United Methodist Church Adopts Full Communion Proposal with ELCA

[ELCA News Service • Fort Worth, Texas] — By a vote of 864-19, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) adopted an implementing resolution April 28 that will establish full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Full communion will be fully realized by both churches should the same proposal be adopted at the next ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which meets Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.

The UMC General Conference, meeting here April 23-May 2, is the Methodist’s chief legislative body and meets every four years. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly is the ELCA’s chief legislative authority, meeting every two years. The ELCA and UMC have been in formal theological dialogue since 1977, which led to beginning a relationship of “Interim Eucharistic Sharing” in 2005. That relationship called for members to pray for and support each other, to study Scripture together and to learn about each other’s traditions in anticipation of achieving full communion.

Full communion means the churches will work for visible unity in Jesus Christ, recognize each other’s ministries, work together on a variety of ministry initiatives, and, under certain circumstances, provide for the interchangeability of ordained clergy.

April 28 was “a banner day” because of the UMC General Conference vote on full communion, said the Rev. William Oden, ecumenical officer, UMC Council of Bishops, at an April 29 news conference. “This has been a long time coming. A lot of careful work has been done,” he said. Oden emphasized that the proposal is a relationship between the two church bodies and not a “church union.”

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, Chicago, said he eagerly awaits the ELCA Churchwide Assembly vote in 2009 and hopes that it, too, will be a strong affirmation of full communion with the UMC. Hanson also preached at an April 29 worship service at the UMC General Conference.

“This is about revival of two church bodies that are deeply committed to re-presenting themselves in a pluralistic, dynamic changing culture for the sake of mission,” Hanson said.

The two church bodies must consider what they can do together as full communion partners that was not possible before, Hanson said. He suggested possible cooperative ministries in campus ministry, global mission, advocacy for justice and peace, to name only a few. He also agreed with Oden’s assertion that full communion cannot be successful if it is considered to be a “top down” action. Full communion should be a relationship in which mission initiatives should “bubble up” in the two churches, Hanson said.

“I always think of full communion as merely a step along the way toward a new, possible future because of the relationship,” Hanson said. “That new, possible future is the for the sake of the world. It’s for the sake of mission. Full communion calls for ecumenical, missional imagination.”

Full communion also gives “formal expression” to what is happening in both churches already, said the Rev. Greg Palmer, president, UMC Council of Bishops. “In one way we’re leading, and in another way, we’re following. We are catching up with people on the ground who are doing things in partnership, in mission and in ministry,” he said.

Christians “must find meaningful, significant and substantive ways of honoring the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in one another and together, living that before the world. We must live before the world what God intends for the world,” Palmer added.

Assuming the full communion proposal is adopted by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2009, a coordinating council with representatives of both churches will be appointed, said the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Chicago. That council will coordinate how the two churches will plan for mission together and consider practical matters such as interchangeability of ordained ministers, he said.

The ELCA’s five full communion partners are the Episcopal Church, the Moravian Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.

While the ELCA has successful cooperative ministries with its full communion partners, it must improve how it receives and implements full communion agreements, McCoid said. “We need to do better with how we are able to be intentional (in) sharing ministry. Grassroots sharing is really very critical, and I’ll just echo that again and again and again. The best way we can do that is by giving people permission and encouragement.”

If adopted by both churches, this will be the UMC’s first full communion agreement outside of the Methodist tradition.

The ELCA is one of 140 churches in the Lutheran World Federation and is the third-largest Lutheran church in the world with 4.8 million members. The United Methodist Church is a worldwide church with nearly 8 million members in the United States.

—

Audio of comments made at the April 29 news conference in Fort Worth:

The Rev. William Oden • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429a.mp3
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429b.mp3
The Rev. Greg Palmer • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429c.mp3
The Rev. Donald J. McCoid • media.ELCA.org/audionews/080429d.mp3

Information about the Lutheran-United Methodist Dialogue is on the ELCA Web site.

Information about the UMC General Conference is on the Web.

For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or • www.elca.org/news • ELCA News Blog
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Justice LaForme chosen to chair Truth and Reconciliation Commission

[Marites S. Sison • Anglican Journal] Justice Harry S. LaForme, an aboriginal Ontario Court of Appeal judge, has been appointed by the federal government to chair an independent commission that will hear the stories and promote public education about the 150-year legacy of the now-defunct Indian residential schools.

“This is an important step in our commitment to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, and another example of our government doing the right thing for former students, and all Canadians,” said Minister of Indian Affairs Chuck Strahl who announced on April 28 Justice LaForme’s appointment as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Ottawa. Mr. Strahl said that Justice LaForme, who is a member of the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nations in southern Ontario, “brings a wealth of respect and leadership experience and is the most senior aboriginal judge in the country.”

Assembly of First Nations chief Phil Fontaine hailed Justice LaForme’s appointment saying, “Not only is he a proud First Nations citizen, he is an outstanding jurist and a compassionate and understanding person.” He added: “I have no doubt he will leave no stoned unturned in his investigation of exactly what happened in residential schools, the harm caused, why and how it happened and who was responsible. At the same time, he will bring the grace and compassion required in the truth commission’s work so necessary for healing to begin.”

The Canadian Press quoted Justice La Forme as having said that the TRC is important “not so we can punish, but so we can walk forward into the future.” He also said he was proud to live in a country that was willing to examine a “horrendous” chapter of its history.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, sent his envoy for residential schools, retired Archishop Terence Finlay, as his representative to attend the announcement of Justice LaForme’s appointment in Ottawa. Archbishop Hiltz is currently attending a meeting in Chennai, India of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission.

Last March, Archbishop Hiltz and Bishop Mark MacDonald, national Anglican indigenous bishop, joined other church leaders in a national tour to raise awareness about the commission.

Justice LaForme was unanimously chosen from more than 300 nominees by a panel composed of representatives from national native organizations and parties to the revised settlement agreement that came into effect last September. He will help select the two other members of the commission, which is part of the revised settlement agreement between the government, representatives of former residential schools students and churches who operated the boarding schools.

The TRC is meant to provide former students and their families with a chance to share their experiences in a “holistic, culturally-appropriate and safe setting.” Representatives of government and churches that operated the schools will also be invited to share their stories. (The Anglican church operated 35 of about 130 boarding schools attended by aboriginals from the mid-19th century into the 1970s. In recent years, hundreds of former students have sued the church and the federal government, which owned the schools, alleging physical and sexual abuse.)

During its five-year term, the commission will produce a report and recommendations, and establish a national archive/research center regarding residential schools.

Justice LaForme, 61, began his law career as an associate of a corporate commercial law firm before specializing in aboriginal law. He has litigated and focused on matters involving the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

He was appointed a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice, now the Superior Court of Justice, in 1994. At the time of his appointment, he was one of three native judges appointed to this level of trial court in Canada. He was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2004.

In 1989, he was appointed commissioner of the Indian Commission of Ontario, and in 1991, as chief commissioner of the Indian Specific Claims Commission on Aboriginal land claims.

Justice LaForme has taught “The Rights of Indigenous Peoples” course at Osgoode Law School, where he graduated in 1977.

He has been awarded with the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1997) and aboriginal elders have, on three occasions, presented him with an eagle feather, symbolizing the virtues of honesty, integrity, and respect.
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Bishop Burton to move to Dallas
This Pastoral Letter was read in churches across the Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan on April 20th.

