CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), shared with the ELCA Church Council a proposed agenda for the first discussions between the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between its meetings of the Churchwide Assembly. The council is meeting April 9-12 in Chicago.=20 Assemblies are held every other year; the next is August 16-22 in Denver.
The first day of the ELCA-LCMS meeting here June 14-15 will begin with presentations on "ELCA Ecumenical Decisions" from each church = body.=20 The second day will begin with papers on "Lutheran Identity." Brief discussions follow each paper, and each day concludes with an extended discussion on the day's topic.
The Rev. Guy S. Edmiston, bishop of the ELCA Lower Susquehanna Synod, Harrisburg, Pa., will present the ELCA's paper on ecumenical decisions. Edmiston was Lutheran co-chair of the Lutheran-Reformed Coordinating Committee which drafted a Formula of Agreement defining a relationship of "full communion" between the ELCA and three churches of the Reformed tradition -- the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.
The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, will present the ELCA's paper on "Lutheran Identity." In 1998 Almen authored "Our Journey Together," a series of eight "bulletin inserts" outlining the ELCA's heritage.
Presenters of LCMS papers are yet to be announced.
A convention of the LCMS in July 1998 expressed "deep regret and profound disagreement with" two ecumenical decisions made by the 1997 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. One established full communion with the three Reformed churches. The other adopted a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church.
The LCMS convention pledged support for the Missouri Synod's president, the Rev. Alvin L. Barry, "as he continues to work together with the presiding bishop of the ELCA in arranging for discussion of these issues between representatives of our two church bodies."
The LCMS resolution noted there continue to be doctrinal disagreements between Lutherans and the Reformed on the Lord's Supper and with Catholics on justification. It also said those actions "have significant implications for all Lutherans and other Christians in the United States and around the world."
The purpose of the talks, Barry has said, is "openly to share concerns with one another and to discuss the very serious doctrinal issues that divide our two church bodies."
Anderson said he hopes the discussions will go beyond differences and explore ways in which a common Lutheran witness is possible. The two churches cooperate in a number of areas and share in such common service ministries as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Lutheran Services in America and Lutheran World Relief.
"We've taken sort of a 'Noah's ark' approach to this," Anderson told the council about the selection of the ELCA's representatives to the ELCA-LCMS discussion. He said two synod bishops, two parish pastors, two lay people, two educators and two church officers are on the panel.
In addition to Almen, Anderson and Edmiston, ELCA representatives in the discussion are the Rev. Phyllis B. Anderson, director, Institute for Ecumenical and Theological Studies at the School of Theology and Ministry, Seattle University, Seattle, Wash.; David J. Hardy, former general counsel of the ELCA, Palatine, Ill.; Edith Lohr, director, Lutheran Social Services of New England, Natick, Mass.; the Rev. Patricia J. Lull, Christ Lutheran Church, Athens, Ohio; the Rev. Stanley Olson, bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Redwood Falls, Minn.; the Rev. H. Frederick Reisz, president of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C.; and the Rev. Paul J. Seastrand, First English Lutheran Church, Billings, Mont.
In addition to Barry, LCMS members of the panel are the Rev. Ronald R. Feuerhahn, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; the Rev. Carl C. Fickenscher II, Peace Lutheran Church, Garland, Texas; the Rev. Raymond L. Hartwig, LCMS secretary; the Rev. Robert T. Kuhn, LCMS first vice president; the Rev. Kurt Marquart, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.; the Rev. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive director, LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations; the Rev. Harold L. Senkbeil, Elm Grove Lutheran Church, Elm Grove, Wis.; the James W. Voelz, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; and the Rev. William C. Weinrich, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
The ELCA-LCMS discussion panel is to meet twice a year. The second meeting will be held in St. Louis, where the LCMS has its central offices, but no date has been set. The secretaries of the two church bodies will prepare one statement from each meeting.
Anderson's report to the ELCA Church Council said future topics for the discussions would include "the nature of the Church and ecumenical activity" and "the authorization of sacramental ministries for congregations without pastors."
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
