wfn.org | ELCA Congregations Register Dissent from Ecumenical Decision

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 19, 1999

ELCA CONGREGATIONS REGISTER DISSENT FROM ECUMENICAL DECISION
99-294-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) have registered their dissent from a decision
of the ELCA's 1999 Churchwide Assembly to enter into "full communion"
with The Episcopal Church and to adopt the "historic episcopate."  One
Lutheran congregation has voted to leave the ELCA; the other refused to
change its governing documents or liturgies to accommodate the "historic
episcopate."
     The Lutheran proposal for full communion with the Episcopal Church
is known as "Called to Common Mission" (CCM).  The churchwide assembly
approved it 716 to 317, or 27 votes more than the two-thirds majority
required.  The Episcopal General Convention will vote on it in July
2000.
     According to the proposal, the ELCA will adopt the "historic
episcopate" -- a succession of bishops as a sign of unity back to the
earliest days of the Christian church.  That has generated controversy
among some Lutherans who say CCM threatens Lutheran identity, changes
the role of bishops in the church and calls into the question the role
of lay people.
     Full communion is not a plan to merge the two church bodies. It
calls for the churches to share a variety of cooperative ministries and
allows for exchange of clergy under certain circumstances.
     A congregational meeting of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Bay Shore,
N.Y., unanimously adopted a resolution Sept. 19 "rejecting the document
'Called to Common Mission' in its entirety."  It challenged the
churchwide assembly's authority to direct the congregation to make "the
necessary constitutional and liturgical changes to incorporate and be
incorporated into the historic episcopacy," as the resolution put it.
     St. Luke Lutheran Church declared itself to be "a non-CCM
congregation ... heeding the words of Martin Luther that to do otherwise
'would neither be safe nor right' according to our collective
conscience."  The resolution said the congregation will only call
pastors who "pledged fidelity" to the Lutheran Confessions "as part of
their ordination vows."
     St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon, Ohio, voted Sept. 26 to leave
the ELCA.  A 90-day period of consultation follows that vote; a second
vote to confirm or withdraw the action is expected in late January or
early February.
     The Rev. E. David Gensch said the ELCA's proposal for full
communion with the Episcopal Church was only the latest reason for St.
Paul's decision.  The congregation has had doctrinal concerns with the
ELCA since it was formed in 1988 from the merger of three Lutheran
church bodies.
     The words "inerrant and infallible" were not used in the ELCA
constitution to describe Scriptures.  "The other synods we've talked
with all have that in their constitution," said Gensch.
     During December and January, Gensch said the congregation will
schedule informational meetings with representatives from six other
Lutheran church bodies: the American Association of Lutheran Churches,
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, Church of the Lutheran
Confession, Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
     A congregational meeting has also been schedule for Jan. 16 with
the Rev. Marcus C. Lohrmann, bishop of the ELCA's Northwestern Ohio
Synod.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html