Case Study: Promoting Understanding and Integration

Vermont Ecumenical Council
Interdenominational Activities

The Vermont Ecumenical Council reaches out to all faith communities, and supports several committees that focus on different subjects of concern to the community. There are nine member denominations, all of whom are Christian, but since there is no real interfaith organization in Vermont, to some extent, the council serves this purpose.

The member denominations include the American Baptists, Episcopalian, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Friends, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, and the Greek Orthodox.

The newsletter that they send out goes out to clergy and other contacts all over the state, including those in non-Christian faiths., even though they are not official members of the organization.

The Faith and Order committee of the Council deals with issues like baptism and marriage. They will be publishing a booklet on marriage for all the clergy in the state. The committee is working to reach consensus on what the different denominations share as common ground regarding marriage. The other committee is called Peace, Justice, and the Integrity of Creation (PJIC), which is more of an advocacy committee – they support the Livable Wage campaign, children’s poverty issues, and relieving debt in Third World countries. A subcommittee of the PJIC is called Peaceful Communities, which brings together faith community members, people from the Department of Corrections and victim advocates, to raise awareness about how clergy can better help victims of crime.

Cross Sectoral Benefits

Governance: Board of Trustees includes 22 members, who represent all the nine denominations that are part of the organization. Two people from each denomination, plus the committees all have representation. The Christian Scientists and the Ohavi Zedek synagogue are also represented as observers to the Board of Trustees.

Social: The newsletter is circulated to 730 different churches in the state, which promotes mutual understanding among a variety of different communities.

Council Newsletter