To the clergy and people of the Diocese of Saskatchewan

Dear friends,

This is a difficult letter to write but I must let you know that I have submitted my resignation to the Metropolitan of Rupert’s Land effective September 1, 2008. I begin that day a new ministry as Rector of the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, Texas.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the privilege of serving with you these past 17 years, first as Dean and, since 1993, as Bishop. Our sense of call to Texas is a positive one but at the same time I felt that it would be an opportunity for the Diocese to be overseen with a fresh pair of eyes, and to enjoy the excitement and momentum a change of bishop brings.

Archbishop Clarke will soon be in touch with our Executive Committee to start the process to elect a new Bishop. The person you will choose to carry this ministry forward will be greatly blessed. This Diocese is well known for the singular spirit of cooperation, good will, and thoughtfulness you bring to the challenges of the day. I have good hope and every reason to believe that God has another fruitful season in store for you.

It was said that St. Paul had a thousand friends and loved each as his own soul, and died a thousand deaths when the time came for him to leave them. I suppose every departing bishop feels something of this sense of loss but I feel it acutely today because of the exceptional generosity and openness of heart with which you have consistently encouraged me. I hope to visit with many of you before we go.

Anna, Caroline, Peter and I wish you God’s blessing as you continue steadfast in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.

Yours in Christ,

Anthony Burton
Bishop of Saskatchewan
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[New York | NCC News] Krister Stendahl, a tireless ecumenist who was dean and a member of the faculty of Harvard Divinity School and a former bishop of Stockholm, Sweden, died April 15 in Boston. He was 86. Harvard Divinity School immediately issued a statement expressing “immense sadness” and “immense thankfulness for a singular life
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Saskatoon Anglicans narrowly reject same-sex marriages

[Anglican Journal] The diocese of Saskatoon, at its biennial synod held April 4-6, narrowly defeated a resolution that would have allowed clergy to bless same-sex civil marriages.

The vote was 41 against, 38 for and four abstentions, said Lorea Eufemia, secretary/treasurer of the diocese.

Moved by Canon Colin Clay and seconded by Cathy Hartsook, the resolution said: “Be it resolved that this 68th Session of the Synod of the Diocese of Saskatoon request the bishop to allow clergy, whose conscience permits, to bless the duly solemnized and registered civil marriages between same-sex couples, where at least one party is baptized, and to authorize rites for such blessings.”

It was the first time the issue had come before the Saskatoon synod, and the debate lasted nearly an hour and a half, said Ms. Eufemia. Opinions did not divide along urban and rural lines, she said. “Some members of urban parishes voted against it and some rural parishes were for it,” she said. She also noted that the debate was characterized by “respect, kindness and love.” The bishop of Saskatoon, Rodney Andrews, who could not immediately be reached, was pleased by the tone of the debate, she said.

The diocese has been discussing the issue of same-sex blessings for the past couple of years, she said. Members of the gay support group Integrity have spoken at diocesan council, the St. Michael report (which considers whether it is a matter of church doctrine) has been distributed to parishes and parishes have held consultations on the issue.
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Community Walk for Station 20 West

All-Community Walk: Lets Keep Building Our Community
Support and Celebrate Station 20 West

Bring friends, family, and neighbours!!

Saturday April 5th, gather at 10am
Station 20 West Site, 20th Street West and Avenue L South

Station 20 West is a Community Enterprise Centre being constructed in the heart of Saskatoon’s core neighbourhoods.

The project will strengthen the economy and create skills and employment, provide much needed services and amenities, reduce poverty and health disparities, use LEED environmental design, and help revitalize the Westside core neighbourhoods.

The Provincial government has pulled their $8 million in promised and committed funding from the project, effectively stopping construction.

We will walk together to show community support to reinstate funding and let this innovative and much-needed community-building project reach its full potential.

Resources:
• Community Walk Poster – download, print, and post in a public location
• Join the Station 20 West Facebook Group – for the latest information on the campaign to reinstate funding
• Community Walk invitation on Facebook – send invitations to your friends
• Sign the online petition to reinstate funding
• Visit the Station 20 West website to read about the project, see artistic renderings, and contribute to the capital campaign
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Chrétiens et musulmans doivent souligner ce qu’ils ont en commun et reconnaître leurs divergences, préconise le COE

L’amour du prochain est “un élément essentiel et une partie intégrante de la foi en Dieu et de l’amour de Dieu” pour l’islam comme pour le christianisme. La manière dont chrétiens et musulmans peuvent réfléchir ensemble à cet amour constitue le thème central d’un commentaire publié par le Conseil œcuménique des Eglises (COE) le jeudi 20 mars 2008. Rédigé par des experts chrétiens du dialogue avec l’Islam, il suggère aux Eglises de réponses possibles à la lettre intitulée “Une parole commune”, signée par 138 responsables musulmans en octobre 2007.

Ce commentaire, intitulé “Apprendre à approfondir l’amour ensemble”, s’inscrit dans le cadre des consultations en cours que le COE a lancées auprès de ses Eglises membres et des partenaires œcuméniques en novembre 2007 en les invitant à “approfondir avec les musulmans l’amour de Dieu et l’amour du prochain dans leurs contextes respectifs”.

“Nous encourageons nos Eglises à considérer l’invitation lancée par les responsables musulmans comme une nouvelle occasion de dialogue interreligieux”, déclare le pasteur Samuel Kobia, secrétaire général du COE. “Nous espérons que ce commentaire constituera un outil utile aux Eglises dans leur réflexion sur ‘Une parole commune’ et facilitera leur dialogue avec la communauté musulmane.”

Le document invite les Eglises à réfléchir aux deux grands thèmes mentionnés dans “Une parole commune”: l’amour de Dieu et l’amour du prochain. Il souligne les défis historiques et les nouvelles promesses des dialogues de ce genre et esquisse un processus permettant de poursuivre les échanges entre responsables chrétiens et musulmans. Il est “absolument indispensable que, tout en trouvant comment souligner ce qu’ils ont en commun, chrétiens et musulmans imaginent aussi comment reconnaître et respecter les divergences qui existent entre eux”.

“Ce texte marque le début d’un processus”, déclare Rima Barsoum, responsable du dialogue entre chrétiens et musulmans au COE. “Il invite à constituer un groupe mixte de planification qui jettera les bases d’un dialogue et invitera les responsables et théologiens chrétiens et musulmans a y participer dans le cadre de manifestations propres à encourager la coopération interreligieuse aux niveaux mondial et local.”

Le processus de réponse à “Une parole commune” a été approuvé par le Comité central du COE lors de sa réunion de février 2008 à Genève.

• Texte intégral de “Learning to explore love together” (en anglais)

• “Une parole commune”, lettre de dignitaires musulmans aux responsables chrétiens

• Pour plus d’informations sur le Programme “coopération et dialogue interreligieux” du COE
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[Rome] Le baptême par le pape Benoît XVI d’un journaliste italien musulman d’origine égyptienne – connu pour être un virulent critique des restrictions à la liberté religieuse dans les pays musulmans – suscite des interrogations de la part de responsables musulmans en Italie.

Magdi Allam, chroniqueur et rédacteur en chef adjoint du quotidien milanais Corriere della Sera, était l’une des sept personnes de cinq pays différents à avoir été baptisées par le souverain pontife pendant la messe de la veille de Pâques à la basilique Saint-Pierre, au Vatican, le 22 mars.
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[Rome] Pope Benedict XVI’s baptism of an Egyptian-born Muslim Italian journalist, known for being a strident critic of restrictions of religious freedom in Islamic countries, has been questioned by Muslim leaders in Italy.

