A leap between two faiths > Maine leaders pioneers in Lutheran-Episcopalian bond

PORTLAND – The new alliance between Lutherans and Episcopalians isn’t official until January, but two ministers in Maine already are showing how crossover congregations can work.

The Rev. David Snyder is the first Lutheran minister to take on an all-Episcopal congregation in New England.

He’s believed to be the first in the country since an interdenominational accord was announced in July, the Rev. Ron Jackson, associate to the bishop of the New England synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said.

After nearly four decades of talks, Episcopalians approved an alliance in which churches share clergy, sacraments and programs. The pact was approved by Lutherans last year. “Artificial barriers that have divided and separated Christians for centuries are beginning to be slowly but surely dismantled,” Snyder said.

A search committee at St. Peter’s in Bridgton decided Snyder would become the congregation’s new spiritual leader in April, even before the alliance was celebrated in July.

“We may be the only state in the country that has already moved toward putting flesh on this new agreement,” Snyder said of his part-time ministry.

There has been some crossover for years under a 1982 interim Eucharistic agreement that allowed the two denominations to share pastors in cases of shortages.

Often, that meant ministering to mixed congregations of Lutherans and Episcopalians. Without the new alliance, Snyder would have had to give up his Lutheran identity and become an Episcopalian to minister to the people of St. Peter’s.

In the 1500s, Martin Luther rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church, triggering the Protestant Reformation. Episcopalians trace their roots to the Anglican Church, created by Henry VIII of England in the 16th century when he was denied divorce by the Catholic Church.

The movements became established in America a century later, but differences in culture and language were barriers to communication, Jackson said. Many Lutherans are of Scandinavian or German ancestry, contrasting with the English background common to Episcopalians.

“We’re not bound by those language and cultural barriers anymore, so it’s a marvelous time for us to get together,” Jackson said.

The Rev. James Morgan, 53, a retired Episcopal military chaplain who became part-time minister at a Lutheran church under the 1982 agreement, said the two denominations share as much as 95 percent of their beliefs and practices.

But there are subtle differences. Lutheran ministers are known as pastors; Episcopalians have priests. There was initial confusion in Bridgton about what to call Snyder and parishioners settled on “Father Dave.”

“I said, ‘Well, I have four children, I’m a father, so I’d feel very comfortable if you call me ‘father,”‘ he said.

Minor differences of style exist. Lutherans improvise more than Episcopalians when reading from the prayer book, Snyder said. “Someone came up to me, very gently, and said, ‘As Episcopalians, we like to use the words in the book,”‘ Snyder recalled with a chuckle.

Snyder said he sees his ministry as an opportunity to bring together people of various Christian faiths. “What we share in common is so much more important than the differences,” he said.

Snyder’s presence already is marked by unusual circumstances and unity. St. Peter’s doesn’t have a church, so it uses space at Bridgton’s Methodist church. Snyder’s ministry celebration was held at a Catholic church.