The "Friends of Sophia" invite you to join them for the first gathering of the fall semester. On Wednesday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m., Gladys Neufeld will lead a liturgy intertwining stories, music, and food. The liturgy will be held in the Chelsea Commons, room 231, St. Thomas More College. Please bring a donation for the Food Bank.

The Friends of Sophia is an interdenominational group of women, based at the University of Saskatchewan, dedicated to nurturing Christian feminist spirituality through educational opportunities, shared experience, and liturgical celebration. For further information: www.usask.ca/uscm/friendsofsophia.

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Rt. Rev. Rodney Andrews, Rev. Cynthia Halmarson and Most. Rev. Albert LeGatt. Special to The StarPhoenix, Friday, October 19, 2007

Following is the viewpoint of Andrews, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon, Halmarson, Bishop of the Saskatchewan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and LeGatt, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.

We address this to our faith communities and to all persons of goodwill, confident that the concerns raised will resonate with your desire to create a society where human dignity is respected and public safety is ensured.

We are conscious that advocacy on behalf of the voiceless can quickly become a platform for those who wish to gain a political advantage. So it's vitally important to state that we approached this issue in humility and resisted every attempt to lay blame.

While we recognize that all the correctional centres in Saskatchewan suffer from the same kind of challenges, we are most conscious of the conditions at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre (SCC) from where we draw the following examples.

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The deplorable conditions at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre have led to a joint letter from the Anglican, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic bishops to the editor of the StarPhoenix that was published on Friday, October 19. The bishops call for urgent attention and action to resolve the over-crowding in the jail. They also highlight the impact that overcrowding has had upon the programs of the SCC, and on the escalating fear, violence, and mental hardship of the inmates.

Together with the inter-church committee on restorative justice, the bishops invite the general public to join them for a candlelight vigil outside the Saskatoon Correctional Centre on Sunday, October 21st, at 7 p.m.

[Please note that the original StarPhoenix report included the incorrect date. The vigil will indeed be on Sunday, October 21st.]

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A new response to the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) report entitled "Growing Together in Unity and Mission: Building on 40 years of Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue" has been published by Ruth Reardon from the Interchurch Families International Network (IFIN). Reardon's response is published in the October issue of the IFIN newsletter, "Issues and Reflections."

The recent agreed statement between the two churches represents the first practical results of the Mississauga meeting in 2000 that charged the new commission with the task "to oversee the preparation of a Joint Declaration of Agreement, and promote and monitor the reception of ARCIC agreements, as well as facilitate the development of strategies for translating the degree of spiritual communion that has been achieved into visible and practical outcomes." (#12) In Reardon's response, she assesses the new statement in light of the mandate issued to IARCCUM by the bishops meeting in Mississauga.

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by Stephen Brown
Port of Spain (ENI). The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has agreed to unite with the Reformed Ecumenical Council to create a new "global entity" that will group 80 million Reformed Christians.

"This is a truly, truly important moment," said WARC president the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick after the alliance's executive committee, meeting in Trinidad, voted unanimously on 22 October to unite with the REC, whose executive committee had agreed to the proposal in March.

The Geneva-based WARC has 75 million members in 214 churches in 107 countries, while the Grand Rapids, Michigan-headquartered REC has 12 million members belonging to 39 churches in 25 countries. Of the REC's member churches, 27 also belong to WARC.

"We will be a stronger community which serves a wider part of the Reformed family," WARC general secretary the Rev. Setri Nyomi told Ecumenical News International.

The members of the two groupings trace their roots back to the 16th-century Reformation led by John Calvin, John Knox and others, as well as to earlier church reform movements such as the Waldensians in the Piedmont valleys of Italy, and the followers of Jan Hus in the Czech lands.

The REC's president, Dutch pastor the Rev. Douwe Visser, told ENI he hoped the decision to unite would lead to Reformed churches around the world having a "stronger voice".

WARC said that all member churches of the two existing groups at the time of union should become members of the new body, with the exception of churches under suspension in either organization. South Africa's Nederduitsch Hervomde Kerk van Afrika (a minority denomination of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa) is a member of the REC but was suspended from WARC in 1982 because of the church's support for apartheid.

The recommendation to create the new body to succeed WARC and REC came out of a meeting of leaders from the two groups in early 2006.

The leaders proposed the new body be called the "World Reformed Communion" but the WARC governing body has recommended further discussions about the name.

WARC traces its roots back to an alliance of Reformed churches founded in 1875, and to the International Congregational Council, which held its first meeting in 1891.

The REC was founded in 1946 as a grouping of Reformed churches that did not belong to WARC. But from the 1960s onwards some churches became members of both bodies.Printer-friendly pageImprimable

Deux rassemblements d'Eglises réformées se mettent d'accord pour la création d'un nouvel organisme mondial

Port d'Espagne, le 24 octobre (ENI\Stephen Brown) - L'Alliance réformée mondiale (ARM) a accepté de s'unir au Conseil œcuménique réformé (COR) pour former une nouvelle "entité mondiale" qui rassemblerait près de 87 millions de chrétiens réformés.

"Il s'agit d'un moment vraiment très important", a déclaré le pasteur Clifton Kirkpatrick, président de l'ARM, après la décision unanime prise le 22 octobre par le Comité exécutif de l'Alliance, réuni à Trinité-et-Tobago, de s'unir avec le COR, dont le Comité exécutif avait accepté la proposition en mars.

