wfn.org | ELCA Assembly ends on note of reconciliation

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Some church members may feel "disenfranchised" by "CCM" decision

DENVER, United States of America/GENEVA, 25 August 1999 (lwi) - The
closing minutes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
1999 Churchwide Assembly were spent addressing concerns that linger
across the ELCA after an intense debate over a proposal to enter a
relationship of full communion with The Episcopal Church.

The ELCA assembly, meeting from 16 to 22 August at the Colorado
Convention Center in Denver, approved on August 19 the Lutheran proposal
for full communion with The Episcopal Church, namely "Called to Common
Mission" (CCM), by a vote of 716 to 317, representing the required
two-thirds majority vote.

Full communion means that churches recognize each other's ministries,
agree to work closely together in mission and allow for the exchange of
clergy. A Lutheran proposal, CCM must be approved by a general
convention of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church which meets in July 2000.

"A significant minority in this hall is in a state of grief," the Rev.
John E. Fahning, an interim pastor of the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod,
was quoted by the ELCA's news and information service, ELCA News,
telling the assembly after the proposal was adopted. "I saw the church I
thought I knew blown away."

Referring to a prophet of the Bible, Fahning said, "When Elijah suffered
defeat after victory, he fled to the wilderness and sat down under a
solitary broom tree and asked God that he might die. "I do have a maple
tree. I am going to sit down under it and read Psalm 115: 'I praise the
Lord. We will bless the Lord from this time on and forever more.' Some
of us are scattered like sheep without a shepherd. We will live lost
into Christ," he added.

The Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, responded, saying:
"I should like to say to you and all those who do not support 'Called to
Common Mission', I know where your heart is. I know you cherish your
involvement in the church."

A key point in the debate was the prominence Lutheran bishops would
realize when the ELCA incorporates the "historic episcopate" of the
Episcopal Church. Those opposed to the proposal argued that placing
Lutheran bishops in an Anglican succession of bishops back to the
earliest days of the Christian church would detract from the Lutheran
principle of "the priesthood of all believers".

Another element of the debate was whether or not entering into full
communion with the Episcopal Church would limit the ELCA's ecumenical
activities with other Christian denominations which do not have the
historic episcopate. To those who opposed the proposal Anderson
responded saying: "You are ready to reach out to other churches. I thank
you for being champions of these priorities," as he pledged "to you to
do all I can to achieve them."

Earlier during the assembly, leaders of the ELCA discussed how they can
participate in the "healing process" that must occur among members of
the church who may feel "disenfranchised" by the decision of the 1999
Churchwide Assembly to approve a full communion agreement with The
Episcopal Church.

In a joint statement issued by Dr. Addie J. Butler, the ELCA vice
president and the Rev. Charles H. Maahs, chair of the ELCA Conference of
Bishops, they said members of the ELCA Church Council and the 66 bishops
of the ELCA are concerned that the church work actively to avoid
regional labels or denigration.

"Some bishops said they face many difficulties in the coming days as
they work with members who were opposed to the agreement," the statement
said. "As ELCA leaders, we understand the need to support and pray for
colleagues in leadership positions and those they serve. We must work
together as one church," the church leaders said.

The statement called for respect for those who opposed CCM and for
including those who opposed the document "in future discussions related
to this issue." Maahs and Butler said it was suggested that "we be
particularly attentive" to including leaders who actively opposed CCM,
as the leadership listen to concerns "of members and clergy who may feel
disenfranchised."

(See earlier LWI articles on the 1999 ELCA Assembly.)

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat
is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented
does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (lwi), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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