Lutheran, Episcopal Seminary Communities Discuss Shared Ministry

NEW YORK (ELCA) -- More than 100 Episcopalians and Lutherans gathered Feb. 29-March 1 at The General Theological Seminary (GTS) of the Episcopal Church here for a conference on the future of shared ministry in an urban setting.
Sponsored by GTS and The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), "Common Mission in the City" drew students, professors and administrative leaders from both institutions. The conference began with a worship service Feb. 29; the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod, preached. It then opened with a lecture by the Rev. Philip D.W. Krey, LTSP president.
Participants heard presentations by congregational clergy and by faculty from both seminaries. Workshop topics included liturgy and spirituality, social witness and diaconal ministries.
"We need to get on with our common mission, because God has placed a whole new set of issues before us. We need to be ready for the new lessons that full communion, shared ministry and common mission will bring," Krey said in his opening address.
Krey said churches with a state-church heritage -- which both the Episcopal and Lutheran churches share -- are also called to urban mission, because they expect and insist that municipal, state and federal structures provide services to their constituents
"Many Lutheran and Episcopal churches have remained in our depressed urban communities after other mainline churches have left," he said. Krey said he believes the U.S. culture is experiencing a religious revival, and the opportunity for increased evangelism offered by common mission with theological depth must not be missed. Exciting and productive forms of cooperative ministries are going on, and they must continue and grow, he said.
Following presentations by Archdeacon Michael Kendall of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the Rev. Pamela Cooper-White, an Episcopal priest and associate professor of practical theology at LTSP, participants gathered in GTS' chapel for a celebration of the Lord's Supper.
Krey was the celebrant and the Rev. Mark Sisk, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, preached. The liturgy symbolized the seminaries' cooperation, marking the first time any Lutheran book of worship was used in the Episcopal chapel's 183-year history.
"The enthusiasm for shared ministry between our churches has been strongly present throughout this conference," said GTS' Dean, the Rev. Ward B. Ewing. "We hope events like this will help to generate similar enthusiasm throughout our churches."
In 1998, representatives of GTS and LTSP signed a covenant which committed the schools to plan academic and social justice programs jointly. Plans for a joint Hispanic ministry between the seminaries are currently underway.
In addition, a full communion proposal between the ELCA and the Episcopal Church, "Called to Common Mission," was adopted by the ELCA last summer and is to be considered by the Episcopal Church's General Convention this July. GTS' faculty and trustees have adopted unanimous resolutions urging its passage.
Many ELCA seminarians from Philadelphia traveled to New York for the event which also drew clergy from throughout the New York metropolitan area.

[*Bruce Parker is director of communications, The General Theological
Seminary, New York.]

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