Bishop Allin Named to Eucharistic Congress Committee
Diocesan Press Service. May 1, 1975 [75164]
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Two top church leaders were named for key roles in the 41st International Eucharistic Congress, a world spiritual assembly of Roman Catholics gathering here Aug. 1-8, 1976.
They are the Rt. Rev. John Maury Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Marshal, president of the Lutheran Church in America.
The announcement was made by the Most Rev. William W. Baum, S. T. D., Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and chairman of the Committee on Participation of Christian Churches.
The two church executives will serve as vice chairmen of Bishop Baum's committee, a prestigious group of clergy and lay persons with national representation from major religious denominations.
The committee plans to build a unique ecumenical dimension into the Congress, expected to draw more than three million faithful here, the first time in 50 years the gathering has been held in the United States.
Initial planning calls for a creative multi-media ecumenical service focusing on the origins of the Eucharist in the Passover meal and a demonstration of both the separateness and the unity of Christian churches.
In preparation for the event, churches throughout the country will be asked to participate during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25, 1976.
Theme for the Congress is "The Hungers of the Human Family." All liturgy, conferences and ecumenical services will focus on the hungers for God, food, freedom, justice, love, truth, understanding, peace and Christ, the Bread of Life.
Bishop Allin was elected the 23rd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church for a 12 year term in 1973. The church has a membership of more than 3 million with nearly 12,000 ordained clergy.
A native of Helena, Ark., Bishop Allin has served as chairman of the Joint Commission on Ecumenical Relations of General Convention and as a member of the Commission's Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation. In 1973, he was elected to a six-year term as chancellor of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.
Dr. Marshal is serving his second full four-year term as president of the Lutheran Church in America which has 3. 1 million members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.
The church executive has carried his influence around the world, serving in many key positions in the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
As a member of the Lutheran Church's executive council, he has frequently been called upon to represent the church in ecumenical activities and worldwide outreach. The Rev. William Norgren, the assistant ecumenical officer of the Episcopal Church, is a member of the national committee for the participation of Christian Churches in the International Eucharistic Congress.