Magdi Allam, a columnist and deputy editor of the Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper, was one of seven people from five countries baptised by the pontiff at the Easter Vigil Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 22 March.
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[Toronto] A Canadian church magazine has become the first North American sponsor of a travelling exhibit of the life and work of natural scientist Charles Darwin, whose theory of the evolution of species has long been a source of conflict between scientists and Christians who take the Biblical account of creation literally.

The exhibit, which opened at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on 8 March, had failed to find support from the museum’s usual sponsors. Museum officials said none disagreed with Darwin’s theories but cited concerns about a potential backlash from Christians opposed to the idea of evolution.
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Prendre un Congé Sabbatique de Carbone

Notre dépendance à l`égard de pétrole tue des personnes et la planète… parfois à petit feu par la dégradation progressive de l’air que nous respirons et des écosystèmes dont nous dépendons toutes et tous, et parfois rapidement à la suite des nombreuses violations des droits humains et des conflits liés au contrôle et à l’usage de l’énergie fossile. Y-a-t-il des alternatives?

Oui! KAIROS – initiatives œcuméniques canadiennes pour la justice pense qu’il est temps que nous réexaminions, à titre individuel et comme societé, notre dépendance à l’égard des combustibles fossiles. Joignez-vous à notre campagne d’action Repenser l’énergie : Il Est Temps de Prendre un Congé Sabbatique de Carbone et servez-vous de notre site Internet pour découvrir comment il vous est possible de changer vous-même, de changer votre milieu et d’aider à changer le monde en repensant tous et toutes ensemble de l’énergie!
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New Anglican coordinator for ethics & inter-faith relations

[Anglican Journal] Rev. Isaac Kawuki-Mukasa, who serves as a consultant in congregational development for the diocese of Toronto, has been named co-ordinator for dialogue: ethics, congregational development and inter-faith relations, for the Anglican Church of Canada‘s faith, worship and ministry department.

One of Mr. Kawuki-Mukasa’s responsibilities will be to staff conversations about the issue of sexuality as mandated in 2007 by General Synod, the national governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada. He will also staff the human life task force, which looks at issues of ethics, and will represent the Canadian Anglican church at inter-faith dialogues and “foster the network of practitioners of congregational development,” according to the announcement.

Ordained a priest in the Church of Uganda in 1985, Mr. Kawuki-Mukasa has been exercising his ministry in Canada since 1992. He has served in the ecumenical shared ministry parishes of Lynn Lake and Snow Lake, Man., diocese of Brandon. He was also a member of the faculty of the Centre for Christian Studies and a consultant for ethnic ministries for the United Church of Canada.

Mr. Kawuki-Mukasa completed a PhD in theology and interdisciplinary studies from the Toronto School of Theology in 2005. He has a masters degree from the University of Zimbabwe, a master of divinity from the Nairobi School of Theology, and a bachelor of arts in political science from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

Recently, he has been helping the diocese of Toronto develop relations with Anglican dioceses in Africa, said Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan in a notice announcing Mr. Kawuki-Mukasa’s appointment. “He has written extensively and participated in many events discussing issues in the Anglican Communion today. He will bring an important perspective into the work of the General Synod at this time,” she added.

Mr. Mukasa will assume his new portfolio on June 1. He succeeds Linda Nicholls, who was elected a suffragan bishop of Toronto last November.
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It all began in the middle of the night, sometime in December. The previous day I had email to say that very senior aboriginal and church leaders were going to cross the country together to promote the work of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This was exciting. The TRC struck me as a courageous way to help heal this wound in our national soul.

My heart sank, however, when I read the proposed itinerary. No mention of Saskatchewan. “How typical”, I thought, the chip on my prairie-girl shoulder well in place. I thought: it doesn’t matter to those people ‘down east’ that Saskatchewan has a very large native population, that many residential schools were located here. With a fatalistic sigh, I went to bed.

And woke up in the middle of the night. There was no question: I had to write to the organizers and urge them to come to Saskatchewan. A few minutes on the internet brought up the email address. I wrote at once, urging our case and offering the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism as the local partner.

How could I make such a commitment in the middle of the night, with no hesitation and no consultation? It was simple: the amazing PCE network. 24 years of building inter-church partnerships paid off. The PCE’s Restorative Justice Committee usually just do one workshop in November, but 2007 was different. Our focus was the continuing racial divide in our region. The question we asked was how can we, as native and non-native people, walk together to heal our communities? It was clear that this would not be a one-off event, but a process. We began to seek aboriginal partners and found them. There was a growing sense that God was taking us somewhere, well out of our comfort zones. The stage was set.

On January 11 we got word that the national tour, impressed by the strength of our invitation, was coming to Saskatoon on March 9. Hastily the Restorative Justice committee assembled, and others were invited on board — including Ethel Ahenakew of the Saskatoon Native Ministry, Alan Jacques, who ministers on the Dakota Whitecap First Nation, Mary Ann Assailly, of the Anglican diocesan outreach network.

We were excited. Someone asked how many people will come. I said I wasn’t sure, but we should prepare for up to 400. There was incredulous laughter. (We are used to disappointment.) But we persuaded ourselves to think big, and got to work — especially Carol Zubiak our chair, and Carol Penner, our office manager. We were delighted when FaithLife Financial stepped up to the plate and gave us $1,000 to help.

Four churches ran residential schools on behalf of the federal government — Anglican, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and United. Their local church leaders were enthusiastic about the March 9 visit, and promoted the event among their people. Chief Lawrence Joseph, head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, flew to Ottawa to check out the national launch of the tour. That convinced him that the churches were sincere. He agreed to speak in Saskatoon, and promoted the event with Saskatchewan native leaders.

Invitations went out far and wide — oh the wonders of email. The press releases went out. We held our breath.

Then the phone began to ring. The computer went crazy. Media said they were coming. By the week of the tour, we were arranging overflow seating and urging the Western Development Museum to squeeze in more seats and stand by with extra food.

On the day we counted 471 going past the registration desk. People were streaming in, white and native, old and young. There was a line-up of those wanting to smudge. The perfume of sweetgrass filled the air. People sat at round and long, tables, filling the hall. Expectant and a little nervous.

On stage the national tour’s display featured a young native boy’s face, with a very institutional haircut. His face appeared on the podium as well. When Ted Quewezance, residential school survivor and head of the survivor’s society, stood at the podium and told his story. I felt I was time travelling, for Ted — a man in his fifties or sixties — bore an uncanny resemblance to that little boy.

Each church leader spoke well, with words of clear apology for a very serious wrong. Chief Joseph had called it a ‘holocaust’. The uncomfortable truth, new to me, was that many children never came home from those residential schools. Many died or disappeared. We must remember. There is so much that most non-native people don’t know.

The program ran long, but the audience stayed with it. There were tissues placed on each table. They were needed. Many were touched — the audience, the museum serving staff, the media people, the local sound technician. A young Métis prison worked shared her sense of delight about the event. A school survivor in her sixties told me about the great sense of lightness and peace that had come upon her as the afternoon unfolded.

We finished with a meal and a round dance. When I went to the microphone and asked “Who’s ready for some singing and dancing?” there were whoops and shouts and applause. As ‘Young Thunder’ drummed and sang, a circle of people formed, holding hands, dancing around the edge of the hall. Native and white together, moving to the drum, a ring reaching not just once around the hall, but in places two lines thick. A moment of declaration. A moment of hope.

