Last summer, for the first time since the 16th century, four Protestant denominations took official steps to reconcile their long-standing differences by adopting an agreement for "full communion." Under this "Formula of Agreement," the participating denominations -- the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Reformed Church in America, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and the United Church of Christ -- will now accept each other's ministers without reordination and allow followers to take communion in each other's churches.
The implications of this agreement will be the focus of a colloquium at the Divinity School, to be held 4 p.m. on Thursday,
Jan. 29, in Marquand Chapel, 409 Prospect St. The event is free and open to the public.
The Reverend Timothy Lull, president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, will be the keynote speaker at the colloquium. Lull -- who holds B.D., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale (1968, 1971 and 1977, respectively) -- served as cochair of the Lutheran/Reformed Dialogue, and was coeditor of "A Formula of Agreement."
The academic colloquium will be followed by a worship service to celebrate the historic accord. Worship will be led by regional leaders from the Lutheran and Reformed traditions.