An international Anglican commission considered a number of ongoing and proposed ecumenical dialogues at its meeting in Dublin from Sept. 12-19, according to a news release from the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS).

The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) “reflected on the Christian calling to work for the visible unity of God’s Church as ambassadors for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation,” according to ACNS.

The commission received updates from ecumenical dialogues with Lutherans, Methodists, the Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholics. Regarding Anglican-related work, the group discussed the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant, the Anglican “instruments of communion,” theological anthropology and reception.
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The Biblical Foundations of the Doctrine of Justification – a publication documenting ecumenical partners’ follow up on the historic agreement by Lutherans and Roman Catholics on the doctrine of justification – is now available in English and German languages.
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In the name of the Triune God, and with the blessing and guidance of our Churches, the International Commission for Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue (ICAOTD) met at the University of Chester, United Kingdom during 3-10 September 2012. The Commission is grateful for the hospitality extended by the Anglican Communion. The ICAOTD is continuing in its in-depth study of Christian anthropology, particularly in regard to what it means to be a human person created in the image and likeness of God. The Commission discussed the draft of its joint theological work on this subject, developed through the collaborative studies of previous meetings and enriched by presentations at this meeting on nature and grace, marriage, celibacy and friendship, and creation. Recognizing the need for our churches to address the urgent issues of contemporary humanity, the Commission explored the application of its study, particularly in the area of ecology.
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The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I publicly reaffirmed the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s commitment to the vision and mission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 3 September. He was addressing participants of the WCC Central Committee meeting in Crete, Greece. “The commitment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the vision and mission of the WCC – from the early formative and creative years through even the more difficult and contentious moments – has always been unwavering and paramount,” said Bartholomew I.
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On our ecumenical journey we have come to understand more about God’s call to the Church to serve the unity of all creation. The vocation of the Church is to be: foretaste of new creation; prophetic sign to the whole world of the life God intends for all; and servant spreading the good news of God’s Kingdom of justice, peace and love.
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Au cours de notre cheminement œcuménique, nous sommes parvenus à mieux comprendre l’appel lancé par Dieu à l’Église à servir l’unité de l’ensemble de la création. La vocation de l’Église est d’être: un avant-goût de la nouvelle création, un signe prophétique, pour le monde entier, de la vie nouvelle que Dieu veut pour toutes et tous, ainsi qu’un serviteur propageant la Bonne Nouvelle du Royaume de justice, de paix et d’amour de Dieu.
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The first ecumenical affirmation of mission since 1982, invoking a new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst a changing world and ecclesial landscape, has been presented to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The statement, titled “Together towards life: Mission and Evangelism in changing landscapes”, was prepared by the WCC’s Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). It was presented to the WCC Central Committee on Thursday, 30 August.
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One of Canada’s most eminent theologians and one of the greatest Catholic experts in ecumenism has died. Margaret O’Gara, Professor of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, entered the realm of eternal life on Thursday, August 16, at age 65. She had suffered from cancer for two years.

In 37 years of work as a theologian O’Gara was able to foster dialogue among Christians for the sake of overcoming divisions between the churches. Besides her teaching, research, writing, and extensive public lecturing, she was a member of official ecumenical dialogues in Canada, the United States, and at the international level. She served terms as president of both the North American Academy of Ecumenists and the Catholic Theological Society of America.
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The United Church of Canada, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, has approved a recommendation to boycott products produced in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. The intent is to bring pressure to bear on the government of Israel to stop expansion of the settlements and end the occupation. The church’s General Council, its senior decision-making body, received the recommendation last week at its meeting in Ottawa. More than 350 elected delegates met for the eight-day event that concluded August 18. The recommendations were approved on August 15 and the policy paper was approved on August 17.
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The sixth meeting of the Anglican-Jewish Commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office took place at Mansfield College, Oxford, on July 31 and Aug. 1, 2012.

The commission’s mandate provides for the archbishop and two chief rabbis (one each from the Ahkenazi and Sephardi communities) to meet each year alternately in England and Jerusalem. It also provides for an annual meeting to study agreed-on themes and the arrangement of other meetings that include the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, The Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani.