People asked me, “Are you coming back next year?” The question was about whether the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, when it shapes its itinerary for the major city events, will remember to come to Saskatchewan. We need them to come.

At the PCE, we’ll be standing by for the phone call.

—

• For background on the Truth & Reconciliation Commission go to www.residentialschoolssettlement.ca
• The tour website is www.rememberingthechildren.ca
• A Most Holy Day – The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, reflects on the Saskatoon stop of the tour.
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CECC : une lettre pastorale sur l’environnement

(CECC – Ottawa) – Dans le cadre de l’Année de la planète terre, telle que proclamée par les Nations Unies, la Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC) vient de publier une lettre pastorale dans laquelle elle en appelle à la conscience collective face aux graves problèmes environnementaux qui frappent la planète.

Produite par la Commission épiscopale des affaires sociales, la lettre pastorale a comme titre : « Notre rapport à l’environnement : le besoin d’une conversion ».

Les auteurs de la lettre ne manquent de souligner qu’en dépit des importants engagements pris lors des rencontres de Rio, Kyoto, Johannesburg et Bali, le Canada représente un « cas extrême » de non-respect de ses engagements.

« Après avoir signé le protocole de Kyoto [en 1997], dans lequel nous nous engagions à diminuer nos émissions de gaz à effet de serre à 6 pour cent de moins que celles de 1990, nous les avons plutôt augmentées d’environ 25 pour cent », peut-on lire dans la lettre.

Les évêques notent que la société canadienne n’est pas suffisamment consciente de l’héritage appauvri qu’elle léguera aux générations à venir. Ils souhaitent donc que des ajustements soient apportés dès maintenant afin d’améliorer la situation actuelle, pour le mieux-être des prochaines générations et des populations de l’hémisphère sud.

En vue de rétablir les liens avec la nature, la lettre pastorale identifie un certain nombre d’actions qui pourraient être entreprises afin d’atténuer les effets de cette crise écologique, y compris :

• retrouver le sens de la limite et ajuster notre mode de vie aux ressources planétaires disponibles;
• se libérer de l’obsession de posséder et de consommer et opter plutôt pour « une austérité joyeuse » ou une simplicité volontaire; et
• consentir des efforts personnels en faveur de l’environnement.

Au dire des évêques, il incombe à chaque personne de rétablir les liens qui ont été détériorés avec la nature, de revoir sa conception de la possession et du confort personnels. C’est donc à une solidarité accrue et à de nouvelles formes de partage que sont invités tous les citoyens du Canada.

Déjà, en octobre 2003, la CECC avait publié une première lettre sur l’environnement intitulée : « L’impératif écologique chrétien ». Ce texte, de même que celui qui vient d’être publié, est disponible sur le site Web de la CECC. Des copies imprimées peuvent également être obtenues en s’adressant à mchabot@cecc.ca.
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Canadian Catholic Bishops pastoral letter on environment

(CCCB – Ottawa) – As part of the United Nations’ International Year of Planet Earth, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has published a pastoral letter which calls for a collective consciousness to face critical environmental problems affecting the earth.

Produced by the Episcopal Commission for Social Affairs, the pastoral letter is titled “Our Relationship with the Environment: The Need for Conversion.”

The Commission asserts that despite important commitments at summits held in Rio, Kyoto, Johannesburg and Bali, Canada represents “an extreme case” of non-compliance.

“After signing the Kyoto Protocol [in 1997], in which we agreed to decrease our greenhouse gases to six per cent less than those of 1990, we have instead increased them by approximately 25 per cent,” the letter explains.

The Bishops state that Canadians are not sufficiently conscious of the impoverished inheritance they are leaving for the generations to come. As a result, the Commission for Social Affairs calls for immediate adjustments to improve the current situation, particularly for the well-being of future generations and the Global South.

In order to restore humanity’s bonds with nature and lessen the effects of ecological breakdown, the pastoral letter proposes several ways Canadians can change, including:

• Regaining a sense of limit and adjusting our way of life to the planet’s available resources
• Freeing ourselves of an “obsession to possess and consume” and instead choosing “joyful austerity” or voluntary simplicity
• Making personal efforts in favour of the environment

The Bishops insist that responsibility for restoring a healthy relationship with nature falls on each individual, who must re-examine his or her perceptions about possessions and personal comfort. This will demand greater solidarity and new forms of sharing among all Canadians, they said.

In October 2003, the CCCB Social Affairs Commission published an earlier letter on the environment entitled “The Christian Ecological Imperative.” This text, as well as the recent pastoral letter which has just been published, is available on the CCCB website www.cccb.ca/. Printed copies may be ordered from mchabot@cecc.ca.
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from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix Aboriginal and church leaders are joining together on a cross-country tour aimed at helping the healing process related to residential schools. The event, Remembering the Children, will make a stop in Saskatoon Sunday. The city is one of four being visited, along with Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg. The purpose of
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Le totem de Bossey retourne à la terre
[Nouvelles de COE] La 6ème Assemblée du COE s’était tenue en 1983 au Canada, à Vancouver. A cette occasion les Églises du Canada avaient offert un totem de 15 mètres de haut, non seulement comme souvenir de cette Assemblée en Amérique du Nord, mais aussi pour promouvoir la voix des peuples indigènes du Canada.

Ramené en Europe, ce totem de cèdre sculpté par les peuples indigènes du Canada avait trouvé sa place dans le parc verdoyant de l’institut œcuménique de Bossey. Avec les intempéries suisses, ce totem avait vieilli et menaçait ces derniers mois de tomber.

Le COE a donc décidé, en concertation avec les donateurs du totem, de le faire reposer désormais à l’horizontal. Cette pratique est en accord avec les traditions indiennes, pour qui un totem n’est évidemment pas considéré comme éternel et doit donc pouvoir retourner à la terre, pour compléter le cycle de la vie.

Dimanche 17 février, un temps de commémoration a été organisé à l’institut de Bossey, durant le comité central du COE, pour marquer ce moment de la “descente du totem” de Vancouver.
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Bossey totem pole returned to the earth
[WCC News] After 25 years standing vigil at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, a totem pole was returned to the soils of the earth Sunday at a ceremony attended by many of those taking part in this week’s Central Committee meetings.

The totem was presented as a gift of the churches of Canada at the WCC’s Sixth Assembly, held in Vancouver, as a way to raise the profile of indigenous people. Time and weather took its toll on the nearly 50 foot-tall totem since its placement at Bossey, and it had become unstable.

Following advice from the First Nations of Canada, the WCC decided to hold a respectful ceremony to remember the gift and the work of those who carved it. Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, a Central Committee member from the United Church of Canada and member of the indigenous people of western Canada, was asked to lead the ceremony. A small, permanent display will continue to tell the totem’s story.
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St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon presents: Winter Refresher from February 10th to 13th, 2008. The theme this year is This Sacred Earth: the ecological challenge to religion with the theme speaker Dr. Heather Eaton.

For registration and information regarding Winter Refresher 2008. For additional information contact St. Andrew’s College: toll free: 877-644-8970; or www.standrews.ca.

Join us for Great Music, Engaging Theology, Stimulating Conversation, and Celebration.
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[Anglican Journal] By a vote of 13 in favour and four against, staff at the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), the relief and development arm of the Anglican Church of Canada, voted on Feb. 8 to unionize and become part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

One staff member, who asked not to be named, said the union was formed “as a mechanism to facilitate staff-management relations.” All 17 staff who were eligible to vote did so.

