Anderson: ELCA and Missouri Synod Should Work Together

     WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (ELCA) -- If closer relations between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are not possible on the national level, regional and local Lutheran bodies should explore ways of working together, said The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA.  Anderson spoke Oct. 19 here at an event sponsored by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau.
     "For the last years we have simply drifted farther apart, sniping at each other and putting the worst construction on each other's actions," Anderson said. "It is time to challenge this cold war head on and to find ways to tone down the rhetoric."
     "I believe we need to re-open theological discussions," Anderson said.
     But the bishop said he hoped that such discussion could involve more than the officials and formally-appointed theologians of the denominations. "I also think we should put our energy into local cooperation and bridge-building," Anderson said. He urged Lutherans from different traditions to "explore ways of working together even though our national offices cannot."
     Since the formation of the 5.2 million member ELCA in 1987, the LCMS, with 2.6 million members,  has been sharply critical of positions taken by the larger church body.  LCMS president Dr. Alvin Barry expressed "deep disappointment" at the decision of the ELCA last Summer to enter full communion with Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. "They question our right to the name 'Lutheran,'" Anderson noted.
     In spite of the strong criticism, Anderson said LCMS leaders have "assured us that they will continue to cooperate with us in areas like refugee work, Lutheran World Relief, disaster relief and chaplaincy programs." But he added, "from my point of view, that is not enough."
     "I believe we have much to offer the world as Lutherans, and that the present standoff does not permit us to exercise that gift," Anderson stated.
     The St. Louis-based LCMS has always declared its willingness to engage in theological discussion, so Anderson suggested that a new discussion might begin with a "thorough analysis of the ecumenical proposals and agreements."
     Responding to a question, Anderson noted that the reformer Martin Luther was "crushed by a system which thought it had all the answers."
     The ELCA bishop said his topic -- "The Future of Lutheran Unity" -- was once commonplace. But today, he said, "I can't remember the last time I heard someone talk about Lutheran unity having a future. "The question really is, given the present direction of the ELCA and the LCMS, is talk of Lutheran unity as pointless as discussing unity in the former Yugoslavia?"
     Turmoil in American society caused by mobility, stress, the feeling of marginalization and the fragmentation of society into "smaller and smaller units" has taken its toll on the churches, Anderson said.
     Lutheran teachings on the authority of scripture, the pervasiveness of sin, the life-long baptismal covenant, and the vocations of Christians to serve the world can speak to these anxieties, Anderson said.  But reaching out to the needs of the culture for direction, assurance, challenge and spiritual food is "a job too big for any of us -- any one congregation or one church body," he added, and said, "for that reason, the ELCA has begun to reach out in greater cooperation with sister denominations," hence the search for fellowship with other church bodies.
     The bishop's call for regional and local cooperation took tacit note of the fact that in some parts of the country, ELCA and LCMS churches and clergy work closely together in spite of LCMS policies that forbid joint worship services or exchange of pastors.
     The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau is an independent, inter-Lutheran publishing venture, producing Lutheran Forum magazine and Forum Letter, a  newsletter.
     Asked whether he thought that both the ELCA and the LC-MS were sharply divided on theological and ecumenical issues, Anderson declined to analyze the internal situation in the other church body. Referring to a concert of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach that he had attended the previous night, Anderson asked, "Is the ELCA 'harmonious?' I would say, 'no,' that we are contrapuntal."
     "I still cherish the vision of a single Lutheran voice in this country, combining the gifts that each of our traditions has to bring," Anderson concluded. "I don't think that it will occur in my lifetime, but I would like to set out on that path."
     The ALPB event honored Dorothy Zelenko, a member of St.  Matthew Lutheran Church in White Plains. She is a long-time board member of the ALPB and was co-editor of "For All the Saints: A Prayer Book For and By the Church," published by the inter-Lutheran organization.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or
NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html