ELCA Bishop Discusses Episcopal Church Agreement with Some Minnesota Leader

ROCHESTER, MINN. (ELCA) -- The process leading to and the adoption of a Lutheran proposal for full-communion with The Episcopal Church was a "calculated risk," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Anderson, who is leader of the 5.2 million-member ELCA, made the comment Sept. 27 in a question-and-answer session with clergy and associates in ministry meeting here at the ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod Fall Theological Conference.
Anderson also said he was concerned that people on both sides of the issue have hurt each other with their words, leaving some feeling "denigrated." He expressed hope "that as a church, we can forgive each other."
The Lutheran proposal for full communion with the Episcopal Church is known as "Called to Common Mission" (CCM). It was approved at the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Denver 716-317, 27 votes more than the two-thirds majority required.
The agreement required the ELCA to 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 roles of lay people.
CCM is not effective until it is approved by a convention of the Episcopal Church, which meets next summer in Denver.
At its synod assembly earlier this year, the Southwestern Minnesota Synod voted overwhelmingly to recommend the churchwide assembly reject CCM and support an alternative resolution that called for full communion without the historic episcopate. Several people raised that issue and other concerns in an hour-long session with Anderson.
"The passage of this places clergy and bishops at the center of this church," said the Rev. Julie A. Smith, Swede Home Lutheran Church, Clarkfield, Minn. She said CCM was "a betrayal" of her Lutheran heritage.
"We are on a course of increased hierarchy and less concern for the priesthood of all believers," she added.
"There is a lot of hurt in the parish I serve," said the Rev. David A. Christiansen, Faith Lutheran Church, Hutchinson, Minn. "People are angry to the point where they are drawing up resolutions asking, "How can we stay in the ELCA?"
"The document still stands and it is unacceptable to the people in my parish and to me," he said. "How do I serve?"
The Rev. Nathan G. Lundgren, Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, Foley, Minn., offered a different view. "In two parishes I have, I have not run into that deep hurt that others have expressed," he said.
During the session, Anderson said there is no rule that requires "anyone to accept the historic episcopate."
"In the meantime, we have to talk with people about their conscientious objections and see how they can be alleviated," he said. Anderson also said there is nothing in CCM that changes the structure of the church. Only procedure is changed, he added.
The Rev. Sandra K. Hanawalt, Bethel Lutheran Church, Willmar, Minn., said some people in the ELCA "family" have been hurt by passage of CCM, and some have felt there's been a "betrayal of trust." She asked Anderson how the church can address these concerns and respect people who disagree.
"We must have honesty in talking to each other about the hurts," Anderson said.
Anderson also reminded the pastors that under terms of CCM, there were some commitments the Episcopalians must make, too. CCM requires they accept Lutheran ordinations "from day one," he said. It also requires the Episcopal Church to continue temporary suspension of the "Preface to the Ordination Rites" in the "Book of Common Prayer," Anderson said. The ordinal says, "no persons are allowed to exercise the offices of bishop, priest or deacon in this Church unless they are so ordained, or have already received such ordination with the laying-on-of-hands by bishops who are themselves qualifed to confer Holy Orders."
He also said there are different points of view being expressed about CCM. For example, Anderson said he recently attended a theological conference of the ELCA Southeastern Synod. Pastors there tend to view CCM more favorably because they feel the ELCA needs more allies in their part of the country to carry out ministry more effectively, Anderson said.
"We have until July (2000) to discuss CCM," Anderson said. "It is important for us now to meet concerns and to find a way to live into this new possibility with the Episcopal Church."

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