wfn.org | Despite Opposition, US Lutherans Reaffirm Ecumenical Agreement

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #5876 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

02-May-2000
00173

	Despite Opposition, US Lutherans 	Reaffirm Ecumenical Agreement

	by Chris Herlinger
	Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK CITY -- A dissident group within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) has vowed to continue its battle against an ecumenical
agreement that would bring the ELCA into full communion with the Episcopal
(Anglican) Church in the United States.

	Despite this opposition, the ELCA council, which met in Chicago from April
7-9, voted to continue the move towards full communion, which is scheduled
to come into effect on Jan.1, 2001 and is known as "Called to Common
Mission" (CCM).  The agreement will not lead to a merger of the two
denominations.  However, it will mean that they will fully recognize each
other's members, ministries and sacraments, and will be able to exchange
clergy.

	The dissident group, called "Word Alone," opposes the move towards full
communion because it says the agreement violates basic Lutheran traditions. 
And while the group is officially opposed to splitting off from the ELCA, a
spokesman for the group, Christopher Hershman, said that "the spectre of
schism [exists] because the ELCA won't dialogue with us."

	Under the planned agreement with the Episcopalians, the 5.2-million-member
ELCA would accept the tradition of the "historic episcopate," the belief
that only bishops tracing their
succession back to Jesus' apostles can ordain new bishops.

	Anglican churches traditionally believe that the historic episcopate is an
essential element of the church which must be respected in any agreement for
union with other churches.  Lutheran churches in some parts of the world
embrace the historic episcopate, but many do not.

	For the first time, ELCA bishops would be integrated into the historic
episcopate, and required to be present at the ordination of ELCA clergy. 
Currently, most bishops attend and perform these ordinations, although they
may in certain cases delegate their role to another cleric.

	"The historic episcopate is an offence to many Lutherans," Hershman, a
Lutheran pastor, told ENI.

	He said he could not specify a membership estimate for his organization,
but said 200 ELCA congregations -- out of a total of nearly 11,000
congregations in the US -- had made a commitment to the organization.  He
predicted that eventually 10 per cent of ELCA congregations would support
"Word Alone."  At least 1,000 people had attended a recent "Word Alone"
meeting in the state of Minnesota, he said.

	Some of the group's supporters include prominent U.S. Lutheran scholars,
laity and a former Minnesota state governor, Al Quie.  Other supporters
include Michael Rogness of Luther Seminary in Minnesota, Timothy Huffman of
Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, and Lenae Rasmussen, a
prominent lay person from Tennessee.

	The ELCA already has full communion agreements with several of the
country's Reformed churches, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The
Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ.  The ELCA is
also in full communion with the Moravian Church.  None of these churches
follows the tradition of the historic episcopate.

	In March one of the synod assemblies of the ELCA, that of Eastern North
Dakota, adopted a  resolution allowing church "members, congregations,
pastors and bishops to freely accept or reject local implementation" of the
historic episcopate.

	At its April meeting, the ELCA council responded to that resolution by
declaring that the ELCA's synods were not free to accept or reject documents
governing the entire church, and that the church's ecumenical commitments
"are not legislated on a synod-by-synod basis."

	George Anderson, the ELCA's presiding bishop, acknowledged that there were
differing opinions about the CCM, the ELCA News Service reported, but said
the council should not interfere with the move towards communion, which was
approved in 1999 by a 716-317 vote by the ELCA church assembly.  The general
convention of the Episcopal Church is to consider the CCM this summer when
it meets in Colorado.

	The ELCA's Conference of Bishops reaffirmed the CCM at a meeting last
month, saying it expected the two churches would be involved in "broad
consultation" over the implementation of the agreement.

	John Brooks, ELCA spokesman, told ENI: "The ELCA is a church of many
diverse viewpoints, and we also recognize that the members do not always
agree.  The church encourages members to seek the proper avenues to raise
concerns to the whole church."

	However, Hershman told ENI that the ELCA was "paying lip service" to ELCA
members who disagree with the church on the issue, but is showing "no [real]
interest in dialogue."

	When asked to specify Word Alone's stance on schism, Hershman said the
group had no plans to leave the church, and remained committed to working
within the ELCA.  But Hershman said talk of schism would be present as long
as some ELCA members believed their concerns were not being considered. "We
want to stay, but they may throw us out."

	Brooks told ENI the talk of schism was "somewhat puzzling."

	He said: "I attended the "Word Alone" constituting convention, and nearly
all of the major speakers said the intention of the movement is to serve as
a force for renewal in the ELCA. "Word Alone" members want to remain in the
ELCA.  I don't think that has changed for many of "Word Alone" supporters."

	David Perry, the ecumenical officer of the Episcopal Church, told the
Episcopal News Service (ENS) that despite disagreements within the ELCA, he
did not expect the ELCA would change its mind and abandon the CCM.  And
while there was "genuine excitement" over the possibilities of the two
churches acting in full communion, work would be required by both churches.

	"The hard work begins after we pass CCM," he told ENS, "because both
churches will need to develop new skills at partnership and mutual
accountability in our pursuit of mission together."

_______________________________________________
pcusaNews mailing list
pcusaNews@pcusa.org

To unsubscribe, go to this web address:
http://pcusa01.pcusa.org/mailman/listinfo/pcusanews