ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 16, 2008
Lutherans to Attend Ecumenical Prayer Service April 18 with Pope
08-045-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive for
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Ecumenical and
Inter-Religious Relations, will represent the Rev. Mark S.
Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), at an ecumenical prayer service April 18 led by
Pope Benedict XVI, at St. Joseph's Church, New York.
Participants at the service will include some 250 national
and local Protestant and Orthodox Church leaders, according to a
news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB).
Hanson explained that he is unable to attend because of a
long-standing commitment to preach at the opening worship service
for the ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, April 18-19. He
said he is grateful for the continuing progress of the U.S.
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue and mutual commitment to the
ongoing reception of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification, signed by representatives of the LWF and the
Vatican in 1999. Hanson, who met Pope Benedict XVI at the
Vatican in November 2005, said he looks forward to future
meetings with the pope.
In addition to McCoid, the USCCB confirmed that other ELCA
officials are expected to attend, including:
+ The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, Elgin, Ill., Lutheran co-chair of the
U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue and former ELCA secretary
+ The Rev. Amandus J. Derr, St. Peter Lutheran Church, New York
+ The Rev. Karl P. Donfried, Pelham, Mass., professor emeritus,
Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
+ The Rev. Craig A. Miller, Our Saviour Evangelical Lutheran
Church, Brooklyn, N.Y.
+ Jacquelyn J. Mize-Baker, associate in ministry, International
Rescue Committee, New York
+ The Rev. David W. Olson, interim bishop, ELCA Metropolitan New
York Synod
+ Dr. Michael Root, professor, vice president for academic
affairs and dean, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary,
Columbia, S.C.
+ The Rev. William G. Rusch, lecturer in Lutheran church history
and polity, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn., and former
director, ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs
+ The Rev. Paul Schreck, executive assistant, ELCA Office of the
Secretary
Almen, Root and Schreck are also Lutheran members of the
U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue.
St. Joseph's Church was built in the 19th century by German
immigrants that settled in the area and today serves a diverse
population. A Sunday Mass is still celebrated in German. At the
end of the ecumenical prayer service April 18, the pope will
greet 10 national and five local ecumenical leaders, the USCCB
release said.
Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States began with
his April 15 arrival in Washington, D.C., and will be followed by
activities in New York. During his U.S. visit the pope is
planning to lead worship, meet with Roman Catholics and
representatives of other Christian and interfaith groups, address
the United Nations General Assembly and meet with a variety of
elected political leaders, including U.S. President George W.
Bush.
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Information about the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue
is at
http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical/ecumenicaldialogue/romancatholic/i
ndex.html
on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
