[The Episcopal Church Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations] At the encouragement of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the Bavarian Lutheran Landesbischof Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, a group of representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, The Episcopal Church, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, and the Anglican Communion met at the Episcopal Church Center in New York on July 14-16, 2015 to discuss current joint mission and ministries in Bavaria and the development of closer relations between The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.

Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe: “We are grateful to the Presiding Bishops of our two churches for their initiative in bringing us together. Our conversations have revealed that we share more than we realized, and can do more together than we have imagined.”

Ivo Huber, Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria: “We are very happy about this partnership and the enrichment brought to our church life by Episcopalians. We look forward to the continuation of our conversations and the work.”

Participants and Staff

• The Reverend Dr. Judith Böttcher (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
• The Reverend Canon Dr. John Gibaut (Anglican Communion Office)
• The Reverend Ivo Huber (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
• Mr. Richard Mammana (Episcopal Church Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations)
• The Reverend Canon Dr. Charlotte Methuen (Inter-Anglican Standing Commission for Unity, Faith and Order; University of Glasgow)
• The Reverend Professor Bernd Oberdorfer (Lutheran World Federation, University of Augsburg)
• The Reverend Margaret Rose (Episcopal Church Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations)
• The Reverend Dr. Oliver Schuegraf (United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany)
• The Reverend Steven Smith (Church of the Ascension, Munich)
• The Right Reverend Pierre Whalon (Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe)