Lutheran-Episcopal Agreement Approved by Wide Margin
Episcopal News Service. July 19, 2000 [GC2000-096]
David Skidmore, Director of Communication for the Diocese of Chicago
(ENS) On a commanding vote in both houses, the 73rd General Convention approved the landmark agreement "Called to Common Mission" (CCM) between the 2.3 million member Episcopal Church and 5.2 million member ELCA. The accord sets out the conditions for the full interchange of clergy, and the sharing of ministry and sacraments. Since it was already adopted by a 27-vote margin by the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly in August 1999, the vote means that CCM goes into effect January 1, 2001.
The bishops, voting July 7, and the deputies voting on the following day, marked the historic occasions by breaking out in strained but earnest renditions of the Lutheran signature hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," once the results were announced.
Despite reservations over the Lutheran understanding of the three-fold ministry (deacons, priests and bishops) and warnings that the adoption could stoke dissension within the ELCA, over two-thirds of the bishops and deputies voted for the agreement. Both houses also approved on second reading two enabling resolutions amending the Constitution and Canons.
The changes, which remove constitutional barriers to Lutheran clergy serving in Episcopal congregations, provide for the temporary suspension of the preface to the ordinal in The Book of Common Prayer, and waive the requirement that all clergy serving in the church vow to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church.
The historic agreement is a partnership, not a merger, pointed out ecumenical officers during the debate in the two houses.
Bishop Edward Lee (Western Michigan), chair of the bishops' committee on ecumenical relations, emphasized that the agreement is "not a blending, it is not a dilution."
"What we are doing is an ecumenical breakthrough called full communion," said Lee. The time has ended "for simple talk, or dialogue or conversation," he said. For 30 years the Episcopal Church and the ELCA and its predecessor churches have labored to fulfill the gospel mandate to be one.
"It is not a marriage or a merger of our two churches," the Rev. Donald Brown, chair of the committee on ecumenical relations, advised during the deputies' debate. "Each church will retain its own liturgical, theological, and organizational uniqueness and integrity."
Though some quibbled over variations in language between CCM and its predecessor, the 1997 Concordat of Agreement, the sentiment in both houses was that the agreement represented a turning point in ecumenical relations.
"This is an historical ecumenical moment for us and an historical ecumenical decision," said Bishop Christopher Epting (Iowa), a member of the drafting team for both documents. The historic episcopate now promises to be a common sign of the apostolic connection for both churches, he said.
Bishop William Swing (California) noted that the Episcopal Church has promoted itself for years as the via media, or bridge church, of the Christian faith.
"I think we are in a crossroads where this is either a drawbridge or it is the Golden Gate Bridge," said Swing, referring to the San Francisco landmark. "Being from California, I am for the Golden Gate Bridge."
The practical aspects of the agreement, particularly joint church planting efforts, were cited by several bishops. In Florida, said Bishop Stephen Jecko, there is a need for 17 new congregations. "Cash is all I lack," he said. This agreement will allow him to forge a partnership with the local ELCA bishop.
In Iowa, Epting noted he has developed a close partnership with the bishops in the three ELCA synods, allowing such joint ministries as a college chaplaincy at the University of Iowa. Despite these cooperative ventures, Epting felt the two churches had been "stymied" in the opportunity for new church starts or cooperative ministry because many of their congregations could not afford full-time clergy.
Like the 1997 Concordat, CCM recognizes that both the Lutheran Augsburg Confession and The Book of Common Prayer contain "the essentials of the one catholic and apostolic faith," a common understanding of baptism, Eucharist and the authority of Scripture; and a full acknowledgment of the authenticity of each church's ordained clergy.
The major difference between the two is simplification of language in CCM, a Lutheran rewrite of the Concordat, and a clarification of the Lutheran understanding of ministry. The ELCA ordains pastors and installs bishops in a single order of ministry, but does not yet have deacons. Though not required to ordain deacons under the CCM, the ELCA agrees to continue exploring that question. The Lutherans also agreed to have bishops present at all future installations who are part of the historic episcopate.
Under the agreement the ELCA agrees that a bishop will preside at ordinations of all clergy, although it holds open the possibility that, in emergency situations, it might not always be possible. Episcopal bishops have made it clear that Lutheran clergy ordained by someone other than a bishop in the historic episcopate could not preside at Episcopal Eucharists.
Still, the change sparked concerns in some bishops. Retired Bishop Donald Parsons (Quincy) said that allowing for exceptions, CCM "leaves the way open for ordination of clergy not done by those who are bishops." Parsons said he was also troubled by another provision that allows the ELCA to license lay persons to administer baptism and holy communion "in unusual circumstances."
The agreement stands as "a very significant sign to the ecumenical community that our two churches can live in communion with one another for the sake of a greater unity in the service of a common mission," said Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold following the deputies' vote July 8.
The Rev. Lowell Almen, secretary of the ELCA, said, "We have walked into the bright sunlight of the future. A grand panorama of mission stretches before us."
At a press conference following the vote, Epting stressed that the accord is a partnership, not a merger. Both churches, while able to share clergy and ministries, will remain autonomous.
"I think we've moved in the ecumenical movement generally from a concept of one giant 'superchurch' to what we now call a 'communion of communions," said Epting. "The great coming church of the future will always have its own uniqueness. There will be different ways in which individual communions will exercise their worship and their common life. But we really are one church in the larger sense of that word."
The decision has worldwide implications, according to the Rev. Daniel Martensen, director of the ELCA's ecumenical office. "I'm thoroughly convinced that the Anglican Consultative Council and the Lutheran World Federation and other Christian world communions will be watching very closely to see how it unfolds here in North America," he said.
That sentiment was echoed by Bishop H. George Anderson, the ELCA's presiding bishop, at the July 12 Eucharist at convention in which he joined Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold in a an exchange of chalices sealing the accord.
Speaking just before the exchange, Anderson said the CCM will be an avenue for the churches to reach a fuller understanding of each other. "As we grow into that friendship, God will continue to show us new possibilities," he said. The full communion agreement is also a gift to the rest of the Christian community, one which reinforces hope for "reconciliation and mutuality," he said.
The exchange of chalices -- a crystal chalice from the Episcopal Church and an earthenware chalice from the ELCA -- followed a homily by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, in which he called the agreement "an invitation to open our borders." The agreement on full communion would deepen an already close relationship, he added.
Both churches, noted Griswold, have had "to face the anxiety of what may be lost" in the movement toward full communion. Only time and the commitment of the churches' members, he said, will determine how the life and witness of the two churches will be transformed by the agreement.
In a press conference following the service, Anderson was asked about the opportunities for joint ministry and the impact that Lutheran opposition centered on adoption of the historic episcopate, would have on the agreement. Anderson downplayed the dissent, which is centered in the Upper Midwest. He said he had been surprised at how many ELCA synods that once opposed the agreement now support it. Their opposition, he added, was based not so much on the idea of full communion but on how it might be implemented in ways that would preserve church unity.
As for the General Convention's recognition of couples living in committed relationships other than marriage, Anderson noted that the ELCA was already in communion with the United Church of Christ, which has policies on the ordination of homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions that are at odds with the ELCA's policies.
"We feel we can learn from the experience of these other bodies as we can learn from the experience of the Episcopal Church," he said. "But each of us continues to have the responsibility for ordering the ministry and activities within our own traditions."
Griswold, who joined Anderson for the press conference, said the agreement would be inaugurated at a Eucharist at Washington National Cathedral on January 6, 2001, the Feast of Epiphany.
- declared that "Called to Common Mission" has been correctly interpreted by the "Mind of the House" resolution adopted by the House of Bishops on April 3, 2000 (B046);
- authorized a bilateral dialogue with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (A039);
- temporarily suspended the restriction that no persons are allowed to exercise the office of bishops, priest, or deacon unless they have received ordination by the laying on of hands by Bishops duly qualified. (A041);
- committed the church to a process of engagement and dialogue beginning in 2002 with Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) (A135);
- affirmed Lambeth Conference recommendations that the World Council of Churches explore ways that would make possible full membership for the Roman Catholic Church (D053);
- asked the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations to research and recommend ways conversations could be initiated in the U.S. with Pentecostal Churches (D051);
- encouraged the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations and the presiding bishop to initiate a dialog with group calling themselves "Continuing Anglican Churches" (D047);
- renewed the request of the 72nd General Convention that the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations be in conversation with the National Association of Evangelicals on matters of theology and ethics (D105).