Ecumenical Relations Committee

Ecumenical Relations Committee

                                       

---

Lutheran-Anglican-Roman Catholic (LARC) Covenant in Virginia

Did you know that there is an ecumenical covenant in place for Lutherans/Episcopalians/Roman Catholics within the Virginia Synod?  "A Call Into Covenant" was first signed by ten bishops throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1990.  The covenant lifts up "full communion as our mutual goal."  "We understand that we will pursue this goal in a rich variety of ways which are consistent with the Gospel and the ordering of our three traditions" the Declaration states.

An annual "LARC" conference is held each year for the purpose of gathering lay and clergy from the three traditions to share in ecumenical visioning and worship.  At the 1996 LARC conference in Lynchburg, the covenant was renewed and rededicated within a wonderful worship service by the bishops of each judicatory and all attending members of the conference.

The covenant includes 20 specific actions by which the respective Synods and Dioceses commit to express the unity of the church -- the gift of the Spirit and the task of the church.  Following is the list of actions excerpted from  the covenant:

1. Pray for each other, particularly at the principal Sunday celebration;

2. Sponsor seasonal prayer services, especially during the week of Prayer for Christian Unity;

3. Encourage shared lectionary studies;

4. Promote pulpit exchanges in accord with the respective guidelines of each tradition;

5. Encourage cooperation among member churches in providing pre-marital preparation for ecumenical marriages;

6. Encourage shared religious formational and educational events, e.g. youth ministry, vacation Bible school. living room dialogue;

7. Develop joint efforts in evangelism and social justice;

8. Develop covenants among our congregations, institutions and chaplaincies;

9. Support statewide, regional and local LARC Conferences, and establish annually a joint meeting of our ecumenical bodies;

10. Encourage each diocese and synod to develop supportive prayer services and covenanting models for its congregations through their respective ecumenical and liturgical committees;

11. Urge congregations to study the existing dialogues among our churches;

12. Develop covenants among schools and academies for shared programs;

13. Ask congregations to develop and reflect on their cooperative ministries to discover areas of convergence among our three churches;

14. Sponsor shared retreats and formational events for clergy and parish leadership;

15. Develop campus ministry covenants...;

16. Seek ways to coordinate program and planning at the district/synodical/diocesan level;

17. Collaborate at the judicatory level on justice issues and social concerns;

18. Review and evaluate this Covenant annually at a meeting of the state LARC Committee representatives with Bishops;

19. Establish goals annually which advance this Covenant;

20. Celebrate the renewal of the Covenant annually at the statewide LARC conference.    

Can you create your own local LARC covenant based on some or all of these?  For your copy of  " A Call Into Covenant," contact:

The Rev. Joe Vought
Muhlenberg Lutheran
281 E. Market Street
Harrisonburg, VA  22801
540-434-3496
 

 

---

Want To Explore The Gift Of Unity Further?    

The members of the Ecumenical Relations Committee are more than glad to talk with you about ideas or questions you may have concerning the gift and task of church unity.  Here's who we are, just give us a call!

Gary Erdos
Yorktown - 757-898-4395

John Herman
Lynchburg - 804-239-2102

Joan Rufe
Waynesboro - 540-943-1954

Gary Scheidt
Moneta - 540-721-4330

Terrie Sternberg
Pulaski - 540-980-3624

Joe Vought (chair)
Harrisonburg - 540-434-3496

Robert Walker
Galax - 540-238-1948