Group Given Papal Thanks

Ralph Martin, a leader of The Word of God, an ecumenical Christian community in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area, was among a group of international leaders in the Catholic charismatic renewal who met with Pope John Paul II, during which Martin supported the pontiff's efforts to "destroy the doubt and uncertainty that is sapping the strength of the church today."
The pope expressed appreciation for the movement, which he called a "very important component of the entire renewal of the church," and for The Word of God community, which he cited as an example of interdenominational cooperation.
THE POPE told Martin that he was familiar with The Word of God community and thanked the leaders "for all the work you are doing in ecumenism. It is good for Catholics and protestants to do things together.

The Catholic charismatic renewal is a spiritual renewal movement that began in the Catholic Church in 1967.

THE MOVEMENT has given rise to the development of numerous covenant communities, in which Christians commit their lives to serving God together as body. The Word of God, which has some 1,400 members in Washtenaw County, was one of the earliest such communities to develop.