October 2026 Update | The Initiative

Thanks so much for reading this month‘s news from The Initiative, a community committed to “walking in deeper friendship with Jesus and his followers, so that the love of Christ might exceed all divisions.” We do this primarily through prayer, sharing of our lives, and proactive work for greater unity.

This month, we celebrate The Initiative becoming an organizational member of Christian Churches Together. We’re also anticipating a riveting Zoom conversation coming up in a couple of weeks and we’re starting to get ready for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

It’s Official!

Pictured above is the moment that the voting members of Christian Churches Together extended an organizational membership to The Initiative!
In case you need a little more background, CCT was founded 20 years ago to bring together the five “families” of Christian tradition in the US – Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical & Pentecostal, Historic Black, and Mainline Protestant – in order to foster loving relationships, learning across traditions, and leading together in witness to the reconciling power of Jesus. In recent years, a number of organizations that are aligned with those commitments of loving, learning and leading have become something of a sixth “family” in the CCT structure.
We applied this year because we believe The Initiative is unique among the member organizations in the way that our spirituality of friendship across difference is also our primary institutional mission, and that as “friends of the friends of Jesus” we can bless the “five families” represented in CCT.
We also continue to be blessed by CCT and especially by participating in the annual Forum. Last week, Tom Masters and I had a powerful time in Birmingham connecting with old friends, making new friendships, exploring new opportunities to partner with churches and other organizations, and being formed by the various church pilgrimages we took around the city – most especially at the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where we learned more about their story in the Civil Rights Movement and were inspired by Ambassador Andrew Young and his 9+ decade Jesus-shaped life focused on justice and reconciliation. I’ve included a couple more pictures below.

Weekly Zoom Gathering – Fr. Ken Tanner in two weeks

This month, please consider joining us on Thursday nights – 8:00pm Eastern, 7:00pm Central, 6:00pm Mountain, and 5:00pm Pacific time. We’re continuing our “rotation” of prayer, conversations, Bible study and interviews. Here’s the line-up for the next four weeks:

October 22 – Conversation: Is Christian Unity Work Just for the Conflict-Avoidant?
October 29 – Interview: Fr. Kenneth Tanner, pastor of Church of the Holy Redeemer in Rochester Hills, MI discusses his new book, Vulnerable God
November 5 – Bible Study: Acts 11:1-26, 13:1-3.
November 12 – Prayer

I’d especially encourage you to set aside the 90 minutes in two weeks to tune into the session with Fr. Ken. Here’s an excerpt from page 6 of his book: “As it turns out, Jesus is both more human and more divine than I imagined. Indeed, my understanding of ‘human’ and ‘divine’ are altered by my encounters with Christ. My perceptions are, even as I write this, too small-minded and too small-hearted.” (FYI – the book just gets better and better from there)
So hop on using the link below and prepare for an hour and a half of mind and heart expansion. You don’t need to have read any of the book ahead of time. He’ll be with us live, with time for Q&A at the end.er

Weekly Gather Zoom Link

Resource of the Month – UniteBoston’s “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2027

Once again, members and friends of The Initiative will be planning and participating in prayer gatherings during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity taking place from January 18-25, 2027. This year’s theme and prayer liturgy were developed by a group of Irish Christians representing various traditions, and the scriptural theme they chose is represented in the image above.
Here’s what they had to say about it: “In Luke 12:22–34, Jesus calls his followers out of fear and towards this life of radical trust, vigilant hope, and responsible service. These teachings aren’t meant for lone disciples but for a gathered community: a “little flock” called to live, pray, and work together. This year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites churches in Ireland and across the globe to explore what it means to be followers of the Good Shepherd: how letting go of fear and keeping watchful hearts become powerful catalysts for reconciliation and shared witness.”
The preparation texts, liturgy, 8-day prayer guide and other resources are available at the websites of the Greymoor Ecumenical Institute and the Vatican’s Dicastry for Promoting Christian Unity.

Thanks so much for reading these updates, joining with our community in our work, and being generous partners in prayer and giving!
Here’s a prayer (from the WPCU materials) of St. Columba that I’ll end this little update by praying for all of us:

Kindle in our hearts, O God, The flame of that love which never ceases, That it may burn in us, giving light to others. May we shine forever in thy holy temple, Set on fire with thy eternal light, Even thy son, Jesus Christ, Our Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

Yours in Christ’s Love,

Scott Brill

Executive Director

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