In recent months more and more voices are calling for the United Methodist Church to split into two churches. So serious has this issue become that our General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns has published a booklet entitled, In Search of Unity. Note how the first paragraph states the problem: In recent years […]
Archives for May 2016
A Response to Let’s Talk’s Special Issue on Ecumenism
The invitation of Let’s Talk in its Epiphany, 1998 issue motivates me to share some thoughts on what happened and what did not happen at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Churchwide Assembly in Philadelphia last August. The response to the vote on the Lutheran-Episcopal Concordat of Agreement by some of the writers in Let’s […]
Common Ground: We Are Sinners
Did you ever sit around a table with parishoners to write a mission statement for the parish? As I recall we were instructed to state who we are and then state what we are about. When it was my turn around the table I suggested we state who we are in three words: “We are […]
Faithful Change in Our Synod
The velocity of social and cultural change that our generation now faces has profound implications for the church. In the time of our grandparents’ youth, travel of more than 20 miles was a major event. A college education was rare. Disposable income (that is, money remaining after paying for essentials) was a very small percentage […]
Our Mission Statement: Toward a New Reality
Remarkable! Ask me what our new Synod Mission Statement is and I can recite it from memory without any hesitation. Adopted by our Synod Assembly this past June, it is so clear and forceful that it burns in one’s heart. Remarkable. Now this is a mission statement with real possibilities! And after all, isn’t this […]
An Opportunity for a Reformation: An Interview with Bishop Olsen
Let’s Talk: Bishop, our Synod adopted a new mission statement at its last Assembly, ”Proclaim the Gospel, Make Disciples, Do Justice.” What focus do you think this commitment will bring? Bishop Olsen: First of all it very much changes the focus of our Synod from what it has been for the last few […]
Dialogue and Debate: Revisiting the Concordat
Following the narrow defeat of the Concordat of Agreement in the recent ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the Assembly then adopted two resolutions aimed at restarting the move toward full communion with the Episcopal Church. The first declares the intention of the ELCA to preserve conversation and eucharistic sharing with the Episcopal Church, and to bring a […]
Heritage and Hope?
“Making Christ Known: Alive in Our Heritage and Hope,” was the theme for the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which met in Philadelphia, August 14-20, 1997. Ecumenical issues dominated the proceedings, with the focus on three major decisions: (1) the Formula of Agreement with the three churches of the Reformed tradition; […]
The Use of the Means of Grace: An Anglican Perspective
The Use of the Means of Grace, adopted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this past summer, is a document that probably could not have been written by Episcopalians, though not because we would disagree in large measure with anything in the paper. Almost all the particular ritual notes are familiar and unremarkable from […]
Report on Lutheran-Episcopal Relations: Ecumenical Symposium at Loyola University
You invited Bill Roberts and myself, as the ecumenical officers of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Metropolitan Chicago Synod respectively, to give a report on Lutheran-Episcopal Relationships. The invitation to address this symposium was extended before the votes were taken at our respective church assemblies this past summer. […]
Argument for a Lutheran Anamnesis of the Historical Episcopate
One of the issue editors of Let’s Talk invited me to respond to the failure of the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to approve the Concordat of Agreement by answering two questions: Is it desirable for The Episcopal Church to have full communion with The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America? If […]
Full Communion: ELCA and Others – A Sermon
This week I felt compelled to set aside all of the assigned texts before me–those for the “Festival of St. Bartholomew, Apostle” as well as for this “The 16th Sunday after Pentecost”, and reflect seriously upon events of last Sunday. Christians of all denominations convene assemblies–annually, bi-annually or tri-annually. They do so with varying degrees […]
Let’s Talk Mission Statement Contest
This is our final installment of mission statements submitted by congregations. We thank all who participated. We noted at the outset that the “winners” would be published, and we have published them all. In our next issue we will seek to address the use and abuse of congregational statements and examine our Synod’s new mission […]
Worship Bibliography
We gathered a list of worship resources. Here are some resources that have proved valuable to them in preparing the Liturgy and in adult education. Do you have resources you would recommend? Fax to me at 773-935-0414 or mail to Nicholas Zook, Concordia Lutheran Church, 3855 N. Seeley Ave., Chicago, IL 60618 Commentaries on Liturgy […]
A Statement that Leaves Us Wanting More
This August, the ELCA Assembly in Philadelphia will consider adopting the latest document on worship in the ELCA, The Use of the Means of Grace: a Proposed Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament. The Preamble states the purpose of the document: This statement seeks to root common sacramental practice in the Lutheran Confessions […]
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