L'ARM, dont le siège est à Genève, compte 75 millions de membres, issus de 214 Eglises de 107 pays. Le COR, basé à Grand Rapids, dans le Michigan, a quant à lui 12 millions de membres, appartenant à 39 Eglises de 25 pays. Vingt-sept Eglises membres du COR font également partie de l'ARM.

"Nous serons une communauté plus forte, qui servira plus largement la famille réformée", a déclaré le pasteur Setri Nyomi, secrétaire général de l'ARM, au correspondant d'ENI.

Les membres des deux organisations sont issus de la Réforme menée entre autres par Jean Calvin et John Knox au XVIe siècle, ainsi que de mouvements de réforme de l'Eglise plus anciens, tels que les vaudois, dans les vallées italiennes du Piémont, et les fidèles de Jan Hus, sur les terres de Bohême.

Le pasteur néerlandais Douwe Visser, président du COR, a déclaré au correspondant d'ENI qu'il espérait que la décision d'union permettrait aux Eglises réformées du monde d'avoir "plus de voix".

L'ARM a déclaré que toutes les Eglises membres au moment de l'union des deux organisations existantes seraient membre de la nouvelle entité, à l'exception des Eglises faisant l'objet d'une suspension dans l'une ou l'autre des organisations. La Nederduitsch Hervomde Kerk van Afrika, une dénomination minoritaire de l'Eglise réformée néerlandaise d'Afrique du Sud, est membre du COR mais fut suspendu de l'ARM en 1982 en raison de son soutien à la politique d'apartheid.

La recommandation de créer une nouvelle organisation pour succéder à l'ARM et au COR fut proposée lors d'une réunion de responsables des deux groupes au début de 2006.

Les responsables avaient proposé que la nouvelle entité prenne pour nom "Communion réformée mondiale", mais l'organe directeur de l'ARM avait recommandé d'approfondir la discussion concernant le nom.

L'ARM est issue d'une alliance d'Eglises réformées fondée en 1875 et du Conseil congrégationaliste mondial, qui a tenu sa première réunion en 1891.

Le COR a été fondé en 1946 en tant que rassemblement d'Eglises réformées n'appartenant pas à l'ARM. Toutefois, à partir des années 60, certaines Eglises sont devenues membres des deux organisations.Printer-friendly pageImprimable

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon will be holding a Diocesan Eucharistic Congress from October 26-28, 2007. A Eucharistic Congress is not a common event in any diocese, so it will be as unfamiliar to Catholics as it is to other Christians. Essentially, the Congress is a period of intense study and reflection about the many dimensions of the eucharistic mystery. As Bishop Albert LeGatt describes it, "A Eucharistic Congress... is an occasion to gather all the baptized, the Body of Christ, for the purpose of giving praise to Christ for the gift of the Eucharist."

The general theme of the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress is "Bread of Love, Life for All." There will be three keynote speakers: Bishop Raymond Lahey of the Diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia; Fr. Edward Foley OFMCap, of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; and Sr. Theresa Koernke, IHM, of the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. In addition there will be a full day liturgical music workshop with Bob Hurd, a youth program, and a series of 22 special interest sessions on various aspects of the theme.

A complete list of the times, titles, and locations is available on the diocesan website. Some of the highlights of interest to ecumenists will be:

Friday, October 26

• Bob Hurd, Liturgical Music Workshop, at St. Thomas More College Chapel, at 10 a.m. Parking available in the Stadium Parkade on College Drive. Please bring a bag lunch. The STM cafeteria will also be open.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

• Fr. Bernard de Margerie, "Ecumenism: Christian Reconciliation and the Eucharist", at Sts. Martyrs-Canadiens hall, 1628-9th Ave. N. from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
• L'abbé Bernard de Margerie, "Réconciliation chrétienne et eucharistie", à Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens, 1011 rue Windsor, à 15:30h.
• Brooke & Blake Sittler, "Eucharist and Marriage", at St. John Bosco Parish, 1202 Ave. O South from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
• Harry Lafond, "Spirituality in a Cree / Catholic World", at St. Mary Parish Hall, 20th St. and Ave. O South from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
• Fr. Lawrence DeMong, OSB, "Eucharist and Ecological Spirituality", at St. Peter the Apostle Parish, 8 Moore Place from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

All events for the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress will be free of charge. There will be an opportunity to make a free-will offering at some venues.

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The 23rd annual Festival of Faith will be held on Sunday, October 28th at 2 p.m. This year's theme is "Side by Side in Faith." The Congregation Agudus Israel (715 McKinnon Ave.) will again host the religious community of Saskatoon for this important festival.

Come join in Saskatoon's multi-faith expression of its spiritual traditions expressed through speech, music, and dance - a celebration for all ages brought together from the four corners of the earth! Free admission. Refreshments served.

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The Ecumenical Health Care Network of the Canadian Council of Churches invites every congregation and community across the country to join in a time of celebration and renewal of Canada's commitment to ensuring the preservation and strengthening of its universal public health care system, better known as Medicare. To this end, we have named the week of November 18th "Celebrate Medicare Week."

In the past, Canada's churches have played an invaluable role in defending access to care based on need not on ability to pay, and as a living statement of how we care for one another in Canadian society. In the words of a former vice-president of the Canadian Council of Churches, Karen MacKay-Llewellyn, "Defending public health care in a system that promises accessibility to all Canadians at the same level of quality, is a matter at the heart of our Christian confession, and this must rest at the heart of our public witness."

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