I am very happy to accept this invitation to come and share about TJCII (Toward Jerusalem Council II) at this UMJC conference.
First, because there were strong UMJC connections in the birth of TJCII. Marty Waldman was president at that time, and one of his first supporters was Dan Juster.
But a second reason is my appreciation for the work of Mark Kinzer with which you will be familiar. One reason for this appreciation is my perception that Mark is in a key way the theologian of TJCII – a role so far not yet understood by all involved in the initiative!
It is Mark who has articulated most clearly a bipartite ecclesiology, the vision of the Church made up of Jews and non-Jews, retaining their distinctiveness, but made one through the blood of the cross.
But this bipartite ecclesiology is in effect the theological foundation of Toward Jerusalem Council II. |