St. Andrew's College, Saskatoon is pleased to announced that Sandra Beardsall, professor of ecumenics and church history, will offer a five-day course (for credit or audit) called "Preparing for Ecumenical Ministries," June 4-8, 2007 (course #HA 356).

Increasing numbers of Christian communities are working in close ecumenical ways to facilitate mission and ministry, especially in areas of depopulation or other financial struggle. Many of these become formally linked as "ecumenical shared ministry" congregations or clusters. This course will explore the dynamics particular to developing and sustaining ecumenical ministry initiatives in congregational settings. It will introduce participants to the structures, theologies, and ethos of the major denominations involved, and consider issues that are unique to ecumenical relationships. Participants will identify and strengthen their gifts for these ministries, in the context of the wider discussions of contemporary ecumenism. The instructor, Professor Sandra Beardsall, has worked in and with ecumenical shared ministry congregations for fifteen years. For more information, or to register, go to www.standrews.ca or call 1-877-644-8970. Registration deadline is April 23rd.

The 2007 Summer Ecumenical Institute entitled "Making Peace in the Household of God" is scheduled for June 26 to 29 in Saskatoon. As final preparations are underway, the final timetable has been released along with a list of optional workshops. The conference begins on Tuesday evening with an ecumenical worship service at St. Paul's Cathedral at 7 p.m. Dr. David Brubaker, one of our keynote speakers, will preach the sermon. The general public is invited to attend this service.

The workshops will be held on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. SEI registrants will be invited to select from among the workshops that are offered on various ecumenical topics. Dr. Brubaker will lead the participants in the plenary discussions on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday morning, the Rev. Dale Lang will speak on Forgiveness and Peacebuilding.

[ACC News] The merger of Augsburg Fortress and the Anglican Book Centre is almost complete, with only a few legal and technical details renaming. Augsburg Fortress Canada is a non-profit ministry providing resources to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; the Anglican Book Centre is a similar ministry serving the Anglican Church of Canada. Several months ago when the Anglican Church of Canada announced a new structure for the Anglican Book Centre that included the closing of its Toronto bookstore, Augsburg Fortress approached the Anglican Church to talk about a joint ministry venture. Highlighting the similarities in each organization's mandate, formal talks began, and as of June 1, Augsburg Fortress assumed management of the ABC operations.

As evidence of commonality between the Anglican Church of Canada and ELCIC in the Waterloo Declaration, the partnership between Augsburg Fortress and Anglican Book Centre will now represent one ministry serving both churches. By providing the best of Anglican and Lutheran resources through a consolidated national order desk, two bookstore locations (Augsburg is located in Kitchener), and a presence at major church events from coast-to-coast, this new partnership will mean sustainability in addition to the quality products and services that congregations have come to expect.

[ACC News • Winnipeg] Nearly 1,000 Anglicans and Lutherans spent a day together in worship at the Winnipeg Convention Centre Thursday to celebrate six years of full communion between their two churches -- and also to consider global warming. Both the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada are holding their major decision-making conventions in Winnipeg this week. Anglican Bishop Fred Hiltz of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, co-chair of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission, said the two churches were "well ahead" in their progress in coming together.

[ACC News • Winnipeg] The Anglican Church of Canada has chosen Bishop Fred Hiltz of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as its 13th Primate or national leader. Bishop Hiltz was elected by the church's General Synod, meeting in Winnipeg, on the 5th ballot, from among four bishops nominated last April by a gathering of all Canadian bishops. Bishop Hiltz, 53, will succeed Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, elected three years ago, who announced earlier that he would retire at the end of the General Synod gathering now underway.

[ELCIC.ca] Delegates at the Eleventh Biennial National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) have elected Rev. Susan Johnson, Assistant to the Bishop of the Eastern Synod, as the new National Bishop of the ELCIC. The election occurred on the sixth and final ballot for Bishop. Bishop-elect Johnson will succeed National Bishop Raymond Schultz who announced in January of this year that he will retire as of September 1, 2007. Bishop Schultz has been serving as National Bishop for six years. He was elected for a four-year term at the 2005 Convention but announced his retirement half-way through the term due to personal and health reasons.

In addition to holding their national gatherings across Winnipeg from each other, this week the Anglican and Lutheran churches are also holding elections for their national bishops. The Anglican Church of Canada's national bishop is called a primate. The current primate, Archbishop Andrew Hutchinson has announced his intention to retire at the end of this week's General Synod. In April, the House of Bishops nominated four bishops to stand for election as primate. On Friday afternoon, on the fifth ballot, the General Synod elected Bishop Fred Hiltz, 53, of Nova Scotia and PEI as its 13th primate.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Winnipeg, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada at its National Convention has elected the Rev. Susan Johnson as its new national bishop. Johnson succeeds Bishop Raymond L. Shultz who has been national bishop since 2001. The bishop-elect has been Assistant to the Bishop of the Eastern Synod since 1994. She has also served as vice-president of the ELCIC from 2001 to 2005 and as an advisor to the Lutheran World Federation Council since 1998.

[CCCB] On 23 June, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI named Reverend Murray Chatlain as Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

As Coadjutor Bishop, Father Chatlain will become the successor to Most Reverend Denis Croteau, O.M.I., who has been Bishop of the diocese for more than 21 years. When a Bishop is close to retirement, a coadjutor Bishop (from the Latin adjuvare, to help) is sometimes named to assist and succeed him in accordance with canon 403 of the Code of Canon Law.

