wfn.org | Eight ELCA Bishops Announce Support for CMM - MARGIN CORRECTED

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 1, 1999

EIGHT ELCA BISHOPS ANNOUNCE SUPPORT
FOR "CALLED TO COMMON MISSION"
99-12-072-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   Acknowledging that not everyone in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) favors a proposal for full
communion with the Episcopal Church, eight ELCA synod bishops formally
announced they will support the proposal at the 1999 ELCA Churchwide
Assembly.
     The proposed agreement, "Called to Common Mission," (CCM) has
generated some opposition in the ELCA, much of it focused on the
historic episcopate.  The ELCA and the Episcopalians agree on the
doctrine of "apostolic succession" an ongoing faithful proclamation of
Christ; Episcopalians bring to the relationship the "historic
episcopate," a succession of bishops as a sign of unity back to the
earliest days of the Christian Church.
     Concerns have also been raised about the role of bishops and
Lutheran identity in a full communion agreement with the Episcopal
Church.
     Lutheran-Episcopal dialogues that began in 1983 developed a
process for full communion between the two churches, "The Concordat of
Agreement," issued in 1991.  A convention of the Episcopal Church
approved it in 1997.  That same year, the ELCA assembly defeated the
proposal by six votes and asked that the Concordat be revised, taking
the assembly's debate into account.  The revision is CCM.
     "It is our intention to vote for CCM and we urge the 1999
Churchwide Assembly to cast a strong, positive vote in favor of its
adoption," the eight bishops said in a written statement. A similar
statement was tabled at a meeting of all 65 ELCA synod bishops in
Tucson, Ariz.   The Rev. Paull E. Spring, bishop of the ELCA
Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, submitted that proposal.
     "We believe CCM provides a significant opportunity for the ELCA
and the Episcopal Church to enter into a relationship of full communion,
one that is obedient to the prayer of Jesus, is congruent with our
confession as evangelical Lutherans and is dependent on God's call to
mission under the Gospel," the statement from the eight bishops said.
     The bishops said they were "pleased" CCM reflects significant
changes over the previous Concordat.  They said changes include:
     + expansion of the section on the ministry of the whole people of
       God, which underscores the priesthood of all the baptized;
     + the affirmation that the historic episcopate is a sign, but not
       a guarantee, of the church's unity and doctrine;
     + a recognition that the ELCA accepts the historic episcopate in
       practice, but not the threefold order of ministry;
     + the consistency in CCM whereby the relationship of full
       communion is placed within the context of the church's mission
       task;
     + the revised process for installation of ELCA bishops with the
       laying on of hands by other bishops, at least three of whom are
       to be in the historic succession; and
     + the invitation of one of more bishops in the Episcopal Church
       to participate in the installation and laying on of hands.
     The bishops' statement commended those who oppose CCM "for their
love of the gospel and their intention to be faithful to the confessions
of our church."
     The eight ELCA bishops who signed the statement include the Rev.
Ralph Dunkin, West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod; the Rev. Guy S.
Edmiston, Lower Susquehanna Synod; the Rev. A. Donald Main, Upper
Susquehanna Synod; the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, Southwestern Pennsylvania
Synod; the Rev. George P. Mocko, Delaware-Maryland Synod; the Rev.
Gregory R. Pile, Allegheny Synod; the Rev. Theodore F. Schneider,
Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod; and Spring.  They serve in eight
contiguous synods which comprise the ELCA's Region 8.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html