By the Rev. David Simmons
The 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church (GC81) was significant for ecumenical and interreligious work. The Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations (SCEIR) generated many important pieces of legislation, which were adopted as expected. On the interreligious front, GC81 passed revised guidelines for interreligious relations and Episcopal-Jewish relations and our first guidelines for Episcopal-Muslim relations. On the ecumenical front, we entered into full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, added the exchangeability of the diaconate to our agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and commended our current dialogues and ecumenical organizational memberships. The convention also passed resolutions D059 and D078, policy statements calling for action against antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias.
A particular high point of the convention was the welcoming of Bishop Gregory Palmer of the United Methodist Church (UMC) to the House of Bishops. This followed an adopting vote on resolution A049, which reaffirmed the goal of full communion with the UMC. Bishop Palmer was invited to speak to the house and received a standing ovation. To view the SCEIR-related resolutions from GC8, please visit http://eirresolutions.net. To view all of the ecumenical and interreligious relations resolutions, visit https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions?committee_id=602&house=HD&lang=en.
Two priorities for the upcoming triennium will be full communion with the UMC and Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs). The UMC adopted the full-communion agreement this spring at its General Conference, and we are scheduled to take this up in 2027. The UMC-Episcopal Church dialogue will begin work on an Orderly Exchange of Ministry document and on a plan for liturgical reconciliation of ministry, per Resolution A049. Education and building relationships between the UMC and The Episcopal Church will also be important. LEPs are a development of a 2012 General Convention resolution to encourage shared ecumenical ministries with denominations with whom we are not in full communion. Resolution A043 proposes an amendment to the church’s Constitution which would allow for these Local Ecumenical Partnerships. Constitutional changes require two steps. The first step to include the possibility of LEPs in our Constitution was taken at our convention. The second step will be taken in 2027, along with a canon that will lay out the nuts and bolts of how such ministries are formed and governed.
Other adopted resolutions related to ecumenical and interreligious work include: A115 Authorized use of alternative texts for the Good Friday liturgy; B009 Observing the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea 325 CE; D062 Support and Solidarity with Armenia; and B003 The Tree of Life: an Armenian Rite for Holy Cross Day.
The Rev. David Simmons serves as rector of St. Matthias Episcopal Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin, and pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Waukesha. He is the vice chair of the Standing Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations and chair of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee.