During Churchwide Assembly this past summer there were several decisions, one of which was our "full communion" agreement with the United Methodists. We already had a “pulpit and altar fellowship” agreement, that allowed Methodist pastors to preside at the Eucharist in ELCA congregations, and ELCA pastors to preside at the Eucharist in UMC congregations. This new agreement will allow pastors to serve in each others congregations as the regular pastor. Some people will wish to discuss whether we should have this agreement or not, but that is not the point of this article. The point of this article is the unity of the Church, and how we work for it in the Lutheran Church.
In the Lutheran Church we work very hard for the unity of the Church. We take the unity of the Church very seriously. We are neither quick to break unity, nor are we quick to acknowledge unity with others. We listen closely to Jesus’ prayer that the Church be united. We take any willful efforts of people to break the unity of the Church as an attack on Christ himself. Luther never chose to leave the Roman Catholic Church. He was perfectly willing to remain in the Catholic Church as long as he was able to preach according to his conscience. He was not going to leave because others preached different doctrines. Rome was not so flexible. They expelled Luther. In this way, Rome created the Lutheran Church.
On the other hand, Luther was not quick to agree with those with whom he had differences. Luther, and Lutherans have put in a great deal of work to bring agreement on key doctrines. In the Lutheran Church we believe that we must agree on a few key issues before we declare unity. In the past, unity meant merger, and so it was usually only achieved with other Lutherans. Now we have “full communion” agreements. In these agreements pastors from the different denominations that are involved can serve in each others churches. Joint congregations can be established. And new forms of mission can be explored.
These pastors would still be members of their original denominations. Pastors of other denominations are still not eligible to be elected as bishops in the ELCA. Pastors of other denominations who serve in ELCA congregations may or may not be eligible to have voice and vote at Synod assemblies. This is entirely up to the local synod. These agreements are a step towards unity, but we still have a long way to go, even within our own denomination.
Some congregations within the ELCA have said that they want to pull out of the ELCA because of the recent decisions on standards for clergy. I remember a congregation in Hagerstown Maryland that voted on leaving the ELCA. A majority voted to leave, but the vote was less than the two thirds majority that was needed. According to the rules of the ELCA, the congregation was not able to leave. The group that voted to leave formed their own congregation. They had no property, no bank accounts, and no parish records. They are now meeting in a school. Most congregations that have voted to leave the ELCA have had further divisions after they left. When a congregation says that unity is not important, the members hear it. This is why many of these congregations eventually die. They have violated Christ’s desire for unity in the Church, and thus have abandoned centuries of teaching by their ancestors.
Jesus prayed for the Church to be united. This unity is a gift from God, but it is a gift that can be either accepted or rejected. As a denomination, we must choose whether we will embrace or reject God’s gift.
Yours in Christ,
Pr. Phil
