Ecumania!

Though I'm very disappointed to be missing the National Workshop on Christian Unity this year, I'm hoping that the calendars will coordinate better next year. In the meantime, I've been very busy with this work in 2010 around the Synod.

In January, I attended the Massachusetts Council of Churches annual meeting which as held at Assumption College here in Worcester. I met a number of interesting colleagues and gathered some information about environmental auditing that our congregation could do.

Yesterday I was excited to be a part of coordinating the liturgy that celebrated the new Full Communion agreement between the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Bishop Margaret Payne of the ELCA New England Synod and Bishop Peter Weaver of the UMC New England Annual Conference led worship. Bishop Weaver's sermon was energetic and inspiring. The following statement was printed in the Worship Folder for the assembly to explain full communion.

"The Churchwide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a full communion agreement in August, 2009 with The United Methodist Church (UMC), following adoption of the same agreement by the UMC General Conference in 2008. It is the ELCA’s sixth full communion relationship and the first for the UMC.

Full communion is not a merger, but means that the two churches express a common confession of Christian faith and mutual recognition of Baptism and sharing Holy Communion; agree to mutual recognition of ordained ministers for service in either church; express a common commitment to evangelism, witness and service; engage in common decision-making on critical matters; and mutually lift criticism that may exist between the churches.

The two churches began formal theological dialogues together in 1977, which led to interim Eucharistic sharing in 2005.

The ELCA has 4.6 million baptized members, and the UMC has 8 million."

The next big event has a decidedly more somber tone. I will be representing the Synod at a Memorial Service on the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at Our Savior's Armenian Church in Worcester. Though the occasion of remembrance is sad, it will be a powerful witness to join together with representatives and members of many churches in upholding the life and dignity of our neighbors.