wfn.org | ELCA Assembly Adopts Interim Eucharistic Sharing With UMC

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ELCA Assembly Adopts Interim Eucharistic Sharing With UMC
CWA-20-05-TW

    ORLANDO, Fla. (ELCA) - By a vote of 877 to 60, the 2005
Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) agreed to begin an "Interim Eucharistic Sharing" with the
United Methodist Church.  The agreement had previously been
approved by the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church
in April 2004, pending this decision by the ELCA.
     The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of
the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 8-14 at the World Center Marriott
and Convention Center.	About 2,300 people are participating,
including 1,018 ELCA voting members.  The theme for the biennial
assembly is "Marked with the Cross of Christ Forever."
     "What an historic moment this is for United Methodists and
the ELCA," said Bishop William Oden, ecumenical officer for the
Council of Bishops and Head of Communion for the United Methodist
Church, as he greeted the assembly following the vote.	"We have
invited each other into each other's house."
     The terms of the agreement foster "mutual prayer and mutual
support, study together of the Holy Scriptures as well as the
histories and theological traditions of both churches, and joint
programs of theological discussion, evangelical outreach, and
social ministry endeavors," while encouraging joint services of
Holy Communion following guidelines established by both churches.
     The agreement, which looks forward "to the future
possibility of a relationship of full communion," comes after
nearly 30 years of theological dialogue between the two churches
that had resulted in convergence in matters relating to baptism
and episcopacy (oversight).  The agreement also recognizes the
United Methodist Church "as a church in which the Gospel is
preached and taught" and that "the basic teaching of each
respective church is consonant with the Gospel."
     Many in the assembly expressed support for the proposal,
including the Rev. David Housholder, voting member, ELCA Pacifica
Synod, who expressed his hope that "we can catch up with the
grassroots" efforts of joint Methodist-Lutheran work already
existing.
     The Rev. James Crumley, voting member, ELCA South Carolina
Synod and former president of the Lutheran Church in America -- a
predecessor church body of the ELCA -- asked "why this doesn't go
further" to an immediate vote of full communion.
     "You certainly capture the mind of the dialogue team,"
responded The Rev. Alan C. Bjornberg, bishop of the ELCA Rocky
Mountain Synod, Denver, and co-chair of the Methodist-Lutheran
Dialogue, who went on to suggest that a time of interim sharing
would provide an opportunity for "the whole church to discover
what we have discovered" regarding convergence between the two
churches.
     Some concern was raised in the floor debate on the proposal
over perceived differences between the two churches on the local
level.
     The Rev. Joanna Grimshaw, voting member, ELCA Central States
Synod, said that while she was in favor of the proposal, her
experience of United Methodists was that "their theological faith
and practice diverges widely."
     The Rev. R. Paul Hendrickson, voting member, ELCA Virginia
Synod, expressed similar concerns at a hearing on the proposal
earlier in the week.
     "There seems a great inconsistency as to how theology gets
played out in the Methodist Church," he said.  "In southwest
Virginia, the Methodist Church can be anything," he said.
     Bjornberg responded that rather than "anecdotal evidence,"
it was important to trust the published statements of the United
Methodist Church, especially This Holy Mystery: A Methodist
Understanding of Holy Communion, adopted by the General
Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2004.
     At a news conference following the vote, Oden acknowledged
that "United Methodism has been formed out of many strands,"
including a Free Church tradition.
     "A stringent process of worship renewal" that resulted in
the adoption of the document This Holy Mystery, which defines the
real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, has "clarified it,
not just for our ecumenical partners, but for ourselves," Oden
said.  "And this has been strongly affirmed by our General
Conference."
     For information on the agreement, see
http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical/ecumenicaldialogue/unitedmethodist 
---
   Information about the ELCA Churchwide Assembly is at
http://www.elca.org/assembly/05 on the Web.

For more information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org 
http://www.elca.org/news