May 8, 2017
Dear Friends in Christ:
May the peace of the crucified and risen Lord be with you all!
In solidarity with Bishop John Noonan of the Diocese of Orlando and Bishop Felipe J. Estevez of the Diocese of St Augustine, it is my joy to invite you to attend a prayer service marking the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Common Prayer: Joint Commemoration of the Reformation. This event will take place on June 6, 2017, 6:30 pm, at the beautiful Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, 8300 Vineland Avenue in Orlando, Florida.
A reception for rostered pastors and deacons, their spouses and other honored guests will take place at 5:00 pm in the facility that houses the Shrine Gift Shop. Hospitality ministers will be present to welcome and direct you. Rostered ministers are invited to join the procession that will begin Common Prayer. If you wish to join the procession, please wear an alb and a white stole. To help in our planning with the Basilica, please RSVP by Thursday, May 25 if you plan to attend.
If you will be arriving by bus or van, please let the Basilica Operation’s Office know so they can coordinate parking. You may contact Gina Schwiegerath at the Basilica Operation’s Office at 407.239.6600. There is currently one 55-passenger bus coming from the Palm Coast/Flagler Beach area. This bus will pick up at St. Mark by the Sea Lutheran Church (Palm Coast) and from Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church. Please contact Pr Vince Iacona (St. Mark by the Sea, Palm Coast) if you are interested in getting onto this bus. To assist with the evening, police will be directing traffic at the Basilica.
The model for Common Prayer will be the historic prayer service used in Lund, Sweden, when Pope Francis, LWF President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and LWF General Secretary the Rev. Dr Martin Junge launched a year of activities to mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s efforts to reform the Church.
This Joint Commemoration in Orlando, along with the many other joint Lutheran-Catholic events going on throughout the synod, allow us to bear witness to our unity in Christ and our shared desire to be the body of Christ together. As we join together in prayer, we demonstrate our joint understanding of the heart of Christian faith, and we participate in the prayer of Jesus in John 17, that the unity in the church would reflect the unity of God.
I encourage you to be ambassadors of this event, inviting both rostered ministers and lay people from your communities to attend. Additional information for sharing and advertising may be found at http://fbsynod.com/reformation500/ and www.orlandodiocese.org/commonprayer.
I look forward to your support and active involvement in Reformation 500!
Together with you in Christ,
Marcus Lohrmann
Interim Bishop
