wfn.org | Lutheran-Episcopal Christmas Eve Service on CBS-TV Broadcast

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 5, 2001

LUTHERAN-EPISCOPAL CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE ON CBS-TV BROADCAST
01-314-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in
Kansas City, Mo., will be the setting for a special Christmas Eve
service to be broadcast on the CBS Television Network.  The service
will
welcome guests and members of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America from the Kansas City area.  A congregation
of
more than 500 people is expected.
     CBS selected the service to highlight the joint ministry that is
now possible, since "full communion" between the two church bodies
took
effect this year.  This will be the first national broadcast of a
joint
Lutheran-Episcopal service since the two denominations entered into
their "full communion" partnership.
     The one-hour telecast is set for Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24,
at 11:35 p.m. Eastern.  (Viewers should contact their local CBS-TV
stations for the exact air time in their community).
     Bishops from the Kansas City metropolitan area who will
participate in the service are the Rt. Rev. Barry R. Howe, bishop of
the
Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri; the Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt,
bishop
of the ELCA Central States Synod; and the Rt. Rev. William E. Smalley,
bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
     Howe will officiate during the opening "Liturgy of the Word,"
Smalley will preach, and Mansholt will preside during the celebration
of
the Eucharist (Lord's Supper).
     Howe said the timing of the service was especially significant.
"As people search for meaning in uncertain times, this shared service
offers a sense of purpose and mutual support as we gather together at
Christmas to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace."
     Mansholt, whose synod covers Kansas and Missouri, said, "I hope
people across the country will watch this service and see that unity
is
stronger than division."  ELCA congregations are organized into 65
synods.
     Smalley, who serves eastern Kansas, said the service is an
important symbol of the new relationship between the two churches.
     "There already is much we are doing together in mission and
ministry, both in the Kansas City area and around the nation," Smalley
added. "This joint worship service is a sign of the unity we
experience
in so many other ways."
     Lutherans and Episcopalians, laity and clergy, will share roles
in
the service as lectors (reading Scripture), prayer intercessors,
musicians, acolytes and as chalice bearers administering communion.
     The ELCA Central States Synod and the Episcopal Dioceses of
Kansas
and West Missouri are producing the Christmas Eve telecast for CBS.
The
ELCA and Episcopal Church provided financial support.

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