Editing Called to Common Mission (section)

{{primary sources|date=June 2009}}
{{Short description|Document establishing full communion between the ELCA and Episcopal Church}}
'''Called to Common Mission''' ('''CCM''') is an agreement between [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|The Episcopal Church]] (ECUSA) and the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA) in the United States, establishing full communion between them. It was ratified by the ELCA in 1999, the ECUSA in 2000, after the narrow failure of a previous agreement. Its principal author on the Episcopal side was theological professor [[J. Robert Wright]]. Under the agreement, they recognize the validity of each other's [[baptism]]s and [[ordination]]s. The agreement provided that the ELCA would accept the [[historical episcopate]] and the "threefold ministry" of [[bishop]] - [[priest]] (or [[pastor]]) - [[deacon]] with respect to ministers of communicant churches serving ELCA congregations; the installation of the ELCA presiding bishop was performed through the laying on of hands by Lutheran bishops in the historic episcopate.<ref name="VelikoGros2005">{{cite book |last1=Veliko |first1=Lydia |last2=Gros |first2=Jeffrey |title=Growing Consensus II: Church Dialogues in the United States, 1992-2004 |date=2005 |publisher=USCCB Publishing |isbn=978-1-57455-557-8 |language=English |quote=In order to receive the historic episcopate, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pledges that, following the adoption of this Concordat and in keeping with the collegiality and continuity of ordained ministry attested as early as canon 4 of the First Ecumenical Council (Nicea I, AD 325), at least three bishops already sharing in the sign of episcopal succession will be invited to participate in the installation of its next Presiding Bishop through prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit and with the laying-on of hands. These participating bishops will be invited from churches of the Lutheran communion which share in the historic episcopate.}}</ref> This provision was opposed by some in the ELCA, which after its founding merger in 1988, held a lengthy study of the ministry which was undertaken with divided opinions.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} In response to concerns about the meaning of the CCM, synod bishops in the ELCA drafted the Tucson resolution<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110516072309/http://www.wordalone.org/docs/wa-tucson-resolution.shtml Tucson Resolution]  archived at [https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142844/http://wordalone.org/docs/wa-tucson-resolution.shtml Internet Archive] retrieved August 28, 2018</ref> which presented the official ELCA position. It made clear that there is no requirement to ordain deacons or accept their ministry. It also provided assurance that the ELCA did not and was not required by CCM to change its own theological stance.

Lutheran churches of Scandinavian origin, such as the [[Church of Sweden]] and [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya|Church in Kenya]], affirm [[apostolic succession]] and are in the historical episcopate;<ref>{{cite book |author1=Mark A. Granquist |author2=Jonathan Strom |author3=Mary Jane Haemig |author4=Robert Kolb |author5=Mark C. Mattes |title=Dictionary of Luther and the Lutheran Traditions |date=2017 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4934-1023-1 |language=English}}</ref> nevertheless, some within the ELCA argued that the historical episcopate would contradict the doctrine that the church exists wherever the Word of God is preached and sacraments are practiced. The traditional ELCA doctrine is affirmed by the Tucson resolution. Others objected on the grounds that adopting the Episcopalian / [[Anglican]] view on priestly orders and hierarchical structure was contrary to the [[Lutheranism|Evangelical Lutheran]] concept of the "[[priesthood of all believers]]", which holds that all Christians stand on equal footing before God. They argued that the [[Old Covenant]] required a priest to mediate between God and humanity, but that [[New Covenant]] explicitly abolishes the need for priestly role by making every Christian a priest with direct access to God's grace. The Tucson resolution explained that the ELCA had not adopted the Episcopal view, but ECUSA or Reformed ordinands accepted by ELCA congregations would follow ELCA practice. Still others objected because of the implied directive that the use of a [[lay presidency]] would be abolished. This was a particular issue for rural congregations that periodically "called" a congregation member to conduct communion services consecrating the elements (of bread and wine for service) in the interim period or with the absence of ordained clergy (pastor).{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} The Tucson resolution explicitly affirmed the continued use of lay ministry.