wfn.org | Committee Reviews Lutheran Relations with Other U.S. Churches

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 27, 1999

COMMITTEE REVIEWS LUTHERAN RELATIONS WITH OTHER U.S. CHURCHES
99-258-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The irony of the "full communion" proposal the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has made with The
Episcopal Church is that Episcopalians look forward very much to
receiving the gifts of Lutherans who oppose the proposal, said the Rev.
Duane H. Larson.  Larson chaired the annual meeting of the advisory
committee of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs here Oct. 22
which outlined the church's relations with other Christians and other
faith groups in the United States.
     Some within the ELCA have opposed the Lutheran proposal, "Called
to Common Mission" (CCM), because it will incorporate the "historic
episcopate" into the ELCA.  In the Episcopal Church the historic
episcopate is a succession of bishops -- a sign of unity back to the
earliest days of the Christian church.
     The ELCA Churchwide Assembly approved CCM by a 27-vote margin in
August.  The Episcopal General Convention will vote on it in 2000.
     Lutherans who opposed the proposal said it takes emphasis away
from "the priesthood of all believers" and places it on bishops.
Episcopalians have a similar emphasis on "the ministry of the baptized."
     "Communion is not being of a unified or a unitary sense, but it's
a community of differences," said Larson, president of Wartburg
Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa.  "All the shared perceptions coming
together around our central conviction in the lordship of Christ will
show that there is a wonderful reality, a transcending reality  greater
than any of us can imagine by ourselves, into which God is calling us."
     "We are challenged to take action in living into full communion
with other churches which will move us on to terrain yet unexplored,"
said the Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, director of the ELCA Department for
Ecumenical Affairs.  The ELCA is now in full communion with four U.S.
church bodies: the Moravian Church in America, Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.
     The Rev. Darlis J. Swan, associate director of the ELCA Department
for Ecumenical Affairs, outlined the work of coordinating committees as
they pursue the opportunities of full communion, and she discussed the
reception of ecumenical agreements into the life of the church.
     The advisory committee has taken the initiative to go beyond
trying to interpret ecumenical texts and "look down the road even 10 or
20 years as to what reception might mean," said Larson.  "It's an
advisory committee giving counsel on how we can live into our various
agreements."
     Swan talked about the delegation of ELCA members who will attend
the signing of the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification"
between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches Oct. 31 in Augsburg,
Germany.  The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA,
will be one of the 10 signers.
     The Rev. Randall R. Lee, the department's associate for bilateral
relations and dialogue, reported on the status of talks between the ELCA
and other church bodies -- the African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Mennonites, Orthodox Churches, Roman
Catholic Church and United Methodist Church.
     The Rev. Franklin E. Sherman, associate for interfaith relations,
described several events and projects exploring better relations among
Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other world religions.  He
discussed plans for Dr. Kristen Kvam, Kansas City, Mo., and him to
represent the ELCA at the Parliament of the World's Religions in
Capetown, South Africa, Dec. 1-8.
     The committee voted to express its gratitude to the ELCA Church
Council for adopting "Guidelines for Lutheran-Jewish Relations" in 1998.
The committee asked the council to encourage the use of the guidelines
throughout the church by such means as developing accompanying study
materials.
     "The advisory committee has found its voice," said Larson.  "There
has been perhaps a popular misperception that this advisory committee is
merely a place of imprimatur for decisions that have already been made
with respect to this church's ecumenical directions."
     Larson said the committee members expressed viewpoints heard
around the ELCA.  "This has meant good dialogue.  It has meant healthy
advice," he said.  "It has done so with humor, with mutual respect, and,
therefore, serves this particular department and our presiding bishop
very well."

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