Ecumenism in Canada / Oecuménisme au Canada

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• Yom Ha'Shoah - Holocaust Memorial 2007
• Still We Rise!
• New papal reflection on evolution
• Sustainability and Faith
• Social Justice Institute - May 3 - 5, 2007
• L'Arche Ecumenical Prayer Night

Yom Ha'Shoah - Holocaust Memorial 2007

The annual Holocaust Memorial presentation is on Sunday, April 22nd at 1:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Centre, 7115 McKinnon Avenue, Saskatoon. The keynote speaker will be Isaac Gottfried, who was born in Poland in 1925, and is a Holocaust survivor. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Technorati tags: Mots clés : saskatoon, holocaust, shoah,
Posted: April 22, 2007 Transmis : 22 avril 2007

Still We Rise!

The Saskatoon Children's Choir (SCC), under the direction of Artistic Director Phoebe Voigts, presents its annual spring concert "Still We Rise!" Friday, April 20, 7:30 pm at Third Avenue United Church in Saskatoon.

The performance, featuring the 125 voices of the award-winning Saskatoon Children's Choir and accompanist Michelle Aalders, will present an international repertoire focused on HIV and AIDS awareness.

Also included on the program are works by contemporary Canadian composers Imant Raminsh, Peter Tiefenbach and Stephen Hatfield, as well as classical folk and choral literature. Tickets are $15.00 and are available at McNally Robinson Booksellers or at the door. Reserved seating.

For more information about the choir, check the choir website at www.saskatoonchildrenschoir.org

Technorati tags: Mots clés : saskatoon, choir, hiv, aids,
Posted: April 20, 2007 Transmis : 20 avril 2007

New papal reflection on evolution
by par Nicholas Jesson

Signed articles do not necessarily represent the opinions of "Ecumenism in Canada" or the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism.

Les articles signés ne représentent pas nécessairement les avis de "Oecuménisme au Canada" ou le Prairie Centre for Ecumenism.

On Wednesday April 11, Pope Benedict XVI published a new book in German on the subject of creation and evolution. The book apparently arises out of the Schülerkreis, a group of his graduate students that continue to meet with him each fall. The annual gatherings have attracted a great deal of attention since Benedict was elected pope, particularly because the participants -- each a former student of Benedict -- represent some of the most well-known and highly-regarded theologians in Germany and around the world. In 2006 the gathering was held at Castel Gandolfo on the subject of creation and evolution.

It should be remembered that, in his 1950 encyclical Humanae Generis, Pope Pius XII taught that the "hypothesis" of evolution does not conflict with Catholic faith so long as it does not deny "that the spiritual soul is immediately created by God." In 1996, John Paul II went further and stated that new knowledge leads to the recognition that the theory of evolution is more than an hypothesis. He pointed out, as many biologists would also insist, that there are "theories" of evolution rather than one theory.

John Paul II was concerned about the relationship of faith and reason, which he insisted are not in conflict. With this assertion, he reinforced the clear philosophical and theological teaching of the Catholic Church since the time of the great Scholastics in the late Middle Ages. Benedict XVI has also picked up this theme, most memorably in his lecture at Regensburg in September 2006. At that time, his quote of a Byzantine emperor about Islam, and the implication that Islam is a violent religion, was the focus of most of the news reports. However, the Regensburg lecture was actually concerned with Benedict's insistence that Christian faith and Greek philosophy form a synthesis that is the foundation of European society. This synthesis presumes that hellenized Christianity is normative, affirms the Christian character of Europe, and defends the role of religious thought in modern intellectual discourse.

In this latest publication, Benedict reportedly praises the progress achieved by science but cautions that evolution raises philosophical questions that science alone cannot answer. Despite some expectations to the contrary, he did not endorse intelligent design, the latest fad among creationists. Instead he cautions that science and philosophy must engage in their respective inquiries in such a way that faith is not excluded. In a comment on John Paul II's 1996 statement, Benedict apparently wrote: "The pope (John Paul) had his reasons for saying this. But it is also true that the theory of evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory."

The book, entitled Schöpfung und Evolution, was published Wednesday by Sankt Ulrich Verlag. In addition to Benedict's contributions, the book contains papers prepared by members of the Schülerkreis. Translations in other languages will be forthcoming.

Another papal book will also be released this spring. Jesus of Nazareth: From the baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration will be released on May 15. It is already available for pre-order at major bookstores and through Amazon.ca.

Technorati tags: Mots clés : benedict xvi, ratzinger, evolution, creation,
Posted: April 13, 2007 Transmis : 13 avril 2007
More entries by Nicholas Jesson

Sustainability and Faith

A forum on religions' contribution to a sustainable Saskatoon will be held April 12-13 at Nutana Park Mennonite Church, 1701 Ruth Street. Road Map 2020 and Multi-Faith Saskatoon are collaborating to present a forum on sustainability and faith.

Most Saskatonians identify with a religious or spiritual perspective. Our city’s faith communities could accelerate a movement toward a more sustainable future by making links between spiritual values and a just, healthy and sustainable city and world.

Public talk: Thursday, April 12, 7:30p.m. Guest speaker: Gary Gardner, Director of Research, Worldwatch Institute. Author of Inspiring Progress: Religions’ Contribution to Sustainable Development. Admission is free (donations accepted)

Workshop: Friday, April 13, 8:30a.m.-3:30p.m. $15 per person. Lunch provided. Childcare available. Pre-registration required

Everyone is welcome to attend, including all spiritually-minded people and members of faith communities and environmental groups. For further information: www.roadmap2020.ca/events/faith-sustainability.pdf.

Technorati tags: Mots clés : environment, saskatoon, interreligious, events,
Posted: April 12, 2007 Transmis : 12 avril 2007

Social Justice Institute - May 3 - 5, 2007

Whose Story? Whose Justice? Imagining Alternatives

We hear many stories in this age of instant communication and all-news media. There are the culturally dominant stories of consumerism, individualism, domination, economic growth and environmental destruction. There are the stories of the homeless, immigrants, refugees, Aboriginals, voices from the South and the voice of the planet. And as Christians we hear the Biblical stories and those of our faith traditions.

How are these stories interconnected? What do these stories have to say about justice in our world today? How could we respond to these sometimes conflicting stories? What alternatives are there and how can we contribute to creating them?

Come together with others for the whole event or for just one day, hearing and analyzing these stories, reflecting, praying, sharing our own stories, and imagining an alternative world with ideas and actions to take home with you.

Keynote Speakers: Lee Cormie (St. Michael's College, University of Toronto); Paul Hansen, CSsR (Chair of the Board of Kairos-Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives); and Kathy Vandergrift (Make Poverty History, Citizens for Public Justice, the Canadian Council of Churches Commission on Justice and Peace, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, Child Soldiers Coalition)

This ecumenical event has been organized in cooperation with: Alberta Synod-Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC); Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace; Kairos-Edmonton; The Kings University College; Newman Theological College; St. Joseph's College, University of Alberta; and The United Church of Canada.

This ecumenical event will be held at Newman Theological College, Edmonton, May 3-5, 2007. Overnight accomodation & meals available. For brochure with agenda, registration form & more information contact 780-467-2833 or email: or see the conference website.

Technorati tags: Mots clés : justice, conferences, events,
Posted: April 5, 2007 Transmis : 5 avril 2007

L'Arche Ecumenical Prayer Night

All are invited to an ecumenical Friends of L'Arche Prayer Night, hosted by the L'Arche Saskatoon Project, on Tuesday, April 3 from 7:00-7:45 pm in the chapel at Queen's House (601 Taylor St. W). We will be participating in a liturgy of the washing of one another's feet. L'Arche Saskatoon Project is part of an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together in the spirit of the Gospel and of the Beatitudes that Jesus preached. For more information, contact Wyndham Thiessen at 262-7243 or Robert and Margaret Sanche at 374-5501.

Technorati tags: Mots clés : l'arche, prayer, ecumenism, events,
Posted: April 3, 2007 Transmis : 3 avril 2007