wfn.org | Northeast U.S. ELCA Bishops Support 'Called to Common Mission'

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 9, 1999

ELCA BISHOPS IN NORTHEAST U.S. PLEDGE
SUPPORT OF 'CALLED TO COMMON MISSION'
99-84-JB                      

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   Seven bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) pledged to support a proposal for full communion with
The Episcopal Church and said they would "work and advocate" for its
adoption at the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Denver this summer.
     The bishops, representing the ELCA's Region 7 in the northeast
United States, announced their unanimous support in a resolution.  Their
action follows a similar announcement of support from the eight bishops
of the ELCA's Region 8, representing mid-Atlantic coast states.
     The proposed agreement with the Episcopal Church, known as "Called
to Common Mission" (CCM), will be considered by ELCA voting members
meeting in Denver Aug. 16-22.  The ELCA is the fifth-largest Protestant
denomination in the United States with 5.2 million members.
     "Our participation in God's mission to the world through the
church can and will be genuinely enhanced by an agreement for full
communion with The Episcopal Church with whom we have enjoyed an interim
Eucharistic sharing since 1982," the bishops said. "We believe that
clear witness to our unity in the gospel with our Episcopalian brothers
and sisters is a faithful response to the gospel we are to proclaim to
the world."
     CCM has generated some opposition in the ELCA, much of it focused
on the historic episcopate.  The ELCA and the Episcopal Church agree on
the doctrine of "apostolic succession," an ongoing faithful proclamation
of Christ; Episcopalians bring to the relationship the "historic
episcopate," a succession of bishops as a sign of unity back to the
earliest days of the Christian Church.
     Concerns also have been raised about the role of bishops and
Lutheran identity in a full communion agreement with the Episcopal
Church.
     The proposed agreement resulted from dialogues that began formally
in 1983 between representatives of ELCA predecessor bodies and the
Episcopal Church.  The result was a document called the "Concordat of
Agreement," approved by a convention of the Episcopal Church in 1997. 
That same year, the Concordat failed by six votes to win a two-thirds
majority at the ELCA assembly, and voting members asked that it be
revised.   The revision is CCM.
     In their resolution, the Region 7 bishops said "more than 30 years
of dialogue and the commitment of countless faithful leaders" has
brought the ELCA to this "critical and marvelous opportunity" to link
the two traditions.
     CCM is "clearer and more appropriate to our American Lutheran
heritage than the original Concordat," the bishops said.  They also said
CCM responded to nearly every point of contention raised with the
previous Concordat, including:
     --an adaptation of the historic episcopate to the Lutheran
understanding of ministry, which is in conformity with the Lutheran
Confessions;
      --periodic review of the office of bishop to see that it is
exercised under the gospel;
      --election of bishops for six years with no provision for serving
as bishop beyond term(s) of office;
      --continued participation of both pastors and bishops in the laying
on of hands at ordinations, with the bishop presiding as a sign of the
larger unity of the church; and
      --an understanding of the office of the bishop as a sign of unity
of the church, but not a requirement for it.
     The seven ELCA bishops who signed the resolution are the Rev. Roy
G. Almquist,  Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod; the Rev. Stephen P.
Bouman, Metropolitan New York Synod; the Rev. Juan Cobrda, Slovak Zion
Synod; the Rev. Robert L. Isaksen, New England Synod; the Rev. Lee M.
Miller, Upstate New York Synod; the Rev. E. Roy Riley, New Jersey Synod;
and the Rev. David R. Strobel, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html