The meeting’s theme was religion and democracy in both faith traditions. A paper by Dr. Jane Clements on Anglicanism and the secular state explored the dynamic between the kingdom of God and the earthly realm in scriptural interpretation.
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Ecumenical and inter-faith groups across the United States are planning vigils and rallies beginning August 12 to express their solidarity with Sikhs in the wake of a gunman’s attack on August 5 at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Six people were killed and three others injured when Wade Michael Page, 40, a U.S. Army veteran described as a “frustrated neo-Nazi,” stormed into the temple in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee.

National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC) President Kathryn Lohre has urged Christians to participate in the events planned by the Groundswell Movement, a multi-faith social justice initiative based in New York City.

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On July 28, the Anglican diocese of Saskatchewan will convene a general assembly to elect a diocesan indigenous bishop as well as members of a new indigenous council.

The election will take place following changes to the diocese’s constitution and canons that provide indigenous members with greater self-determination.

The three candidates nominated for the position are: The Ven. Adam Halkett, archdeacon of the diocese; the Rev. Beryl Whitecap, incumbent at Little Red River Reserve; and The Rev. Canon Park Buck, priest-in-charge at the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Cumberland House.
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The Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity had its fourth meeting from 12-19 July 2012 at the “Johann-Adam-Möhler-Institut für Ökumenik” in Paderborn, Germany. This is the fifth round for an official dialogue which began already in 1967. Looking toward the 500th Reformation anniversary in 2017, the Commission noted that this year will mark also the 50th anniversary of this process of dialogue. Harvesting the results of this ecumenical work, the Commission finalized a document “From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017.”
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The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomes the decision of the Federal Government to appeal all aspects of the British Columbia Supreme Court decision on assisted suicide, rendered June 15, 2012. We agree with the statement by Federal Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson, that “laws surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide exist to protect all Canadians, including those who are most vulnerable, such as people who are sick or elderly or people with disabilities”.

In a statement issued June 18, 2012, the CCCB President, Most Reverend Richard W. Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton, underscored the importance of respecting the gift of life, from the moment of conception until natural death. He reminded us: “We are the stewards, not the owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2280)

The CCCB will continue to monitor this issue closely and offer its perspective as it unfolds.
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by Julia Smucker

For about the past five years, I have been a participant in the Mennonite/Catholic ecumenical movement known as Bridgefolk – first as a Mennonite drawn toward communion with the Catholic Church but also strongly connected to my ecclesial heritage, and now as a Catholic seeking to maintain that connection with the church that formed me. I had agonized over the choice I was presented with in the unavoidable reality that joining with one communion would mean breaking with another, and wondered whether I could do so without it being tantamount to a rejection, a cutting off of my roots. And then I discovered a group of people who had been agonizing over this division for years before me. In the many honest and in-depth discussions I’ve been a part of since, it’s been clear that these people who are doing their best to bridge two Christian traditions share a deep longing for a fuller communion than we are as yet able to have, as well as an acute awareness that what we long for cannot be attained quickly or easily.
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On July 16, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Sylvain Lavoie, O.M.I., Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, Manitoba, according to canon 401, §2, and at the same time appointed Father William Stang, O.M.I., as Apostolic Administrator of the same Archdiocese.
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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today appointed the Reverend Gregory Bittman as Auxiliary Bishop of Edmonton, Alberta. He will assist the Archbishop of Edmonton, the Most Reverend Richard W. Smith, who is also President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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The discovery of a new sub-atomic particle — the so-called Higgs boson — may help scientists discover how the hidden structure of all matter in the universe works, a Vatican astronomer said.
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At a historic meeting in Malaysia, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order approved a new theological agreement and proposed a major restructuring of its work in the future.

The commission approved the text on “The Church: Towards a Common Vision” the second convergence document in the history of Faith and Order. The WCC director of Faith and Order, Canon John Gibaut, explains that “this ‘convergence’ text show how closely the members of the commission are able to come together to agree on what it means to be the one Church of Jesus Christ. The agreement reached by the commission then will be tested among the churches.”

— Read the complete story on our website
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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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The Anglican Church of Canada has entered a new round of dialogue with the United Church of Canada. The aim is to explore ways in which the two churches can work together for more effective ministry and mission.

“Much of the impetus for these conversations is coming from the grassroots of our two churches,” says Archdeacon Bruce Myers, the Anglican church’s coordinator for ecumenical relations. “Many communities across Canada are served by ecumenical shared ministries in which Anglicans and United church people and clergy work and worship side by side. They’re asking our churches’ leadership to find ways to facilitate such cooperation in mission and ministry.”

