A time for reaching out

Staying at the table, no matter how difficult it gets

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November 2023

Dear partners,

As I write this, it is impossible to predict how the war in the Holy Land will unfold between now and when you read this. One thing is certain: this is still a time for reaching out to ecumenical and inter-religious partners, and especially your Jewish and Muslim colleagues, neighbors and friends.

For me the most important spaces I have engaged in over the last month were “off the record.” These conversations have often begun in awkward silence, as we struggled to put our thoughts, feelings and concerns into words. Yet I have also experienced what is possible on the basis of trust built over time: vulnerable sharing of our fears, grief and anguish. While real differences have been clear, the very fact that we are staying at the table means we resist becoming divided.

Staying at the table, no matter how difficult it gets, is a way of reaffirming our commitments to be in right relationship with Jews, with Muslims and with all people committed to peace, justice and the common good. It’s messy, complicated and even painful. Thank you for all the ways that you stay at the table.

In partnership,

Kathryn Lohre

Kathryn M. Lohre
Executive, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations & Theological Discernment

In light of this challenging and complex situation, the ELCA has created an information and resource page with ELCA, partner and coalition statements, and worship and other resources.

Thirteenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation
The Thirteenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) took place Sept. 13-19 in Krakow, Poland, under the theme "One Body, One Spirit, One Hope." The ELCA delegation included Bishop Eaton and the Rev. Dr. Robin Steinke, who completed their service on the Executive Committee, as well as Bishop Leila Ortiz, the Rev. William Flippin Jr., Brad Wendel and Khadijah Islam, who were elected to serve on the LWF Council for the next period. The ELCA was also represented by advisors, co-opted staff and visitors.
Some highlights included:

Rev. Katherine Gohm from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada was elected to succeed Bishop Eaton as the Vice President of the North American Region.
Rev. Barbara Lund of the ELCA was elected to serve as chair of the Committee for World Service, and Khadijah Islam was elected to chair the Constitution and Membership Standing Committee of the Executive Committee.
The assembly keynote speaker was Monsignor Tomáš Halík, a Catholic intellectual and author from the Czech Republic. Kathryn Lohre of the ELCA and Presiding Bishop Fredrick Shoo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania served as respondents. You can find Halík’s keynote and their responses here.
Holocaust survivor Marian Turski addressed the assembly, urging delegates to combat hate speech and turn fear of strangers into empathy for “the other.”
LWF General Secretary Anne Burghardt and Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity presented a Common Word to the assembly on its final day, anticipating the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030. This was followed by a panel discussion with representatives of seven Christian World Communions – the five co-signers of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican and Reformed) along with Orthodox and Pentecostal respondents.
Kristen Opalinski of the ELCA designed the logo and branding for the assembly and served as the assembly’s visual identity coordinator.
Visit the LWF Assembly website, where you can find stories, resources, outcomes, photos, videos and more.

Top left: LWF Youth-led climate march at the ICE Krakow Center (Photo: Kristen Opalinski); Top right: Members of the North American delegation, advisors, staff and participants from the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert); Bottom: The Assembly worship hall (Photo: Kristen Opalinski)

XIII Round of the US Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue
Twelve theologians from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the ELCA met at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., from Sept. 14 to 18 for the second in-person meeting of the XIII Round of the U.S. Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue. The meeting was co-chaired by Bishops Patricia Lull and Denis Madden and staffed by the Rev. Walter Kedjierski and the Rev. Carmelo Santos. The meeting provided an opportunity to further focus the topic of this round of the dialogue. Dialogue members will collaborate on research papers to be shared with the whole group at future meetings via videoconference. The first two will examine the various uses of the concept of episkopé in the Scriptures. The second will reflect the historical development of the office of bishop in the ancient church and through Reformation times. In addition to the meetings, dialogue participants had the opportunity to visit and share a meal with the Benedictine monks of the Abbey. They also enjoyed a guided tour of the ancient manuscripts section of their library, which contains the collection of Syriac manuscripts formerly housed at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Members of the XIII Round of the US Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue in Collegeville, Minn.

Faithful Teaching: Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue XII
Faithful Teaching is the 12th dialogue of the U.S. Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue and seeks greater mutual understanding of the two communions' respective processes of faithful teaching. The report will be published Dec. 5 and is currently available for pre-order via fortresspress.com. An ecumenical event, “Receiving Faithful Teaching,” is planned for Jan. 20, 2024, to celebrate the publication of the report. This event will take place at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Ariz., and will feature presentations on the report by co-chairs the Rev. Lowell Almen (ELCA) and Bishop Denis Madden (USCCB), followed by two respondents, a joint prayer service and a celebratory reception. The event is open to all; please RSVP to [email protected] by Jan. 1, 2024.

Churches Together in Christ Forum 2023
The 2023 Christian Churches Together Forum took place in Savannah, Ga., from Oct. 3 to 6 under the theme “Waters That Unite & Waters That Divide: Baptism and the Journey to Unity and Reconciliation.” CCT is the most expansive ecumenical table in the U.S., and the forum provides an opportunity for participants representing five church families (Orthodox, Pentecostal/Evangelical, Catholic, Protestant and Historic Black) to focus on three goals: learning, loving and leading actions. This forum included both theological and practical presentations, small group discussions, and visits to various historic sites and churches in Savannah. A special day was dedicated to visiting the Historic Baptismal Trail in Riceboro, Ga., where enslaved people and their descendants were baptized in the swamp and springs, beginning in the 1840s. Bishop Suzanne Dillahunt, who served on the Steering Committee, and Kathryn Lohre represented the ELCA.

