Written by: United Theological Seminary March 20, 2020

What Geoffrey Wainwright Taught Me About Ecumenism

“What Geoffrey Wainwright Taught Me About Ecumenism”
19 March 2020

Dr. Geoffrey Wainwright, a leading Methodist ecumenical theologian, died earlier this week. A Methodist minister and theologian of worship and church life, Wainwright was influential on global conversations on church unity and ecumenical struggle, especially in the years after Vatican II, a period in the 1970s-1990s in which Roman Catholicism entered into ecumencial dialogue with key Protestant and Orthodox denominations.

I was privileged to know Wainwright while I was a graduate student at Duke Divinity School. Wainwright and I could not have been in more different places in life when we first met. I was young– very young–, and just starting my theological education. He was nearing the final years of his career at Duke where he had taught theology since 1983, and I was fresh off my first masters, on what I hoped would be a fast track to a doctoral program in theology.

I registered for a course with Wainwright my first semester at Duke. All the graduate students were scrambling to get into this course, Systems of Theology. Wainwright’s seminars were becoming fewer and farther between, and I was lucky to get a seat. I walked into the seminar room on the first day overlooking the yard outside Duke Chapel, having been up late the night before reading as much of the first volume of German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg’s systematic theology as I could before dozing off in the library.* Professor Wainwright sat down grumpily, called our names off his sheet from the registrar, and then started asking questions in his bright British accent.

About three questions in, he asked me, “What impact do you believe Hegel’s philosophical system had on Pannenberg’s view of theological method?” I did what most aspiring doctoral students do and made something up. I used a lot of big words (most of them incorrectly) and managed to sputter out a half-decent answer, to which Wainwright nodded approvingly. He paused, took a breath, and in a kind but also knowing tone, said: “You did well. Err, well, you did the best you could. You are just starting out on this, mind you….”

Geoffrey Wainwright was a giant amongst Wesleyan theologians of the late twentieth century, writing on issues of ecumenical unity, worship and theology, and liturgical practice. His most influential work, Doxology, was informed both by the practical concerns of ecumenical worship and his direct experience as an itinerant minister in Methodist parishes in the UK and West Africa. Wainwright struggled to hold together the desire for Christian unity with the distinctive preferences of his British Wesleyan tradition, and so worked tirelessly “at-the-hyphens” of diverse and divergent ways of thinking about God, self, and the other. In his courses, both in seminar sections and lectures, Wainwright would remind us that he preferred to be called an evangelical-orthodox-catholic theologian because the unique distinctives of each of those differing traditions formed the core part of parallelist approach to Christian unity that refused the binary choices of exclusivity and inclusivity. One must not cease to be who one is in order to be in communion with the other. Identity need not crowd out difference.

Wainwright’s ecumenical generosity was very influential on my own theological thinking—and my work at United. When I talk to prospective students about United’s theological aspiration to be a radically inclusive community, I am reminded of Wainwright’s insistence that what makes Christian theology “Christian” is its commitment to solidarity: radical accompaniment with that which is not itself. United’s commitments to engage the other in interreligious friendship and ecumencial curiosity are grounded in its Christian roots. Its language, its liturgies, its music, its daily patterns and rhythms of life should reflect that. I believe that Wainwright would be pleased with the work United has done throughout its history to embody those values. And yet, Wainwright was always the first to admit that imperfection, indeed, failure was essential to growth, key to struggling for Christian unity in a context of triumphalism.

My last year at Duke, Wainwright taught a seminar on “eschatology,” where we explored major ideas about the “last things”: death, dying, and the end of time. I wrote a seminar paper on—you guessed it—Pannenberg’s concept of God as the end of history, and tried feebly to incorporate Wainwright’s own work on theologies of funeral rites into the paper’s thesis. At the end of the seminar, I sat in his office and fidgeted uncomfortably as we reviewed my work together, page by page, paragraph by paragraph, citation by citation. At some point in the discussion, Wainwright stopped, took his glasses off wearily, and said with a sly, but satisfied, smile, “You did well. Not as good as I had hoped, but well.”

Wainwright was nothing if not a gracious and generous pastor, a theologian of great accomplishment who dedicated his life and work to teaching faith and spiritual leaders about the moral and social impact of curiosity and openness to difference. I believe that work continues in what I do here at United; inviting prospective students into an intellectual community, struggling and striving as it always does, that aspires to live up to the values set forth by the very ideas Wainwright worked to advance in his writings and his work with students. Perhaps we don’t always do as well as we hope, but Wainwright always saw the bright side of ecumencial struggle. The unity on the other side of difference. This, he said, is where the Spirit of God is given voice in the songs and bodies of God’s people.

* Wolfhart Pannenberg (1929-2014) was a German Lutheran theologian in the late twentieth century.

