One in the Spirit, One in the Lord: Celebrating 20 years of Called to Common Mission

When: March 25, 2022, starting at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City, Missouri, in-person. Zoom meeting Online.
For: Anyone interested in developing relationships between The Episcopal Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Clergy and lay church members alike are invited to join together in this afternoon of discussion about consolidating, strengthening, and developing ties between The Episcopal Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our Call to Common Mission.

Three expert speakers (see bios below) will discuss the history, present, and future prospects of our common mission, providing the impetus and knowledge to help us to walk together with Christ for the next 20 years.

REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 23

Cost – Individuals

• $15 per person

Cost – Groups

For groups of four or more people, there is a group discount rate available.

• $60 Group discount rate

The registration fee applies to both in-person and online attendance.

REGISTRATION CLOSED MARCH 23

Agenda

1:30 p.m.	Welcome and Opening Devotion
2:00 – 2:45 p.m.	The Road Well Traveled — the Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander
	Lutheran and Episcopalians in the United States did not first stumble upon each other in the years just before Called to Common Mission. Our current joint mission agreements are not the first and surely will not be the last. Bishop Alexander will explore a brief overview of Lutheran-Episcopal history, review the natural alignments and predictable obstacles, and show how the process that brought us to where we are is a solid foundation to build on for further ecumenical cooperation and joint ministry.
2:45- 3:30 p.m.	Together for Good — the Rev. Stewart Lucas
	The courtship was short, but it was love at first sight. It has been an unconventional relationship from the beginning: they met on March 1 and moved in together on November 1. They sold a Lutheran church, moved into the Episcopal building, and bought two more next door to expand their campus. The people of the Church of the Nativity and Holy Comforter believe they are truly better together. Pastor Stewart will share the stories of grief, compromise, creativity, and growth as this ‘Lutherpalian’ church family begins a new visioning process seven years later to see what God has in store next.
3:30 – 3:45 p.m.	Break
3:45 – 4:30	It’s Your Call — Mitzi Budde
	You don’t have to move in together to have a relationship! Lutherans and Episcopalians are answering the call to common mission in creative ways in their local contexts – some episodic, some longer-term commitments. Prof. Budde will present some success stories, opportunities, and challenges, from ministry exchanges to mission starts, disaster relief to joint advocacy.
4:30 – 5:30 p.m.	Panel Discussion/Q&A with Presenters
5:30 p.m.	Closing comments and closing prayer

Speakers

The Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander

Bishop Alexander is a Bishop of The Episcopal Church and served as bishop diocesan of the Diocese of Atlanta from 2001-2012. He was Dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee, from 2012-2020, where he continues to teach liturgy. In addition to his recent tenure in Sewanee, he has taught liturgics and theology at Wilfrid Laurier, Yale, Drew, and Emory Universities, and was the Trinity Church Professor of Liturgics and Preaching in The General Theological Seminary, was the Norma and Olan Mills Professor of Divinity, and more recently the Charles Todd Quintard Professor of Theology at Sewanee. He is the author of numerous books and essays in liturgical studies, sacramental and pastoral theology, and homiletics.

Mitzi Budde

Mitzi Budde is Head Librarian and the Arthur Carl Lichtenberger Chair for Theological Research at Virginia Theological Seminary. As a Lutheran faculty member at an Episcopal seminary, she is living out the full communion agreement. She also serves on the Lutheran Episcopal Coordinating Committee. Prof. Budde co-authored Daring to Share: Multi-Denominational Congregations in the U.S. and Canada (2018) with Sandra Beardsall and William McDonald and co-edited Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book (2019).

The Rev. T. Stewart Lucas

The Rev. Lucas hails from Macon, Georgia and majored in Horticulture at the University of Georgia. Having been heavily involved in the Canterbury Center at the Episcopal Chaplaincy there, he followed a call to seminary directly after graduation. He graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal) in 2001 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2002. He served as Associate Rector at Memorial Episcopal Church in Baltimore and later at St. Margaret’s Church in Annapolis before moving back to Baltimore in 2013. He has served as General Convention Deputy, President of the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. He now serves on the Lutheran Episcopal Coordinating Committee and moderates the Lutherpalian Clergy Group on Facebook.