Christian unity seems on the mend

by Patrick O’Driscoll, USA Today Young revelers rock the ballroom in a New Year’s Eve countdown. At midnight Thursday, the cheer goes up: “Happy New CHURCH!” How’s that again? While millions of us sing choruses of Auld Lang Syne to welcome 1988, some 1,600 Lutheran teens in Anaheim, Calif., will hum a hymn – on
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Posted: December 30, 1987 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=6364
Categories: News • In this article: Christian unity, church union, dialogue, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Transmis : 30 décembre 1987 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=6364
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, church union, dialogue, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran

Lutherans and Episcopalians Discuss Full Communion

by James Solheim, director of news and information for the Episcopal Church. DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (ELCA) — As the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America move toward a historic decision in 1997 on full communion, they invited ecumenical partners to discuss the implications for all churches seeking unity. The Concordat of Agreement
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Posted: March 21, 1996 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4648
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran Transmis : 21 mars 1996 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4648
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran

Lutheran Leaders Study Ecumenism

CHICAGO (ELCA) — The 5.2 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are gearing up to make some major decisions in 1997 about how they will relate to another 67.3 million Christians in the United States. The ELCA Church Council, meeting here April 12-15, studied proposals regarding closer relations with the Roman Catholic
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Posted: April 19, 1996 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4644
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Transmis : 19 avril 1996 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4644
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran

ELCA, First Steps in a Long Ecumenical Journey

RICHMOND, Va. (ELCA) — “We all want to share communion, but maybe not with the church across town,” said Bishop Philip R. Cousin, First Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, told the 33rd annual National Workshop on Christian Unity here May 6-9. He used the theme, “Listen! I Stand at the Door and
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Posted: May 29, 1996 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4651
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Transmis : 29 mai 1996 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4651
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran

Lutherans Debate “Full Communion” with Episcopal Church

PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) — “Unity in Christ has never been uniformity. Divisions in the church have injured us, but diversity has been enriching,” the Rev. Michael Rogness, professor of homiletics at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., told voting members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as they met in assembly here Aug. 16. He opened
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Posted: August 17, 1997 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4665
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran Transmis : 17 aoüt 1997 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4665
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran

Lutheran Theologians “Square Off” on Reformed Proposals

PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) — Two prominent Lutheran theologians squared off Aug. 16 on the subject of relations between Lutheran and Reformed churches. The exchange between the Rev. William H. Lazareth, former bishop of the Metro New York Synod and the Rev. Timothy Lull, president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., opened a discussion at
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Posted: August 17, 1997 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4667
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran, Reformed churches Transmis : 17 aoüt 1997 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4667
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran, Reformed churches

Lutherans Reject “Full Communion” with Episcopalians

PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) — By a narrow margin the Evanglical Lutheran Church in America has rejected a proposal to enter into “full communion” with The Episcopal Church here Aug. 18. The proposal needed the support of two-thirds of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly for approval. It failed by a vote of 684 to 351 — six votes
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Posted: August 18, 1997 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4669
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran Transmis : 18 aoüt 1997 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4669
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, Lutheran

ELCA Presiding Bishop Responds to Vatican Statement on Nature of the Church

CHICAGO (ELCA) — In response to a document released by the Vatican July 10, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the statement does not appear to change the Vatican’s previously stated positions, and it will not alter the ELCA’s commitment to ecumenism, including ongoing discussions
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Posted: July 11, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4857
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: ecclesiology, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Vatican Transmis : 11 juillet 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4857
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : ecclesiology, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Vatican

Donald McCoid to Head ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced Oct. 6 that the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, former bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh, will lead the church’s Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations section for four years, effective Nov. 1.

McCoid, 63, completed his service Aug. 31 as a synod bishop, a role in which he served since 1988. He had previously announced he would not be available for re-election as bishop.

McCoid will succeed the Rev. Randall R. Lee, who will conclude his service as section executive on Oct. 31. Lee, 51, has led ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations since 2002.
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Posted: October 10, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4859
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Transmis : 10 octobre 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4859
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Keffer re-elected directing deaconess of ELCA Deaconess Community

Keffer re-elected directing deaconess of ELCA Deaconess Community

ELCA News Service • May 28, 2008
by Frank Imhoff

The Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Sister E. Anne Keffer to a second four-year term as its directing deaconess April 27 during its biennial assembly April 25-28 at the Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, Neb. In the balloting for directing deaconess, Keffer received 29 votes, Sister Davia A. Baldauf, Mount Holly Springs, Pa., received 19 votes and Sister Carolyn R. Hellerich, Lincoln, Neb., received three votes. The community elected Baldauf, Sister Melinda A. Lando, New York, and Sister Amy M. Lindquist, St Paul, Minn., to its board of directors.

