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Ecumenical Covenant Signing Held at St. Mary Cathedral

June 20, 2000

On Sunday, June 18, approximately four-hundred people gathered in St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord to celebrate, witness and become part of history. The clergy and laity of the Northwest Lower Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, the Episcopal Dioceses of Western and Eastern Michigan and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord participated in an Ecumenical prayer service and signing of the Covenant document, which recognizes the similarities of the three religious traditions and calls upon the people of God to continue to work toward unity. The service began with a solemn procession of the representative ministers of the Lutheran synod, Episcopal dioceses and Catholic diocese. All four bishops entered the sanctuary from different areas of the church symbolizing the coming together of our shared beliefs. The homily was given by Dr. E. Rozanne Elder who is the director of the Institute of Cistercian Studies and a professor of history at Western Michigan University. She was appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to represent Anglicans on the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. Elder used the analogy of the grape vine, which moves in many directions, twisting and turning and wrapping around itself and anything else in its path to demonstrate how Christianity has evolved over the last 2000 years. She then called upon those present to continue to bring about unity by sharing facilities, ministries and activities. After reciting the Nicene Creed, four copies of the covenant document were signed by the bishops. The ministers who had directed the efforts of the forming of the covenant were next invited to sign, followed by other attending clergy, pastors and council representatives of the various parishes. Following the celebration, the remainder of those in attendance were given the opportunity to sign the documents. Giving testimony to the significance of this consequential event was the fact that many waited in line as long as an hour-and-a-half to participate and become part of history by adding their name to each page. Following the ceremony, one original was given to each bishop for display as a testament to the commitment to pray, learn and work together in the hope of fulfilling Christ's prayer "that they may all be one." Bishop Cooney has directed this covenant document be framed and placed in St. Mary Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese of Gaylord.