The Rev. Carlos Malave, who for the past 11 years has served as associate for ecumenical relations in the Office of the General Assembly, has accepted a call as executive director for Christian Churches Together (CCT).

Created in 2001, CCT is a forum of more than 35 churches and Christian organizations that encompasses the broad diversity of Christianity in the U.S. ― Evangelical, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostals, historic Protestant, Racial and Ethnic churches.

“I’m convinced CCT offers hope to our country for a reconciliation that’s inclusive of all Christian traditions,” Malave told Presbyterian News Service in a June 14 interview. His selection as CCT’s executive director was confirmed June 19. “CCT is still an experiment in the works,” Malave said. “There are still some gaps, but the intention and possibility of being fully inclusive is there.”
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Bishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson of the Anglican diocese of Qu’Appelle has been elected the new bishop for the diocese of Calgary. He replaces Bishop Derek Hoskin, who has retired.

The election took place at the diocesan synod held Jun. 16 at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Calgary.

In all, five candidates vied for the position. After the first electronic ballot, however, it came down to a very close race between Bishop Kerr-Wilson and the Ven. Ansley Tucker, the archdeacon of Bow Valley. To avoid a deadlock after six more ballots, the percentage of votes from both the clergy and lay houses were tallied.

Bishop Kerr-Wilson describes himself as an “evangelical, charismatic Catholic with liberal and conservative tendencies.” He is focused on moving forward constructively and building local leadership ” … rather than simply thinking about survival,” he says. “The church’s capital is its people and their faith.”
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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today appointed the Most Reverend Donald Bolen, Bishop of Saskatoon, as a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Before being named Bishop of Saskatoon in 2009, Bishop Bolen had served on the staff of the Pontifical Council from 2001 to 2008, with special responsibility for relations with the Anglican Communion and the World Methodist Council. In November, 2008, he was awarded the Cross of Saint Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury for his contributions to relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

Editor’s note: appointment as a member of the PCPCU means that Bishop Bolen will share with other bishops in guiding the work of the Pontifical Council. He remains bishop of Saskatoon. We have not lost him yet.
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Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops of Saskatchewan on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

From June 21st to 24th, Saskatoon will host one of the seven national gatherings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). We are writing to invite you to give serious attention to this gathering and its aims.

As many of you are aware, the Government of Canada organized ‘Indian Residential Schools’, most run by Christian churches, from the 1840s onward, with the last school closing in 1996. Not everything that happened at residential schools was negative, and many people worked there with good will and generosity. However, the schools were a part of a policy of deliberate cultural assimilation of Aboriginal peoples, and over the decades, much abuse took place at these schools. As the Catholic Church in Saskatchewan, we were involved in the residential schools and we recognize a moral responsibility and obligation to be involved in healing and reconciliation efforts.
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A preparatory meeting for the 16th session of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission identified areas of agreement and a considerable number of open questions and differences between the two traditions on their understanding of ministry/priesthood in the Church.

Meeting in London 5-10 May, representatives from The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Ecumenical Patriarchate began a new phase in the commission’s work by exploring the topic “The Understanding of Ministry/Priesthood in the light of the Holy Scriptures and the early Church,” which had been agreed at their 2011 meeting.
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