Keffer is a graduate of Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University), Waterloo, Ontario, and the Baltimore Deaconess School, Baltimore. She earned bachelor of education and master of education degrees from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, and a doctor of ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation, South Bend, Ind. Keffer served as a director of Christian education and youth ministry in urban and rural team ministry settings across Canada, and as a chaplain on two university campuses and a retirement home. She was director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, when elected directing deaconess of the ELCA Deaconess Community in 2004.

The Deaconess Community is a community of lay women consecrated by the church to a ministry of Word and service. Sisters in the community work in a variety of settings such as health care, Christian education and social services. Deaconesses are theologically trained and professionally prepared for their careers. They are called to ministry by congregations and synods of the ELCA and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
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Posted: May 28, 2008 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=465
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Transmis : 28 mai 2008 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=465
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran

Lutherans approve full communion pact with Methodists

Even as their churches are riven by internal debates over homosexuality, the two nation’s two largest mainline Protestant denominations agreed Aug. 20 to share ministers and resources in a “full communion” accord.

The agreement, which was approved at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America‘s biennial assembly in Minneapolis, connects the 4.6 million-member ELCA with the United Methodist Church, which has 11 million members.

Church leaders said the measure is more than just feel-good ecumenism. By sharing ministers, missions, and other resources, the accord may toss a lifeline to the two denominations, both of which have steadily lost members for decades.

ELCA delegates voted 958 to 51 in favour of the accord, standing to applaud the measure and sing a celebratory hymn. The United Methodist Church approved the agreement by similarly overwhelming numbers at its General Conference last year.
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Posted: August 21, 2009 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=7279
Categories: RNS • In this article: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, United Methodist Transmis : 21 aoüt 2009 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=7279
Catégorie : RNS • Dans cet article : Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, full communion, United Methodist

ELCA, Vatican leaders meet

CHICAGO (ELCA) – In gratitude for the “unity in Christ” between the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson shared with Pope Benedict XVI a sense of urgency between Lutherans and Catholics in responding to the “great needs of poverty and human care” in the world.
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Posted: February 22, 2012 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4864
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran, Vatican Transmis : 22 février 2012 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4864
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran, Vatican

Anglican & Lutheran leaders offer “A Word to the Churches”

June 29, 2013 – Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

On this day when we commemorate the two “pillars of the church”—the apostles Peter and Paul—the heads of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada are issuing “A Word to the Churches.”

This joint declaration comes just a few days before the four North American church leaders will gather with hundreds of other Anglicans and Lutherans at the first Joint Assembly of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, an example of how our churches are drawing closer together in full communion.
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Posted: June 29, 2013 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=6281
Categories: News • In this article: Anglican Church of Canada, church union, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion Transmis : 29 juin 2013 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=6281
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Anglican Church of Canada, church union, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion

Four-way Anglican-Lutheran dialogue deepens

The heads of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have agreed to co-ordinate their responses to “events that transcend” their borders, such as natural disasters.

They could, for instance, issue a joint pastoral letter in response to a natural calamity and invite their members to contribute to relief and recovery efforts through one of their four relief agencies, said Archdeacon Bruce Myers, General Synod’s co-ordinator for ecumenical and interfaith relations. Myers served as staff support at the meeting.

Leaders of the four churches reached this agreement when they met for a day and a half of informal talks last December in Winnipeg. Since 2010, the heads of these four churches have met for informal talks, “becoming colloquially known as the ‘Four-Way,’ ” said Myers.

The Anglican Church of Canada’s primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, ELCIC Bishop Susan Johnson and Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori were joined in the meeting by the new presiding bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton.
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Posted: January 7, 2014 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=7116
Categories: Anglican Journal • In this article: Anglican Church of Canada, dialogue, ecumenism, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion Transmis : 7 janvier 2014 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=7116
Catégorie : Anglican Journal • Dans cet article : Anglican Church of Canada, dialogue, ecumenism, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion

ELCA presiding bishop leads delegation to London, Geneva and Rome

In an endeavour to learn, share and deepen dialogue with Christian partners around the world, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), led a delegation of ELCA leaders Feb. 1-13, 2015, to meet with religious leaders in London, Geneva and Rome.

“Our pilgrimage to Canterbury, Geneva and Rome gave me a sense of the breadth of the church. The Anglican Communion, The Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church span the globe and, in their history and tradition, span the centuries. The church is catholic – small c – and the ELCA is part of that,” said Eaton.

