Epting Tapped as New Deputy for Ecumenical Relations
Episcopal News Service. December 14, 2000 [2000-234]
Jan Nunley
(ENS) Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has announced the appointment of Bishop Christopher Epting of Iowa to serve as deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations for the Episcopal Church. Epting will move to New York and assume his new duties in mid-April 2001.
"Bishop Epting's responsibilities will include coordinating the ecumenical and interfaith activities of the Episcopal Church," said Griswold. "I very much look forward to working with him, and I know his particular gifts will serve us well as we work to strengthen and deepen our ecumenical and interfaith relations.
"[He] comes to his new role at a time when we are seeking to establish interfaith dialogue and to expand our relations with churches of the East," Griswold added. "I can think of no one better suited both by experience and temperament to assume this important ministry on behalf of our church."
"I am obviously very excited about becoming the Presiding Bishop's Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations," Epting commented. "I am just that -- his deputy -- since, by virtue of his office Bishop Griswold is the chief ecumenical officer for the Episcopal Church. We all know of his deep commitment to the unity of the Church and it will be a joy to assist him in this work.
"I am particularly interested in giving attention to the inter-faith dimensions of this office and to our work with the Eastern Churches, both of which the Presiding Bishop mentioned in his announcement of my call. This, in addition to ongoing work in the implementation of 'Called To Common Mission' with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, our dialogues with the Roman Catholics, and some renewed interest in the Church of Christ Uniting (formerly Consultation on Church Union) should make for some busy and fulfilling days ahead."
Epting received a bachelor of arts from the University of Florida in 1969. His seminary education included a degree with a major in New Testament studies from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and, some years later, a master of sacred theology in ascetical theology and spiritual direction from the General Theological Seminary.
After nearly twenty years as a parish priest in Florida, Epting was elected Bishop of Iowa in 1988. During his episcopate, he has focused on spiritual renewal and discernment, on cooperative and collaborative ministry among congregations, and on the development of the total ministry of all baptized persons with clergy and laity working together. He has been active in the ecumenical life of Iowa through his commitment to the state Council of Churches, Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa and, more recently, with the Interfaith Alliance.
He has served on the Standing Commissions on Evangelism and Ecumenical Relations, as liaison from the House of Bishops to the National Episcopal Cursillo Committee, and on the Executive Council. He has made significant contributions to the success of the Called to Common Mission agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He is president of Province VI and sits on the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice. He serves as Bishop Visitor to the Society of the Transfiguration, a community of Episcopal nuns in Cincinnati, and as co-patron of Affirming Catholicism, a renewal movement of catholic faith and practice within the Episcopal Church and wider Anglican Communion.
"Bishop Chris Epting is a superb choice as the person to take up the responsibilities of the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in the Episcopal Church," remarked the Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, director of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs in Chicago. "The people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are especially pleased about the development because of many years of positive experience working with Bishop Epting as our respective churches acted to establish full communion. He will be able to pick up where his able predecessor, David Perry, leaves off as we begin to implement full communion in January of 2001."
--- The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and Information. This story was based on releases from the Presiding Bishop's office and the Diocese of Iowa.