     
All photos courtesy of Kat Lehman, Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem
TOP PHOTO: Rev Otto Dreydoppel, Jr, assistant professor of Church History and the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori.
SECOND: Panelists, Dr. Tom Ferguson, Associate Deputy of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Episcopal Church; Bishop Jefferts Shori; Rev Dave Bennett, President of the Eastern District of the Moravian Church
THIRD: Panel attendees
FOURTH: Bishop Jefferts Shori with MTS students
FIFTH: Presiding at communion, Bishop Jefferts Shori, Dreydoppel, Chaplain Hopeton Clennon, Dr Deborah Appler, associate professor Old Testament
SIXTH: Chaplain Clennon and Bishop Jefferts Shori greeting student, Ashley Alexander after communion. |
The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, visited the Seminary on Wednesday, November 11. Elected in 2006, this was her first visit to Bethlehem as the 26th Presiding Bishop. She was in the Diocese for four days visiting with local congregations and diocesan priests and leaders.
Bishop Jefferts Schori visited with the Moravian Seminary community and engaged in a panel discussion on common interests of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches in anticipation of their entering into full communion. Also on the panel was Rev. David Bennett, Eastern District President of the Moravian Church - Northern Province. Moderating the discussion was Dr. Tom Ferguson, Associate Deputy of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Episcopal Church. Local Episcopal and Moravian church leaders were invited to attend, along with Seminary students, faculty and administration.
The overarching theme of the panel discussion was envisioning ways that Moravians, Episcopalians and Lutherans could work cooperatively. A host of topics were discussed including partnerships between seminaries, the training of seminarians on each other’s denominational polity, and success stories of shared experiences between Moravian and Episcopal congregations. Challenges were also brought to attention including the issue of the ordination of homosexual pastors in committed relationships. "We join together not because we agree on everything, but because we mutually respect the history and traditions [of each denomination]," Bennett explained. Following the panel discussion, Bishop Jefferts Schori preached at the Eucharist service with Chaplain Hopeton Clennon presiding.
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A detailed account of Bishop Jefferts Shori’s visit at Moravian Theological Seminary was written by Mary Frances Schjonberg and posted on the Episcopal News Service, it follows: The process for building a closer relationship between the Episcopal and Moravian churches is taking place in the denominations' decision-making bodies, but the realities of that work will bear fruit in their congregations and beyond.
That was the consensus of a morning's worth of conversation and worship Nov. 11 at the Moravian Theological Seminary. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Rev. Thomas Ferguson, associate deputy to the Presiding Bishop for ecumenical and interreligious relations, and the Rev. David Bennett, president of the Moravian Church's Eastern District Executive Board talked for an hour with a group of about 50 Episcopalians, Moravians and seminary students of other denominations.
After a conversation that ranged from envisioning mission partnerships to how members of both churches could get to know each other, Jefferts Schori said, "We have only scratched the surface of the riches of this possibility."
The nature of a full communion relationship "will play out in different ways," Ferguson said. The possibilities range from specific outreach opportunities in the parts of the country where Moravians and Episcopalians are concentrated to other places where, he suggested, the partnership may center on sharing resources such as theological education.
For more http://www.episcopal-life.org/79901_116738_ENG_HTM.htm |
   
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