Pastor Harry Strauss, co-chair of the Saskatoon Catholic and Evangelical Dialogue, has written a small group resource specifically for dialogue. It is entitled Catholics and Evangelicals in Dialogue: A Small Group Discussion Guide. It is 7 sessions in length, addressing the topics of revelation, the church, salvation, baptism, communion, the communion of the saints, and missional engagement. It is designed for laypeople, shaped as a user-friendly resource. Anticipated outcomes include new friendships, shaped around spiritually engaging conversations, and most importantly, relational growth in Jesus Christ. The material has been field tested some, with good results. However, there is a desire for additional testing. If interested in being part of this effort, particularly in initiating and leading a small group, please contact Pastor Harry Strauss at harry [at] forestgrovecc [dot] com or call 306-280-7147.
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A five-year discussion of baptism among Mennonites, Catholics and Lutherans has yielded new insights.

Representatives of the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Lutheran World Federation, and the Mennonite World Conference gathered Feb. 9-14 in Augsburg, Germany for the fifth and final meeting of the Trilateral Dialogue Commission on Baptism.

John Rempel of Canada said reflecting on each group’s practice of baptism helped participants learn to respect, trust and challenge each other.

“From the Lutherans, I have seen more clearly that their concern about justification by grace through faith is not that discipleship is a secondary matter,” said Rempel, who is professor emeritus of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., and the Toronto School of Theology. “Their concern is that following Christ be a lifestyle of gratitude for God’s grace and not good works to earn God’s favour.

“From the Catholics, I have learned that the sacrament of baptism does not have an automatic role in salvation. If someone persistently lives life against the Spirit of Christ, baptism will not save them.”
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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Governors of the Anglican Centre in Rome are very pleased to announce the appointment of Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, Primate of the Anglican Church of Burundi from 2005 until 2016 as the Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He succeeds Archbishop David Moxon who retires in June.

Born in 1948, Archbishop Ntahoturi grew up in a small village in Matana, Southern Burundi, the son of a poor farming family. After training at Bishop Tucker Theological College in Mukono, Uganda, he was ordained in 1973. He came to England to further his theological training at Ridley Hall and St John’s in Cambridge, where he is now an honorary Fellow, and then at Lincoln College, Oxford. After his studies, he returned to Burundi where he joined the civil service, becoming chief of staff to President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza. After the overthrowing of President Bagaza in 1987, in a military coup, he was jailed from 1987 to 1990. In 1992, he became Provincial Secretary of the Anglican Church of Burundi until 1997.
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