If Pope Francis and Billy Graham Had a Baby It Would Be The ECC

By Jan Shannon

If Pope Francis and Billy Graham had a baby, the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC) would be their love-child.

Picture all the bells and whistles of a High Church service merged with the down-to-earth sincerity and casualness of your typical evangelical worship service. Yes, there is the liturgical stand-sit-stand-sing-stand-pray-repeat pattern of Catholic worship, but without the robotic responses that so many ex-Catholics have run from.

On Friday, I witnessed this synergy of liturgy and spirituality as I was honored to attend the Episcopal Ordination of the Rev. Tom Altpeter, which in laymen’s terms means Altepeter went from being “just” Rev. Altpeter to Bishop Altpeter, Vicar of the Pacific Northwest Region. Having never been to an ECC worship service, I had only a vague idea of what to expect.

Knowing that they were “kind of” Catholic, I rightly assumed there would be robes and stoles. (I had dressed up for the event wearing not only my robe and stole but also my clerical collar; very High Church for me!) Knowing that Altepeter was being elevated to the role of bishop, I also rightly assumed that the ceremony would be appropriately solemn, but my assumptions of what the service would be like were completely blown away by the reality of what I experienced. The service began with a gathering song, “All Are Welcome” by Marty Haugen, and the ECC truly does welcome all into worship and service. The distinctives of the ECC describe their belief that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; all are one in Christ Jesus.” This belief sets the ECC apart from the Roman Catholic Church (RC) in allowing women to be ordained priests, and allowing for the inclusion into all roles of ministry for LGBTQ folks. For the millions of little Catholic girls who grew watching an old man recite the prayers knowing that they could never fulfill their calling to ministry in that church, with the ECC those little girls can now see themselves as deacons and priests, consecrating the bread and the wine side-by-side with their brothers in Christ. In the ECC, all really are welcome!

I did not expect the extravagant welcome and inclusion for myself and the other non-ECC clergy in attendance. Pastor Andy CastroLang, Pastor Liv Larsen Andrews, and others who I did not know, were not only greeted warmly but there was also special mention in the service of the One Church to which all believers belong. When Jesus told the disciples, “on this rock I will build my church,” he didn’t say churches plural, he said church singular – his church – one church. Clearly, the ECC lives this out.

The Presiding Bishop of the ECC, Rev. Peter E. Hickman spoke such gracious words of thanks to Pastor Liv for the use of her church, Salem Lutheran Church, and shared the ECC belief that all are welcome to share in the Eucharist. As stated in the ECC distinctives, “we recognize that Jesus is the host of the eucharistic celebration and therefore all are welcome to the table of the Lord!”

One rather fun part of the service was the Asperges, the sprinkling of the congregation with holy water. It’s like a holy water fight except the priest is the only one who gets to play, but more solemn…if you are an old Protestant like me, you’ll have to watch this video. It wasn’t quite this wet at Salem Lutheran, but you’ll get the general idea. But all of this was merely preparation for the real work of the meeting, the Rite of Ordination. The congregation is first asked if they agree in the calling of this candidate to this ministry, to which they loudly responded, “We do!” It was at this point that the tenor of the service changed, deepened, and truly became an historic ritual. The continuation of the apostolic tradition that has existed since the beginning of the Church. According to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Apostolic Tradition” means: “Apostolic Tradition is the transmission of the message of Christ, brought about from the very beginnings of Christianity by means of preaching, bearing witness, institutions, worship, and inspired writings. The apostles transmitted all they received from Christ and learned from the Holy Spirit to their successors, the bishops, and through them to all generations until the end of the world.” Altepeter was asked several questions, grilled as it were, on his faith and intentions, his willingness and ability to continue this apostolic tradition here in the Pacific Northwest. The first question of many was, “Are you persuaded that God has called you to the office of bishop?” His answers were strong and firm as he responded, “I am.” I could almost feel the weight of that responsibility fall onto Tom’s shoulders right then. I looked over at his wife and said a silent prayer for her. For this responsibility will not only affect him, because with the time and travel required to fulfill the office of bishop in such a large territory as the Pacific Northwest, his new role will test, and hopefully strengthen, the bonds of their relationship. After all of the questions have been answered, Altepeter then prostrated himself before the Consecrator, Bishop Peter. This action, regarded by many as emasculating and demeaning, seems quite the opposite to me. Humbling, yes, but knowing that “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross,” isn’t it only right and proper that our Christian leaders should humble themselves? He wasn’t, in my opinion, prostrating himself to Bishop Peter, rather, Altepeter was laying his life before his God, offering up his very body to whatever his Lord would demand. Strong language, true, but if the Christian Church is going to survive, we need men and women who are willing to lay down their lives in humble submission to Christ. He then was helped to his feet, and each of the three bishops presiding over the service then silently laid hands on Altepeter’s head, transmitting to him the power which the bishop himself has received from Christ through the apostles and their successors. This very simple though impressive action, unaccompanied by prayer or chant, is called the essential matter of the sacrament. The sense of the Holy Spirit in the room during this silent ritual was palpable. I saw at least one minister crying, remembering her own ordination.

This article is almost as long as the ordination service was, so I will conclude with this. There are millions of ex-Catholics who have left the Roman Catholic Church for some very valid reasons, and some of them who are still put off (traumatized?) by their past experiences will read this and think it’s all “smells and bells,” but I would caution them not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Robes and stoles, crossing yourself and genuflecting, are not faith. They are the means by which the faith is experienced and when the Holy Spirit is present in the ritual, the rites become redemptive acts.