This is the first attempt to form a union by employees at PWRDF, which in 2001 became separately incorporated from General Synod (the governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada). An earlier attempt by all General Synod employees to unionize failed in 1997.

Staff said the formation of a union by a group associated with a church should not be seen as unusual since similar organizations like Kairos, an ecumenical peace and justice group of which the Anglican Church of Canada is a member, are themselves unionized.

They added that the PWRDF’s work involves working with unions and unionized workers. “In a way, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. We’ve always believed in the rights of workers to organize themselves,” said the staffer in an interview.

PWRDF management did not raise any objections when a notice came from the Ontario Labour Relations Board that employees had made an application to form a union.

Under labour law, an employer is allowed to raise any questions or objections about plans to form a union five days before employees cast their votes.

The quiet campaign to unionize began in mid-fall. “Having looked at various options, it was thought that unionizing was the best,” the staffer added.

CUPE, which has more than 500,000 members across Canada, represents workers in various sectors including healthcare, education, libraries, social services, transportation, and municipalities.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and president of PWRDF’s board of directors, said that he would consult with board members and the fund’s executive director, Cheryl Curtis, before making any comment.

Ms. Curtis was not available for comment.
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[Warsaw] The bishop in charge of recruitment for Poland’s Roman Catholic clergy says he does not believe recent scandals are to blame for a sharp fall in vocations, after the church noted a 24 percent reduction in admissions to the country’s 84 Catholic seminaries.

“Decisions about vocations aren’t taken under the influence of short-term events,” said Bishop Wojciech Polak, who heads the church’s National Council for Vocations Ministry. “Today’s culture discourages firm life-long commitments. But we’re not yet seeing any radical, drastic drain in priestly callings, or feeling any tangible shortage of clergy.”
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Communion distributes second draft of proposed ‘covenant’
Design group tries to uphold autonomy of provinces

[Marites N. Sison • Anglican Journal] Addressing concerns raised by several provinces, including Canada, about granting more authority to primates and other Instruments of Unity in the Anglican Communion, an international group has released a second draft of the proposed Anglican Covenant that maintains the body’s current structures.

The St. Andrew’s draft, so-called because the Covenant Design Group met Jan. 28 to Feb. 2 at St. Andrew’s House in London, also offers “a much more carefully-drawn emphasis on provincial autonomy,” said Eileen Scully, co-ordinator for ministry and worship of the Anglican Church of Canada‘s faith, worship and ministry department. Ms. Scully represented the Canadian church in the meeting of the group, which the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams appointed in 2007 in response to a request of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates’ Meeting and of the Anglican Consultative Council.

But while underscoring the independence of provinces, a key section of the draft asks provinces to commit to a process by which they can settle disputes over matters that “threaten the unity of the Communion and the effectiveness or credibility of its mission.”

It states that provinces must be “willing to receive from the Instruments of Communion a request to adopt a particular course of action in respect of the matter under dispute.”

(The Anglican Communion is served by four “instruments of communion”: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference of bishops, Primates Meetings and the Anglican Consultative Council.)

The draft notes that, “While the Instruments of Communion have no legislative, executive or judicial authority in our provinces … we recognize them as those bodies by which our common life in Christ is articulated and sustained, and which therefore carry a moral authority which commands our respect.” But it adds, “Any such request would not be binding on a church unless recognized as such by that church.”

The covenant stops short of saying what the consequences might be for a church that refuses to adopt any request, stating only that it constitutes “a relinquishment by that church of the force and meaning of the Covenant’s purpose.”

Ms. Scully acknowledged that this is “really difficult stuff because here is where we’re trying to uphold provincial autonomy and saying that we’re autonomous in Communion … What we set out to do is to offer processes with proper checks and balances that respect the realities of provinces and the Anglican Consultative Council and the limited powers of the primates as a collective, not corporate, body.”

During its meeting, the group reviewed submissions from 13 out of 38 provinces and six extra-provincial churches, plus “a large number of responses” from groups and individuals across the Communion.

The draft will be offered for reflection to the Lambeth Conference, the decennial meeting of bishops scheduled July 16 to Aug. 3 in Canterbury, England, and to the broader Communion, after which the design group will meet anew to prepare another draft. That version will then be sent to the Anglican Consultative Council and the primates’ meeting in March 2009 as well as the provinces. It could take more meetings and more drafts, a process that could take years, before a final document can be presented to provinces for approval, said Ms. Scully.

The establishment of a covenant was one of the key recommendations of the 2004 Windsor Report, a document published by the Lambeth Commission on Communion which was created by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to contain a schism in the Anglican Communion over the issue of sexuality.

The latest draft of the covenant “really reflects a movement away from creating new structures,” said Ms. Scully.

In a commentary, the group noted that since “some comments indicated that the covenant was somehow ‘canonizing’ (the) four instruments of communion that have evolved in a somewhat haphazard way” it amended the text of the first draft “to allow both for the evolution of the Instruments, and to acknowledge the existence of other informal instruments and links.”

The group noted that while the covenant “does not preclude or even seek to limit the possible development of these and other Instruments, we nonetheless believe that the Instruments as now working represent a special means of faithfully maintaining our common life, and ones that need to remain at the center of our common commitments.”

The draft emphasizes that there is no intention to create a “centralized jurisdiction” and that the Instruments of Communion “cannot dictate with juridical force on the internal affairs of any province.”

Ms. Scully also said that several provinces of the Communion, including Canada, “were very key in saying, ‘we are committed to the covenant process if such a covenant enhances our mission; we need to know that this isn’t just going to be something about institutional cohesion.'”

In a commentary on the draft, the group noted the “lack of formal discursive responses from other provinces,” and expressed the hope that it “does not necessarily signal disapproval.” The group, headed by Archbishop Drexel Gomez, primate (national archbishop) of the West Indies, cited the lack of translations of text as a possible factor in the low turnout of responses from provinces.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Covenant Response Group is scheduled to meet in Winnipeg Feb. 7 to 8, to discuss how the Canadian church will respond to this latest draft.

The St. Andrew’s draft is available at www.aco.org/commission/covenant/st_andrews/draft_text.cfm
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The following commentary on the recent violence in Kenya was written by Giuseppe Caramazza, a Comboni Missionary working in Kenya for 16 years. The article was published in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, on January 30, 2008. The English translation presented here was prepared by Matthew Sherry for www.Chiesa, a weblog by Sandro Magister of La Repubblica.

The roots of the violence
by Giuseppe Caramazza

In the international press, the violence that is shaking Kenya is still being defined in relation to the electoral upheaval that began in the African country at the end of December. In reality, one should not confuse the political protest with the killings that are taking place above all in the Rift Valley, the region that divides the country in two, from north to south. Nor should one forget the hundreds of persons killed and the more than 250,000 internal refugees, mostly housed by parishes and convents. It is true, however, that there is a connection between the political crisis and the violence.

During the electoral campaign, the political opposition often said that, once it had come to power, it would employ the politics of the majimbo. This is a Swahili word that we can translate as regionalization. The Catholic Church, like other Christian confessions, immediately declared its opposition to this. Why?

In the colonial era, the English divided the country along tribal lines, and not always in keeping with the territories that were truly controlled by the various ethnic groups. This led to a rigid territorial division that was then adopted by the newly created republic of Kenya. It should not be forgotten that when the English took control of Kenya, they wanted to see in African society a reality that had been fixed for centuries, while in fact there were populations on the move, and, in some cases, common territories that were exploited in different ways by two or more ethnic groups.

