Capuchin Franciscan Father Martin Schratz and the Rev. Greg Williams of Grace Lutheran Church signed a covenant of shared understanding May 12 at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville. (Photo provided by Margaret Cavagnaro)HENDERSONVILLE — Catholics and Lutherans of Hendersonville recently took a step toward greater Christian unity – signing a new covenant bonding two local churches, Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church and Grace Lutheran Church.
The local covenant, signed May 12 at Immaculate Conception Church by Capuchin Franciscan Father Martin Schratz, pastor, and Pastor Greg Williams of Grace Lutheran, follows the statewide covenant between the Catholic Dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh and the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The statewide covenant was established in 1991 and reaffirmed in 2007 by Bishop Peter Jugis, Raleigh Bishop Michael Burbidge, and Bishop Leonard H. Bolick of the Lutheran Synod of North Carolina.
The covenant is based on Jesus' prayer in John 17:21 "that all may be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you: I pray that they may be one in us, so that the world may know that you have sent me."
Said Father Schratz, "We have spent too much time looking at what divides us. Now is the time to give example to the world, and even to our local community, that we share much more in common. What a great Christian witness we can be."
"While we remain two distinct families of faith for the foreseeable future, I am excited about this covenant. Martin Luther never intended to begin a new church body, only to correct some practices at that time for which he could find no support in Scripture. This covenant identifies some concrete ways to put our unity in Christ into practice locally. I look forward to the strengthened witness of our working together intentionally," said Williams.
The local covenant lays out seven objectives that emphasize praying together for Christian unity; education of their respective church groups about faith beliefs they hold in common; celebration of joint observances such as at Thanksgiving and Christian Unity services; shared Scripture study; and working together to oppose injustices and alleviate suffering in the local community.
Catholics and Lutherans have been separated for almost 500 years. However, during the past 50 years, great strides have been taken to bring about reconciliation. In 1999, the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church signed the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" in Augsburg, Germany, proclaiming that "we are saved by God's grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, and we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works."
In 2013, the LWF and the Vatican produced a 93-page report, "From Conflict to Communion," which stresses the concepts of repentance, thanksgiving and common commitment to unity with the main focus being on Jesus Christ. It stated that the struggles and issues of the 16th century are over and that Catholics and Lutherans should go forward in a spirit of unity, "not to tell a different history, but to tell history differently. We must emphasize the beautiful faith and traditions that we share and not focus on those issues that separate us. We must let ourselves be transformed by the Holy Spirit and commit ourselves to seek visible unity and to jointly discover the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our time. We must also witness together God's mercy in proclamation and service to the world."
— Dr. Colin Thomas, special to the Catholic News Herald. Dr. Colin Thomas, a lay leader from Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, was among those who coordinated the signing of the Catholic-Lutheran covenant between the parish and Grace Lutheran Church.