Ecumenical Dialogue—Why bother?

by Michael Keith

Our Lord Jesus prays in His High Priestly prayer in John 17: “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one” (v. 17). Our Lord Jesus is praying for His disciples. He is praying for His Church. He is praying for you and me today.

Our Lord’s prayer can be understood in this way: that His Church would remain one—not that we would somehow achieve this oneness by our actions. Our Lord is praying that the oneness that we already have in Him would be preserved. That we would remain one. The Lutheran Reformers expressed this in the Augsburg Confession in saying that after coming to agreement on what we teach and confess we would live “in unity and concord in the one Christian Church” (AC Preface 4).

However, even a cursory knowledge of the modern state of the Church will reveal that there are many divisions among us. If you look at the listing of the churches in any town or city you will find a very long list of different church bodies and denominations represented. This can cause confusion for those outside the Church as to why there are so many different churches if they are all supposed to be Christian.

It also causes confusion for those who are members of the Church. Among Christians, misunderstandings can develop about what each church group believes. Suspicion and even animosity can develop between the different groups. This can make it difficult to recognize the real differences in teaching and practice that exist between various church bodies—differences that, unfortunate as they may be, are nevertheless significant. What you believe, teach, and confess matters!

Ecumenism can be understood as the effort of Christians from different denominations and traditions to come to a clearer understanding of each other and to develop closer relationships among the various members of different church bodies. Some would also see a further goal of establishing visible unity between different church bodies.

Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) is engaged in several ecumenical dialogues across the country. LCC is engaged in a national dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, held in the Niagara region. LCC is also in dialogue with the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), as well as with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

What is the purpose and the value in being a part of these dialogues? While it is true that for some groups dialogue may be seen as a means to seeking what we would term “altar and pulpit fellowship,” that is not the main consideration for LCC’s involvement in these dialogues. Though we must keep our Lord’s High Priestly Prayer in mind that we would all be one, we maintain that such unity and oneness comes from a shared confession of the Christian Faith—something we sadly do not share at this time with the groups with whom we dialogue. However, we join our Lord in His prayer that such a unanimous confession might one day come to exist; we look forward to the day when we will all dwell in perfect unity.

Nevertheless, even if the primary goal for LCC in these ecumenical dialogues is not altar and pulpit fellowship, there is still great value in being part of these discussions. The dialogues allow us to build relationships and friendships with fellow Christians in other church bodies. The importance of these relationships becomes ever more apparent as the culture in which we live grows more and more hostile toward anyone who bears the name Christian. Though theological disagreements remain, together we can offer support and encouragement to one another in an increasingly difficult cultural environment for Christians. There are also opportunities and possibilities for LCC to work with other church bodies in areas that do not require doctrinal agreement—areas which can and should be explored.

Another significant benefit to participating in dialogue is the ability to clarify the various issues under discussion. Theological differences and what causes them can be made clearer through honest dialogue. It is not uncommon for us to hold inaccurate views of what other church bodies confess and what they mean when they confess it. The same can be said of what other church groups may inaccurately understand about what we in LCC confess. We can be guilty at times of putting up “strawmen” versions of what other groups believe and practice. We caricature and oversimplify their positions to more easily dismiss them.

When we enter genuine and honest dialogue, the strawmen caricatures that we have built rarely withstand scrutiny. The same can be true for other groups when, through discussion, we in LCC more carefully outline what we believe and why we believe it. In doing so we can more precisely outline the unique claims we make as Lutherans that sometimes are not fully grasped by others. Speaking from experience, LCC’s theological understanding and approach is not always widely understood by others; it sometimes comes as a surprise to those in the dialogue groups. For example, it was not previously clear to some members in our dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church how we in Lutheran Church–Canada differ from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

At times we can come to see through dialogue that our disagreements may have been founded on an inaccurate or incomplete understanding of what another group is saying. This helps us to see where real and substantial disagreements remain, and the reason for those disagreements can be clarified. It can also be helpful in coming to a fuller appreciation of where we do find ourselves in substantial agreement with other church groups. When we find these areas of agreement we can rejoice and give thanks to the Lord of the Church.

To seek to understand and to be understood is a primary goal of LCC’s participation in the various ecumenical dialogues in which we are engaged. For the good of the Holy Christian Church, we remain committed to be in dialogue with other church groups even as we rest in the confident knowledge that our Lord Jesus continues to pray for His Church even as He has promised to be with her always (Matthew 28:20).

Rev. Michael Keith is Pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Stony Plain, Alberta and a member of Lutheran Church–Canada’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations.

CANADA - Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC) is currently involved in three inter-denominational dialogues: with the Roman Catholic Church in Canada, with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), and with the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). Each of these dialogues meets once or twice a year.

The Roman Catholic dialogue team meets in the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario as most members of this dialogue live in a two-hour radius of that area. The most recent meeting took place in December 2022, and discussed the topic of synodality—that is, what does it mean to be Synod, walking together, clergy and laity together. Rome tends to be a very top-down organization with a well-defined ecclesiastical structure, but they do not have a strong voice for laity in that structure. LCC participants in the dialogue note that it was interesting to hear from Roman Catholics the struggles they are experiencing as they explore what the inclusion of more lay voices will mean in their church structure. The next meeting of this dialogue is scheduled for June 2023.

LCC’s dialogue with the Anglican Church in North America is undertaken in partnership with our sister synod, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Meetings generally take place in the United States. Over the years, this dialogue has taken on quite a number of topics to see how close theologically LCC and LCMS are to ACNA, and what things still separate us. These discussions are quite frank and honest, but always uplifting as the desire of every participant is to seek theological truth from Holy Scripture. In 2016, LCC, LCMS, and ACNA published a document entitled “On Closer Acquaintance” which outlines how the early years of the dialogue progressed. Participants are now endeavouring to produce a new document on how things have transpired since. The next meeting of this dialogue will take place in May 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas.

LCC’s dialogue with the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) is also done in partnership with the LCMS. NALC is a relatively new church body in North America and is primarily made up of congregations that left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). The congregations that formed NALC left their previous church bodies over concerns that their church was drifting into non-biblical teaching and practice. This dialogue group has discussed many theological topics, rejoicing where there is agreement and noting where differences remain. Recently the group has discussed how each understands the nature of Holy Scripture, as this is fundamental to any discussion of theology. In 2016, the dialogue group released a joint statement expressing much agreement on the character and proper use of the Scriptures. Recently the group has sought to meet twice a year, with one meeting online and one in person. The next meeting is scheduled for April 2023 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.