Sonrise Church Pastor Fred Stayton summed up the Unity Night praise and worship event with one question and a simple answer. Noting Fort Wayne is called the “City of Churches,” Stayton asked the audience how many churches there are in Fort Wayne. “There’s one,” he continued, affirming an a nswer called out by some in the crowd. Photos by Kevin KilbaneBishop Rhoades shares his thoughts about Christian unity during a discussion with Pastor Chris Norman, left, of Grace Gathering in New Haven. The two men were the featured speakers at the Unity Night praise and worship event held on Tuesday, April 8, at Sonrise Church in Fort Wayne. The event founded by the Shema Culture music ministry brought Catholics and Protestants together to worship and celebrate their shared Christian faith. More than 300 people of all ages attended the Unity Night held on Tuesday, April 8, at Sonrise Church in southwest Fort Wayne. The evening brought Catholics and Protestants together to praise and worship God and to talk about what they have in common, not how they may differ. Bishop Rhoades and Pastor Chris Norman, team leader at Grace Gathering in New Haven, were the night’s featured speakers. Other priests and pastors led prayers or shared thoughts. Unity Nights are the vision of Shema Culture, a local Catholic music ministry that strives to unite Christians of all denominations in pursuit of Jesus Christ, group member Natali Perkins told the audience after the opening praise music. Ministry members also hope Catholics and Protestants form relationships with one another. Demonstrations of personal connection began with the emcees for the evening, Father Jake Schneider, associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Wayne, and Pastor Caleb Stayton, associate pastor at Sonrise Church. Through Unity Nights, the two have struck up a friendship and go together on Monday afternoons to the nearby Jorgensen Family YMCA to offer to pray for people who visit the facility. More than 300 people of Catholic and Protestant faiths attend the Unity Night held on Tuesday, April 8, at Sonrise Church in Fort Wayne. The evening included prayer, praise and worship, and discussion about shared Christian beliefs. Sonrise Church got involved with Unity Nights about a year ago when the members of Shema Culture asked if the congregation would like to join in one with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Caleb Stayton said during a phone interview before the event. It has been wonderful to see Christians of different denominations come together, he said. As they say at Sonrise, “We see Christ better when we are all together,” he added. The evening alternated between reverential contemporary praise and worship music and speakers offering discussion or prayer. “God is working tonight. God is working in our city in a very powerful way,” Teaching Pastor Tony Opliger of Northeast Church in Fort Wayne said before offering an opening prayer. Bishop Rhoades and Norman, standing on stage with hand-held microphones, then held an informal discussion about their friendship and the common beliefs shared by Catholics and Protestants. Their easy-going banter has grown out of knowing each other since January of 2024. Norman invited Bishop Rhoades to explain the Catholic Church’s views on Christian unity. “The Second Vatican Council, back in the early 1960s, there was an important document, a decree on ecumenism, which spoke of the Catholic Church’s irrevocable commitment to the restoration of full Christian unity,” Bishop Rhoades said. “This is not optional for us. Why isn’t that optional? Because we believe it is the will of the Lord Jesus. Division is not Our Lord’s will.” Division also hurts Catholics’ and Protestants’ missionary work, the bishop noted. “I think it’s important to keep in mind that, in many ways, and in the most important ways, we are united,” the bishop said. As an example, he cited the Nicene Creed, noting it was created after some Christians began denying that Jesus was divine. “Well, we profess that creed together. I mean, this is not small. We together believe in the divinity of Christ. We believe He is God, the son of God as we say in the Nicene Creed, ‘begotten, not made.’ … He is eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, and He became man by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and came for us men and for our salvation. … That’s a lot that we agree on!” Bishop Rhoades exclaimed, drawing applause from the audience. Norman said getting to know local Catholics throughout the past two years, in part through Shema Culture, has refreshed his spirit and encouraged his faith. “The thing about unity is that, as you say, it’s around Jesus,” Norman said. “And the pursuit of unity is a by-product of our pursuit of Jesus. And because we’re all pursuing the same Jesus, not different Jesuses, that unity is just so, so meaningful, and it’s just been life-changing for me personally.” Norman said he believes God is at work rebuilding His church here and in locations around the world. Satan, however, continues to try to keep Christians divided. “It’s been an encouragement to me that, even though there may be differences in some doctrinal beliefs, the most important thing is that we believe in the same Jesus, the same Triune God, and God will bring about the unity in His perfect timing,” Norman said. “We just need to continue to pursue Him. And that’s what we’re doing tonight, and that’s such a blessing – and that’s something to celebrate!” Catholics and evangelical Protestants share many moral teachings, Bishop Rhoades added. “There are so many areas where Catholics and our evangelical brothers and sisters are together on issues of life, and marriage, and family,” he said. “And that, for me, is a cause of real hope, because we are biblical. We believe in the inspired word of God.” Where biblical interpretation differs, it can be addressed through theological dialogue, the bishop said. The evening closed with prayers by Father Schneider and Father Mark Hellinger, parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Wayne. “Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the light,” Father Schneider began. He also pledged that those present would walk with Jesus through the trials and crucifixion of the Easter season. Father Hellinger closed the evening by offering a blessing on those attending. “Father, giving thanks and praise for this time together, and giving thanks and praise for the way in which your Word has come to dwell in us, your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord. We give thanks and praise for the ways in which your Spirit has renewed us tonight and ask that that renewal continue as we return to our lives and that we not allow this moment to pass and we be changed by it and driven to spread your Gospel, to spread the kingdom that you established with your son, Jesus Christ. We ask that you strengthen us always with a continued outpouring of your Spirit.” The post Unity Night Celebrates Shared Beliefs of Catholics, Protestants appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less