The Wider Church
Dear Members of the Parish,
Our National Church is preparing for its triennial meeting, which we call General Convention, which will be held in Anaheim, CA in July. Each Diocese has elected lay and ordained deputies who will represent us. The Church is governed by a bicameral system: the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. Each house meets separately in legislative sessions every day over the course of 10 days. Many resolutions come before both bodies covering topics such as mission, liturgy and worship, Millennium Development Goals, Ecumenism, human sexuality and many other issues.
This year there will be a proposal that our denomination be in full communion with the Moravian Church, as well as beginning a dialogue with the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Here is a bit of information on that from Matthew Davies, who writes for Episcopal Life Online:
[Episcopal Life] Deepening relationships between the Episcopal Church and its ecumenical partners, including a proposal for full communion with the Moravian Church, will be the focus of draft legislation presented to General Convention when it meets July 8-17 in Anaheim, California.
General Convention also will welcome ecumenical and interfaith guests to participate, observe and learn about the Episcopal Church and its governance.
The Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations spent the last triennium working on recommendations concerning interchurch cooperation and interreligious dialogue and action.
"All our ecumenical dialogues are important as we patiently seek to restore the wholeness of the visible body of Christ," said commission Vice Chair Roderick B. Dugliss, a lay deputy from the Diocese of California. "We know from long experience that the fractured church confounds our efforts to 'proclaim by word and example the Good News.'"
Among the standing commission's proposals are a resolution to begin formal dialogue between the Episcopal Church and the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden with the ultimate goal of reaching full communion.
"Our history with the Church of Sweden goes back to the first moments of the Episcopal Church's existence as an autonomous Anglican church," said Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe. "It is our oldest ecumenical relationship. For various reasons, we have never entered into an official full communion partnership with this great church, even though they put several 'Old Swedes' churches under our jurisdiction back in the 18th century."
The Church of Sweden, along with the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches, is in full communion with the British and Irish Anglican churches through the 1992 Porvoo Agreement. The Episcopal Church, although part of the Anglican Communion, has not yet made any such formal agreements with those Lutheran churches.
"A fruitful dialogue with the Church of Sweden might also serve eventually as a way to full communion with the other Scandinavian Lutheran churches," said Whalon, an SCEIR member.
Theological statement
General Convention also will be asked to endorse a theological statement to serve as "the foundation upon which [the Episcopal Church] engages in interreligious dialogue," the standing commission's report says.
While the Episcopal Church has been involved in interreligious cooperation and dialogue for many years, "we have never really had a clear theological rationale as to why we should be doing this in the first place," said Bishop Christopher Epting, ecumenical and interreligious officer for the Episcopal Church. "Some people wonder what the goal actually is. There are reasons why Christians specifically should be involved in such conversations, and this document is an attempt to make that clear."
Moravian relationship
Perhaps the most significant resolution asks General Convention to endorse a full-communion relationship with the Northern Province and Southern Province of the Moravian Church, which would include sharing in the historic episcopate and interchangeability of ministries between the two churches. The relationship would be similar to the one between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which entered into full communion in 2001 through the Call to Common Mission agreement.
The Moravian Church will consider an identical proposal at its Provincial Synods in 2010.
Given that the Moravian Church in America is relatively small and concentrated in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin, "only a dozen Episcopal dioceses will have the opportunity to live directly into this full-communion relationship," said Dugliss, dean of the School for Deacons in Berkeley, California. "My concern is that, because of lack of familiarity or immediate impact, the full-communion concordat will be lost in the shuffle at General Convention."
General Convention authorized a dialogue with the Moravian Church in 1997 and established interim eucharistic sharing between the churches in 2003.
The proposed full-communion partnership "is a unique opportunity to restore unity with the oldest church of the 'first reformation,'" says the commission report. "Moravians are intensely missional, highly relational, have a rich musical and liturgical heritage and are led by a deeply pastoral episcopate."
The Moravians' formation over "two centuries of persecution yields a freedom to witness and serve anywhere, anytime," Dugliss said. "They have embraced the call of one of their seminal leaders – Nicholas Von Zinzendorf – to seek and serve 'the last, the least and the lost.' In all this they offer to the Episcopal Church an antidote to our DNA of establishment and our hesitation in mission. While they have a limited presence in the United States, there are opportunities for significant collaboration in mission and witness here and globally."
