wfn.org | Lutherans and Episcopalians appoint team to prepare revised pr

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

December 4, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

97-2032
Lutherans and Episcopalians appoint team to prepare revised proposal for
full communion 

by James Solheim
     (ENS) In the wake of a narrow Lutheran rejection of the
Concordat of Agreement calling for full communion between the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal
Church, a drafting team has been appointed to prepare a revised proposal
in the next few months.
     At its mid-November meeting in Chicago, the ELCA Church
Council asked the presiding bishops of the two churches to appoint the
small drafting team and a larger panel of advisors "to reflect the diversity
of opinion on this matter with the ELCA" and have a document available
for next spring's meetings of ELCA synods.
     ELCA Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson has appointed three
Lutheran members of the drafting team, headed by Dr. Martin Marty,
professor of religion at the University of Chicago. Other members are
Prof. Todd Nichol of Luther Seminary in Minnesota and Dr. Michael
Root of the Ecumenical Institute in Strasbourg, France.
     Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning has appointed the Episcopal
Church's members of the drafting team. Bishop Christopher Epting of
Iowa will chair a team that includes the Rev. William Norgren, former
ecumenical officer of the church, and Prof. J. Robert Wright of the
General Seminary in New York.

Air of optimism
     The actions have provided a fresh air of optimism in what could
be a complicated process.
     "We are attempting to consult as widely as possible and to respect
the variety of concerns by those opposed to the Concordat and those who
affirmed it," said Daniel Martensen, the ELCA director for ecumenical
affairs.
     "These are excellent choices and I'm encouraged that these
drafting teams will be able to move things forward," said the Rev. David
Perry, the Episcopal Church's ecumenical officer. He added that the two
churches were already laying plans for cooperation in producing the
educational materials the Churchwide Assembly asked for. "We are
preparing models for dialogue at the synodical and diocesan level, as
well as speakers, workshops, videos and CDs," he added.
     Anderson told the council that he had met with Presiding Bishop
Edmond Browning and Presiding Bishop-elect Frank Griswold III and
said, "Each has assured me of the commitment of that church to continue
on the journey with us as we seek to carry out the charge given by our
assembly."

Clarifying role of bishops 
     The Episcopal Church's General Convention overwhelmingly
approved the Concordat at its meeting last July but the ELCA
Churchwide Assembly fell six votes short at its own meeting a few weeks
later. The assembly then expressed its determination to present a revised
Concordat at its 1999 meeting, in time for a response from the
Episcopalian meeting in 2000.
     Anderson outlined the assumptions for the process leading to
reconsideration at the council meeting. Referring to the primary
stumbling block in the Lutheran vote, Anderson said that "the document
will include the historic episcopate, shaped in a way that is congenial to
Lutheran theology and doctrine of ministry."
     "If we want to do something different than that, we are at square
one," Anderson added. "With two years to go, we can hope for another
try with the historic episcopate and see if the church accepts that. The
progress we can make between now and 1999 is to shape a document that
will embody the historic episcopate and still be framed within Lutheran
understanding," he said. 

Ministry is a major issue
     Most of the opposition among the Lutherans centers on what they
perceive as significant differences in ministry. During the debate at the
Churchwide Assembly, many rose to strenuously object to what they
interpreted as a new role for bishops. Lutherans ordain to a single order
of ministry while Episcopalians ordain to three--deacons, priests and
bishops. Lutherans also elect their bishops to terms while Episcopalians
elect them for life.
     "Bishops function for mission and ministry as servants," Perry
told the ELCA council. "The historic episcopate is not magical, it is the
power of the Holy Spirit, working in a community for its life and
faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ."
     Perry and others have cited misunderstandings, often based on a
lack of contact between the churches, as a source of opposition. He is
convinced that personal contacts and deliberate study will lead to deeper
understanding--and a positive vote on the Concordat. 

--James Solheim is the Episcopal Church's director of news and
information.