Report of the Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission



The Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Agnew serves as Ecumenical Officer and chair of the Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee (DEIC). In 2016 your Ecumenical Officer and the DEIC have been involved in a number of activities to promote the unity of the one Church for whom our Lord prayed on the eve of his death.

An essential element for all ecumenical relations is the nurture of personal relationships. These relationships must take place between judicatory heads and those who work in the area of ecumenical relations on their behalf. Relationships of this type take time to develop, and, once developed, need to be sustained over a period of years. The work of your Ecumenical Officer and of the Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Committee is about developing and sustaining our ecumenical relationships. It also involves our joint witness with other Christians to the Gospel through mission and through the exploration of theology.

In response to the Call to Common Mission agreement of Full Communion between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) we have continued to seek ways in which we can more fully live into this relationship. In 2016 all meetings of the DEIC were joint meetings with its counterparts from the Episcopal Dioceses of Southern and Southwestern Virginia and the Virginia and Metropolitan Washington Synods of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The principal focus of this Lutheran-Episcopal joint committee was a Lutheran-Episcopal clergy conference at Shrine Mont May 16-18 entitled “In the Breaking of the Bread: Finding Christ in Full Communion.” Katherine L. Johnson, director of Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Margaret Rose, Deputy for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Collaboration for the Episcopal Church spoke to the gathering on Monday evening. The principal presenters for the conference were liturgical scholars the Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander and the Rev. Gordon Lathrop. The Virginia Lutheran-Episcopal Joint Committee also produced “A Directory of Lutheran and Episcopal Churches in Virginia by Region.”

The Metropolitan Washington Lutheran-Episcopal Joint Coordinating Committee has continued to meet. This committee is made up of representation from the Episcopal Dioceses of Washington and Virginia as well as the Metropolitan Washington Synod of the ELCA. The Rev. Dr. Christopher Agnew, the Rev. Jo Belser, and the Rev. Dr. Craig A. Phillips serve on this committee for the Diocese of Virginia.

The Diocese of Virginia belongs to the Virginia LARCUM Covenant. This Covenant has been signed by the bishops of the three Episcopal dioceses in Virginia, the two Evangelical Lutheran Church in America synods, the two Roman Catholic dioceses and the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. The LARCUM conference took place in Ashland on December 2 and December 3. The theme of the 2016 conference was “Reformation, Then and Now.” This year the presenter was Dr. Joseph D. Small who served as director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Theology and Worship from 1989 to 2011.

The National Workshop on Christian Unity and the annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers took place this year in Louisville, Kentucky April 18-21. There are numerous seminars and presentations at the Workshop. The annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Officers is the occasion for interaction between your ecumenical officers, the Presiding Bishop’s ecumenical staff, and the Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations. The Annual Meeting of the National Episcopal Ecumenical and Interfaith Officers (EDEIO) takes place concurrently with the Workshop. Dr. Agnew completed his service as Vice-President of the National Episcopal Ecumenical and Interfaith Officers at this year’s meeting.

The principal ecumenical agencies supported by the Diocese of Virginia are the Interfaith Center for Public Policy and the Virginia Council of Churches. The Center for Public Policy works on behalf of the faith community with the General Assembly. The Virginia Council of Churches has recently seen the end of its role in refugee resettlement and its ministry of providing Head Start education for the children of migrant workers, two of the major programs of the council for many years. The Diocese of Virginia has been one of the major contributors to the council. The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick, Jr. and the Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Agnew serve on the Coordinating Cabinet of the Virginia Council of Churches.

Members of DEIC welcome the opportunity to speak to each Regional Council at least annually on our current ecumenical commitments and interfaith developments. We also are prepared to speak to individual parishes.

Submitted by

The Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Agnew, Ecumenical Officer

Chair of Diocese of Virginia Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee

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