wfn.org | Lutheran and Episcopal Churches inaugurate full communion January 6

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Note #6299 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

12-December-2000
00443

Lutheran and Episcopal Churches inaugurate full communion January 6 

by John Brooks and Jan Nunley

CHICAGO -- The Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. (ECUSA) and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will inaugurate their new full communion
relationship Jan. 6, 2001, in a service of Holy Eucharist at the National
Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The celebration will be jointly led by the
presiding bishops of both churches: the ELCA's H. George Anderson and
ECUSA's Frank T. Griswold.

	The cathedral's official name is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and
Saint Paul. It is the seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of
Washington and of the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

	The basis for the full communion relationship is contained in Called to
Common Mission (CCM), a document adopted by both churches. The ELCA adopted
CCM at its Churchwide Assembly in 1999. The Episcopal Church adopted CCM at
its General Convention this past summer. The ELCA and Episcopal Church
agreed to implement the relationship Jan.1, 2001.

	Under CCM, the churches agreed to cooperate in a variety of ministries, and
it allows for sharing of clergy under certain circumstances. It is not a
merger of the churches.

	The celebration service is expected to be about 90 minutes in length and
may draw as many as 3,600 people, the cathedral's seating capacity. The
event will begin with singing and processions at 10:30 a.m., followed by the
service at 11 a.m.

	"Participants in the service have been carefully selected to represent the
breadth of both our churches," said the Rev. David Perry, director of the
Episcopal Church's office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. "Many of
our ecumenical partners will be present, friends of both churches.

	"For Episcopalians, this is really the first step forward in the
realization of our unity in Christ," Perry added. "We haven't done anything
like this before."

	"With this worship event, this celebration of the fact of full communion,
we bridge an ecumenical chasm between Anglicanism and Lutheranism," said the
Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, director of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical
Affairs. "The bridge has been under construction for nearly four decades; it
spans not only two U.S.A. communions, but also continents. Our engagement in
common mission of proclamation, witness and service is now strengthened."

	The service will be broadcast with live audio and still photos from
http://www.FaithAndValuesMedia.org on the Internet. There will be links to
this site from the ELCA and Episcopal Church web sites.

	Anderson will preside over the Eucharistic liturgy. Griswold will preach
and preside over the renewal of baptismal vows, which will be done early in
the service.

	"There is no more fitting way to launch our shared mission and ministry
than by hearing Christ's promise and welcoming his presence in this
Eucharistic service," Anderson said.

	"The heart of our mission imperative comes from our grounding in the
baptismal promises that we share," Griswold commented. "Born anew in the
waters of baptism, we will discover God's mission unfolding in surprising
and enriching ways."

	The newly formed Lutheran-Episcopal Joint Coordinating Committee will
gather on the Monday following the celebration to work out the details of
the emerging relationship.

	The ELCA, based in Chicago, is a 5.15-million member church with nearly
11,000 congregations across the United States and Caribbean. It is organized
into 65 synods, each headed by a bishop.

	The Episcopal Church, based in New York, has 2.4 million members in some
7,400 congregations. The church has 107 dioceses, each headed by a bishop.

(John Brooks is director of ELCA News and Information. The Rev. Jan Nunley
is deputy director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and
Information.)

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