Father Chatlain was born in Saskatoon, 19 January 1963. He obtained a Master's of Divinity upon completion of his studies at St. Peter's Seminary, London, Ontario. Ordained to the priesthood in 1987, he served a number of parishes in the Diocese of Saskatoon, following which he was pastor of Black Lake, Fond-du-Lac, Stony Rapids, Uranium City and Camsell Portage in the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith. At the time of his appointment, he was pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Saskatoon.

The Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, whose largest urban centre is Yellowknife, is served by seven diocesan and religious priests, two permanent deacons, 15 religious Brothers and Sisters, and 16 pastoral workers serving a population of approximately 20,000 Catholics in 40 parishes and missions.

[CECC] Le 23 juin, le pape Benoît XVI a nommé l'abbé Murray Chatlain évêque coadjuteur du diocèse de Mackenzie-Fort Smith, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

À titre de coadjuteur de ce diocèse, le Père Chatlain deviendra le successeur de Mgr Denis Croteau, O.M.I., évêque de ce diocèse depuis plus de 21 ans. Lorsqu'un évêque est ainsi appelé à prendre bientôt sa retraite, il est parfois assisté d'un évêque coadjuteur (du latin adjuvare, aider), qui le remplace de droit à son départ, selon le canon #403 du Code de droit canonique.

L'abbé Chatlain est né à Saskatoon, le 19 janvier 1963. Il a obtenu une maîtrise en sciences religieuses après des études au séminaire St. Peter, à London, en Ontario. Ordonné prêtre en 1987, il a exercé son ministère presbytéral dans plusieurs paroisses du diocèse de Saskatoon avant d'oeuvrer dans celui de Mackenzie-Fort Smith, entre 2002 et 2006, pour les paroisses et missions de Black Lake, Fond-du-Lac, Stony Rapids, Uranium City et Camsell Portage. Au moment de sa nomination, il était curé de la paroisse St. Patrick, à Saskatoon.

Le diocèse de Mackenzie-Fort Smith, dont la ville la plus importante est Yellowknife, compte quatre prêtres diocésains, trois prêtres religieux, deux diacres permanents,15 religieux et religieuses et 16 agents de pastorale au service d'une population de 20 000 catholiques répartis dans 40 paroisses et missions.

[Anglican Journal] Canadian Anglicans, meeting at their General Synod governing convention, voted by the slimmest of margins to defeat a proposal that would have permitted church blessing rites for gay couples. However, on the same day, the synod – also by a narrow margin – agreed that such blessings are "not in conflict with the core doctrine" of the church. Much of the sixth day of the synod was taken up with debate on the two questions, with dozens of people approaching microphones in the plenary hall to voice emotional opinions.

Following a long and passionate debate at the 2007 General Synod in Winnipeg, the Anglican Church of Canada has rejected the blessing of same-sex unions. The result is not decisive, however, as both clergy and laity voted in favour with the bishops narrowly defeating the resolution. Earlier resolutions affirmed that the blessing of same-sex unions is a doctrinal matter and that they are consistent with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Advance notice

Updated: change of date to June 26-29, 2007

The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism is pleased to announce that its Summer Ecumenical Institute for 2007 will take place in Saskatoon June 26-29. The theme of the conference is conflict resolution and transformation within and among churches, under the working title "Making Peace in the Household of God."

Many Canadian churches appear to be experiencing conflict, often more within than between denominations. Liberals and conservatives in many churches are in tension over issues such as human sexuality and the interpretation of scripture, and the 'heat' seems to be rising. The skills of courtesy, listening and dialogue, which ecumenically-minded people have been developing over the years, are today needed just as much within our churches as between them.

You are invited! The opening presentation by David Brubaker will be a public lecture. Please download the public lecture poster and display in your church.

Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. Yet in the churches there is a fear of conflict, and a tendency to go for peace at any price, sweeping conflict under the carpet until it cannot be contained. The 2007 Summer Ecumenical Institute aims to help church people build a vision of how conflict can become a force for good in our communities, and to equip participants with the basic skills they need to become active peace-builders in their own settings.

The theme is a timely one. Many Canadian churches are experiencing conflict, often more within than between denominations. Liberals and conservatives in many churches are in tension over issues such as human sexuality and the interpretation of scripture, and the 'heat' seems to be rising. The skills of courtesy, listening and dialogue, developed in the ecumenical movement, are today needed just as much within our churches as between them.

With God's help, conflict within the Body of Christ can be transformed into a source of life-giving energy. We will explore the biblical and theological foundations for conflict transformation, discuss current research, and provide an introduction to practical training in conflict transformation skills.

The Summer Ecumenical Institute (SEI) -- scheduled for June 26 to 29 in Saskatoon -- is sponsored by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism.

For short biographies of the keynote speakers, see the complete Summer Ecumenical Institute webpage. For further information, contact the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. Phone 306-653-1633 or email . A brochure and registration form is available.

The 2007 Summer Ecumenical Institute entitled "Making Peace in the Household of God" is scheduled for June 26 to 29 in Saskatoon. As final preparations are underway, the final timetable has been released along with a list of optional workshops. The conference begins on Tuesday evening with an ecumenical worship service at St. Paul's Cathedral at 7 p.m. Dr. David Brubaker, one of our keynote speakers, will preach the sermon. The general public is invited to attend this service.

The workshops will be held on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. SEI registrants will be invited to select from among the workshops that are offered on various ecumenical topics. Dr. Brubaker will lead the participants in the plenary discussions on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday morning, the Rev. Dale Lang will speak on Forgiveness and Peacebuilding.