To that end, 12 new representatives from the two denominations met in Toronto May 14 to May 17 at St. John’s Convent, the headquarters of the Sisters of St. John the Divine. In addition to theological conversation, the group shared common prayer, meals and fellowship.
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This Pentecost Sunday, May 27, Anglican and Lutheran leaders in the Holy Land will issue a joint pastoral letter informing their churches that they are fully committed to establishing closer relations, and in time, full communion. The letter was a result of a meeting held in Jerusalem May 15 to 21 in which national leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) were invited to share their journey into full communion.

Read the complete story by Marites N. Sison from the Anglican Journal
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Two of Canada’s leading voices in interfaith relations will be honored by Pope Benedict XVI — Dr. Victor Goldbloom and the Rev. Irénée Beaubien.

Goldbloom, a pioneer in Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Quebec, will receive the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Sylvester Pope and Martyr at a 4 September ceremony in Montreal. … Established in 1905, the award is one of five Orders of Knighthood awarded directly by the pope. Past recipients have included Holocaust hero Oskar Schindler and the Aga Khan.

Beaubien, a Montreal Jesuit and leader in Quebec’s ecumenical movement, on the same day will receive the pontifical medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, created by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 for extraordinary service to the Roman Catholic Church and papacy.
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The Catholic Church’s relationship to Judaism as taught by the Second Vatican Council and the interpretations and developments of that teaching by subsequent popes, “are binding on a Catholic,” said the Vatican official responsible for relations with the Jews. Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke to reporters May 16 after delivering a speech on Catholic-Jewish relations in light of Vatican II’s declaration “Nostra Aetate” on the church’s relations with non-Christian religions. The afternoon speech followed Cardinal Koch’s participation in a meeting of the doctrinal congregation to examine the latest progress in the Vatican’s reconciliation talks with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X.

“There are questions to clarify in discussions with this community. I can’t say more than that,” he told reporters, echoing a Vatican statement saying the reconciliation talks are ongoing. In addition to the highly publicized position of Bishop Richard Williamson, an SSPX bishop who denies the Holocaust, public statements by the society’s superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay, leave in doubt whether the society as a whole accepts the entirety of “Nostra Aetate,” including its condemnations of anti-Semitism and of the idea that the Jews were to blame for the death of Jesus.

“All the doctrinal decisions of the church are binding on a Catholic, including the Second Vatican Council and all its texts,” Cardinal Koch said when asked if the SSPX would be expected to accept all the teachings of Vatican II. “The ‘Nostra Aetate’ declaration of the Second Vatican Council is a clear decree and is important for every Catholic,” he added. At the same time, Cardinal Koch said, “it is very necessary to make clear the difference between the position of the Society of St. Pius X and the negation of the Shoah (the Holocaust), which is a position that has no place in the Catholic Church. It is very clear.”
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After years of preparation, a new Christian denomination will be formed this week in France when two synods meet in the eastern town of Belfort, a location historically important in the growth of Protestantism.

The Reformed Church of France (L’Église Réformée de France, ERF) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (L’Église Évangélique Luthérienne de France, EELF) are merging to form the United Protestant Church of France (L’Église Protestante Unie). The new entity will be a reality after the churches’ synods meet 17-20 May, said Pastor Laurent Schlumberger, president of the ERF’s national council.
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The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) today released a pastoral letter on freedom of conscience and religion. Issued by the CCCB Permanent Council, the letter expresses concern about an “aggressive relativism” in Canada that seeks to relegate religion to the private sphere.

“Legitimate secularity draws a distinction between religion and politics, between Church and state,” the pastoral letter states, but is open to the engagement of religious beliefs and faith communities in public debate and civic life. “Radical secularism”, however, excludes religion from the public square “and from freely engaging in the public debate necessary for shaping civic life.”
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Hong Kong – As the 4 to 10 May meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) drew to a close, participants emphasized the importance of social witness and openness in ecumenical dialogue.

“There seem to be many obstacles from a human point of view, and it does not seem likely to have fully visible unity in the near future,” New Zealand Anglican Archbishop David Moxon, the co-chairperson of the meeting, said on May 8. “We can, however, do a lot of things together during this slow process,” he added.

