TO THE EDITOR:

I want to congratulate our local ministerial for organizing a pulpit exchange. It is a way to live out the Gospel message that we are oneÝbody of Christ. It was unfortunate that my Church wasnít able to participate this time due to a number of untimely circumstances, among them the death of Pope John Paul II. It is a little ironic since Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Walter Kaspar were leading ecumenists.

As someone that works for a Catholic church, let me say that we have more in common with our Protestant brethren than separate us. Like many Catholics, I pray for Christian unity, a unity that celebrates our diversity as well and doesnít let theological differences create walls of separation.

We do not have any synagogues or mosques in our community. Nevertheless, I want to lift up not only our Protestant sisters and brothers, but all the children of Abraham, those of the Jewish and Muslim faiths as well.

Pope John Paul II also acknowledged that we can learn a lot about God from other faiths as well, from Buddhists, from those that practice native American spirituality and from others that believe in a higher power.

Many people like to cite Scripture or other sources to claim that theirs is the only way; it is that kind of rhetoric that has lead to people killing in the name of God or their religion. It is bad theology. Pulpit exchanges are one way to clear up such misconceptions and celebrate our creator, a creator who didnít just make Catholics or Lutherans, but created all things and all of us.

Robert G. Walz
North Branch

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