Cardinal O’Malley Accepts Invitation to Preach at Sudbury United Methodist Church

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, has accepted an invitation to preach during an ecumenical service of worship to be held at 4 p.m. at Sudbury United Methodist Church on Sunday, Jan. 12, according to BostonCatholic.org.   

The Rev. Richard Erikson, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury, and the Rev. Joel Guillemette, pastor of Sudbury United Methodist Church, invited Cardinal O’Malley to speak during a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of Richard Cardinal Cushing’s historic visit to Sudbury United Methodist Church on January 19, 1964.

Cardinal Cushing’s visit honored the members of Sudbury United Methodist Church, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, and representatives of other Christian communities in Boston’s Metrowest area with one of the first ecumenical visits made by the archdiocese’s episcopal leader during Vatican II.  Father Erikson and Pastor Guillemette extended their invitation to Cardinal O’Malley jointly, remembering that 2014 also recalls the 50th anniversary of Vatican II and the significant ecumenical milestones it made possible.

The United Methodist pastor and Roman Catholic priest met in March 2012 while both were taking part in Sudbury’s monthly gatherings for clergy and other religious professionals soon after Father Erikson’s arrival at Our Lady of Fatima Parish.  

In their letter to Cardinal O’Malley they wrote, “Both of us give thanks to God for the opportunities we have enjoyed to taste the fruits of ecumenical dialogue, Richard in military chaplaincy, Joel in an ecumenical seminary and the Council of Churches in another New England state.  We are also part of a collegial and active clergy association here in Sudbury.”