'Epiphany 'Lovefeast' marks full communion

From Delaware-

To celebrate the Moravian Church and the Episcopal Church being in full communion, an "Epiphany Lovefeast" will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at St. George's Chapel, 20274 Beaver Dam Road in Harbeson.

The service is part of the Moravian tradition and is a way to encourage prayer, religious conversation, the singing of hymns and the celebration of important events.

Odes are the primary order of service. In addition, food is often shared, usually in the form of buns and a drink.

The Moravian Church, the world's first Protestant denomination, was founded in Bohemia in 1457 and can be found in North Carolina and Pennsylvania today.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20111231/LIFE1001/112310302/-Epiphany-Lovefeast-marks-full-communion?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cp

Episcopalians, Moravians inaugurate full communion relationship

From Christian Century-

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, February 14 (ENInews)--Representatives of the Episcopal Church and the two provinces of the Moravian Church in North America on 10 February formally inaugurated a full-communion relationship with a service that blended elements of the liturgical and musical practices of both traditions.

The service at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania included a newly written Liturgy for Christian Unity from the Moravian Book of Worship and an Anglican Eucharistic prayer, reports Episcopal News Service.

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Moravian Provincial Elders Conference presidents, the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth D. Miller (Northern Province) and the Rev. David Guthrie (Southern Province) officiated at the service.

The service's prayers for Christian unity, which were said to conform to classical Moravian ecumenical theology, focused on the unity of faith, hope and love that exists among all Christians.

"We know that the strength of this full-communion relationship depends ... upon our continuing to discover what God is calling us to as his people, allowing God's uniting spirit to work in us," Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee Bishop Steven Miller, co-chair of the Moravian Episcopal Dialogue, said during his sermon.

"We say in our full communion document that full communion is not merger ... But can it not be something more than advancing the ecumenical ball a little bit further down the field?" Miller asked.

More here-

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2011-02/episcopalians-moravians-inaugurate-full-communion-relationship

Amid music and prayer, Episcopalians, Moravians inaugurate full communion

From ENS-

With an evening Eucharist Feb. 10 that blended elements of the liturgical and musical practices of both traditions, representatives of the Episcopal Church and the two provinces of the Moravian Church in North America formally inaugurated a full-communion relationship between the denominations.

The service at Central Moravian Church in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the seat of the Moravian Church's Northern Province, included a newly written Liturgy for Christian Unity from the Moravian Book of Worship and an Eucharistic prayer adapted from the 4th century liturgy attributed to St. Basil the Great (The Book of Common Prayer's Eucharistic Prayer D). Most of the hymns came from the Moravian Book of Worship and while some hymns are also found in the Episcopal Church's 1982 hymnal, many were unique to the Moravian tradition.

For a video report from the inaugural Eucharist, click here. A photo gallery is here.

Close to a dozen Episcopal bishops, bishops of the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church, members of the Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations and the Moravian-Episcopal Dialogue (the group that guided the development of the full-communion proposal), and representatives from ecumenical partners and from the Anglican Church of Canada participated in the Eucharist. A near-capacity congregation filled Central Moravian Church.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Moravian Provincial Elders Conference presidents, the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth D. Miller (Northern Province) and the Rev. David Guthrie (Southern Province) officiated at the service.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_127046_ENG_HTM.htm

Moravian Church's Southern Province enters full communion with Episcopal Church

From ELO-

The Southern Province of the Moravian Church voted Sept. 10 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church.
The 121-74 vote came after two hours of debate during an afternoon session on the second day of the church's Sept. 9-12 quadrennial Provincial Synod at Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said after learning of the decision, "I am delighted that the Southern Province has discerned the rightness of a full communion agreement with The Episcopal Church. Together we will be better able to serve Christ our chief Elder and all God's people."

Diocese of Milwaukee Bishop Steven Miller told Episcopal News Service by telephone shortly after the vote that he hopes the decision, paired with a similar agreement made in June with the Moravian Northern Province, "will mean that we can really support one another's ministries in some new and exciting ways and deepen the learnings from one another through some real experiences of each other's tradition and gifts."

Miller, co-chair of the Moravian Episcopal Dialogue, addressed the synod before the vote. He said he told the participants "we were given an opportunity today to witness that disagreement doesn't mean division and to witness to our common unity in Christ."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_124442_ENG_HTM.htm

Moravian Church's Northern Province enters full communion with Episcopal Church

From ELO-

The Northern Province of the Moravian Church voted June 18 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church.
The nearly unanimous voice vote came during an evening session on the second day of the church's June 17-21 quadrennial Provincial Synod at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

"This is an important day in the life of our churches," said David L. Wickmann, president of the Provincial Elders' Conference, Moravian Church North America. "This communion means our church has the opportunity to engage with one of our historic partners in a more complete and meaningful way."

"I am abundantly delighted, and look forward to growth in mutual relationship and mission," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said after learning of the decision. "I believe we have much to learn from the Moravian tradition."

Diocese of Milwaukee Bishop Steven Miller told ENS by phone shortly after the vote that "at a time when so many people are trying to divide, this is a witness to our church's commitment to Christ, who wants to make us all one."

Miller, co-chair of the Moravian Episcopal Dialogue, addressed the synod just after the vote and he said he told the participants "that there's much that we can share with one another in terms of mission and ministry and that it was as exciting and moving a moment for the Episcopal Church as it was for them."

The Rev. Thomas Ferguson, interim deputy to the Presiding Bishop for ecumenical and interreligious relations, told ENS after the vote that "this is a sign that the Episcopal Church is committed to ecumenical conversations."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_123037_ENG_HTM.htm

Full communion with Moravians proposed

Deepening relationships between the Episcopal Church and its ecumenical partners, including a proposal for full communion with the Moravian Church, will be the focus of draft legislation presented to General Convention when it meets July 8-17 in Anaheim, California.

General Convention also will welcome ecumenical and interfaith guests to participate, observe and learn about the Episcopal Church and its governance.

The Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations spent the last triennium working on recommendations concerning interchurch cooperation and interreligious dialogue and action.

"All our ecumenical dialogues are important as we patiently seek to restore the wholeness of the visible body of Christ," said commission Vice Chair Roderick B. Dugliss, a lay deputy from the Diocese of California. "We know from long experience that the fractured church confounds our efforts to 'proclaim by word and example the Good News.'"

Among the standing commission's proposals are a resolution to begin formal dialogue between the Episcopal Church and the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden with the ultimate goal of reaching full communion.

"Our history with the Church of Sweden goes back to the first moments of the Episcopal Church's existence as an autonomous Anglican church," said Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe. "It is our oldest ecumenical
relationship. For various reasons, we have never entered into an official full communion partnership with this great church, even though they put several 'Old Swedes' churches under our jurisdiction back in the 18th century."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_108829_ENG_HTM.htm