Ecumenism links rural churches

 

With funding from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, clergy, deacons and lay leaders in rural and small towns of Idaho, Central and Eastern Washington and parts of Oregon have been gathering since fall of 2025 to explore how their common understandings of the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist and their ministries can be built on for deeper collaboration.

They are discovering how ecumenical ties can have an impact in their communities, said Bishop Meggan Manlove of the Northwest Intermountain Synod (NWIM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The synod overlaps geographically with five Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) presbyteries, two United Church of Christ (UCC) conferences, two dioceses of The Episcopal Church and several districts of the Greater Northwest Area of the United Methodist Church (UMC).

The ELCA has several "full communion" agreements formalizing their shared understandings of baptism, Eucharist and ministry. It has had such relationships with the UCC, PCUSA and Reformed Church in America since 1997, with the Moravian Church in America since 1991, with the Episcopal Church since 2001 and with the UMC since 2009.

Meggan's heart for rural communities comes from growing up in Custer, S.D., a tourist town in the Black Hills surrounded by ranching, logging and mining. After graduating from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2002, she did an internship in 2003 and 2004 at Emmanuel Lutheran and campus ministry in Cheney. From 2004 to 2010, she served the Lutheran church in Soldier, Iowa, a village of 200 near the border with Nebraska. She then served in Nampa, Idaho, until she was elected bishop three years ago.

Meggan is aware that "in rural and small-town America, churches, like schools, are a third space beyond work and home where people find interaction that is the glue of the community."

Churches offer childcare, food banks, space for AA groups, voting, mammograms, health clinics, senior gatherings, monthly meals and more, so it's important for congregations to connect and partner with each other.

Meggan pointed out that there are different types of rural and small towns. Leavenworth, Chelan, Sandpoint and Jackson are resort rural. Kamiah, Burley, Odessa and Oakesdale are agricultural rural. Lewiston, Clarkston, Pullman and Moscow are rural, small college towns. Quincy has a big data center bringing new wealth that has funded new buildings and a new school.

"As a bishop and as a pastor to rural churches, my role is to listen, learn and encourage," said Meggan. "Where are they engaged? What is on their hearts? What do they love about being church? How are they the wellspring of God's love in their communities?"

Because "full communion" recognizes the validity of each other's sacraments and the ordination of clergy, clergy can serve each other's churches, and regional and national churches have common ministries. Full communion ties are not mergers. Each church has autonomy in structure and liturgy.

Mutual recognition began after the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order commission in 1982 in Lima, Peru, adopted the Lima Document, also known as Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM). That led to further ties among Protestant churches, as well as Catholic-Orthodox and Catholic-Protestant dialogues.

Those dialogues have explored areas of agreement and differences, leading to agreements for shared ministries.

That might seem distant and theoretical for small communities, but those are where full communion is lived out in practical ways.

The NWIM ELCA Synod received a grant of $20,000 for 2025 and $30,000 for 2026 to host gatherings of clergy, deacons and laity through the Country and Small Town Lived Ecclesiology Project (CaSTLE) to promote ministries that empower people through their congregations "to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in all aspects of their lives" so congregations thrive regardless of the community or congregation size.

"Ecumenical relationships need to be tended for the sake of the gospel," Meggan said.

In 2025, clergy and lay leaders met for sessions called "United at the Font: Partnering for the Future" in Clarkston, Moses Lake and Pocatello. Their discussions were guided by Lauren Hackman Brooks and Rebecca Hoyt, formerly with Gonzaga University and now independent facilitators.

Participants prepared for the gatherings by reading the BEM document, which is the basis for full communion relationships.

While many churches think of their differences as denominations, BEM points to "what we share as the body of Christ," Meggan said, adding that it was written before some area pastors and lay members were born.

She first studied it in seminary.

"The goal of our CaSTLE grant is for Christians to recognize what they share with their siblings from these various denominations when it comes to the sacrament and the life-giving Gospel we proclaim," said Meggan.

"Since COVID, we realize we had not worked on our relationship muscles," she noted. "This is an opportunity to remember what it is like to get together and engage in conversation."

Since the sessions, the teams have worked with coaches to keep them accountable to what they decided to do.

The Synod will also host half-day follow-up events in 2026.

Additional gatherings will take place in North Idaho, North Central Washington and the Southern Idaho/Oregon border area during 2026.

In December 2025, regional church leaders met for a three-day retreat at St. Gertrude's Benedictine Monastery in Cottonwood, Idaho—Episcopal Bishops Gretchen Rehberg (Spokane) and Jos Tharakan (Idaho), ELCA Synod staff Liv Larson Andrews and Phil Meisner, Inland Presbytery Executive Sheryl Kinder-Pyle, Kendall Presbytery Stated Clerk Cathy Chisholm, UMC District leaders Geoff Helton and Sheila Miranda (Inland and Seven Rivers) and  Rob Walters Southern Idaho District, Central Pacific UCC Conference Minister Tyler Connelly and Bishop Meggan.

"We already work together, but the retreat was a time to pray and worship together, to become better acquainted so we understand each other and how we are already partnering and might further our partnerships," said Meggan. "We discussed our commonalities and what each denomination brings to the ecumenical table."

For example, most Washington denominations cooperate in advocacy with the Faith Action Network and have common actions on immigration and other issues.

"Full communion gives us permission and encouragement," she said, noting the shared ministry, Cultivating Justice, with ELCA and UCC churches in Wenatchee and Sunnyslope.

She also named several federated churches sharing a minister or ministries. There are Presbyterian-Lutheran churches in Potlatch, Fairfield, Star Valley and Wilbur. The Kamiah Presbyterian and Lutheran churches share a pastor. Grandview Emmanuel Lutheran and Sunnyside Presbyterian churches share a pastor.

Some congregations are also studying Mark Elsdon's book Gone for Good and the Coming Wave of Church Property Transitions to see where the Holy Spirit takes them.

Six teams from the gatherings in Pocatello, Moses Lake and Clarkston are building relationships and setting goals.

New cohort meetings of "United at the Font: Partnering for the Future" will focus on worship, conversations, scripture, prayer and the future. They will be Saturdays, May 16 at Lake Chelan Lutheran, June 27 at First Lutheran in Sandpoint and Oct. 10 at St. Paul Lutheran in Ontario, Ore.

For information, call 838-9871, email bishopmeggan.manlove@nwimsynod.org or visit thecastleproject.org.