“Although the Reformation was a huge revival for the church, it also meant a great divorce, and we wanted to mark the date by praying for the church and building the kingdom.”
Geneva House, home of CRC Campus Ministry at Queen’s University.
That was how Steven Kooy described a Reformation Day event on the campus of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, that included Newman House, the Catholic Christian Outreach on campus.
Kooy is the Christian Reformed campus minister at Queen’s. He gathers the leaders of other Christian groups for meals, prayer, and times of sharing several times each semester.
The choice of Reformation Day for one of those gatherings was very intentional, according to Kooy. When he invited his Roman Catholic friend to the event, he was met with surprise. “He said to me, ‘You guys actually celebrate the Reformation?’ I assured him that we weren’t celebrating the break-up as much as a time of revival in the church. He told me that a lot of revival happened in the RCC as well because of it, and we both saw this as a good thing.”
The event included a meal and a time of sharing, followed by prayer for each other’s ministries and for a closer unity. While not everyone invited was able to attend the Reformation Day gathering, support for the Christian unity movement has been coming from eight other Christian groups on campus as well as six campus churches. “Being on a public university campus, we have a heightened sense that we are foreigners in the land,” said Kooy, “and we find great strength in Christian community.”