Lutheran-Catholic Covenant celebration planned

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown and the Northeastern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America announce the Lutheran-Catholic Covenant Celebration from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 followed by an optional supper at Zion Lutheran Church in Canton.

Bishop Abraham Allende, NEOS ELCA, will preside at evening prayer with Monsignor Robert Siffrin, vicar general of the diocese, as homilist.

Dr. Donald Huber, professor emeritus of church history at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, will offer reflections on the opportunities missed since the Reformation for Christian unity.

The Rev. John Crossin, executive director, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, will give reflections on opportunities seized since the Reformation for Christian unity.

This day of prayer and study commemorates the signing of the Lutheran-Catholic Covenant in October 2000 by Bishop Thomas Tobin and Bishop Marcus Miller. Covenant Celebration 2016 also inaugurates the year of the local observance of the Common Lutheran Catholic Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017.

Registration for the Celebration is $5 plus $10 for the optional supper. Prepaid registration is due Oct. 14. Walk-in registration precedes the event from 2 to 2:30 p.m. The optional supper at 6:30 p.m. follows the ecumenical evening prayer. Proceeds from the free-will offering during the prayer assist UrbanArk, an ecumenical food and clothing distribution ministry in downtown Canton supported by the First Lutheran and Zion Lutheran congregations.

For online registration, go to www.doy.org. For mail-in registration, go to www.lcovenant.weebly.com. For more information, contact the Diocese of Youngstown, 330-744-8451, or the NEOS ELCA, 330-929-9022.