A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
Jan. 15, 2008

Over the next two years, both The United Methodist Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will ask its members to approve "full communion" between the two bodies.

That step follows an interim agreement and the conclusion, in December, of the last round of dialogue between the two denominations. The vote will take place this spring for United Methodists and in 2009 for Lutherans.

Over the last three decades, ELCA-UMC dialogue teams have explored the sacrament of baptism (1977-79) and issues of episcopacy (1985-87). The third round of dialogue, from 2001 to 2007, explored the two churches’ understandings of Eucharist and resulted in the 2004 recommendation for an interim agreement.

In 2005, an interim "Eucharistic sharing" agreement was approved by the United Methodist Council of Bishops in May and by ELCA representatives at a churchwide assembly in August.

The terms of the agreement encouraged "mutual prayer and mutual support, study together of the Holy Scriptures as well as the histories and theological traditions of both churches, and joint programs of theological discussion, evangelical outreach and social ministry endeavors." Looking toward full communion, the agreement also encouraged joint services of Holy Communion following guidelines established by both churches.

Confessing Our Faith Together

"Confessing Our Faith Together: A Statement Toward Full Communion by the ELCA-UMC Bilateral Dialogue" was completed in 2005 and distributed for feedback and comment.

In its introduction to the study guide, the joint dialogue team noted the ties that Lutherans and United Methodists already share:

"Lutherans and United Methodists have been well acquainted with one another. Our relationship, locally and nationally, has been forged through friendships, family ties, congregations, ecumenical councils, colleges and seminaries. We are, in countless places, partners in ministry."

In December, during the final session of the 2001-2007 dialogue, team members considered responses to the statement, looked at timelines for each denomination’s legislative process and discussed what documents, events or activities might be helpful if full communion is approved.

The United Methodist Church sought responses to "Confessing Our Faith Together" from local churches either already in a relationship with an ELCA congregation or able to establish one in order to do the study together, according to Mills. The Lutherans focused on responses from their seminaries. A few individuals also responded to the report.

"What we got back was, by and large, very positive," Mills said.

Expect further responses

The Rev. Michael Trice, the ELCA’s director of ecumenical formation and interreligious relations, said his office expects further responses to "Confessing Our Faith Together" from his denomination’s eight seminaries later this spring.

"There was consistent and wide consensus in congregational evaluations of (the document) that encouraged a relationship of full communion, recognizing that these two churches already live in proximity and thrive in numerous communities of cooperation throughout the ELCA and the UMC," Trice told United Methodist News Service.

That viewpoint was reinforced in a survey of ELCA congregations last year. "Of the over 8,000 responses to the survey, ELCA congregations revealed that UMC churches were a consistent and enduring partner in local congregations throughout both of these communions," he said.

All bilateral dialogues have third-party observers, according to Mills, and the Episcopal Church fulfilled that role for the UMC-ELCA dialogue. An interim agreement for sharing the Eucharist with the Episcopal Church also was approved by the United Methodist Council of Bishops in 2005.

The Episcopal Church has its own full communion agreement with the ELCA and the red-flag issues raised between those two denominations—such as the nature of the episcopacy—"were not dividing issues for United Methodists and Lutherans," he said.

The Episcopal Church response to "Confessing Our Faith Together" did help the United Methodist-Lutheran dialogue team "focus on where the continuing work needs to be," Mills added. "Declaring full communion might be easy in relation to actually implementing full communion."

Exploring full communion

Overall, most of the concerns expressed were related to the actual implementation of full communion. "That’s the part we have to live into," he added. "Now we need to explore what difference this makes for our congregations."

Delegates to the United Methodist General Conference, which meets April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas, will receive the dialogue statement, along with two pieces of legislation. Votes will be taken on a resolution from the Council of Bishops supporting full communion and a proposal for the needed change to the Book of Discipline. Members of the dialogue team also will be available to resource legislative committees.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson will preach at General Conference on April 29, the day the vote is set for the full communion agreement.

If approved, the ELCA Church Council will recommend a resolution for a vote on full communion with The United Methodist Church, Trice said. That vote would occur at the ELCA’s 11th Biennial Churchwide Assembly, Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.

The study and discussion guide for Confessing Our Faith Together, which includes the statement, can be found on the Christian Unity Web site.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Audio - The Rev. Doug Mills on:

The decision to go ahead with full communion

Legislation going to General Conference

The committee developing the details

United Methodists, Lutherans to study draft documents

Lutherans approve interim agreement with United Methodists

Council approves interim pacts with Episcopalians, Lutherans

Resources

Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns

Confessing Our Faith Together

ELCA: Ecumenism