Florida Council of Churches

You are witnesses to these things:
What Witness Shall the World Receive?

During the third week of April 2010, some 350 pastors, laypersons, teachers and theologians, will gather for four days at the downtown Tampa Haytt Regency to engage in reflection and planning for advancing Christian unity in their parishes, regional and national church bodies. The National Workshop on Christian Unity is open to all who are interested in ecumenism.

The Workshop will feature prominent church ecumenists and 12 seminars, plus a day devoted to strategizing for local and regional ecumenical reception. The theme for the Workshop is drawn from the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity text “You are witnesses to these things” (Luke 24:36-53). Reflecting the 100th anniversary of the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, which is often noted as a beginning point for the modern ecumenical movement, the Workshop will pose questions about Christian witness is a pluralistic, global village, both in how the Church receives the gospel for our day and in how the world recieves the Church's witness.

The Workshop begins with an opening prayer service at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefforts Schori, will preach. Archbishop Wilton Gregory will give the keynote the following monrning. Bruce Chilton will lead a bible study on the reception of the eucharist in the New Testament. William Rusch will outline how to go about ecumenical recepption at the local and regional levels. Closing the luncheon will be Tom Best, recently retired as the Faith and Order director for the World Council of Churches, providing a global perspective on Christian witness and reception.

The Workshop is product of national ecumenical officers and the ecumenical networks in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, United Methodist and mainline Protestant churches. First launched in 1963 to train Catholics in Vatican II ecumenism, NWCU was extended to include other churches in 1969. Since then, it has remained the one national effort by churches dedicated to Christian unity to train and prepare clergy and laity in ecumenism. It's history can be found at www.nwcu.org.

To volunteer to help with the Workshop or to obtain more information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Florida Council of Churches seeks to serve as a catalyst for ecumenical endeavors
that would enable the churches to strengthen their common mission
to advance the cause of Christ in Florida.

The mission of the Florida Council of Churches is to serve its members as they endeavor to fulfill Christ's mandate that his Church be one so that the world may believe God sent him. In this servant role, the Council provides a forum for ecumenical engagement. Working together with judicatory members, affiliated organizations and local congregations, the Council helps sponsor events and workshops of ecumenical interest, provides a gathering place for judicatory leaders to enter into mutual conversation, and addresses with a common voice grave injustices in society.

Membership in the Council is primarily through the judicatory offices of Christian denominations in the state of Florida. Christian agencies and advocacy groups may covenant as affiliated members. A program of associate membership for local congregations and other Christian organizations is under development.

The primary funding of the work of the Council has historically come from judicatory support through their own budgets, though such funding is limited. Direct contributions from congregations and individuals are welcome and encouraged. Please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information or to make a designated gift.