We Are Church Together… Ecumenically

By Rev. Steve Meysing, Assistant to the Bishop


“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”    Psalm 133:1

Since my upbringing was ecumenical, I’m glad the Psalmist said unity and not uniformity. Dad was Roman Catholic and made sure I went to mass every Sunday and attended CCD after school on Wednesdays. In the summer, my Evangelical Covenant Church mother signed me up for Vacation Bible School at Protestant Churches. Every one of her siblings, my aunts and uncle, ended up in a different branch of the Christian family tree, and got along well most of the time. Experiencing this diversity in the Body of Christ that is the Church, God’s people in community, was a great way to grow up.

Upon learning the history of the Moravian Church during seminary, I was struck by their oft-repeated, defining statement: “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love.” As a Lutheran Christian, the proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified and risen as Lord and Savior isn’t negotiable for me. I believe the Lutheran Confessions are a faithful interpretation of scripture. And, I believe that other denominations help reveal the truth of the Gospel and make Christ known to the world. Our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, designed to be intentionally ecumenical, has recognized the essential marks of Church and ministry and established Full Communion relationships with the Presbyterian Church USA, Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ, Moravian Church, Episcopal Church, and United Methodist Church. We see Christ at work in each other. My first desires are for people to know Christ, and to recognize Christ in others.

Those desires have led to some exciting moments in the past. Worshipping with the board of an ecumenical ministry in Canada’s Arctic, where the sermon was from a Catholic nun, the liturgy by a Lutheran, and Communion consecrated by an Anglican. Presiding at Communion in an Inukitut-speaking Anglican congregation that hadn’t seen a priest in months. Sharing youth group leadership with dedicated United Methodist lay people. Creating a shared and vibrant Easter Vigil for Presbyterians, Episcopalians, United Methodists, and ELCA Lutherans.

Today it means video meetings or conversations with my counterparts in the United Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches as we figure out how to provide ministers for central and western Nebraska. It also means once a month, on my day off, serving an Episcopal congregation so that they have sacraments. It means council meetings in multiple-church parishes or federated churches where we work side-by-side with Presbyterians, Methodists, or Episcopalians. And part of what sustains me in all this is a monthly prayer and study gathering of Benedictine Oblates (Christians who are learning to integrate 1500-year old spiritual practices into daily life) who are Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Seventh Day Adventist, Lutheran, and Methodist. In our gatherings, the gifts of each person and their background are listened for, and Christ is at the center.

By the grace of God, I’ve learned about passion for mission from Moravians, moving preaching from Presbyterians, beauty in liturgical words from Episcopalians, healthy church structures from Methodists.

Here are just a few ways that we are we being church together, ecumenically, in the Nebraska Synod. Across Nebraska, ELCA pastors serving ELCA congregations are also serving Episcopal parishes that need part-time ministers or just worship leaders. We receive the gifts of ministers from our Full Communion partners when they serve as supply and transitional ministers in Nebraska Synod congregations. Vacation Bible School and youth groups are increasingly ecumenical endeavors in our communities. Our assistants to the bishop now have video meetings with their counterparts in the Presbyterian Church USA, United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, and Episcopal Church to identify ministers for congregations, from pulpit supply work to call.

We can be stronger together. Our Lutheran identity and values are often clarified and strengthened when we work with other Christians, when we reflect on why we believe and do the things we do.

And you? How are you being church together, with neighboring congregations? What insight or gift have your received from time spent with a sibling who is not Lutheran? When and where have you encountered Christ while walking and serving together?


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