Bavarian Lutherans and Anglicans discussed current joint ministries and closer relations July 14-16 at the Episcopal Church Center.
The group met at the encouragement of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.
“We are grateful to the presiding bishops of our two churches for their initiative in bringing us together,” said the Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. “Our conversations have revealed that we share more than we realized, and can do more together than we have imagined.”
“We are very happy about this partnership and the enrichment brought to our church life by Episcopalians,” said Ivo Huber, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria’s secretary for ecumenical relations. “We look forward to the continuation of our conversations and the work.”
Participants and staff
- The Rev. Judith Böttcher (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
- The Rev. Canon John Gibaut (Anglican Communion Office)
- The Rev. Ivo Huber (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
- Mr. Richard Mammana (Episcopal Church Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations)
- The Rev. Canon Charlotte Methuen (Inter-Anglican Standing Commission for Unity, Faith and Order; University of Glasgow)
- The Rev. Professor Bernd Oberdorfer (Lutheran World Federation, University of Augsburg)
- The Rev. Margaret Rose (Episcopal Church Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations)
- The Rev. Oliver Schuegraf (United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany)
- The Rev. Steven Smith (Church of the Ascension, Munich)
- The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon (Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe)
Richard Mammana is a lay church historian, author, beekeeper, father, husband, and communicant of S. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia. He serves as archivist of The Living Church Foundation and launched Anglicanhistory.org in 1999.
