The leaders of the North American Anglican and Lutheran Churches recently met in Toronto to discuss mission. With each denomination in dramatic decline – the Anglican Church of Canada had a pitiful average Sunday attendance of around 141,000 in 2007 – it only makes sense that they pool their survival strategies, known as “mission” in ecclesiastical parlance, to attempt to eke out an existence at least until the current generation of clergy start collecting their pensions.
This “renewed focus on mission” has created a sense of “renewed energy”, apparently; to paraphrase Dr Johnson, nothing concentrates the mind as effectively as the prospect of one’s imminent demise.
As part of the plan to demonstrate that the denominations are still relevant and to allay the suspicion that the meeting was entirely self-serving, the leaders have promised to issue a joint statement on climate change. Many of us have been waiting agog with anticipation for a joint Anglican-Lutheran statement on climate change: if that doesn’t fill the pews, nothing will.
Fred Hiltz is confident that conflict around same-sex marriage is not as all-consuming as it used to be. This shouldn’t be too surprising since most of those who disagree with the church’s determination to bless same-sex unions have either left, died or are too exhausted to argue any more.
From here:
When the heads of the Anglican and Lutheran Churches in North America met recently in Toronto, a common theme emerged when they shared developments in their respective churches: all felt a sense of “renewed energy” that they attributed to a “renewed focus on mission.”
One of the big things he heard, said Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, was that, “We’re in a different place…Notwithstanding the fact that there’s still some tension within our churches around human sexuality, we could all say, ‘we’re in a much less conflicted place.’”
While conflicts around same-sex blessings and same-sex marriages remain, “it’s not all consuming compared to, say, a few years ago,” said Hiltz in an interview.
Hiltz, along with Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Bishop Susan Johnson, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton met in Toronto July 2 and 3. The meeting was the fifth of informal talks colloquially known as the “Four-Way” dialogue.
Oh God bless them, spending hours in four-way dialogue (quadralogue?) about irrelevant subjects. I would fall asleep immediately. Like watching a World Cup soccer match there would be long periods where nothing would happen, but worse than soccer, nothing would ever happen.
Three out of four upper-middle class women? Do no men at all attend now?
It is not about men or women but rather the tragedy that all in attendance have turned their back on the Gospel and want to lead their flock into apostasy. Until the ACoC and the Evangelical Lutheran Church return to the true Gospel they will never grow. The time has long since past for apostates such as this group to do the honourable thing and resign until they make a public confession and pledge to uphold the truth.
Roger said “Three out of four upper-middle class women?” What is that a reference to? Thanks
My thought was he was referring to the three women and one man in the discussion. Though I could be wrong.
Sounds like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic after hitting the iceberg of the Immutable Word of God. Too late to pray for climate change now, I’m afraid.
IMHO, they are about 18″ away from figuring all this out. I pray that they drop all this business stuff and truly repent and turn their hearts over to the Lord. They have not figured it out yet that “You must be born again” and that all scripture is God breathed.
“….still some tension within our churches around human sexuality, we could all say, ‘we’re in a much less conflicted place.’” When sin is not acknowledged or seen as sin then there is no tension just a difference of opinion. How are those who don’t understand the christian faith supposed the “renewed focus on mission.” when they haven’t the faintest idea of what the churches mission is apart from being a social and service club who happen to meet on Sundays .
My mother’s Lutheran Church in Fairfax VA is huge having grown over the years from a portable office building. They attract the elusive 20-40 age bracket.