National Council of Churches Christian Unity Gathering 2023
The National Council of Churches’ Christian Unity Gathering 2023 took place Oct. 9-12 in Nashville, Tenn., under the theme “Faith Under Fire: The Church in the Public Square.” The gathering opened with a celebratory reception at the AMEC Publishing House and worship at Greater Bethel AME Church across the street. Through Bible studies, plenary speakers and panels, the gathering explored themes of Christian extremism and supremacy, the role of faith leaders in public safety, religious nationalism and the persecution of religious minorities, and gun violence. Various awards were presented, including an interfaith award to the Rev. Dr. Michael Trice (ELCA), who is the Spehar-Halligan Professor at Seattle University and founding director of its Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement.

Rev. Dr. Thompson makes history as 10th General Minister and President of UCC
On Oct. 20 the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson was installed as the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Her installation marked a historic moment as she became the first woman, first woman of African descent and first immigrant to be installed into the highest level of leadership in the UCC.

The installation service took place at Lakewood Congregational Church in Lakewood, Ohio, with Bishop Laura Barbins of the Northeastern Ohio Synod and Kathryn Lohre representing the ELCA.

UCC General Minister and President Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson smiles and claps as she sits with her family during her installation Oct. 20 at Lakewood Congregational Church. (Photo: Angelica Martinez)

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024
The theme for the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be “You Shall Love the Lord Your God ... and Your Neighbor As Yourself” (Luke 10:27). Resources for the week have been jointly prepared and published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order, and they can be downloaded here.

National Workshop on Christian Unity 2024 Update
The National Planning Committee and National Ecumenical Officers Association of the National Workshop on Christian Unity gathered online Oct. 17 and 18 to begin work on re-envisioning the workshop. This season of discernment will focus on improvements to the format, leadership structures, calendar and possible partnerships. To create space for this, the NWCU will take place in the second half of 2024 rather than in the spring. An announcement about location, dates and other details will be made at the end of January 2024.

Council of Nicaea 2025
The year 2025 will mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has launched a webpage with information and resources and has begun planning a world conference to take place in 2025. The Lutheran World Federation is also working on plans, including a joint Lutheran-Orthodox statement and resources for member churches. The ELCA’s commemorations will focus on inviting engagement through these global efforts, including at the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, and through a theological symposium being planned by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA’s 75th anniversary committee, chaired by Kathryn Lohre. You can read more about the planned commemorations in the most recent issue of the Ecumenical Review.

Hope for the Future: A Study Document for Renewing Jewish-Christian Relations
A prominent theme of the LWF Assembly was examining Lutheran-Jewish relations both historically and through a contemporary lens. In the context of the address by Marian Turski, a Polish historian, journalist and Holocaust survivor, and the assembly participants’ visits to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum, “Hope for the Future: A Study Document for Renewing Jewish-Christian Relations” was uplifted in two workshops at the assembly. The study document, which details the Lutheran-Jewish relations of the LWF over time and provides meaningful entry points into contemporary dialogue, was produced by a task force chaired by Esther Menn, dean of academic affairs at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and chair of the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations.

Parliament of the World’s Religions 2023
To mark the 130th anniversary of the first Parliament of the World’s Religions, the largest inter-religious gathering in the world, the parliament returned to Chicago from Aug. 14 to 18 under the theme “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights .” Bishop Eaton delivered a keynote address at the opening plenary, speaking to the theme. A large delegation of ELCA presenters and participants included seminary presidents, deans, faculty, students, ELCA members and ELCA staff. Kathryn Lohre and Kristen Opalinski of ELCA Inter-Religious Relations were among the workshop presenters. Rev. Peter Pettit led a workshop introducing the ELCA guide “Preaching and Teaching ‘With Love and Respect for the Jewish People.’”

Bishop Eaton at the opening plenary (Photo: Will Nunnally); ELCA presenters and participants at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions (Photo: Rev. Kris Androsky)

Islamic Society of North America Convention and Interfaith Baquet 2023
The annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, which celebrated its 60th anniversary, took place in Rosemont, Ill., over Labor Day weekend. Kathryn Lohre joined Shoulder to Shoulder co-founder Mohamed Elsanousi, Executive Director Nina Fernando and Consultative Circle member Jenan Mojahir on a panel about interfaith solidarity and the need for other faith communities to address anti-Muslim bigotry. Lohre was also invited to give a keynote at the interfaith banquet and was honored as ISNA’s 2023 Interfaith Awardee. In her address she uplifted the important role ISNA has played and should continue to play in building bridges of interfaith understanding and cooperation, the inspiring leadership of Dr. Sayyid Syeed, and the ELCA’s commitment to partnership.

ISNA Award photo with caption: Kathryn Lohre was honored as ISNA’s 2023 Interfaith Award recipient.

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