From earliest times, the one Church existed as many local churches. This Trinitarian unity is manifested in the Holy Eucharist, wherein the Church prays to God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.Ģ. Thus, as St Maximus the Confessor affirmed, the Church is an ‘eikon’ of the Holy Trinity.(1) At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ prayed to his Father: ‘Protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one’ (Jn 17:11). The unity that exists among the Persons of the Trinity is reflected in the communion ( koinonia) of the members of the Church with one another. Christ, having come on earth, founded the Church as his body (cf. Ecclesial communion arises directly from the Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, according to the goodwill ( eudokia) of the Father, through the Holy Spirit. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.’ġ. We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have communion with us Īnd truly our communion is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. IN SERVICE TO THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH Chieti, 21 September 2016 He’s doing something special in the local/global Church and I am grateful that The Worship Project can play a small role in unifying the church body through this growing Worship community.SYNODALITY AND PRIMACY DURING THE FIRST MILLENNIUM: There isn’t a doubt that God has been moving. However, more than what we do as a ministry, the greatest fruit of our labor has been the spirit of unity that God has been weaving through the Worship community and the local churches in our city. TWP hosts bi-monthly Worship leader community nights, an annual fall retreat, an annual worship conference called Wonder and we just recently launched our new podcast all aimed to serve and support Worship leaders. It has been four years since the conception of TWP and I am so thankful that God has used this ministry to support local church leaders. This was the foundation of what is now called The Worship Project, a ministry that aims to be a growing worship community in Toronto and a resource for local church worship ministries. The common thread between many of us Worship leaders was the desire to build community with other Worship leaders and to learn from one another. Each project led to new connections, new friendships, and be able to listen to one another’s stories. In 2016, an idea sparked in me to start collaborating with other Worship leaders on fun music projects. How I started making strides towards unity in my city It is about knowing one another, learning from each other, and working towards a common vision. So what does unity in the church look like? Over the years, I’ve learned that accomplishing unity was less about gathering the masses in one room. Little did I know, God was beginning to shape and form this heart for unity in my life (specifically in the city of Toronto). I wondered why there wasn’t a greater sense of collaboration and learning between local church ministries. I wondered why churches were so segregated from one another with these unspoken words of “we’ll do our thing and you do yours”. During that season, I constantly wondered why there weren’t any local resources I could reach out to. As a young worship leader at a small church, I was forced to learn many things on my own. Without going into too much detail, I was 17 years old when God transformed my life and brought me into my first church community. What is Church Unity, and what does it look like? It takes a lowering of our pride and seeing that God is not only inviting our church to participate in his Kingdom work, but rather all of our churches to be working together for His purpose. True unity recognizes our differences and how that can be a strength to the greater mosaic of churches. However, I believe that if our foundations are rooted in who Jesus is, there is always room for conversation and a place to learn from one another at the table. Every church will look different, reach a different demographic, and may even have certain theological differences from one another.

In the very same way, each church isn’t meant to be uniform to one another. Although we are all made in the image of God, I hope we can all agree that none of us look identical, have the same personality or even function similarly. It is important to note that unity is not uniformity. Just as the apostle Paul urged the early churches to fight against division within their own communities, I believe there is that same call to break divisiveness and to build unity among local churches. Throughout Scripture, we learn about the importance of community, togetherness and how there is strength and wisdom in numbers. Human beings were never made to live in isolation. Worship Pastor at Avenue Church, Creator of The Worship Project

Common unity church