ELCA's Bishop Anderson to be featured on Odyssey Television Program

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of = the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will be featured on a live = television program dedicated to ecumenism called, =22Celebration of Faith: = Hope for a New Century.=22 The one-hour program will air on the Odyssey = channel Sunday, Sept. 21 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Odyssey is a 24-hour interfaith= cable television network.=20
Anderson will report on significant actions of the ELCA Churchwide = Assembly in Philadelphia, Aug. 14-20, 1997. Viewers of the program will = have the opportunity to call in and talk directly with Anderson about the = assembly. Demeteria Kalodimos, co-anchor of =22News Odyssey,=22 will host = the program.
=22I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to bring an = interactive town meeting report of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly ... on = Odyssey,=22 said Anderson.
A video news release on the ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be = featured on the program. It will highlight ecumenical issues, the = church=27s =22Initiatives for a New Century,=22 elections and guidelines = for sacramental practice. Voting members took action on three ecumenical = issues. They voted to declare =22full communion=22 with three churches of = the Reformed tradition -- the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reformed = Church in America, and the United Church of Christ. Members voted down = full communion with The Episcopal Church but pledged to work toward a full = communion relationship in 1999. The assembly adopted a =22Joint Declaratio= n on the Doctrine of Justification=22 between Lutherans and the Roman = Catholic Church.
=22Examples of ecumenical partnerships on a congregational = level=22 will be featured on the program, said John L. Peterson, ELCA = director for public media. Three video presentations will illustrate how = churches are =22living their ecumenical cooperation on a weekly and daily = basis,=22 he said. =22These congregations exemplify ecumenical cooperation= at the local level,=22 said Peterson.
The three ministries noted for their ecumencial ventures include:
Trinity Ecumenical Parish, Moneta, Va., a worshiping community = made up one each of ELCA, Episcopalian and Presbyterian congregations. = The congregations share the Rev. Gary Scheidt, a Presbyterian pastor.
All Nations Indian Church, Minneapolis, a congregation of the = United Church of Christ is served by the Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, = an ELCA pastor.=20
American Lutheran Church and Community Presbyterian Church, White = Sulphur Springs, Mont., share an ELCA pastor, the Rev. Dean Sandberg. The = congregations worship together and alternate church buildings every three = months. Sandberg conducts an outreach ministry on behalf of both = congregations.
=22The purpose of =22Hope for a New Century=22 is to report = actions taken at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to the ecumenical community = and to the general public,=22 said Peterson. =22There are 64 different faith groups on Odyssey working together for one = common purpose -- to explore their spiritual journey,=22 said Peterson. = =22Odyssey is a strong example of interfaith cooperation in the United = States today,=22 he said.
=22Odyssey exists to nurture the spiritual needs of viewers and = congregations in order to build bridges of hope and understanding,=22 = Anderson said.
This project was funded by Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal = benefits organization based in Minneapolis.

For information contact:=20
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS=40ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html