The Uniting Church-Lutheran Dialogue meets in Melbourne
November 12, 2025
Image: The ordination of Maria Rudolph in April this year, one of the first ordinations of women as pastors conducted by the Lutheran Church in Australia. The recent recognition by the LCA that both women and men may be ordained has given renewed energy to the Dialogue's work on ministry.
Report endorsed by Dialogue Co-Chairs Rev Paul Stephens (Uniting Church) and Bishop Emeritus Greg Pietsch (Lutheran Church).
The Lutheran-Uniting Church Dialogue met again in October at the UCA Centre for Theology and Ministry in Parkville, Melbourne.
Three key areas for reflection form the agenda of the Dialogue:
1. Fellowship ... with the goal of reaching true "altar and pulpit" fellowship. This means reaching a point where members from both traditions are free to share fully in the life of each other's worshipping communities.
2. Ministry ... with a goal of allowing ordained ministries from both traditions to serve in both traditions.
3. Witness to the world ... how the two traditions not only face each other but together face the world.
The recent recognition by the Lutheran Church that both women and men may be ordained has given renewed energy to the Dialogue's work on ministry and formed the basis for most of the discussion at the recent gathering.
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This Dialogue began in the very early days of the Uniting Church and currently is the only Church to Church Dialogue in which the UCA is actively involved.
The work of Dialogue is aimed at having practical implications for the life of both churches, particularly in regions where often the Uniting and Lutheran Churches are the only remaining church traditions.
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