Au début des années 1990, Renaude Grégoire participe à divers rassemblements du Réseau oecuménique des femmes. En 1992, le rassemblement de la Pentecôte des femmes, sous le thème Oser la liberté, donne du souffle et permet de travailler sur les questions les plus urgentes aux niveaux oecuméniques et interreligieux. Dans les années 90, plusieurs séjours en Haïti lui permettent de partager la lecture libératrice de la Bible avec des jeunes de diverses églises. De 1996 à 2001, elle soutient activement la fondation et le ressourcement d'un mouvement de jeunes chrétiens, autonome au niveau organisationnel de l'institution ecclésiale, engagé pour le changement en Haïti.

Installée dans le quartier Pointe St-Charles depuis 1998, Renaude s'implique avec le Welfare Rights Committee et le Comité des sans emploi aux soupers mensuels de Saint Columba House (Église unie). Mais c'est en octobre 2001 que Renaude Grégoire peut participer activement à la création et la consolidation d'un réseau oecuménique québécois pour la paix, la justice et l'intégrité de la création. Le Réseau oecuménique justice et paix a son assemblée de fondation en janvier 2002. Elle sera la permanente du (ROJeP), regroupant une quarantaine de groupes chrétiens engagés socialement, jusqu'en septembre 2005. Elle aura le souci de partager, aux autres représentants de Kairos dans les diverses régions du Canada et aux permanents de l'organisation basée à Toronto, l'expérience québécoise sur les enjeux des dernières années : la situation des réfugiés et l'eau, bien commun de l'humanité. L'idée est que les divers groupes chrétiens travaillent ensemble pour que se réalise cette parole de Jésus : Que tous aient la vie et la vie en abondance (Jean 10, 10).

Parallèlement, elle animera une émission hebdomadaire d'une heure sur la justice sociale et la solidarité durant trois ans sur les ondes de Radio Ville-Marie où elle aura un souci d'inviter les groupes chrétiens et membres de diverses Églises, engagés pour la transformation de la société. De plus, elle a participé régulièrement à la table-ronde des directeurs et rédacteurs de revue d'autres organisations catholiques, protestantes et oecuméniques, émission radiophonique diffusée une fois par mois.

En juillet 2005, Renaude Grégoire relève un nouveau défi comme directrice de la programmation à Radio Ville-Marie. Radio Ville-Marie est un média chrétien d'esprit oecuménique qui favorise le dialogue entre les grandes confessions chrétiennes reconnues.<.p>

Carmen Lansdowne, intern at the Marengo Pastoral Charge, United Church of Canada, and member of the World Council of Churches' Central Committee. Carmen was a participant in the WCC's recent Assembly in Porto Alegré, Brazil, and will bring us 'hot news' from the Assembly and share her vision for the WCC's future.

Nick Jesson, lecturer in religious studies at St Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, and PhD student in ecumenical theology, Toronto School of Theology will provide an introduction to the WCC history, self-understanding, and ministries giving us a greater understanding of the WCC's work and why it matters to local people committed to Christian unity and reconciliation.

The Rt. Rev. Rod Andrews, Anglican Bishop of Saskatoon, will give an opening message.

When: April 22 from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration and coffee at 8:30 a.m.
Where: St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 436 Spadina Cres. East, Saskatoon (at 20th St.)
Parking: Free parking lot available to south of church
Cost: Free of charge (A donation basket for the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism will be available)

The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism will be hosting a very special retreat this summer, perhaps a unique event in Canada. Pastors and members of three very different church traditions – the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Mennonite Church Saskatchewan and the Foursquare Gospel Church – will spend three days together sharing their treasures of corporate worship and private devotion. Each worship session will be led by a member of the tradition to which it belongs, with explanations of the service's meaning and time for questions. In addition we will be introduced to ways of private prayer and devotion characteristic of these traditions, with explanations and private time in which to 'try out' different types of prayer for ourselves.

The retreat will run from Thursday suppertime until Saturday afternoon, to enable clergy and lay people to attend. It will not be a silent retreat, though parts of the house will be reserved for silent prayer. Individual spiritual guidance is available on request.

Costs: $175 live-in, $150 commuters. Please register with Queen's House directly (tel. 306-242-1916) by May 10 to ensure the viability of this event. If you would like more information about the retreat, contact the PCE at (306) 653-1633. This event will be held in lieu of the 2006 Summer Ecumenical Institute.

A registration form and brochure is available online at www.ecumenism.net/sei/2006_sei_retreat.pdf.

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all...Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12: 4-7)

At the beginning of the 1990s, Renaude Grégoire participated in various activities of the Women's Ecumenical Network. In 1992, the women's gathering at Pentecost, using the theme Dare Freedom, brought a breath of fresh air and began work on the most urgent ecumenical and interfaith questions. During the 90s, several visits to Haiti allowed her to share in the liberating reading of the Bible with young people from various churches. From 1996 to 2001, she was active in founding and advising a movement of young Christians, structurally independent of the official Churches but committed to change in Haiti.

A resident of the neighbourhood of Point St Charles since 1998, Renaude has been involved with the Welfare Rights Committee and the Committee of Unemployed in preparing monthly suppers at St. Columban House (United Church). But it was in October 2001 that Renaude Grégoire could join actively in the creation and development of an ecumenical network in Quebec for justice, peace and the integrity of creation (now known as ROJeP). This network was officially launched at an assembly in January 2002, and Renaude was the staff person for this group, which has some forty member institutions, Christian organizations with a social commitment, until September 2005. She had the privilege of sharing with the other delegates to Kairos from the various regions of Canada and with the staff in Toronto, the Quebec experience of the major issues of recent years: the plight of refugees and water, a common heritage for all humanity. The idea was to have the various Christian groups work together to demonstrate this saying of Jesus: They shall have life, and they shall have it in abundance (Jn 10:10).

For three years, she produced a weekly broadcast of sixty minutes on social justice and solidarity for Radio Ville-Marie, inviting Christian groups and members of various Churches who were committed to a transformation of society. She also participated regularly in the monthly panel of directors and editors of the magazines of other Roman Catholic, Protestant and ecumenical organizations.

In July 2005, Renaude Grégoire took on a new challenge as Director of Programming at Radio Ville-Marie. Radio Ville-Marie is an ecumenically-minded Christian FM station which encourages dialogue among the major Christian denominations.

To promote and recognize grass-roots ecumenical leadership on the local or regional level, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism confers an annual Ecumenical Leadership Award. Nominations may be made directly to the Centre by email.

Church groups and other civil society groups are ready to act, they say, to partner with federal, provincial, and territorial governments and develop housing that is "long overdue and desperately needed."

"Unless you take decisive action to allocate these funds," the church leaders say, "we fear they may simply revert to debt reduction -- making only a marginal difference to Canada's economy and doing precious little to address the social and infrastructural deficits behind Canada's crisis of homelessness and affordable housing."

The four leaders remind the Prime Minister, who has asked God to bless Canada, of the words of the prophet Isaiah, explaining that God blesses you "when you share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house."

"We are asking you to spend tax dollars now in a way that will help to bring the homeless poor into their own house, and allow them the dignity of sharing their bread with others."

Link: Letter to Prime Minister Harper (PDF file)

For more information, please contact Maylanne Maybee, Justice education Coordinator, the Anglican Church of Canada; 416-924-9199, ext 219; email: .

Source: Anglican Church of Canada

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