It should also not be forgotten that two hundred years ago the population of Kenya was a small fraction of what it is now. It would be impossible to propose going back to the former borders today. With independence, the centralized English administration continued, and was even strengthened during the years of the semi-dictatorship of President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi.

The proponents of the majimbo want to restore to the regions the right to administrate their own resources. The government has not accepted this idea., and the Churches have aligned themselves against it because it conceals the terrible seed of tribalism.

Already in the past, the former president Moi used this card to reinforce his position among the ethnic groups of the Rift Valley. Every time that he wanted to frighten the residents who were not originally from the region, he threatened them with the majimbo. The message was clear: those who were not originally from a particular place did not have the right to live there or to own property. This goes against the constitutional principle that sees Kenya as a united country and gives Kenyans the right to live anywhere within the borders of the nation. These are principles that are not readily admitted by many who still today perceive as their place of origin the ancestral territory as it was delineated by the colonial administration.

After the disaster of the presidential election last December 27, in various areas of the Rift Valley some members of the local ethnic groups saw the opportunity to drive out the “foreigners” and appropriate their lands and their other belongings. It is clear that the ethnic group hardest hit was that of the Kikuyu. They are the largest ethnic group, their ancestral territory is not sufficient to accommodate all of them, and so many of the Kikuyu have bought land in the Rift Valley and have turned it into model farms.

But it is not a question only of the Kikuyu. The Luya are being targeted in the area of Eldoret, the Kamba near Nakuru, the Kisii in Kipkelion. It could not have been expected that the Kikuyu would stand around twiddling their thumbs, and in fact there has been violence in Nakuru and Naivasha, which are Kikuyu-majority cities.

It should not be forgotten that the worst violence has occurred in the places that have been experiencing insecurity for years. The clashes in Londiani, Molo, and Cherengani today have something sinister about them, since there has been similar violence in these areas almost constantly over the past five years. This is not, therefore, a new outbreak of tension, but the explosion of a violence with ancient roots.

In recent days, moreover, the group Human Rights Watch published a report in which it affirms that the politicians of the Orange Democratic Movement, the opposition party, have fomented ethnic hatred in many areas, have collected money for the purchase of weapons, and have asked residents to expel the members of other ethnic groups from their property. New investigations will shed more light on these accusations. It is clear, however, that the majimbo has been invoked by the opposition, and they are culpably responsible for the violence of recent days.

In Nairobi, the political demonstrations have died down, giving way to various mediation initiatives. The slums, which house the majority of the population on less than ten percent of the urban land, are being kept under control. So far, it has not been possible to bring the government and the opposition to meet at the same table. Former UN secretary Kofi Annan has made concerted efforts in recent days, and has succeeded in making a few small openings for dialogue. The bishops have encouraged Kofi Annan to continue along this path, and have invited President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to make room for dialogue.

Dialogue between the contending parties has always been the solution adopted by Kenyans to address questions between two rivals. Nonetheless, the violence and the public accusations exchanged between the two parties risk blocking the process and clouding the vision of the contending parties. Whatever the political solution, it is clear that the major questions that must be addressed are the ones that went unresolved during the previous government of Kibaki: the fair distribution of land, access for all to the country’s resources, growth of the civic sense of the population and its right to participate in the political debate.
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[ACC News – January 30, 2008] What follows is the text of a letter written by Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, to Prime Minister Stephen Harper dealing with the federal government’s stance on Canadians sentenced to death in foreign jurisdictions.

29 January, 2008

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2

Dear Mr. Prime Minister

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, we write to express our grave concern regarding the decision of the Government of Canada to accept the imposition of the death penalty on Canadians under the jurisdictions of other countries.

We refer to the case of Ronald Allen Smith, a Canadian citizen on death row in the state of Montana, USA, and to the November 1, 2007 statement made by Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day to the House of Commons, that this government “will not actively pursue bringing back to Canada murderers who have been tried in a democratic country that supports the rule of law.”

This decision constitutes a serious departure from Canada’s historic efforts to seek clemency for Canadians facing the death penalty in foreign countries.

The Anglican Church of Canada stands with the worldwide Anglican Communion against any government who practises capital punishment, and in favour of seeking alternative ways to sentence offenders so that the divine dignity of every human being is respected and yet justice is pursued (Lambeth 1988).

The Anglican Church of Canada affirms the sacredness of all human life as God’s gift to creation. We believe every human being is made in God’s image, regardless of the degree to which it has been distorted. We oppose the death penalty in every circumstance as an act of violence in response to violence – an act which strikes at the very heart of society (House of Bishops 1984).

Therefore, we call on the Government of Canada to reverse its present stance and to intervene strenuously with other governments when Canadians face a sentence of execution, as has been the practice in the past.

We respectfully request a reply to this letter stating the reasons for this policy reversal and indicating your future intentions.

Sincerely,

+Fred

The Most Reverend Fred J. Hiltz,
Archbishop and Primate
The Anglican Church of Canada

Copied to:
The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P.,
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
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More than 20,000 Baptists from across North America will gather in Atlanta January 30-February 1, 2008, in an unprecedented demonstration of Baptist unity. The history-making event will culminate months of planning by leaders of more than 30 Baptist organizations who laid the groundwork for a new era of cooperation during a series of meetings at The Carter Center in 2006 and early 2007.

The New Baptist Covenant is an informal alliance of more than 30 racially, geographically, and theologically diverse Baptist organizations from throughout North America that claim more than 20 million members. Representatives of these Baptist organizations have reaffirmed traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality, as well as their obligations as Christians to fulfill the biblical mandate to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and the marginalized, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.

Under the theme “Unity in Christ,” the three-day Atlanta Celebration will feature speakers and presenters who will address historic Baptist commitments and explore other opportunities to work together as Christian partners. The Biblical text for the Celebration is Luke 4:18-19. Themes for the five plenary sessions are:

• Unity in Seeking Peace with Justice
• Unity in Bringing Good News to the Poor
• Unity in Respecting Diversity
• Unity in Welcoming the Stranger
• Unity in Setting the Captive Free

In addition to the plenary sessions, the Celebration will feature 16 special-interest sessions dealing with topics such as racism, religious liberty, poverty, the AIDS pandemic, faith in public policy, stewardship of the earth, evangelism, financial stewardship, and prophetic preaching.

Joint Midwinter Board Meeting

Prior to the New Baptist Covenant Celebration, the Joint Midwinter Board Meeting of the National Baptist Conventions in America, represented by the four Black Baptist Conventions — National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBCUSA, Inc.), National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NBCA, Inc.), Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC, Inc.), and National Missionary Baptist Convention of America (NMBCA) — will be held January 28 – 30 at the Georgia World Congress Center. The mission of this second historic meeting is to continue strengthening the bonds between the four Conventions.

The Joint Midwinter Board Meeting is expected to draw 10,000 attendees from across the nation, and the world, who will meet over a three-day period to review the business and governance of their respective Conventions, engage in biblically based educational and informational forums highlighting community, domestic, and world issues, and join in Christian fellowship. The four Conventions will come together daily for joint sessions and activities, in addition to holding separate meetings. This is the second gathering of the four Conventions, and as agreed upon by each Convention president during the groundbreaking 2005 gathering in Nashville, TN, it will continue to be a regularly scheduled meeting held every three to four years.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 8 has been posted on our website.

