Anglican-United dialogue to work towards interchangeability of ministries

 — May 21, 201421 mai 2014

The Anglican and United Church of Canada dialogue has issued an interim report that proposes “to explore what steps can be taken to make a mutual exchange of ministries between our two churches normative.” As a first step, the dialogue members propose to explore the interchangeability between the order of priests in the Anglican Church and ordained ministers in the United Church. The interim report, prepared in January, has been received by the respective churches and was published May 20. Approving the proposal, the two churches have asked the dialogue to report on its progress in time for the Anglican General Synod in 2016.

The latest “iteration” of the dialogue between the Anglican and United churches began in January 2012. The dialogue was established in 2003 and issued a report in 2009 entitled “Drawing from the Same Well: The St. Brigid Report.” A Plan of Union between the two churches was unsuccessful forty years ago. The old Plan of Union collapsed when the Anglican House of Bishops failed to support it, largely due to concerns with maintaining the historic episcopate.

The dialogue has spent considerable time examining orders of ministry, sacraments, and creeds, and they have noted particular differences in the way their churches order ministry. “However, we are also cognisant that such differences have been successfully navigated in numerous Ecumenical Shared Ministries, which have been for decades served interchangeably by both United Church and Anglican clergy. We have also learned from similar ecumenical dialogues in other parts of the world how it is possible to move beyond differences to achieve mutual exchanges of ministries for the purposes of mission.”

The dialogue is approaching the proposed interchangeability of ministries from a missional perspective. The old Plan of Union was for the sake of mission: “We desire that union should make possible more effective participation in God’s mission both in Canada and throughout the world” (Plan of Union, no. 8). “But,” the dialogue reports, “the missional conviction that drove the framers of the Plan of Union remains our conviction, too. Our two churches are called still to be effective partners in God’s mission in this land and beyond…. We look forward to having the time and space to discern where the Spirit might be leading our churches, responding to Jesus’ desire that we may be one, for the sake of God’s mission in the world.”

Representing the Anglican Church of Canada
The Rev. Dr. William Harrison (co-chair); The Rev. Dr. Gordon Jensen (ELCIC); The Ven. Dr. Lynne McNaughton; The Rev. Dr. Paula Sampson; The Rev. Stephen Silverthorne; The Ven. Bruce Myers (staff)

Representing the United Church of Canada
The Rev. Dr. Andrew O’Neill (co-chair); The Rev. Dr. Sandra Beardsall; The Rev. Alf Dumont; The Rev. Elisabeth Jones; The Rev. Donald Koots; Dr. Gail Allan (staff)

Posted: May 21, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7601
Categories: News • In this article: Anglican Church of Canada, dialogue, ministry, ordination, United Church of Canada Transmis : 21 mai 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7601
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Anglican Church of Canada, dialogue, ministry, ordination, United Church of Canada