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

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

Anglicans, Lutherans present united witness of their faith

by Virginia Battiste, Saskatoon Star Phoenix Jesus prayed that all believers might be one. In Saskatoon, two churches are close to achieving that goal. After several years of dialogue on national and international fronts, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are moving towards establishing closer ties that would
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Posted: May 2, 1998 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=6227
Categories: News • In this article: Anglican Church of Canada, Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion, Lutheran Transmis : 2 mai 1998 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=6227
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Anglican Church of Canada, Christian unity, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion, Lutheran

Meissen: Fragile porcelain or robust relationship?

GENEVA, 26 May 2000 (LWI) – The Rt. Rev Michael Bourke, Anglican Bishop of Wolverhampton, England, gave a lecture on “Meissen – Fragile Porcelain or Robust Relationship?” at the Annual General Meeting of the Anglican – Lutheran Society on 18 March 2000. He co-chairs the Committee, which oversees the 1991 “Meissen Agreement” between the Church of England and the Evangelical Churches in Germany. Below is a lightly edited version of relevant excerpts from his address, which appeared in the May 2000 edition of “The Window”, the newsletter of the Anglican – Lutheran Society.
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Posted: May 26, 2000 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=12
Categories: News • In this article: Anglican, full communion, Lutheran Transmis : 26 mai 2000 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=12
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Anglican, full communion, Lutheran

Steps toward unity of great historical significance

In the movement for Christian unity, does dialogue just lead to more dialogue, or at some point does concrete action toward unity actually come from it? You be the judge.
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Posted: December 13, 2000 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=20
Categories: Opinion • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, full communion Transmis : 13 décembre 2000 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=20
Catégorie : Opinion • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, full communion

United Methodist Church adopts full communion proposal with ELCA

United Methodist Church Adopts Full Communion Proposal with ELCA

[ELCA News Service • Fort Worth, Texas] — By a vote of 864-19, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) adopted an implementing resolution April 28 that will establish full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Full communion will be fully realized by both churches should the same proposal be adopted at the next ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which meets Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.

The UMC General Conference, meeting here April 23-May 2, is the Methodist’s chief legislative body and meets every four years. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly is the ELCA’s chief legislative authority, meeting every two years. The ELCA and UMC have been in formal theological dialogue since 1977, which led to beginning a relationship of “Interim Eucharistic Sharing” in 2005. That relationship called for members to pray for and support each other, to study Scripture together and to learn about each other’s traditions in anticipation of achieving full communion.

Full communion means the churches will work for visible unity in Jesus Christ, recognize each other’s ministries, work together on a variety of ministry initiatives, and, under certain circumstances, provide for the interchangeability of ordained clergy.

April 28 was “a banner day” because of the UMC General Conference vote on full communion, said the Rev. William Oden, ecumenical officer, UMC Council of Bishops, at an April 29 news conference. “This has been a long time coming. A lot of careful work has been done,” he said. Oden emphasized that the proposal is a relationship between the two church bodies and not a “church union.”

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, Chicago, said he eagerly awaits the ELCA Churchwide Assembly vote in 2009 and hopes that it, too, will be a strong affirmation of full communion with the UMC. Hanson also preached at an April 29 worship service at the UMC General Conference.

“This is about revival of two church bodies that are deeply committed to re-presenting themselves in a pluralistic, dynamic changing culture for the sake of mission,” Hanson said.

The two church bodies must consider what they can do together as full communion partners that was not possible before, Hanson said. He suggested possible cooperative ministries in campus ministry, global mission, advocacy for justice and peace, to name only a few. He also agreed with Oden’s assertion that full communion cannot be successful if it is considered to be a “top down” action. Full communion should be a relationship in which mission initiatives should “bubble up” in the two churches, Hanson said.

“I always think of full communion as merely a step along the way toward a new, possible future because of the relationship,” Hanson said. “That new, possible future is the for the sake of the world. It’s for the sake of mission. Full communion calls for ecumenical, missional imagination.”

Full communion also gives “formal expression” to what is happening in both churches already, said the Rev. Greg Palmer, president, UMC Council of Bishops. “In one way we’re leading, and in another way, we’re following. We are catching up with people on the ground who are doing things in partnership, in mission and in ministry,” he said.

Christians “must find meaningful, significant and substantive ways of honoring the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in one another and together, living that before the world. We must live before the world what God intends for the world,” Palmer added.

Assuming the full communion proposal is adopted by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2009, a coordinating council with representatives of both churches will be appointed, said the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Chicago. That council will coordinate how the two churches will plan for mission together and consider practical matters such as interchangeability of ordained ministers, he said.

The ELCA’s five full communion partners are the Episcopal Church, the Moravian Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.

While the ELCA has successful cooperative ministries with its full communion partners, it must improve how it receives and implements full communion agreements, McCoid said. “We need to do better with how we are able to be intentional (in) sharing ministry. Grassroots sharing is really very critical, and I’ll just echo that again and again and again. The best way we can do that is by giving people permission and encouragement.”

If adopted by both churches, this will be the UMC’s first full communion agreement outside of the Methodist tradition.

The ELCA is one of 140 churches in the Lutheran World Federation and is the third-largest Lutheran church in the world with 4.8 million members. The United Methodist Church is a worldwide church with nearly 8 million members in the United States.

—

Audio of comments made at the April 29 news conference in Fort Worth:

The Rev. William Oden • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429a.mp3
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429b.mp3
The Rev. Greg Palmer • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429c.mp3
The Rev. Donald J. McCoid • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429d.mp3

Information about the Lutheran-United Methodist Dialogue is on the ELCA Web site.

Information about the UMC General Conference is on the Web.

For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or • www.elca.org/news • ELCA News Blog
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Posted: April 30, 2008 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=451
Categories: Dialogue, ELCA News • In this article: full communion, Lutheran, Methodist, USA Transmis : 30 avril 2008 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=451
Catégorie : Dialogue, ELCA News • Dans cet article : full communion, Lutheran, Methodist, USA

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

Anglicans planning joint meeting with Lutherans

A fully integrated meeting with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is planned to take place at the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod 2013 in Ottawa.
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Posted: June 10, 2010 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=1597
Categories: Anglican Journal, Dialogue • In this article: Anglican Church of Canada, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion, Lutheran Transmis : 10 juin 2010 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=1597
Catégorie : Anglican Journal, Dialogue • Dans cet article : Anglican Church of Canada, ecumenism, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, full communion, Lutheran