These Jewish believers in Jesus have seldom if ever been invited to the table with gentile believers. However, Ephesians 2 states: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility . . . His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two [Jew and gentile believers]” (vv 14-18). We believe the work has begun through our ERTF sub-committee in the Anglican Church in North America. On September 2, 2010, Archbishop Duncan hosted the historic first meeting of a sub-committee of the then newly formed Ecumenical Relations Task Force of ACNA at his diocesan offices in Pittsburgh, PA. This sub-committee of ERTF invited Messianic Jewish leaders to meet for conversation with Anglican leaders. Chaired by Dr. Theresa Newell with the Rt. Rev. Foley Beach, the Rev. Canon Daryl Fenton, and Dr. Barry Leventhal, this first gathering was facilitated by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ray Sutton, Chairman of ERTF and rector of Holy Communion parish, Dallas, Texas. Participants included: Dr. Gregg Hagg and Pastor Roy Schwarcz, Chosen People Ministries; Dr. Tuvya Zaretsky, Jews for Jesus; Ted Simons, Tikkun Ministries; and Rabbi Howard Silverman, Union of Messianic Congregations.
In the subsequent six meetings of this historic ERTF sub-committee, the group has met in St. Louis, MO; Boca Raton, FL; San Diego, CA; Skokie, IL; and the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL.
During recent conversations, the sub-committee members have presented papers on the topics “The Lord’s Supper” and “Ecclesiology.” Papers were given on each subject from both the Anglican and Messianic perspectives. Bishop Ray Sutton and Dr. Dan Juster, Director of Tikkun Ministries brought papers on “The Lord’s Supper.” These papers can be found on homepage of the CMJ USA website under Ecumenical Relations Task Force.
