Ecumenical Work
The quest for Christian unity in the world, "That they may all be one" (John 17:21), inspires the faith and shapes the life of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Reigious Relations has the task of assisting this church in that quest.
Who We Are and How We Serve
Isaiah 49:5-6 – “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the end of the earth”
Ephesians 4:5 – “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism”
Romans 12:5 – “One Body in Christ"
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is committed to fostering unity between the children of God for the sake of the world. The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations is responsible for encouraging the activity of ecumenical life in the ELCA, and for enhancing the public commitments of this church in Lutheran, ecumenical, and interfaith discussions. This department works to promote understanding among Christians and greater unity among Christ’s people. Brokenness can be healed and division can be overcome. To this end, the activity of ecumenical life in the ELCA is one of cooperation, facilitation, and accompaniment within this church and with our ecumenical companions. The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations assists the ELCA as a public church, alive in Christ, and present for the sake of the world.
How We Serve - For the Sake of the World
The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations is defined by cooperation, facilitation, and accompaniment. What does this mean? This means we accompany others from Lutheran domestic grass-roots efforts to ecumenical international multilateral dialogues. We cooperate with partners from the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches, and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.. We facilitate congregations, synods, and churchwide units in their expressions of Christian unity in the faith and life of the church by offering resources and guidance founded on our statement – "Ecumenism: Vision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." We work in concert with the Lutheran Ecumenical Representatives Network (LERN), as well as other ecumenical bodies.
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