2 Churches Practiced What New Pact Preaches

By all accounts, these two La Crescenta churches have always been kindred spirits.

St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church and Mt. Olive Lutheran Church are perched about a mile apart on the same winding road overlooking the verdant Verdugo Mountains. Both have drawn their small congregations from the hillside communities for decades and watched generations of worshipers file through their wooden doors.

But in the last two years, St. Luke’s and Mt. Olive have actively forged a relationship that’s brought them even close. Like many other Episcopal and Lutheran churches across the country, they have opened the doors to shared worship and discussion.

When the Episcopal Church approved a pact last Friday recognizing the validity of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, church members here said the national leaders were just catching up with the realities of places like St. Luke’s and Mt. Olive.

Drawn together by a desire to find similarities in their individual traditions, and bolstered by a mutual acceptance, these two congregations began an exchange of ideas and worship long before national Episcopalian leaders officially sanctioned such a relationship. The Lutheran leadership will vote on the issue this month.

Their pastors have swapped pulpits once and received Communion at each other’s churches. The members have come together for joint services. They participate in each other’s senior citizens groups and prayer study sessions. Most of all, members said, they feel welcome to enter either church for worship at any time.

“I think anything that can bring Christians together as all one family, in unity, is wonderful,” said Carol Stevens, 65, on Sunday as she stood in front of St. Luke’s ivy-covered stone building, congregants streaming out behind her. “All of us read the same Bible--there’s just a difference in the way we worship.”

Some members said they found strength in discovering they can relate to other groups, despite their apparent differences.

“Especially with everything going on--the gangs, the crime--it makes everybody realize that there’s something better, that we have something in common,” said St. Luke member Jane Lee, 75, of Glendale.

Members of both congregations welcomed the news that the Episcopal Church approved the accord, which will allow pastor exchanges, common parishes and a sharing of hymnals. Many said they hope the Lutheran leadership will ratify the agreement.

“It’s about time, after all these years,” said Louise Ramsey, 71, as the bright sunlight bounced off the white concrete walls of Mt. Olive early Sunday morning. “I’ve gone to the Episcopal church for years--I think it’s interesting to see different people’s faith.”

The relationship between St. Luke’s and Mt. Olive began when their pastors realized there was a growing push for communication between the two denominations.

In an effort to understand their liturgical differences, they began meeting with each other once a month and had a pulpit exchange that was warmly welcomed by the congregations. Now they’ve formed a network of different ministries in the area.

“Our people have been very open and very receptive to it,” said the Rev. Paul E. Johnson, pastor at Mt. Olive. “You get to know people who are different and find out they believe like we do. It’s a healthy, Christian thing--learning to accept other people, and learning other people can accept us.”

The national move toward reconciliation could encourage more interaction between the two La Crescenta congregations, he said.

That’s not to say the church leaders envision a melding of the two denominations, and many members said they don’t want to forgo their familiar rituals and practices.

“Both traditions have special gifts from God, and we don’t want to change those,” the Rev. Ronald Jackson of St. Luke’s said.

“If this was considered a merger of the churches, one or both would have to give up their identity,” Johnson agreed. “This is about fellowship.”

And it’s that sense of community, members said, that excites them about meeting each other.

Longtime church members at Mt. Olive said they always linger late after church on Sundays, swapping stories and exchanging thoughts about the service. Now they have a broader community to participate in.

“It brings in new ideas and gives us an opportunity to see their process of worship,” said Chuck DeVore, a member of the church council at Mt. Olive. “And part of that worship is the fellowship we feel.”

Along the way, church members said, they’ve discovered they have common beliefs that have long been masked as differences.

Jackson’s wife, Patty, who teaches Sunday School at St. Luke’s, said she’s often used Lutheran curriculum in her classes because it effectively conveys the message she wants to get across.

“It’s good to have a different perspective and realize that the truth is the same--it’s just the packaging that’s different,” she said.

For many worshipers, the distinct denominations have long been irrelevant--they go wherever they feel comfortable.

On Sunday, Episcopalians Michael and Cindy Wharton visited the Lutheran church in La Crescenta for their nephew’s baptism.

They said they feel perfectly at ease in the setting. Cindy, who grew up in this Lutheran church, said she had no problem switching to the Episcopal church her husband attends in Oceanside.

“It’s all the same faith. The beliefs are the same,” said Michael Wharton. “It’s nice to see at the national level we’ve recognized the similarities. It makes for a tighter and better Christian community.”

In the end, many said, sharing prayer and pastors will only strengthen their identity and their faith. The Rev. Bernard Osburn, an Episcopalian at St. Luke’s, said one of his best friends is a Lutheran pastor.

“When I pray, all I can see is my slice of the pie, but when I sit and talk to him, it broadens my perspective,” said Osburn. “We’d be foolish to think that God just comes to this place on Sundays.”