Explore More Articles

January 22, 2026

Statement by President Molly T. Marshall on Community Response Efforts

These are fraught days for us. Those who call the Twin Cities home persist under the pall of a federal occupation, bracing each day for word of a new atrocity. In the weeks since an ICE agent killed Renee Good, we have seen the good people of Minneapolis and St. Paul show up for one another as armed federal agents patrol our communities, violating due process and cruelly abducting thousands of people. I think often of our friends and neighbors—including some members of the United community—as they live under the acute terror ICE has wrought on their neighborhoods. Many rely on the aid of a trusted few to meet their basic needs. Facing an oppressive force, our communities have turned outward with resilience, toward one another, embodying anew the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I have been deeply moved by the courage of my neighbors and, in particular, United’s students, alums, trustees, and faculty and staff. They model solidarity despite extreme cold, attending vigils, leading music, creating art, and keeping watch with whistles over their neighborhoods while ICE patrols their streets. Chaplains involved in interfaith organizations are supporting local demonstrations and assisting in de-escalation efforts. Lay leaders, prompted to care for their vulnerable neighbors, are picking up groceries, taking kids to school, and meeting material needs in a vast network of mutual aid. Indeed, this is servant leadership. This week, clergy and faith leaders of myriad traditions are answering MARCH’s call to resist this importunate occupation and bear witness to its harm. With members of our United community engaged in rapid response efforts, the seminary will be closed on Friday, January 23. And, in solidarity with fellow clergy and elected officials, I reaffirm my call that ICE must immediately end its terrorizing of the Twin Cities, leave Minnesota altogether, and bring to justice the agent who killed Ms. Good. Social transformation is one of United’s longstanding pillars, and we are seeing the real-world witness of faith and community leaders equipped for the work of justice and peace. In the words of Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis, director of our Social Transformation Program, “Faith leaders are shaping Minnesota’s response to be highly ethical and effective.” The common good, though under grave threat, is in the committed stewardship of our very best. In the days ahead, may we be courageous in our convictions for the love and dignity of our neighbors. Rev. Molly T. Marshall, Phd President About United Founded by the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a welcoming, ecumenical school that embraces all denominations and faith traditions, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has been on the creative edge of progressive theological thought and leadership since it was established in 1962. Today, United continues to train leaders who, through the eyes of faith, engage in the dismantling systems of oppression, exploring multi-faith spirituality, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Media Contact Nathanial Green (he/him), Director of Marketing and Communications United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities press@unitedseminary.edu • 651-255-6138

Lauren Busey (’07) Ministers to a New Beloved Community at Pickledilly Skokie

Lauren Busey (’07) grew up in the Lutheran church, earned an undergraduate degree from Luther College, and thought she would probably attend a Lutheran seminary. Then, at a Luther College women’s retreat, Rev. Dr. Christie Cozad Nueger (’80)— Professor Emerita of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology (1992–2005)—was the featured speaker and knew Lauren’s campus pastor. “So,” Lauren remembers, “we just kind of got to talking, and within a couple of weeks, I was enrolled at United.” United “was a good fit,” Lauren asserts. She found a welcoming community of fellow students and treasured professors. Those who had the greatest impact include Rev. Dr. Jann Cather Weaver (Associate Professor Emerita of Worship, and Theology and the Arts, 2001–2012), Dr. Marilyn Salmon† (Professor Emerita of New Testament Theology, 1989–2014), and Dr. Carolyn Pressler (Professor Emerita of Biblical Interpretation, 1990–2020). After seminary, Lauren accepted a call back home in Evanston, Illinois, at the church where she grew up, Trinity Lutheran Church. Despite being a bit apprehensive about serving as the director of Faith Formation at her home church, Lauren found that the parishioners were warmly welcoming and supportive. She’s been there ever since and notes that the flexibility of the position allowed for a positive work-life balance. Lauren and her wife are raising two children. Just this year, however, Lauren, along with her wife and two business partners, embarked on a new venture—and in February 2025, the four co-owners opened a new state-of-the-art pickleball court in Skokie, Illinois. Dubbed Pickledilly Skokie, the new indoor space features 11.5 courts under high ceilings, lockers, a lounge area, and a pro shop. Plus, the venue is in the same complex as Sketchbook Brewing Company and has abundant free parking. So what happened? “I think my wife would say that I’ve always been the big idea person,” Lauren explains. Usually, she continues, Amy “nods and smiles and keeps on going,” but this time she agreed with the idea. Both Lauren and Amy are avid pickleball players, and Lauren says she found that the activity was much more of a “community-based sport.” Community was the key. As Lauren stated in a July 18, 2025, interview for Ryan Glatzhofer’s The Locals: Stories of Courageous Entrepreneurs, “One of the things that has always been a passion of mine is bringing people together.” Going a step further, she said more recently, “One of our pillars is that this is a safe space, and we are welcoming here.” How did United prepare Lauren for entrepreneurship? “United was really helpful to me in expanding my worldview and my understanding of diversity and not assuming you know where people are coming from.” As for the connection to ministry, Lauren asserts, “We’re still grounded in the same way of taking care of people, and loving people, and meeting them where they are.” __________________________ † of blessed memory

Images of Hope: Advent in Art

Art has the tremendous power to restore us in a time when our world seems to make no sense and we need a moment of respite and encouragement from our daily struggles. A single photograph of a flower or a laughing child can buoy our spirit to carry on. (more…)