The Diocese of Fond du Lac held its annual council Oct. 6-7, in Minocqua, Wis., at Ascension Lutheran Church (ELCA), which has a covenant with St. Matthias' Episcopal Church, the host parish. This year's theme was ecumenism.

At Friday's conciliar banquet, delegates heard the Rt. Rev. Edward Lee, Bishop of Western Michigan, commend Fond du Lac's tripartite covenant with local Roman Catholic and Lutheran judicatories.

"I do not think the church can be anything less than aggressively ecumenical," said Bishop Lee, who went on to describe recent initiatives from the Vatican to the Anglican Communion. He also discussed the proposed Lutheran-Episcopal Concordat of Agreement, scheduled to be voted on by both churches in 1997.

Next morning, an ecumenical cast performed "All in the Family: Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and William Augustus Muhlenberg - a family who shaped the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches in America."

For the first time, the council welcomed youth delegates. It also passed a resolution to become a model diocese in the "Treasure Kids" project, an initiative involving Christian educators from across the Episcopal Church looking for ways to enhance the spiritual formation of children. Br. James Teets, B.S.G., the diocesan linkage person from the national church, greeted the assembly on behalf of the Presiding Bishop. Lectors at the Eucharist included a 10-year-old girl and a senior citizen, as a sign of diocesan commitment to all age groups. A joint choir from St. Matthias and Ascension Lutheran sang anthems. The offering was sent to All Saints' Cathedral in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, badly damaged by the recent Hurricane Marilyn.

Bishop Russell Jacobus's address focused on stewardship. He praised the diocese for its involvement on local and national levels within the church, and announced plans to establish a new mission in the Bellevue area of Green Bay. He concluded with a challenge to each congregation to become the "Christian communities that Christ needs you to be in your cities" by meeting fair share support of diocesan programs.