“As we discussed in the meeting, there can be more collaborations between us, such as (humanitarian agencies) Caritas International and the Global Anglican Relief and Development Alliance,” he said.

The Hong Kong ecumenical gathering is the second meeting for the third phase of ARCIC, which is focused on the examining the question of moral decision-making within the local and universal church.
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The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has completed the second meeting of its new phase (ARCIC III), at the Mission to Seafarers in Kowloon, Hong Kong (3-10 May 2012).

The Commission, chaired by the Most Revd David Moxon (Anglican Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses) and the Most Revd Bernard Longley (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham) comprises nineteen theologians from a wide range of backgrounds across the world. According to the mandate given to it by the two Communions, the Commission is addressing interrelated issues: the Church as Communion, local and universal, and how in communion the local and universal Church come to discern right ethical teaching. The Commission has also been mandated to present the documents of ARCIC II for reception by the relevant authorities of both communions. Accordingly, the Commission is reviewing responses already received in order to prepare some elucidations, together with commentaries, which will enable the material of ARCIC II to be studied at all levels of the churches’ life.

Read more on “Ecumenism in Canada”
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The Archbishop of Birmingham has said he understands those frustrated with ecumenical dialogue but stressed the long term aim is “full visible unity”. Archbishop Bernard Longley was speaking to The Tablet days before members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) gathered for their latest round of meetings in Hong Kong, which was due to start on Friday.
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After several hundred years of separation, members of six Pan-Methodist denominations have committed to ministry together. The United Methodist Church (UMC) is the last of the denominations to adopt the full communion agreement, which was celebrated May 1 during the 2012 UMC General Conference.
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As religious leaders from Ukraine sat in the gallery, the House of Commons passed unanimously on April 24 a motion honouring Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky for his courageous efforts to save Jews during the Second World War.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s motion said Sheptytsky, who headed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1900 until his death in 1944, courageously spoke out against violence against Jews and sheltered and saved the lives of more than 160 Ukrainian Jews, many of them children.

“This House is united in expressing Canada’s recognition of Andrey Sheptytsky’s courageous actions, compassion for his oppressed Jewish Ukrainian countrymen and enduring example of commitment to fundamental human rights as humankind’s highest obligation,” the motion said.
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The international resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2014 are being prepared by a Canadian writing team. Church musicians and composers from across Canada are invited to submit original hymns, praise choruses, or shorter songs for worship for possible inclusion with the resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity worldwide in 2014.

The theme that we have chosen for the week is “Has Christ Been Divided?” based on the biblical text of 1 Corinthians 1:1-17. Submissions should be suitable for congregational singing in a variety of ecumenical contexts around the world. They should include words in either French or English, and preferably in both languages. Other languages may also be included, provided that translation into English or French is included as well.

Successful submissions will be focused on prayer for the unity of the Christian Church and may relate directly to the biblical text from 1 Corinthians 1:1-17. They will be distributed freely with the international resources, so the copyright will need to allow for free use of the music and words for worship and prayer gatherings related to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2014.

Please make all submissions by Thursday, May 31, 2012 to the Rev. Amanda Currie by email to music [at] ecumenism [dot] net or by mail to 436 Spadina Crescent East, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 3G6.
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The United Church of Christ‘s five-member Collegium of Officers is making a road trip this week to engage the United Church of Canada in a historic moment of the [US church].

“This is the first time we’re taking a delegation of sorts to Canada,” said the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, [United Church of Christ] minister for ecumenical and interfaith relations. “I was in Canada last year and had some conversations with their [General Council] and ecumenical officers to talk about what we can do to be more intentional about working with each other.”

Thompson is making the trip April 3-4 to Toronto along with the United Church of Christ’s Collegium: the Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, general minister and president; W. Mark Clark, associate general minister; the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, executive minister for Local Church Ministries; the Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo, executive minister for Justice and Witness Ministries; and the Rev. James Moos, executive minister for Wider Church Ministries.
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There’s nothing more Catholic than ecumenism, nothing more Christian than unity, nothing more urgent than the need to heal divisions in the body of Christ, but none of it will happen based on resentments, fears and identity politics, the head of the World Council of Churches told a couple hundred people in Toronto March 14.

On his first official visit to Canada, Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit laid out challenges to ecumenism which he said oppose the Christian mandate to fulfill the Lord’s Prayer — “Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.”