Be at peace (I Thess 5:13b)

Is 11: 6-13 • The wolf shall live with the lamb
Ps 122 • Peace be within your walls
1 Thess 5: (12a) 13b-18 • Be at peace among yourselves
Jn 17: 6-24 • That they all may be one

Commentary

God’s desire for human beings is that we live in peace with one another. This peace is not only an absence of war or conflict; the shalom desired by God is that which arises from a reconciled humanity, a human family which participates in and embodies the peace which God alone can give. Isaiah’s image of the wolf living with the lamb, the leopard lying down with the kid, offers an imaginative glimpse of the future God desires for us. While this shalom is not something that we can create on our own, we are called to be instruments of the Lord’s peace, artisans of God’s reconciling work. Peace, like unity, is a gift and a calling.

Jesus’ plea for the unity of his disciples did not take the form of a commandment or a request. It took the form of a prayer, words lifted up before the Father on the night before Jesus was put to death. It is a prayer which rises from the depths of his heart and of his mission, as he prepares his disciples for all that is to come: Father, may they all be one.

As we mark the 100th anniversary of the Octave/Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrating it within the context of the yearnings, prayers and initiatives for the unity of Christians through the centuries, we do well to take stock of where we are on this Spirit-led journey. It is a time to give thanks for the many fruits of prayer for unity. In many places, animosity and misunderstanding have given way to respect and friendship between Christians and Christian communities. Christians who have gathered together to pray for unity have often joined together in acts of common witness to the gospel, and worked side by side in serving those in great need. Dialogue has assisted in building bridges of understanding, and has led to the resolution of some of the doctrinal differences which have separated us.

Yet it is also a time to repent, for in our divisions we continue to stand under the judgement of Jesus’ prayer for unity and Paul’s imperative that we be at peace among ourselves. In the present day, Christians are publicly divided on many issues: in addition to our ongoing doctrinal differences, we are often at odds with each other on moral and ethical questions, on matters of war and peace, on current issues where common witness is called for. Internally divided and in conflict with each other, we fall short of the lofty calling to be signs and instruments of the unity and peace willed by God.

What then shall we say? There is reason to rejoice, and cause for sorrow. It is a moment to give thanks for those of past generations who have spent themselves generously at the service of reconciliation, and a time to recommit ourselves to be artisans of the unity and peace which Christ desires. And it is a time to ponder again what it means to pray always, through our words and deeds, through the lives of our churches.

Prayer

Lord, make us one: one in our words, that a single reverent prayer might rise before you; one in our yearning and pursuit of justice; one in love, serving you by serving the least of our sisters and brothers; one in longing for your face. Lord, make us one in you. Amen

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 7 has been posted on our website.

… help the weak (1 Thess 5: 14)

1 Sam 1: 9-20 • Hannah prays for a son
Ps 86 • Listen to my cry of supplication
1 Thess 5: (12a)13b-18 • We urge you… to help the weak
Lk 11: 5-13 • Ask and it will be given you

Commentary

Unable to bear a child and in great distress, Hannah prayed to God for a son and in due time, her prayers were answered and Samuel (which means I have asked him of the Lord) was born. In Luke’s gospel, we read that Jesus himself tells us to “ask and it shall be given” and in our need, we turn to God in prayer. The response may not be what we expect but God always responds.

The power of prayer is immense, especially when linked to service. From the gospels, we know that Christ wants us to love and serve one another. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, the theme of service is taken up in the imperative: “help the weak”. We do not find it impossible to respond ecumenically in a practical way to people’s weakness or distress; churches of different traditions often work hand in hand. But their witness in some situations is seriously weakened by their division, and when we want to pray together, we are sometimes deeply suspicious of the different prayer forms we encounter in Christian traditions other than our own: Roman Catholic prayers which are addressed to God through the saints or Mary the mother of Jesus; Orthodox liturgical prayers; Pentecostal prayers; the spontaneous, Protestant prayers which address God in direct, everyday language.

There are signs however of a new consideration of different forms of prayer. Within American churches, the experience of Pentecostal renewal has also led to a greater appreciation of the power of prayer and Pentecostals have begun to feel more comfortable in the ecumenical movement. Discussions with the Orthodox churches in the World Council of Churches have led to greater appreciation of each other’s prayer forms.

Without doubt, confidence in the power of prayer is common to all our traditions and has rich potential to further the cause of Christian unity – once we can understand and overcome our differences. We should give prayerful support to the dialogues which seek to address those differences among our churches and which prevent us from coming together at the Lord’s table. Praying together that prayer of remembrance and thanksgiving would allow a great stride to be taken along the road to unity.

Prayer

Help us, Lord, to be truly one in praying for the healing of our world, for the mending of divisions in our churches, and of ourselves. May we not doubt that you hear and will answer us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 6 has been posted on our website.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5: 16)

2 Sam 7: 18-29 • David’s prayer of praise and rejoicing
Ps 86 • Incline your ear, O Lord
1 Thess 5:(12a) 13b-18 • Rejoice always
Lk 10: 1-24 • The sending of the seventy-two

Commentary

In prayer we are aligning our wills to the will of God and so participating in the fulfilment of his purpose. We need the Holy Spirit to change the hearts of believers, so that we have the grace to work with God and become part of his mission and his goal of unity. As we pray for this without ceasing we are aware that “more workers are needed for the harvest”. At many ecumenical gatherings, and particularly at the annual National Workshop on Christian Unity in the USA, it is recognized that if the ecumenical movement is to prosper today and in the next generation, more young people need to be drawn into it. We need more workers to experience the joy of praying to be part of the work of God.

The readings for Day 6 give us insight into what it means to work for the sake of the gospel. David, amazed that he might be part of the plan to build a magnificent temple for the Lord, asks, “Can God indeed dwell on earth?” then concludes, “Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you”.

The psalmist prays, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I will give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever”.

In the sending of the seventy-two, Jesus confirms that through his disciples, and those who would come to believe in him through their word, his peace and the news that “the kingdom of God has come near to you” would be proclaimed to the world. At their joyful return, despite rejection, Jesus rejoices at their success in the submission of the evil spirits in his name: the message is never to cease, never to give up.

God’s will is for his people to be one. Like the Christians in Thessalonika, we are urged to “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing”, trusting that as we commit ourselves wholly to working with God, his purpose of unity will finally be fulfilled.

Prayer

Lord God, in the perfect unity of your being, keep our hearts so burning with the desire and hope for unity that we will never stop working for the sake of your gospel. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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[WCC News] A number of major international Christian youth movements and organizations called for stronger efforts towards unity in a joint statement issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Addressed to the heads of the Roman Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches, Christian World Communions and Regional Ecumenical Organizations, the statement asks them to “share ecumenical dialogue with young people” and expresses the commitment of the signatories to “raise awareness of the importance of Christian unity among young people”.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 5 has been posted on our website.

Be patient with all of them (Thess 5: 14)

Ex 17: 1-4 • Why?
Ps 1 • Yield fruit in its season
1 Thess 5: (12a) 13b-18 • Be patient with all of them
Lk 18: 9-14 • A humble prayer

Commentary

We cannot be complacent about the divisions between Christians and we are rightly impatient for the day of our reconciliation to come about. But we must also be conscious that ecumenical effort is not sustained at the same rhythm everywhere. Some go forward in leaps and bounds, others are more prudent. As Paul exhorts, we must be patient with everybody.

