Our TST Award recipient from the Catholic church is Dr. Margaret O’Gara:

Dr. Margaret O’Gara was a Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Michael’s College. As a theologian, she devoted 37 years to fostering dialogue among Christians for the sake of overcoming divisions between the churches. She was a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada (1976 – 93); the Disciples of Christ-Roman Catholic International Commission for Dialogue (since 1983); the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue (since 1994); the Lutheran-Roman Catholic International Commission for Unity (1995 – 2002); Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada (since 2008); and Bridgefolk, (since 2002). She served as president of the North American Academy of Ecumenists (1987-89) and the Catholic Theological Society of America (2007-2008). She was a member of the Toronto Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission (since 1988). She was a Board member of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research (since 1990). She served as the Anglophone theological advisor to the delegation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops at the World Synod of Bishops (2001).

 

“When we pray together without ceasing for the unity of the Church, we learn different styles of love. I remember one dramatic experience of this very clearly. I was drafting a statement of agreement for the International Dialogue for the Roman Catholic Church and the Disciples of Christ. Our topic was complex and important. We had spent five days at an ecumenical monastery for men and women. We ate together, talked together, and repeatedly prayed together. But now it was late at night. The meeting would end the next day and we had run into a roadblock. As midnight came and went, our small drafting group of three colleagues sat together in a mood of dismay. We stared at the words of the Roman Catholic position and saw no way to reach agreement or even to formulate our disagreement. My mind seemed drained of thought, numb with effort. Suddenly, gently, my two Disciples colleagues, David and Nadia, began formulating the Roman Catholic position. This was my position – but they said it for me. Accurately and sympathetically, they found for me the right words to express the position of my church communion when I, myself, could not find them. I remember being astonished, at the time, and recognizing that we had actually achieved a common mind on the question. The next day our entire dialogue group came to a major agreement because of our late night work. We ended our week of dialogue with a service that we filled with joyful song, and prayers of grace.”

Dr. Michael Vertin quoting Dr. Margaret O’Gara 

 

“Our pursuit of theology takes a long time, but our wholehearted striving is more than justified by the immeasurable value of the goal.” I suggest that [Margaret]  would say the same thing specifically about ecumenical theology with its goal of promoting the divinely willed unity of Christ’s church.”

Dr. Michael Vertin

 

“Studying theology takes time. No wonder it requires that we engage with so many Christian thinkers, past and present; that we consider so many perspectives; that we read such demanding articles and books; that we write such precise essays and dissertations and that we give ourselves time to grow into what we are learning. The deepened renewal of our knowledge is not finished in a year, and, in truth, it is not finished in the three or six years of our degree studies. The deepened renewal of our knowledge that is theology is the calling of a lifetime and indeed of many lifetimes, from one generation to the next in the Church. But, in fact, it is worth it. Theology is worth a life. Let us take heart from that.”

Dr. Michael Vertin quoting Dr. Margaret O’Gara