wfn.org | Lutheran Bishops Assess Episcopal "Full Communion"

[ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 17, 1996

LUTHERAN BISHOPS ASSESS EPISCOPAL "FULL COMMUNION"
96-23-066-AH

     WHITE HAVEN, Pa. (ELCA) -- Bishops of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America left the Pocono Mountains with fewer
concerns about entering into full communion with the Episcopal
Church in the U.S.A. than they brought to their semi-annual
meeting.  The ELCA Conference of Bishops met here Oct. 3-8 in the
company of the Episcopal House of Bishops.
     The ELCA bishops expressed "delight" that "God is calling us
to a closer relationship with the Episcopal Church."  They
offered a series of suggestions regarding the proposed "Concordat
of Agreement" that could lead to "full communion" between the two
churches.  The suggestions will go to the Lutheran-Episcopal
Coordinating Committee that meets Oct. 31-Nov. 3 near
Indianapolis.  The governing bodies of the two churches will vote
on the Concordat in the summer of 1997.
     The ELCA Conference of Bishops includes the church's
presiding bishop, secretary and 65 synod bishops.  The Episcopal
House of Bishops includes more than 300 members, and about 156
Episcopal bishops attended the meeting.
     "Full communion" would make it possible for the two churches
to share clergy and cooperate more fully in their social service
and mission efforts.  While merger is not the intent, an
expression of unity in Christ is one of the major goals.
     The Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, told the
conference, "As we move beyond the time for significant
alterations (in the Concordat), we must decide how we will lead."
     Anderson asked, "Can we accept the imperfections and
limitations in the proposed documents?  If we believe our
differences need not be church-dividing, are we likewise
convinced that the envisioned greater unity will not threaten our
understandings of the church as the place of proper gospel
proclamation and sacramental celebration?  Above all, can we see
the possibilities for good, for mission and for witness that full
communion can provide?"
     Focusing on the Concordat's potential impact for mission,
the Conference of Bishops encouraged the coordinating committee
to add a prologue articulating how the gospel might be proclaimed
more effectively through the expanded partnership and full
communion it envisions.
     The Rev. Paul J. Blom, Houston, described the meeting as
"break-through time."  Blom is bishop of the ELCA's Texas-
Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod and a member of the Lutheran-Episcopal
Coordinating Committee.
     Later Blom said the Lutheran and Episcopal bishops
"discovered we have a great deal in common in our work and in our
theology.  The differences which we tried to understand from
varying points of view focused on the historic episcopate, the
orders of ministry and the subtle but important difference
between a 'confessional' church and a 'liturgical' church."
     The primary area of concern for Lutheran bishops will be the
"historic episcopate," according to Blom.  The two churches
continue to grapple with their understandings of "apostolic
succession" -- an ongoing connection with Christ and his ministry
-- and "historic episcopate" -- an unbroken succession of bishops
traced back to the early days of the Christian church.
     Blom cited the order of ministry as another concern.  "The
ELCA adopted a position in 1993 which holds that we have one
ordained office with several functions within it.  The three-fold
office of the Episcopal tradition (bishop, pastor and deacon) is
not acceptable to some Lutherans, and will be a major issue of
discussion.  The matter is one of identity for the Episcopal
bishops and the authenticity of ministers for the Lutherans,? he
said.
     Blom said the coordinating committee "will face a full
agenda, and it will be a time of working hard to persuade some
folks that the recommendations of the ELCA bishops need to be
taken very seriously."
     The Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, ELCA director for ecumenical
affairs, outlined some of the questions the churches will have to
address when the Concordat is approved:  "What is involved in the
exchange of pastors?  How will rostering be done?  How will we
work out details of accountability and discipline?  What kinds of
institutional cooperation might concretely emerge?  How will it
affect the local/global connections -- relationships with the
Lutheran World Federation and the Anglican communion worldwide?"
     According to Martensen, changes in some of the provisions of
the Concordat can still be made.
     Several midwestern bishops expressed concern about the
prospects for acceptance of the agreement at the ELCA Churchwide
Assembly.  The Rev. Stanley N. Olson, bishop of the ELCA's
Southwestern Minnesota Synod, suggested the Concordat is in
"major trouble" in at least 12 ELCA synods.  Olson is a member of
the bishops' ecumenical affairs committee and helped draft the
series of suggestions that will go to the coordinating committee.
     The Rev. Steven L. Ullestad, bishop of the ELCA's
Northeastern Iowa Synod, said, "We don't want a 'No' vote on
this."  He said, "If we can enter into this as full partners and
know that our tradition will be honored, then we want to move
forward empowered for mission."
     The Rev. Curtis H. Miller, bishop of the ELCA's Western Iowa
Synod, said, "We are going to live with this for a long time.
Our goal is not just to pass something, but to do it in a way
that people feel they have been heard."

For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service,
(312) 380-2958 or AHAFFTEN@ELCA.ORG; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir.,
(312) 380-2955 or FRANKI@ELCA.ORG