July 30, 2025

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

Inspired by Jesus’ prayer in John 17, a Christian entertainment event in Mooers became an opportunity for “relational reconciliation” between Christian denominations, including representatives of the Diocese of Ogdensburg.

Up North Worship was held July 12 at Mooers Camp Meeting, a camp owned by the Wesleyan Church in that community. The event featured Catholic musician Matt Maher as the headline performer.

Maher’s participation in the event resulted from a series of friendships rooted in a love of Christ.

“Fifteen months ago, I met Trevor (Finley), the associate pastor, at the Wesleyan church,” said Pastor Don Curry of New Testament Church. “I asked him, ‘what keeps you going?’ He said, ‘Up North Worship is a really big thing.’ I hadn’t heard of it before, so I asked, ‘what’s Up North Worship?’ He told me it’s a day of entertainment – Christian entertainment – for families that’s held at the campground in Mooers.”

Pastor Curry said he then asked Finley if he was familiar with the music of Matt Maher, a Catholic musician.

“I told him I know a guy,” he said. “I told him Matt might come if (John 17 movement founder) Joe (Tosini) asks him. Joe asked. Matt agreed.”

The John 17 movement, founded by Tosini in 2013, works to create friendships and unity between individuals of different Christian denominations.

“This is a unity not based on uniformity of doctrine and practice, but rather a reconciliation of relationships calling us back to Jesus’ prayer in the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel – that His followers would be one,” says the organization’s website. “That prayer, we believe, expresses the clear purpose of salvation. Sin’s goal is division, ending with each of us being alone, separated from our Creator and each other. Salvation’s goal is to bring us individually and collectively back into harmony with our Creator and each other. Displaying that harmony is a major part of the church’s call.”

Toward the goal of Christian unity, a gathering was planned the night before the July 12 music festival.

“I’ve developed friendships first with (Father) Mark (Reilly) and then with Bishop Terry (R. LaValley),” said Pastor Curry. “I talked to Bishop Terry (LaValley), and he was in. Letters were sent to every single parish in the diocese. (Bishop LaValley) assigned someone, Father Garry Giroux, to help. We had about 50 Protestants and 50 Catholics represented at the meal. We had 23 priests, some diocesan staff, and a number of deacons and lay people.”

“I think when we first made the pitch, it was a bit of a hard sell,” said Father Reilly, pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in Massena. “It’s a solid drive to get to Mooers for a Friday evening dinner or a festival on Saturday. People were wondering, ‘what’s the agenda? What are we doing?’ My response? ‘Making friends. There isn’t an agenda except gathering around a table and hopefully sitting with someone you don’t know, maybe develop friendships across denominational lines.’”

In addition to sharing a meal, the event included brief talks from Bishop LaValley, Tosini, Maher and Father Reilly.

“It was just a meeting pleasing to God,” said Tosini. “It was the shepherds of God’s people loving each other, all as brothers. That will affect the sheep and bring people to Christ. Jesus was very clear to the 12 apostles. He wanted them to know ‘I call you friends. Not servants, but friends. I shared everything with you. Share with each other.’ He realized they needed to be friends. It’s a basic foundational principle. It’s not a transactional relationship like going to Costco. It’s friendship. The only agenda is, ‘how are you doing? I’d like to know you.’ That’s really hard in a corporate world. In that context, a relationship doesn’t make sense unless there’s a reason for it – what’s the cost/benefit analysis? But Christ calls us to relationships. It’s becoming friends. It’s family. Everything springs from that. Once you understand that, once it gets inside you and you realize it’s what’s pleasing to God, what pleases God pleases me. What pleases God is me loving this guy Mark Reilly who happens to be a priest. It’s loving regardless of who the person is or their denomination.”

“(The John 17 movement) uses the phrase ‘relational reconciliation,’” added Father Reilly. “There have been centuries worth of theological ecumenical initiatives. That’s more doctrinal and theological reconciliation – working out the issues of theology where the different denominations differ. The way I understand (Tosini’s) vision, this is more in the practical realm – on the streets and to people in the pews and in worship spaces. It’s about relationships.”

Arriving at the Moeers camp on the day of the festival, event organizers saw a sign – literally a sign – that suggested they were on the right path with promoting relationships across denominational lines at the Up North Worship event.

“One of Pope Paul VI’s favorite verses – or a verse he found significant – was from First John Chapter 4 – ‘God is love,’” said Tosini. “The goal of all of this is love – that all the people who are connected to Jesus will have God’s love permeating with and through them. At our meeting, Matt Maher said Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is hidden in plain sight. At this camp, this 100-year-old Wesleyan camp, there’s a sign that’s been there for possibly 100 years. On that sign, there’s a verse. The verse? John 17. The event organizer, (Pastor Finley) said he’s been here is whole life and never noticed that verse on that sign.”

Father Reilly, Tosini and Pastor Curry said they hope the gathering and festival bears fruit through ongoing relationships.

“I hope the follow-up would be for priests and pastors to reach out to the pastor from the church down the road of a different denomination, and go have coffee with them,” said Father Reilly. “Father Jay Seymour from Gouverneur carpooled to the dinner with a protestant pastor from his area. It’s those friendships that open hearts and minds.”

“I hope people continue to be intentional about connecting,” added Pastor Curry. “Maybe you get together with the pastor from another church and pray together every other week. Every year, my congregation hosts something to bring us all together to pray together.

“It’s not a race. Relating to others is playing the long game.”

“And developing relationships requires maintenance,” noted Tosini. “It’s saying, ‘spending time with this other person and our friendship is a priority – it’s what God wants of us.”