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Anglican - Lutheran International Commission: Communiqué

Posted On : May 27, 2009 11:17 AM | Posted By : Admin ACO
Related Categories: ACO - Ecumenical

ACNS: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2009/5/27/ACNS4632

> Lilleskog, Sweden, 20 - 27 April 2009

The third Anglican - Lutheran International Commission (ALIC) held its
fourth meeting in Lilleskog, Sweden, between 20 and 27 May 2009, under
the leadership of the Most Reverend Fred Hiltz, Primate of Canada, and
of Reverend Dr. Cameron Harder, Lutheran Theological Seminary,
Saskatoon, Canada, acting as Lutheran co-chair in the absence of Bishop
Dr. Thomas Nyiwé, Cameroon, who was unable to attend. Commission members
sent congratulations and best wishes to their colleague Professor Dr.
Kirsten Busch Nielsen, who was ordained in Copenhagen during the
meeting.

The meeting was hosted by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in
cooperation with the Church of Sweden and the Diocese of Skara.

This commission has met in Tanzania, Canada, and India. Sweden was
chosen as the venue for this meeting in order to allow sustained
engagement and deepening theological reflection on the theme of
diakonia, which has been emerging as the central theme on which this
commission wants to make its contribution. The discussion discovered
strong links between the "six marks of mission," which provide a
framework for Anglican engagement in God's mission, and developments in
Lutheran understandings of diakonia, as seen in the Diakonia in Context
handbook which Kjell Nordstokke from the LWF introduced to the group.

The life of the Christian Church has diaconal character, this commission
believes. Using a diaconal lens has allowed the commission to examine
issues of ecclesiology and ministry from fresh perspectives. Diakonia
and koinonia (communion) are two faces of the same reality, two sides of
the same coin on which God's image is stamped. The commission believes
that a renewed and full understanding of diakonia will strengthen the
mission and unity of the Church at every level. God is now calling
Anglicans and Lutherans to find concrete diaconal expressions for the
growing communion between them.

The inseparable relationship of diakonia and communion is integral to
the church in every context, but it is expressed in particular ways in
each place. As part of its mandate, the commission received regional
reports, which reflect a diversity of contexts, needs, and responses.
The commission is learning that there is no single pattern for growth in
communion; promising initiatives are found in many forms. In some
places, the prophetic dimension of diakonia has particular urgency, and
in fact is the leading impetus toward greater unity. In others, the most
pressing challenge is to bring diakonia closer to the heart of the
churches' life together.

At this meeting, the commission was pleased to learn of a new agreement
between Lutherans and Anglicans in Ecuador, the first such agreement in
Latin America. Because the commission was hosted by a church which is a
signatory of the Porvoo Agreement, it paid special attention to the
opportunities and remaining challenges of this relationship. Commission
members met with Rev. Barbara Moss at St. Andrew's Anglican Church in
Gothenburg and enjoyed dinner hosted by the Anglican Communion.

The commission was eager to learn about the changing forms of diaconal
ministry in the Church of Sweden. On Monday 25 May the group explored a
number of settings for diaconal work in Gothenburg. First it visited the
Johanneskyrkan, where they were welcomed by Rev. Michel Casselblad. The
Stadsmissionen has taken a church threatened with closure and made of it
a place of joy and welcome. Open doors invite all people, including
migrants, seafarers, the drug- and alcohol- dependent, university
students and faculty, and others into a space where all can gather for
coffee, fresh food, worship, and opportunities for the sorts of
conversation which can bring transformation to their lives. The focal
point of the worship space, a cross of many candles ascending the steps
to the altar, provides an ecclesial image for the possibilities
presented in the Twelve Step groups which find their home in the church.
In the afternoon the group visited the Bräcke Diaconal Center, where
Rev. Dr. Per Eckerdal explained the educational programs and the
theology of diakonia and told stories of the life-changing possibilities
presented by the diverse work of the Bräcke facilities. The Center is
seeking ways to make diaconal ministry more directly an expression of
church life at a time of massive change in church and society.

With the help of commission member Helene Tärneberg Steed, the group had
a number of other opportunities for engagement with the Church of
Sweden. The meeting began on Ascension Day, and the commission
participated in a traditional outdoor Swedish worship service on a
hilltop in the nearby town of Alingsås, celebrated by Rev. Thomas
Lundblad and accompanied by the local brass band. In the evening, there
was a Eucharist in the Lutheran tradition in the Lilleskog chapel; the
Rev. Dr. Christopher Meaken, who directs the Theology and Ecumenical
Affairs Department of the Church of Sweden, preached and presided.
Afterwards Bishop emeritus Lars-Göran Lönnemark from the Skara Diocese
presided at a dinner hosted by the Church of Sweden. Other guests were
Mrs. Elisabeth Lönnemark, Rev. Göran Rask, International Secretary from
the Diocese of Skara, who had coordinated the Commission's arrangements,
and Rev. Esbjörn Särdquist, the Diocese's Theological Secretary.

On Sunday 24 May the Commission worshipped at the Cathedral of Skara,
where Rev. Elisabeth Hillby welcomed the group. The commission learned
about the thousand years of Christian history in this part of Sweden
through visits to the Varnhem monastery location and to the Husaby
Church and well, where it prayed at the waters of this ancient site
where the first Christian king of Sweden Olof Skötkonung was baptized a
millennium ago.

At its next meeting the commission will shape its report. It looks
forward to identifying both its conclusions and its recommendations. The
Anglican Communion will host the next meeting of the commission in
Columbus, Ohio, USA, between 17-24 April 2010.

> Members of the commission are:

> Anglicans:

The Most Revd Fred Hiltz, Canada (Co-Chair)

The Revd Dr. Charlotte Methuen, Germany and United Kingdom
The Rt Revd Musonda T. S. Mamba, Botswana
The Revd Professor Renta Nishihara, Japan
The Very Revd William H. Petersen, USA
The Revd Dr. Cathy Thomson, Australia

> Consultant:

The Revd Canon Dr. Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Canada (also acting as Anglican
co-secretary)

> Apology

The Revd Dr. Günter Esser, the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of
Utrecht, Germany

> Lutherans:

Rev. Dr. Cameron R. Harder, Canada (Acting Co-Chair)
Rev. Angel Furlan, Argentina
Landesbischof Jürgen Johannesdotter, Germany
Rev. Helene Tärneberg Steed, Sweden and Ireland
Professor Dr. Kathryn Johnson, Lutheran World Federation (Co-Secretary)

> Consultants:

Professor Dr. Kenneth G. Appold, USA

Rt Revd Dr. Ndanganeni P. Phaswana, South Africa

> Apologies:

> Rev. Dr. Thomas Nyiwé, Cameroon (Co-Chair)
> Professor Dr. Kirsten Busch Nielsen, Denmark

Administrative support was provided by Ms. Sybille Graumann of The
Lutheran World Federation and Mr. Neil Vigers of the Anglican Communion
Office.

The Commission was established by the Anglican Consultative Council and
The Lutheran World Federation to continue the dialogue between Anglicans
and Lutherans on the worldwide level which has been in progress since
1970. ALIC is building upon the work reflected in The Niagara Report
(1987), focusing on the mission of the church and the role of the
ordained ministry, The Diaconate as Ecumenical Opportunity (1995), and
most recently Growth in Communion (2002), the report of the Anglican -
Lutheran International Working Group (ALIWG), which reviewed the
extensive regional agreements which have established close relations
between Anglican and Lutheran churches in several parts of the world.

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