The work of the National Church may seem distant at times, but we must stay informed and connected to the wider work of God in the world. Our triennial meetings make this important work possible and I hope you will join me in praying for all of our Bishops, Deputies and guests who will be participating in General Convention. I will be sending out updates as the convention progresses in July. You may also access information through Episcopal Life Online:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/episcopal_life.htm
Blessings and Peace,
Miriam
Our National Church is preparing for its triennial meeting, which we call General Convention, which will be held in Anaheim, CA in July. Each Diocese has elected lay and ordained deputies who will represent us. The Church is governed by a bicameral system: the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. Each house meets separately in legislative sessions every day over the course of 10 days. Many resolutions come before both bodies covering topics such as mission, liturgy and worship, Millennium Development Goals, Ecumenism, human sexuality and many other issues.
This year there will be a proposal that our denomination be in full communion with the Moravian Church, as well as beginning a dialogue with the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Here is a bit of information on that from Matthew Davies, who writes for Episcopal Life Online:
[Episcopal Life] Deepening relationships between the Episcopal Church and its ecumenical partners, including a proposal for full communion with the Moravian Church, will be the focus of draft legislation presented to General Convention when it meets July 8-17 in Anaheim, California.
General Convention also will welcome ecumenical and interfaith guests to participate, observe and learn about the Episcopal Church and its governance.
The Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations spent the last triennium working on recommendations concerning interchurch cooperation and interreligious dialogue and action.
"All our ecumenical dialogues are important as we patiently seek to restore the wholeness of the visible body of Christ," said commission Vice Chair Roderick B. Dugliss, a lay deputy from the Diocese of California. "We know from long experience that the fractured church confounds our efforts to 'proclaim by word and example the Good News.'"
Among the standing commission's proposals are a resolution to begin formal dialogue between the Episcopal Church and the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden with the ultimate goal of reaching full communion.
"Our history with the Church of Sweden goes back to the first moments of the Episcopal Church's existence as an autonomous Anglican church," said Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe. "It is our oldest ecumenical relationship. For various reasons, we have never entered into an official full communion partnership with this great church, even though they put several 'Old Swedes' churches under our jurisdiction back in the 18th century."
The Church of Sweden, along with the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches, is in full communion with the British and Irish Anglican churches through the 1992 Porvoo Agreement. The Episcopal Church, although part of the Anglican Communion, has not yet made any such formal agreements with those Lutheran churches.
"A fruitful dialogue with the Church of Sweden might also serve eventually as a way to full communion with the other Scandinavian Lutheran churches," said Whalon, an SCEIR member.
Theological statement
General Convention also will be asked to endorse a theological statement to serve as "the foundation upon which [the Episcopal Church] engages in interreligious dialogue," the standing commission's report says.
While the Episcopal Church has been involved in interreligious cooperation and dialogue for many years, "we have never really had a clear theological rationale as to why we should be doing this in the first place," said Bishop Christopher Epting, ecumenical and interreligious officer for the Episcopal Church. "Some people wonder what the goal actually is. There are reasons why Christians specifically should be involved in such conversations, and this document is an attempt to make that clear."
Moravian relationship
Perhaps the most significant resolution asks General Convention to endorse a full-communion relationship with the Northern Province and Southern Province of the Moravian Church, which would include sharing in the historic episcopate and interchangeability of ministries between the two churches. The relationship would be similar to the one between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which entered into full communion in 2001 through the Call to Common Mission agreement.
The Moravian Church will consider an identical proposal at its Provincial Synods in 2010.
Given that the Moravian Church in America is relatively small and concentrated in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin, "only a dozen Episcopal dioceses will have the opportunity to live directly into this full-communion relationship," said Dugliss, dean of the School for Deacons in Berkeley, California. "My concern is that, because of lack of familiarity or immediate impact, the full-communion concordat will be lost in the shuffle at General Convention."
General Convention authorized a dialogue with the Moravian Church in 1997 and established interim eucharistic sharing between the churches in 2003.
The proposed full-communion partnership "is a unique opportunity to restore unity with the oldest church of the 'first reformation,'" says the commission report. "Moravians are intensely missional, highly relational, have a rich musical and liturgical heritage and are led by a deeply pastoral episcopate."
The Moravians' formation over "two centuries of persecution yields a freedom to witness and serve anywhere, anytime," Dugliss said. "They have embraced the call of one of their seminal leaders – Nicholas Von Zinzendorf – to seek and serve 'the last, the least and the lost.' In all this they offer to the Episcopal Church an antidote to our DNA of establishment and our hesitation in mission. While they have a limited presence in the United States, there are opportunities for significant collaboration in mission and witness here and globally."
The work of the National Church may seem distant at times, but we must stay informed and connected to the wider work of God in the world. Our triennial meetings make this important work possible and I hope you will join me in praying for all of our Bishops, Deputies and guests who will be participating in General Convention. I will be sending out updates as the convention progresses in July. You may also access information through Episcopal Life Online:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/episcopal_life.htm
Blessings and Peace,
Miriam
posted by Miriam | 8:48 AM
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