was delivered by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios. He focused on the supreme miracle of how God sent his son to be human, so that we might partake of the divine. He spoke of caring, believing and trusting together as a community. His Eminence explained that when Jesus' followers brought him a deaf mute to heal, that man was not suffering by himself, but the whole community was suffering with him. Thus, when Jesus healed the mute, he healed the whole community. This speaks to the faith of the community and to the acknowledgement and proclamation that we can bring our suffering to God for healing. Stating that we should be working together for healing and for unity, His Eminence went on to add that with the 1,600th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. John Chrysostom, we should be inspired to spread the word of Christ.

As further testament to our similarities, Cardinal O'Malley led the Apostles Creed in the original Latin text. He explained that this was one of the oldest prayers in all our traditions and that it had been written on Pentecost by the Apostles. He was followed by Metropolitan Methodios, praying the Greek text. Then, the entire congregation prayed the Creed in English. It was powerful to hear the words spoken by all in attendance, coming from their different traditions. The service continued with the Confession of Sins, Forgiveness, and the Sign of Peace.

After finishing the intercessions, Fr. Ed O'Flaherty honored Rev. Kessler for her achievements during her 32 years as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. He spoke of her graciousness, energy, imagination, persistence, and true Christ-like love. "She is key to promoting this Week of Christian Unity and broadening our circle, and is responsible for including the Armenian and Greek Orthodox religions into the Council." Metropolitan Methodios thanked God for having known her and stated that the Greek Orthodox Community has grown to love her. He praised her concern for the poor and her love of the Orthodox community, and he wished her many years of health and joy. He mentioned that before the service, Rev. Kessler had shared one of her greatest joys with him, namely the news she is becoming a grandmother. He expressed his hopes that her grandchildren will emulate her beautiful example of Christian love.

Cardinal Sean commented that he was grateful for having been able to work with Rev. Kessler for the past fifteen years. He stated that so often we lose sight of the importance of our similarities, however, Dr. Kessler minimizes the differences while always emphasizing what unites us.

Surprised at the words of gratitude from her fellow clergy, Dr. Kessler asked to respond. She stated that it has been a joy for her to work with them in ministry; that the blessing has been hers; and that she was humbled by the words and friendship of all those in the Christian faith community.

The Witness, Blessings, and Words of Consolation came from Matthew 25:40 and Matthew 11:28. Metropolitan Methodios told us, "Dear friends, these words of Christ apply to each and every one of us. Christ is close to us in the heart of our actions, including our ecumenical actions, as well as in the suffering of the sick, the solitude, and the discouragement of many of us. He supports us in our weakness. He is our consolation and blessing."

The final blessing was given together by the three concelebrants. Then the entire congregation gathered for refreshments downstairs in St. John's hall. Delicious coffee and pastries were served at every table. The talk around the table proclaimed that everyone had enjoyed the service tremendously.

During the reception, people approached the Cardinal and asked for a blessing or kissed his ring. Our observations on Cardinal Sean are that he is much taller and thinner than he appears on TV and he has more of a physical presence than we expected. He has the very gentle, shy demeanor that seems to be characteristic of a good monk.

We look forward to next year's celebration of our diverse faith traditions and of the common threads that unite us, even as we wait in hope for the day when "all will be one."