“We are forced to ask whether we are seeking a consensus for the sake of our own institution, for our tradition, for our own group,” said Tveit. “Or if we are seeking a consensus that is giving space for the other, for the wholeness of God’s Church and God’s creation.”
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[WCC News] “Christians are to acknowledge that changing one’s religion is a decisive step that must be accompanied by sufficient time for reflection and preparation, through a process ensuring full personal freedom.” This assertion is one of the guiding principles for Christian mission in India suggested in early March by a consultation convened under the
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The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has today revealed that he is to step down from his role at the end of the year. His decision comes after 10 years in the post and after accepting the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
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On Friday, March 16th, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a communiqué regarding the current status of relations with the traditionalist Catholic organization Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), founded by the late Archbishop Lefebvre. For some years now the CDF has been engaged in a consultation with the SSPX regarding a number of matters of dispute. The letter states that the position [the SSPX] expressed is not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems which lie at the foundation of the rift between the Holy See and the SSPX.
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“Unity” belongs to the concepts that should be constantly discussed. Life is changing, also the life of the churches and their life together. So are their understanding of unity, their challenges to unity and their contributions to it.

Images can stimulate our reflections, without saying everything or being exclusive, they can nurture our imagination and our ability to be creative. Images from nature can give us a sense of reality, and a deeper sense of how we are a part of a living reality. I have been reflecting on an image, actually a photo, that give me some new insights, deepening my reflections on this topic that I have been discussing and striving for during the last 20 years of study and work. The photo is of some lichen, growing in a circle, across the deep crevice in the rock on which they grow. It seems to be challenged by the split in the rock, but nevertheless grows across it. This striking image has encouraged me to look at unity as something of a double reality. It is growing life, yet still making a structure. It belongs to the essential nature of this lichen to grow in circles, to become part of a unity. I am told by my dear colleague from Tanzania that the same is true for banana trees, they also grow like families in circles. The photo taken just outside our small summer house at the coast of Norway last summer, is from a bare rock next to the sea on a small island, out in the big sea that unites Norway with the continent of Europe and further more with the whole globe. I wonder what images in Canadian nature might inspire you to these kinds of reflections.

Thus, I believe that «Unity» is a concept that requires complementary perspectives. I have brought my reflections together in 10 pairs of perspectives, describing unity, to offer you here for your consideration today.
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Remembering the common roots of the Christianity they share, Roman Catholics and Anglicans should renew their commitments to praying and working for Christian unity, Pope Benedict XVI said.

The Pope and Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, held an evening prayer service March 10 at Rome’s Church of St. Gregory on the Caelian Hill, the church from which Pope Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow monks to evangelize England in 597.

The service was part of celebrations marking the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine order. Camaldoli monks and nuns live and pray at the Church of St. Gregory and have an active program of ecumenical contacts.
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CHICAGO (ELCA) – In gratitude for the “unity in Christ” between the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson shared with Pope Benedict XVI a sense of urgency between Lutherans and Catholics in responding to the “great needs of poverty and human care” in the world.
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The Board of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives is pleased to announce that Jennifer Henry has been appointed to be the new Executive Director of KAIROS, effective March 12, 2012.
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The fourth meeting of the Anglican-Methodist International Commission for Unity in Mission (AMICUM) took place near Baltimore, Maryland, 10-16 February 2012, hosted by the World Methodist Council, at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center. Members of the Commission worshipped together morning and evening, and the Eucharist was celebrated according to both traditions.

The Commission spent time considering the ministry of oversight in a way that honours the traditions of both world families. It paid careful attention to how Anglicans and Methodists have expressed the form and understanding of mission, episcopal ministry, and apostolicity.
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Lutheran Bishop Johannes Friedrich has said that the Pope’s visit to the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt on his visit to Germany last year “cannot be rated highly enough”. The former Bishop of Bavaria was writing in the German Protestant monthly Chrismon about the papal visit to Germany’s Protestant heartland last year. The visit came amid
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Representatives of a broad range of Christian churches and organizations met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 14 to 19 January to complete a report and make recommendations for significant advances toward Christian unity and inter-religious cooperation.
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Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave Wednesday evening at Vespers on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The celebration closed the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
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Jewish and Catholic leaders agree that much work lies ahead in accurately presenting the religious identity and practices of each other’s communities in their respective religious education textbooks.
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