ELCA Council: Rework the Concordat

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting here Nov. 14-16, asked the presiding bishops of the ELCA and The Episcopal Church to rework the "Concordat of Agreement."  The council's goal is to have a draft document ready to show the ELCA's spring synod assemblies.
     The council's action authorizes Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson to appoint ELCA representatives to "a small drafting team" for the task and to a panel of advisors.  "An effort will be made in the composition of the team and panel to reflect the diversity of opinion on this matter with the ELCA," it says.
     Anderson advised the council that the new document must include the historic episcopate if full communion is the goal in 1999.
     At its Churchwide Assembly in August the ELCA narrowly defeated the original "Concordat," which would have established full communion between the two churches.  But the assembly rededicated the church to work toward that relationship.  Its next opportunity to vote is the 1999 assembly.
     Full communion is not a merger but would make it possible for the two churches to share clergy and cooperate more fully in their social service and mission efforts, expressing unity in Christ.
     Anderson reported that he has met with Episcopal Bishop Edmund Browning and Bishop-elect Frank Griswold. "Each has assured me of the commitment of that church to continue on the journey with us as we seek to carry out the charge given by our assembly."
     Anderson outlined his "assumptions" for the process to 1999.  Number one, he said, "the document will include the historic episcopate, shaped in a way that is congenial to Lutheran theology and doctrine of ministry."
     The drafting group will include representation by those Lutherans who opposed the original "Concordat" as will the advisory group, "but not in a way that would divide the ELCA into two sides," Anderson said.  "These groups should also represent questioners, those in the center looking for information," Anderson said.    "No teams have been named," Anderson stressed. The Church Council is responsible for passing on whatever is developed.
     Council member Mark Klever, Dayton, Iowa, asked why inclusion of the historic episcopate is not negotiable.
     "Full communion" implies that The Episcopal Church has to agree, Anderson said.  "Any proposal without the historic episcopate is dead on arrival.  While we could discuss it, realistically we could not have such a proposal ready before 1999.  That is my impression," Anderson said.
     Lutherans and Episcopalians agree on the doctrine of "apostolic succession," an ongoing faithful proclamation of Christ; Episcopalians bring the "historic episcopate," an unbroken succession of bishops as a sign of unity back to the earliest days of the Christian church.
     The bishop explained, "The Concordat was developed over a long period of negotiation, in formal bilateral discussion."  He said, The core of that document is full communion between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church, and the modality is the gift of the historic episcopate brought by The Episcopal Church and the doctrinal teaching brought by the Lutheran church.
     "If we want to do something different than that, we are at square one.  With two years to go, we can hope for another try with the historic episcopate and see if the church accepts that," Anderson said.  "The progress we can make between now and 1999 is to shape a document that will embody the historic episcopate but still be framed within Lutheran understanding, he said."
     The Rev. Canon David W. Perry, deputy for ecumenical relations of The Episcopal Church said, "There's a hardness to `non-negotiable.'  It is difficult to hear and to say.  Bishops function for mission and ministry  as servants.  The historic episcopate is not magical, it is the power of Holy Spirit, working in a community for its life and faithfulness to gospel of Jesus Christ."
     The action calls for "clear, down-to-earth language" and a "rationale for its conclusions." David F. Hagen, Dearborn, Mich., cited the need for "clarity, no sideways commentary or footnotes, something straightforward."
     The Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, ELCA director for ecumenical affairs, called 1997 "the most intense ecumenical season in American Lutheran history."  The August assembly voted in favor of the "Formula of Agreement," establishing "full communion" with three churches of the Reformed tradition -- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America, and United Church of Christ.
     Claudette Zobel, River Forest, Ill., greeted the council on behalf of the Presbyterian Church. She is past moderator for the Chicago Presbytery. Zobel said, "We look forward to full communion when all the presbyteries have voted ... probably by mid-April, 1998."
     Martensen said a planning committee of representatives from the ELCA and three Reformed churches will meet Dec. 10 to organize work around six items: the rostering of pastors, worship matters, guidance to our churches on the nature of cooperation, publications and communication, processes for ongoing theological dialogue and representation at each others' church events.
     The council voted to transmit to the 1999 Churchwide Assembly a resolution "establishing a relationship of full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Moravian Church in America."
     The action calls for wide distribution in the ELCA of the study on Lutheran-Moravian relationships, "Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion."
     Moravians and Lutherans share a common theological tradition and commitment to mission, the action says.  The report of the Lutheran-Moravian dialogue "affirmed that there are no `church-dividing differences' precluding full communion" between the two churches.
     Around the world Lutherans and Moravians are closely related.  There are about 200,000 Moravians in the United States.

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