“While we should be mindful of our context in North America, and while we should be able to engage our particular culture, we should remember that the way we tend the gospel treasure entrusted to this part of the church has implications for the rest of the church. It’s not just about us. It’s not just about now,” she said.

ELCA leaders who participated in the journey led by Eaton are the Rev. Conrad Selnick, vice president for advancement and church relations, Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation; the Rev. Donald P. Kreiss, bishop of the ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops’ ecumenical and inter-religious relations liaison committee; the Rev. Patricia J. Lull, bishop of the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod; the Rev. Elizabeth Ekdale and the Rev. William E. Flippin Jr., members of the ELCA Church Council; Kathryn Lohre, executive for ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations; and the Rev. Donald McCoid, director for ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations.
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Posted: February 25, 2015 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=8590
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, pilgrimage Transmis : 25 février 2015 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=8590
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, pilgrimage

Kathryn Johnson named director for ELCA Ecumenical & Inter-Religious Relations

Kathryn L. Johnson has been named director of Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) effective September 2015.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton made the announcement during the ELCA Conference of Bishops meeting here March 5-10. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of this church that includes 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and secretary.

“Kathryn Johnson brings that rare and wonderful combination of keen intellect, academic excellence, international ecumenical experience, deep faith and a graceful and engaging presence. We are very excited to welcome her to our staff,” said Eaton.

Johnson is a professor of historical theology and is the Paul Tudor Jones Professor of Church History at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Johnson joins Kathryn M. Lohre, assistant to the presiding bishop and executive of ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations. The Rev. Donald J. McCoid will retire at the end of August after serving in the ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations office since 2007. Prior to that, McCoid served as bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod since 1988.

“Working for Christian unity has been one of the deepest joys of my vocational life. This aspect of the church’s calling is inextricable from the other tasks of Christian discipleship; it strengthens their witness and is undergirded in turn by common work for justice, search for interfaith understanding, (and more),” said Johnson.
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Posted: March 7, 2015 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=8583
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Transmis : 7 mars 2015 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=8583
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Lutherans & Catholics celebrate 50 years of dialogue

Lutherans and Catholics in the United States have been in dialogue for the past 50 years. A Service of Thanksgiving and Prayer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dialogue will take place May 27 in the chapel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Center in Washington, D.C. Lutheran and Catholic leaders will then gather for this sixth meeting of Round XII of the U.S. Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue on the topic of “Faithful Teaching.”

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will deliver the homily. The Rev. Richard H. Graham, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod, and Bishop Denis J. Madden of the Archdiocese of Baltimore will preside. The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, a former ELCA secretary and co-chair of the current round of U.S. Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue, and the Most Rev. Lee A. Piche, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and co-chair, will lead prayer.

Following the service, Monsignor John A. Radano will deliver an address: “The Significance of the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue in the United States after Fifty Years.” Kathryn M. Lohre, assistant to the presiding bishop and executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, will offer a response.
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Posted: May 26, 2015 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=8581
Categories: ELCA News • In this article: dialogue, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, US Conference of Catholic Bishops Transmis : 26 mai 2015 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=8581
Catégorie : ELCA News • Dans cet article : dialogue, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, US Conference of Catholic Bishops

Lutheran-Catholic ‘Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist’

Drawing on 50 years of national and international dialogue, Lutherans and Catholics together have issued the “Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist,” a unique ecumenical document that marks a pathway toward greater visible unity between Catholics and Lutherans. The October 30 release of the document comes on the eve of the anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting the 95 Theses, which sparked the Protestant Reformation.

“Pope Francis in his recent visit to the United States emphasized again and again the need for and importance of dialogue. This Declaration on the Way represents in concrete form an opportunity for Lutherans and Catholics to join together now in a unifying manner on a way finally to full communion,” said Bishop Denis J. Madden, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Catholic co-chair of the task force creating the declaration.

“Five hundred years ago wars were fought over the very issues about which Lutherans and Roman Catholics have now achieved consensus,” said ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton. “Church, ministry and Eucharist have been areas of disagreement and even separation between our two churches, and we still have work to do both theologically and pastorally as we examine the questions. The declaration is so exciting because it shows us 32 important points where already we can say there are not church-dividing issues between us, and it gives us both hope and direction for the future,” she said.
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Posted: October 30, 2015 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=8839
Categories: Documents, News • In this article: Catholic, dialogue, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, statements, US Conference of Catholic Bishops Transmis : 30 octobre 2015 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=8839
Catégorie : Documents, News • Dans cet article : Catholic, dialogue, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, statements, US Conference of Catholic Bishops