A unique opportunity

Full communion expresses our fuller identity

Called to Common Mission," a proposal for full communion with the Episcopal Church, will receive a lot of attention during synod assemblies this spring. It's so easy to get caught up in details that we may forget why we embarked on this project in the first place. Why do we need to do this?

God has given the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America a unique opportunity. We are the one church in America that can link the heirs of the Continental and the English Reformation. We have entered into full communion relationships with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ. If we can achieve full communion with the Episcopal Church, we will have bridged gaps that have separated the major reformation traditions for more than 400 years. By this act we would demonstrate Lutheranism's fundamental role as the source of both branches of the reformation movement.

Some people fear that this step would mean a loss of our identity. I believe it will let us express the fullness of our identity better than ever.

First, it will show that the Lutheran movement was conservative, demanding change but still appreciative of the long history of Christianity. Sometimes this is expressed as being both "evangelical" and "catholic." Full communion with both reformed and Episcopal traditions would make this "dual citizenship" clear to everyone.

Second, it will demonstrate that we are a connected church both in time and space. The historic episcopate will be another sign, along with our creeds and confessions, that we are not just a "church of what's happening now." And it would also make it possible for us to invite representatives from other Lutheran churches around the world to participate in the installations of our bishops. At present, an invitation to bishops from El Salvador or Sweden would be seen as an underhanded way of smuggling in the historic episcopate.

Third, it reminds us that the Lutheran Reformation was about the gospel, not structure. If it were otherwise, we Lutherans would still be separated into dozens of church bodies. Every step toward Lutheran unity in this land involved structural changes. If moving into full communion with the Episcopal Church means a new way of installing our bishops, it would just be another step on the road that has brought us so far already.

Call the Presiding Bishop's Hotline: (773) 380-2930. Messages change every two weeks. Topics-May 1: Doing more with more; May 15: A world without Jesus.

A monthly message from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. His E-mail address: [email protected]

Copyright Evangelical Lutheran Church in America May 1999
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