wfn.org | ELCA Assembly Discussion Praises Moravian Mission Emphasis

[News News <news@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 19, 1999

ELCA ASSEMBLY DISCUSSION PRAISES MORAVIAN MISSION EMPHASIS
99-CWA-25-FI

     DENVER (ELCA) -- The 1999 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) used about 20 minutes of the hour
scheduled Aug. 18 to discuss a proposal for full communion with the
Moravian Church in America.  None of the 1,039 voting members rose to
speak against the plan.
     The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the
ELCA, is meeting Aug. 16-22 here at the Colorado Convention Center.
There are more than 2,500 people participating, including 1,039 ELCA
voting members.  The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ
Known: Hope for a New Century."
     One of eight short speeches questioned the ecumenical principle of
"complementarity" on which the Lutheran-Moravian proposal for full
communion, "Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion," is based.  The
Rev. John H.P. Reumann, retired professor of New Testament and Greek,
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, said he planned to vote
in favor of the proposal but thought the principle of affirming other
ideas simply because they complement Lutheran emphases may set a bad
precedent for other ecumenical discussions.
     The Rev. Jon S. Enslin, bishop of the ELCA South-Central Synod of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., related a bit of history from the U.S. Virgin
Islands.  In the 18th century, Moravian missionaries came to minister to
slaves arriving from Africa.  Unhappy Danish slave-owners required
Moravians to be sold into slavery first.  When the Moravians agreed, the
Danes and Lutheran missionaries were shamed into changing their views
toward slavery, said Enslin.
     Admitting that he never met a Moravian until the ELCA started
talking about full communion with them, the Rev. Floyd M. Schoenhals,
bishop of the ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, said Moravians have a
history in Oklahoma of ministering with the Cherokee people as they were
being relocated to reservations.  A cemetery of Moravian missionaries is
a monument to mission and ministry with Cherokee people and a witness to
Lutherans in Oklahoma today, he said.
     The Rev. Richard J. Foss, bishop of the ELCA Eastern North Dakota
Synod, Fargo, N.D., said the Moravian proposal for full communion was "a
delight to support."  Foss has been a vocal opponent of a Lutheran
proposal for full communion with The Episcopal Church; and he said the
more he compared the two proposals the more he appreciated "Following
Our Shepherd to Full Communion."
     The Rev. James E. Sudbrock, voting member from the ELCA
Metropolitan New York Synod, pointed out that Moravians ordain bishops
into a three-fold office ordained ministry -- a point of contention
among Lutherans considering full communion with the Episcopal Church.
He said the difference between the two proposals was that Moravians were
not asking Lutherans to change their practices, "but it strikes me that
one does not enter into a relationship without change."
     "I personally have been very nourished by the faith of Moravians,"
said R. Guy Erwin, voting member from the ELCA New England Synod.  He
said he was glad to see "a Lutheran trust in God and a Moravian love for
Jesus" fused together in one agreement.
     Mary B. Heller, voting member from the ELCA Metropolitan New York
Synod, said Christians are a minority in today's world, and talks about
full communion can help communicate "we are first and foremost
Christian."  She built on the assembly theme and said full communion
with Moravians will help Lutherans spread the gospel, "making Christ
known" around the world.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html