Marblehead Churches Swap Pulpits

CLIFTON LUTHERAN AND ST MICHAEL’S EXCHANGE SERVICES

In an exciting experiment in Marblehead’s worship community, two churches of different denominations will join in an exchange of services and congregations. On Sunday July 31st the congregations of Clifton Lutheran Church and St Michael’s Episcopal will attend and actively participate in each other’s service, and their pastoral leaders will exchange pulpits.

The idea for this event was born out of the close personal friendship, which developed between Reverend Andrew Stoessel of St Michael’s and Pastor Jim Bixby of Clifton Lutheran, following Pastor Bixby’s calling to Clifton Lutheran in October , 2015. The ability to translate their idea into reality was facilitated by the fact that the Episcopal Church of America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America have an apparently unique relationship among religious denominations. From the Lutheran perspective, Pastor Bixby describes that relationship as being “the two closest denominations in the country”. The two denominations are allowed to share pulpits and to take communion from each other. They consider one another’s theology fully orthodox, and can even be called to serve in one another’s churches.

Pastor Bixby first became aware of this special relationship when studying at the Trinity Episcopal School in Hartford, CT. It was there under the tutelage of an Episcopal priest that he first obtained his communion license, and eventually determined that he wanted to pursue a call. He started Episcopal programs, served on an Episcopal call committee for a student entering the priesthood, and studied theology under published Episcopal authors. So when he came to Marblehead it became a priority to establish a solid working relationship with St Michael’s and his friendship with Reverend Stoessel was a bonus.

On Sunday July 31st the Clifton Lutheran congregation will meet at St Michael’s for the 9.00 a.m. service, where Pastor Bixby will preach and perform Holy Communion. The two congregations will then move to Clifton Lutheran for a 10.30 a.m service, where Reverend Stoessel will preach and invite all to the table for communion. The two pastoral leaders will be co-ordinating the substance and commentary of their sermons .

Doug Major at St Michael’s and Victor Dal Pozzal at Clifton Lutheran will share the musical direction for the services and the two choirs will join in performing two choral pieces at each church.

The joint services will end with both congregations enjoying the famous Clifton Lutheran coffee hour and taking part in a mutual Bible Study.