Lance Bardwell reckons the sky will not fall if Catholic and Protestant clergy take communion together.
In the latter half of 1823, a football player named William Webb Ellis picked up a football (quite a horrible thing to do) and ran with that ball to the scoring end of the field. That raised some eyebrows in disapproval. But the sky did not fall. Instead, from that unorthodox move, the game of rugby, seemingly, was born.
I was attending Sunday Mass in a Catholic church in Dunedin recently. At that Mass, in the congregation, was an Anglican priest. After the Mass, I spoke with the priest and said how nice it was to have him with us during the Mass (at the end of the Mass, he addressed the congregation briefly on recent ''get-togethers'' of some of his parishioners with parishioners from the Catholic church). I said it would be much nicer when he and the Catholic priest were together concelebrating.
For many years, Rome and Canterbury have been taking part in discussing ''unity''. I vividly recall a particular Sunday in New Zealand about 25 or more years ago, when all the New Zealand Catholic bishops directed that at every Catholic parish the principal Mass was to be cancelled. At my parish, the 7.30am and 7pm Masses were continued that Sunday but the 10am Mass was omitted.
Shortly before 10am that Sunday, our parish priest led a march of about 200 Catholics down to All Saints' Anglican Church, wherein we joined the Anglicans at their usual service. I cannot, however, recall our priest encouraging any of us to share in ''communion''.
Although there was no joint sharing of the eucharistic bread, nevertheless the day was a heady experience and a time of enjoyable fellowship.
Apparently, New Zealand-wide, the gatherings were enthusiastically embraced.
But, alas, head office in Rome put a dampener on the project so there has been no repeat of like nature. Nonetheless, there are continuing times of similar joint services (notably with Presbyterians).
Ecumenism is the in word to describe how at times Rome enjoins Catholics to get together in worship with other Christian churches (Pope Francis has himself even prayed with Muslims and Jews who are non-Christians).
I suggest the time is well overdue for lay people in the Catholic Church (the Church is really we ordinary folk) to invite ordained ministers of non-Catholic churches to attend our Sunday Mass and ''concelebrate'' the Eucharist with our parish Catholic priests. An easy first solution is to invite Anglican priests to concelebrate. We might even find it easy to invite some married Catholic priests to concelebrate.
At worst, the local Anglican and Catholic bishops will strongly disapprove, condemn or disallow such concelebration. But like William Webb Ellis and his rugby ball, the event will not cause the sky to fall down. At the best, I suggest ''the God of Surprises'' will smile approvingly.
- Lance Bardwell describes himself as a boat-rocking ecumenical Christian.
