Lutheran bishop seeks end to human barriers to unity

Traditions, history, keep us apart, he says

- WCR photo by Ramon Gonzalez Lutheran Bishop Ronald Mayan currently has four Anglican priests ministering in Lutheran parishes in Alberta.

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

Lutheran Bishop Ronald Mayan believes Christian unity is possible if we remove some of the "man-made barriers" we have put in its way.

What keeps us apart? "Differences in doctrine and practice are what keep us apart," Mayan said. "And traditions keep us apart. History keeps us apart. And a lot of this is man-made. It has its origins in us and our sinfulness and our inability to see our neighbours with clear eyes."

Mayan, bishop of the Alberta Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) for the past 18 months, says when some of the barriers are removed, unity thrives. That's the case between Lutherans and Anglicans in Alberta, who have been sharing priests for the past 10 years, even though they are not in full unity.

Mayan currently has four Anglican priests ministering to Lutheran parishes. Unity is possible if we pray together for it, the bishop said.

Christians from around the world will be doing just that from Jan. 18 to 25 during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in this year.

The Edmonton and District Council of Churches has organized a city-wide ecumenical celebration for Sunday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. at Covenant Christian Reformed Church, 9010-87 Ave. Pray Without Ceasing is the unity week theme.

Born in Edmonton 57 years ago, Mayan was ordained a Lutheran priest in 1977 at age 26 after having completed theological studies in the United States and at Saskatoon's Lutheran Theological Seminary. He knew since he was 12 that the Lord was calling him to the ministry.

Following his ordination, Mayan served as pastor in Tomahawk and Lethbridge before becoming director of the Bible school in Camrose. In 1996, he was appointed pastor in Red Deer.

Elected bishop

Mayan was elected bishop of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories at the June 2006 synod convention and was ordained to the position three months later.

There are 42,000 ELCIC Lutherans in 152 parishes across Alberta/NWT, served by nearly 250 professional church workers, including pastors, chaplains and deacons. Another, smaller, group of Lutherans belongs to the Lutheran Church-Canada.

Most Lutheran pastors are married and those who are single do not necessarily have the gift of celibacy, noted the bishop.

Mayan and his wife Dianne have been married 35 years and have two grown sons. "I can't imagine what my ministry would be like without my wife as a partner," he said. Dianne is one of his most trusted advisors.

Grassroots ecumenism

Mayan, who has been involved in the ecumenical movement since his ordination as pastor, believes ecumenism is happening from two directions: from above - church to church - and from below - person-to-person.

He considers both valuable but has greater hope in the one happening in the grassroots. "My experience is that (ecumenism) is all about relationships," he said. "When people share their faith stories, pray together, read Scripture together and engage in common work in the world together (they are actually paving the way for Christian unity)."

United in the Eucharist

Christians will not be one until they are united in the Eucharist, Mayan said, stressing the need to remove the barriers that stand in the way of the desire for unity at the Table of the Lord.

Unlike Catholics, Lutherans practise "open communion" and often enter into eucharistic sharing before they have all their theological disagreements resolved.

"We believe that sharing the Eucharist helps us to become one," the bishop said.

But eucharistic sharing is currently not possible with the Catholic Church "because we cannot commune together," lamented Mayan. "Roman Catholic altars are reserved for Roman Catholic people."

Protestants in general are prevented from officially receiving Communion in Catholic churches because the Church believes eucharistic sharing indicates a unity in belief that does not yet exist.

But Mayan is hopeful, drawing encouragement from the tradition of serious study and exchange which characterizes Catholic-Lutheran relations.

The signing of the Declaration on the Doctrine on Justification eight years ago removed a major impediment for unity between Catholics and Lutherans "and showed us that it's possible for us to work on controverted doctrines and come together," he said.

Signed Oct. 31, 1999, near the cradle of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, the document asserts Catholics and Lutherans share the belief that Christians are saved by God's grace through faith alone, rather than by their own efforts.

"Christian unity is a possibility but we have to let the Holy Spirit lead us into this unity," Mayan said. "We must open our hearts to this; we have to incline our hearts to the Spirit and let the Spirit lead."

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