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Whereas, the ELCA’s first and necessary condition for a full communion relationship is "a common confessing of the Christian faith," (A Declaration of Ecumenical Commitment: A Policy Statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 1991); and
Whereas, prominent leaders of The Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church USA have in recent years made public statements that deny the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me;" and
Whereas, prominent leaders of those denominations have also publicly denied basic articles of faith in the ecumenical creeds, including the physical resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; and
Whereas, the statements and actions of prominent leaders of these denominations are moving their denominations further away from a "a common confessing of the Christian faith" with churches within their own traditions and with most other Christian churches in the world, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches; and
Whereas, we as ELCA members fervently desire to work with all believers in Jesus Christ in other denominations to make common confession of the Christian faith, to proclaim the Gospel in our communities and to the world, and to serve all our neighbors in need; therefore
Be it resolved that the ________________ Synod memorialize the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to suspend the Formula of Agreement and Called to Common Mission, the full communion agreements with the above denominations; and
Be it further resolved that we continue to support congregations and synods who have established local partnerships with those denominations (including the Reformed Church in America, also a full communion partner and whose leaders have not questioned the faith of the Church) in which there is “a common confessing of the Christian faith” and a shared mission in faithfulness to the Gospel; and
Be it further resolved that the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly call for a resumption of formal ecumenical dialogues with The Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church USA to determine if in fact there exists a genuine "common confessing of the Christian faith" as historically confessed in the Nicene and Apostles creeds.