wfn.org | United Methodists, Lutherans start new dialogue

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 16, 2001       News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-71B{476}

By United Methodist News Service

A new round of dialogues could lead to full communion between the United
Methodist Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Bishop Melvin Talbert, ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council
of Bishops, expressed confidence in the dialogue teams in an interview with
United Methodist News Service. The conversations began during a Sept. 6-9
meeting in Denver and will continue with a meeting this winter.

"I thought we quickly got to know each other and develop trust
relationships," said Talbert, who serves as co-chairman of the dialogue with
Lutheran Bishop Allan Bjornberg of Denver. The teams are ready to move
beyond talk to more formalized agreements between the two denominations, he
said.

As the new dialogue between the United Methodists and ELCA progresses,
topics of discussion will include teachings on sanctification and the Lord's
Supper, and implications of full communion, such as sharing the Eucharist,
changing pastors and engaging in joint ministry and social witness. Earlier
dialogues dealt with baptism and the episcopacy.

A statement released after the September meeting expressed "our hope for
full communion and fellowship between the ELCA and the UMC. Previous
dialogues provide a solid foundation, and they encourage us to explore
further possibilities for partnership in mission and ministry."

The ELCA already has full communion relationships with the Episcopal Church,
Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in
America and the Moravian Church.

"Our predecessors have affirmed our churches' agreement in the areas of
baptism and episcopacy, even as they have pointed to issues we must
address," the statement said. "Many challenges remain, but we are encouraged
greatly by the significant work accomplished by churches through bilateral
and multilateral relationships throughout the world."

 From 1976 to 1979, six sessions of dialogue were held between the United
dialogue focused on a common understanding of baptism.
Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The
Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church, the Association of
Methodists and representatives of what were then four Lutheran bodies - the

A second round of talks, from 1985 to 1987, resulted in an official
statement, "Episcopacy: A Lutheran/United Methodist Common Statement to the
Church." The statements from both rounds of dialogue were adopted by the
United Methodist Council of Bishops but not taken to General Conference, the
denomination's highest body, for consideration.

On a global level, the World Methodist Council and Lutheran World Federation
held five sessions of dialogue from 1979 to 1985. Other conversations
involving Lutherans and Methodists include the Leuenberg Agreement, which
began as an accord between Lutheran and Reformed churches in Europe and now
includes the British Methodists and most European Methodist bodies. United
Methodists in Sweden and Norway also have conducted dialogues with the
Lutheran state churches in their countries.

Besides Talbert, others on the United Methodist dialogue team are the Rev.
Lars-Erik Nordby of Norway; the Rev. Amy Laura Hall, Duke Divinity School;
the Rev. Jean Miller-Schmidt, Iliff School of Theology; and Judith Crain of
Green Bay, Wis.

In addition to Bjornberg, members of the Lutheran team are the Rev. Kathryn
Johnson, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary; the Rev. H. Frederick
Reisz Jr., Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary; the Rev. Cynthia
Moe-Lobeda, Graduate School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University;
and the Rev. Timothy Wengert, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

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United Methodist News Service
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