Title: Lutherans to Attend Ecumenical Prayer Service April 18 with Pope ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 16, 2008
Lutherans to Attend Ecumenical Prayer Service April 18 with Pope 08-045-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, will represent the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), at an ecumenical prayer service April 18 led by Pope Benedict XVI, at St. Joseph's Church, New York.
Participants at the service will include some 250 national and local Protestant and Orthodox Church leaders, according to a news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Hanson explained that he is unable to attend because of a long-standing commitment to preach at the opening worship service for the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, April 18-19. He said he is grateful for the continuing progress of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue and mutual commitment to the ongoing reception of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, signed by representatives of the LWF and the Vatican in 1999. Hanson, who met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in November 2005, said he looks forward to future meetings with the pope.
In addition to McCoid, the USCCB confirmed that other ELCA officials are expected to attend, including: + The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, Elgin, Ill., Lutheran co-chair of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue and former ELCA secretary + The Rev. Amandus J. Derr, St. Peter Lutheran Church, New York + The Rev. Karl P. Donfried, Pelham, Mass., professor emeritus, Smith College, Northampton, Mass. + The Rev. Craig A. Miller, Our Saviour Evangelical Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, N.Y. + Jacquelyn J. Mize-Baker, associate in ministry, International Rescue Committee, New York + The Rev. David W. Olson, interim bishop, ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod + Dr. Michael Root, professor, vice president for academic affairs and dean, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C. + The Rev. William G. Rusch, lecturer in Lutheran church history and polity, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn., and former director, ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs + The Rev. Paul Schreck, executive assistant, ELCA Office of the Secretary
Almen, Root and Schreck are also Lutheran members of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue.
St. Joseph's Church was built in the 19th century by German immigrants that settled in the area and today serves a diverse population. A Sunday Mass is still celebrated in German. At the end of the ecumenical prayer service April 18, the pope will greet 10 national and five local ecumenical leaders, the USCCB release said.
Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States began with his April 15 arrival in Washington, D.C., and will be followed by activities in New York. During his U.S. visit the pope is planning to lead worship, meet with Roman Catholics and representatives of other Christian and interfaith groups, address the United Nations General Assembly and meet with a variety of elected political leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush.
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Information about the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue is at http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical/ecumenicaldialogue/romancatholic/i ndex.html on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog