Orthodox-Catholic Consultation Studies Nature of Communion, Authority

[Washington • USCCB] The seventy-sixth meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation took place at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, June 1 to 3. The session, hosted by the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), was co-chaired by Metropolitan Maximos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh and Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
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SEI 2009: Prairie Centre hosts Summer Ecumenical Institute

A national Summer Ecumenical Institute was held June 2 – 5 in Saskatoon, with some 50 participants taking stock of the ecumenical movement, renewing their vision and commitment to reconciliation and unity among Christians.

Organized and hosted by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, the event featured Rev. Tom Ryan, CSP, as facilitator. Ryan is the director of the Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, based in Washington, DC. A former director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism in Montreal, Ryan examined the past, present and future of the ecumenical movement in three keynote addresses. He also explored the question of inter-religious prayer in a workshop session June 3.

… read the entire article at ecumenism.net/news/
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Christian unity has come a long way in the past 50 years, but there is still a long way to go in the face of many complex factors that are slowing progress, said Rev. Tom Ryan, CSP, director of the Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, based in Washington, D.C.

“During the past four decades, the rediscovery of our brotherhood and sisterhood in Christ, along with the result of several bilateral and multilateral dialogues, have presented an historical shift and a new situation,” he said during a keynote address June 4 at a Summer Ecumenical Institute held in Saskatoon. “There is a new situation emerging in which we can be said to be facing a crisis in the dual sense of the term: on the one hand danger, and on the other hand opportunity.”

Paradoxically, the crisis in today’s ecumenical movement is related to its success. “The closer we come to one another, the more we feel the differences that still exist,” Ryan said. “After resolving many misunderstandings and establishing a basic consensus concerning the essentials of our faith, we’ve now reached the inner core of our differences.”
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SEI 2009: Formation of Catholics on unity still ‘severely lacking’

Four panelists reflected on the state of the ecumenical movement during a Summer Ecumenical Institute organized by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism June 2 – 5 in Saskatoon.

The churches and their leadership need a new conversion to Christian unity, said Rev. Bernard de Margerie, founder of the Prairie Centre. “The journey has become too long, too heavy, and light has dimmed.”

… read the entire article at ecumenism.net/news/
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US Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Explores Eucharist, Environment

[Washington • USCCB] Care for one’s bodily health is linked to care for the body of the Church and for material creation, Methodist Bishop Timothy Whitaker said in a sermon during the second meeting of Round 7 of the Methodist-Catholic Dialogue at St. Paul’s College in Washington, June 15-17.
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Catholic bishops of G8 countries on the July G8 summit

In a letter to leaders participating in the G8 Summit in Italy, July 8-10, the presidents of the Catholic bishops’ conferences of the G8 nations urged Summit leaders to “take concerted actions to protect poor persons and assist developing countries.”

Summary: Bishops note that those who contributed least to current crises may suffer the most; Urge G8 not to cut international aid for poor countries as result of economic crisis; Ask G8 leaders to combat climate change and protect the most vulnerable people.
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A comprehensive account of the Anglican Communion’s ecumenical work has been published by the Anglican Communion Office. The Vision Before Us, subtitled ‘The Kyoto Report of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations 2000-2008’, records the Commission’s work of maintaining an overview of the Anglican Communion’s engagement with Christians of other traditions, and of giving encouragement and advice to the ecumenical activities of the Communion and the Provinces.
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Voici le numéro de fin de printemps d’Ensemble. Le Conseil Canadien des Églises a été particulièrement occupé au cours des derniers mois. Son Conseil de direction s’est élu de nouveaux membres. Nous avons écrit un bon nombre de lettres au gouvernement fédéral sur des questions relatives à la confidentialité génétique, la guerre civile au Sri Lanka, la traite des personnes et les soins de santé au Canada. Nous nous sommes joints à Twitter, vous vous êtes joints à nous. Nous avons préparé L’impératif divin de la défense des droits, un recueil de réflexions sur la place de la religion dans l’espace public. Nous nous sommes également rendus à Winnipeg et à Ottawa, deux villes animées d’un esprit œcuménique palpable.
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Welcome to a late spring edition of Together. These past few months have been especially busy around The Canadian Council of Churches. The Governing Board elected a new executive. Quite a few letters have been sent to the federal government on issues relating to genetic privacy, the civil war in Sri Lanka, human trafficking, and heath care in Canada. We joined Twitter, and you joined us. The Gospel Imperative to Advocacy, a collection of reflections on faith and its relationship to the public square. We also visited Winnipeg and Ottawa – two cities filled with a palpable ecumenical spirit.
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Peace and Justice? Mennonite and Shiite perspectives in dialogue

Seventeen Mennonite-Christian and Shiite-Muslim scholars of religion met together for four days in Qom, Iran, to discuss the theme of peace and justice. The dialogue conference was planned and hosted May 24-27, 2009 by the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute (IKERI), under the direction of its president, Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) organized and sponsored the conference from the Mennonite side. The dialogue was the fourth in a series begun in 2002.

— read the complete story on our website
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The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) has told members of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) that he believes churches should be motivated to engage in a movement for “ecumenical tithing”. Referring to the Christian tradition of church members giving ten percent of their earnings to the church, Sam Hwan Kim
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Marchons ensemble : Documentation 2009 sur la justice raciale

Une nouvelle ressource conçue par le Réseau œcuménique canadien contre le racisme pour aider les Canadiens à engager le dialogue avec la Commission Vérité et réconciliation sur les pensionnats autochtones et à mieux comprendre l’héritage de colonisation avec lequel les peuples autochtones vivent aujourd’hui.
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Let Us Walk Together: Racial Justice Resource 2009

A new resource from the Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network (CEARN) designed to help Canadians to engage with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools and to better understand the legacies of colonization that Aboriginal peoples live with today.
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An extract from the report of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee to the Presbyterian Church in Canada‘s 135th General Assembly, June 2009
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