Title: Southern Moravians Approve Relationship with ELCA
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 28, 1998

SOUTHERN MORAVIANS APPROVE RELATIONSHIP WITH ELCA
98-19-118-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Southern Province of the Moravian Church in
America approved a proposal for full communion with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and set the stage for two more votes --
by the Northern Province of the Moravian Church, August 7-11 in Bethlehem,
Pa., and by the ELCA in August 1999. The synod of the Southern Province
met May 6-9 in Black Mountain, N.C.
     "This action marks the first step on the road to closer relations
between Moravians and Lutherans," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA
presiding bishop.
     Full communion does not commit the two churches to merge or to change
their present practices. They would agree to a closer working relationship
and freer exchange of clergy.
     "I look forward to how the sharing from our traditions and church
life can enrich our faith, life and mission," said Moravian Bishop Arthur
J. Freeman, retired professor, Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem,
Pa., and an originator of conversations between the two churches which
produced the proposal for full communion.
     "In Europe and Africa, Moravians and Lutherans already have a close
relationship," said the Rev. C. Daniel Crews, Winston-Salem, N.C., Southern
Province archivist and a member of the Lutheran-Moravian Dialogue. "In
America several local congregations are already working together.
Expanding this to the denominational level can only be of benefit to both
of us."
     "Moravian and Lutheran ways of doing theology complement each other.
It's been said that Moravians need the Lutheran head and Lutherans need the
Moravian heart," said the Rev. Otto Dreydoppel Jr., assistant professor of
church history at Moravian Theological Seminary, and Moravian co-chair of
the Lutheran-Moravian Coordinating Committee. "In coming into full
communion Moravians and Lutherans can work even closer together in worship,
witness and Christian service."
     "I was deeply impressed by the way they worshiped, by their piety,
their interest in witnessing to their faith, sharing their stories and
journeys," said the Rev. Darlis J. Swan, associate director of the ELCA
Department for Ecumenical Affairs. "They do quite a bit with narrative,
symbol and music. They focus more on the affective dimension of their
faith, where we seem to focus more on doctrine and the intellectual
approach. They have quite a bit to teach us in that regard."
     While there was discussion about a number of questions related to the
proposal, the synod, with clergy and lay delegates from Virginia, North
Carolina, Georgia and Florida, strongly supported it.
     "Some of the issues that came up at their synod meeting were very
similar to the issues that come up at ours," said Swan. Topics she cited
included youth ministry, evangelism, guidelines and expectations for
clergy, resources published in Spanish as well as in English, prison
ministry, and the roles of the two churches in the National Council of
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and the World Council of Churches.
     The ELCA's 1997 Churchwide Assembly approved a relationship of full
communion with three Reformed churches -- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.
     The Lutheran-Moravian Dialogue recommended full communion in its
report, "Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion." The dialogue team of
five Lutherans and five Moravians met from 1992 to 1996, when the report
was issued. A coordinating committee has overseen presentation of the
proposal to the churches.
     Partly in response to the Moravian action, the Southern Province
synod also urged its leaders to explore talks with other denominations
which do not have a close historical connection to Moravians.
     The Moravian Church -- or Unitas Fratrum -- was organized in Europe
in 1457 and is considered the oldest of the Reformation churches. It
traces its origin to the teachings of the Czech reformer, John Hus, who
pre-dated the German reformer, Martin Luther, by about a century.
     The two provinces of the Moravian Church in America involved in the
proposal for full communion have about 55,000 members in the United States
and Canada -- concentrated in North Carolina and eastern Pennsylvania. The
ELCA has 5.2 million members in the United States and Caribbean.


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