Summary Report of the 2024 Forum

On October 8-11, 2024, 70 Christian leaders from over 40 national church communions and organizations convened in Memphis, Tennessee (and over Zoom) to discern the Holy Spirit’s word for the churches today as they reflected on how the “third person” of the Trinity works through baptism, Eucharist, and discipleship. In light of the 30th anniversary of the Spirit-filled “Memphis Miracle” and first anniversary of the “Asbury Outpouring,” both of which included a concern for repentance and racial reconciliation, the Forum also explored the call to justice in the life of the Spirit and considered how the Holy Spirit continues to work through creation, revelation, and pentecost-like movements. As part of our learning and witness to unity, we prayed at the Mississippi River, led a wreath-laying ceremony at the Civil Rights Museum, and worshiped at sacred sites around the city, including the Church of God in Christ headquarters, a Catholic cathedral, and an Antiochian Orthodox church. View our recap video here.

Other key highlights include:

• Fellowship Growth: CCT welcomed three new member communions and organizations into our fellowship, expanding our reach and diversity and making CCT one of the most inclusive ecumenical communities in the country.

• Training in Receptive Ecumenism: CCT pioneered a unique approach to Receptive Ecumenism, emphasizing listening and reflection rather than doctrinal uniformity. By fostering respectful dialogue across diverse Christian traditions, CCT has become a leading training center for Receptive Ecumenism in the U.S., offering training through its annual Forum and in partnership with two other ecumenical groups in 2024. (See the CCT guide at christianchurchestogether.org under “About”.)

Part of the “leading action” to come out of the 2024 Forum was to produce a video that might bear witness to participants’ shared experience of prayer, reconciliation, and unity. The 2024 and 2023 video recaps are below.

2023 RECAP:

On October 3-5, 2023, 65 Christian leaders from over 30 church communions and Christian organizations in the U.S. gathered in Savannah, Georgia for the annual Forum of Christian Churches Together. Representatives from CCT’s five “families” of churches engaged in theological dialogue, spiritual reflection, worship at Savannah’s historic churches, and a pilgrimage to the nearby Historic Baptismal Trail. They learned about each other’s histories, traditions, and worship, and dialogued and prayed together with the theme “Water that Unites and Water that Divides: Baptism and the Journey to Unity and Reconciliation.” Among the many issues discussed were questions like, How have our doctrinal interpretations and practices of baptism been used as a source of healing, hurting, or dividing? And, how have water bodies such as the Atlantic Ocean been both a source of life and death throughout history and what is our Christian response? See the video below for a glimpse of the powerful shared experience of the participants of the 2023 Forum.