wfn.org | Lutherans and Episcopalians wrestle with full communion

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

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99-043
Lutheran bishops wrestle with proposal for full communion with Episcopal
Church
by James Solheim
(ENS) Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
tabled a resolution that would have urged the Churchwide Assembly to
"cast a strong, positive vote in favor of the adoption" of Called to
Common Mission (CCM), the proposal for full communion with the Episcopal
Church.

The Conference of Bishops, representing the ELCA's 65 regional synods in
the 5.2 million-member denomination, tabled the resolution at the March
meeting in Arizona, fearing that an endorsement would be too divisive.
The bishops did approve a statement to be used at synod assemblies,
clarifying some of the major elements of the CCM, a revision of the
original Concordat of Agreement calling for full communion. Among its
major points, it said:
*	there is no requirement for the ELCA to eventually adopt the
three-fold order of ministry or to elect bishops for life;
*	there is no "defined role" for the presiding bishop or synodical
bishops once their terms are completed;
*	ordination of clergy will continue at synodical worship services
and in congregations;
*	the ELCA will receive ordained clergy from other traditions on
its roster, "some of whom will not have been ordained by bishops in the
historic episcopate":
*	the Episcopal Church "accepts fully, and without reservation,
present Lutheran pastors and bishops who are not in the historic
episcopate", and
*	the ELCA "receives the historic episcopate as a sign of and
service to the continuity and unity of the church and in no way as a
guarantee of the faithful transmission of the faith."
More clarity over role of bishops
"We will have a deeply divided church by the end of this spring's synod
assemblies," warned Bishop David Olson of the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Bishop Rick Foss of the Eastern North Dakota Synod said, "As I listen to
the church I don't think it will pass." He opposes the CCM "because I
think it's the wrong way to do mission," although he admitted that the
resolution clarifying its proposals may help at the Churchwide Assembly
in August.

Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson said that he was convinced that "God
is calling us to enter into this relationship" with the Episcopal Church
because CCM "gives us the opportunity to identify more fully" with
Jesus' prayer for unity in John 17. "Some people sincerely believe this
means a loss of our identity. I would say it's more a way for us to
express our identity."

Opposition to the CCM and the earlier Concordat is focused on the role
of bishops. Lutherans in this country, unlike some of their Nordic
cousins, did not embrace the historic episcopate, the succession of
bishops as a sign of unity that stretches back to the earliest time of
the church. 

In adopting the statement on "The Office of the Bishop in the ELCA," the
bishops hoped to move beyond the fight over the historic episcopate to
the reality of the office, according to Bishop E. Roy Riley, Jr. of the
New Jersey Synod, who proposed the resolution. "If we would get
comfortable with that, then I think we can be comfortable with
ecumenical full communion with the Presbyterians, with Moravians, with
Episcopalians and whoever else," he said. 
Some bishops endorse proposal
Following the meeting, bishops in the eastern and New England synods
endorsed CCM. Eight bishops in Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia
issued a statement urging the Churchwide Assembly "to cast a strong,
positive vote in favor of its adoption." The bishops said that they were
convinced that full communion 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 bishops expressed appreciation for the significant changes in the
CCM proposal over the original Concordat. They cited the new emphasis on
the priesthood of all the baptized; affirmation of the historic
episcopate as a sign but not a guarantee of the church's unity and
doctrine; a recognition that the ELCA accepts the historic episcopate
but not the three-fold orders of ministry; and the revised process for
the installation of Lutheran bishops.

In a similar action, seven bishops in the church's neighboring synods in
Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey called the CCM "a critical and
marvelous opportunity" to link two Christian traditions. Their statement
agreed that the revised proposal was "clearer and more appropriate to
our American Lutheran heritage."

The faculty of the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia unanimously
endorsed CCM. Its statement said that the Lutheran witness to the Gospel
"is the strongest and best gift we offer in any ecumenical
conversation," adding that full communion would "offer us new
opportunities to witness to that Gospel with our Episcopalian brothers
and sisters in the world."
--James Solheim is the Episcopal Church's director of news and
information. This article is based on reports from the ELCA by Jack
Brooks, director of the Office of News and Information.