Like the Pharisee in prayer, we can easily come before God with the arrogance of those who do all things well: “I am not like other people”. If we are sometimes tempted to denounce the slowness or rashness of the members of our church or those of our ecumenical dialogue partners, the invitation to be patient sounds an important and timely warning.

Sometimes it is towards God that we show our impatience. Like the people in the desert, we sometimes question him: why do we have to continue this painful journey if it is all to no use? Let us stay confident. God responds to our prayers, in his own way and his own time. He will create new ways, to meet today’s needs, of bringing Christians together.

Prayer

Lord, make us your disciples, attentive to your Word, day and night. On our journey towards unity, give us hope for fruit in due season. When prejudices and suspicion seem to dominate, we pray you, give us the humble patience necessary for reconciliation. Amen.

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 4 has been posted on our website.

See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all (1 Thess 5: 15)

Ex 3: 1-12 • God hears the cry of the Israelites
Ps 146 • The Lord…secures justice for the oppressed
1 Thess 5: (12a) 13b-18 • See that none of you repays evil for evil
Mt 5: 38-42 • Offer no resistance to one who is evil

Commentary

Together as God’s people, we are called to pray for justice. God hears the cry of the oppressed, the needy, the orphan and the widow. God is a God of justice and answers with his Son, Jesus Christ, who commands us to work together in unity through peace and not through violence. Paul also emphasizes this in the words “see that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all”.

Christians pray without ceasing for justice, that every single human person will be treated with dignity and given a fair share in this world. In the United States of America, the injustice of the slavery of Africans ended only with a bloodletting civil war, followed by a century of state-sponsored racism. Even the churches were segregated according to colour. Sadly, racism and other forms of bigotry, such as fear of the alien, still linger in American life.

Yet it was through the efforts of the churches, particularly the African-American churches and their ecumenical partners, and most especially through the non-violent resistance of the Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, that civil rights for all were enshrined in American law. His deeprooted conviction that only Christ-like love truly conquers hate and brings about the transformation of society continues to inspire Christians, drawing them together to work for justice. Dr King’s birthday is a national holiday in the USA. Each year, it falls either just before or within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

God heard and responded to the cries of the Israelites. God continues to hear and respond to the cries of all who are oppressed. Jesus reminds us that God’s justice is embodied in his own willingness to sacrifice his own security, his own power and prestige and his very life to bring to our world the justice and reconciliation through which all human beings are treated as equal in worth and dignity.

It is only as we hear and respond to the cries of the oppressed that we can move forward together on the road to unity. This also applies to the ecumenical movement, where we may be required to “go the extra mile” in our willingness to listen to one another, reject vindictiveness and act in charity.

Prayer

Lord God, you created humanity, male and female, in the divine image. May we pray without ceasing and with one mind and heart that those who are hungry in our world will be nourished, that those who are oppressed will be freed, that all human persons will be treated with dignity; and may we be your instruments in making this yearning a reality. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 3 has been posted on our website.

Admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted (1Thess 5 : 14)

Jon 3: 1-10 • The repentance of Nineveh
Ps 51: 8-15 • Create a pure heart in me
1 Thess 5: (12a)13b-18 • Encourage the faint-hearted
Mk 11: 15-17 • A house of prayer

Commentary

In the beginning and at the heart of the ecumenical enterprise can be found a pressing call to repentance and to conversion. We sometimes need to know how to call each other to task within our Christian communities as Paul invites us to do in the first epistle to the Thessalonians. If one or the other causes division, he should be rebuked; if some are afraid of all that a difficult reconciliation could imply, they should be encouraged.

Why hide the fact? If divisions between Christians exist, it is also through a lack of will to be committed to ecumenical dialogue and even, simply, to prayer for unity.

The Bible tells us how God sent Jonah to rebuke Nineveh and how the whole city repented. In the same way, Christian communities must listen to the Word of God and repent. In the course of the last century, we have not been lacking in prophets of unity who have made Christians aware of the unfaithfulness manifest in our divisions and reminding them of the urgency of reconciliation.

In the image of the vigorous intervention of Jesus in the temple, the call to Christian reconciliation can seriously call into question our narrow self-understanding. We too have a great need of purification. We need to know how to rid our hearts of all that prevents them from being a true house of prayer, concerned for the unity of all peoples.

Prayer

Lord you desire truth deep-down within us: in the secret of our hearts, you teach us wisdom. Teach us to encourage each other along the road to unity. Show us the conversion necessary for reconciliation. Give to each of us a new, truly ecumenical heart, we pray you. Amen.

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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[CCCB press release] The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is pursuing the work it began nearly 20 years ago on sexual abuse by publishing Orientations for diocesan sexual abuse protocols.

The document is intended to assist Catholic dioceses in Canada in updating their diocesan protocols for the prevention of sexual abuse and for their pastoral response to complaints about possible sexual abuse of minors by clergy or other personnel under diocesan responsibility.

By publishing the Orientations, the CCCB is supporting the work of the Bishops who continue to ensure appropriate measures in their respective dioceses, so children can be in a safe pastoral environment.

The Orientations repeat, clarify and reinforce the recommendations in From Pain to Hope which has been an indispensable reference since its publication in 1992 by the Catholic Bishops of Canada.

The Orientations are the result of extensive consultations – including with victims – and a long, though necessary and fruitful reflection and analysis. Lay experts were also consulted, including specialists in child psychology and others working with young adults and children on a regular basis. The expertise of dioceses, religious organizations and other institutions such as community groups, schools, and sports clubs was also sought out so their experiences as well as research helped to shape the document being made public today.

“These new orientations add to the wide array of resources which the dioceses already have to help improve their diocesan protocols for sexual abuse. The priority is to prevent abuse of any kind, respond to complaints, offer full collaboration with civil authorities, and reduce the risk of sexual abuse,” stated Most Reverend V. James Weisgerber, Archbishop of Winnipeg and President of the CCCB.

Because each diocesan Bishop is autonomous, each is responsible for adopting a diocesan protocol, as well as initiating, supporting and maintaining the means for preventing sexual abuse, and also for responding to abuse complaints in the diocese.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 2 has been posted on our website.

Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5: 18)

1 Kings 18:20-40 • The Lord indeed is God
Ps 23 • The Lord is my shepherd
1 Thess 5: (12a)13b-18 • Give thanks in all circumstances
Jn 11:17-44 • Father, I thank you for having heard me

Commentary

Praying is rooted in the trust that God is powerful and faithful. God alone is the one who holds all in his hands, the present and the future. His word is credible and truthful.

The story of Elijah in 1 Kings impressively demonstrates the oneness of God. Elijah berates the apostates who worship Baal, who is not answering their prayers. Yet when Elijah prays to the one God of Israel, the response is immediate and miraculous. Realizing this, the people turned their hearts back to God.

Psalm 23 is a profound confession of trust. It depicts a person who believes that God guides him and stays with him also in the darkness of life and in situations of desolation and oppression.

We may find circumstances that may be difficult, even turbulent. We may have moments of despair and resignation. Sometimes we feel that God is hidden. But he is not absent. He will manifest his power to liberate in the midst of human struggle. Thus we give thanks to him in all circumstances.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead is one of the most dramatic scenes recorded in John’s gospel. It is a manifestation of Christ’s power to break the bonds of death and an anticipation of the new creation. In the presence of the people Jesus prays aloud, thanking his Father for the mighty deeds he will do. God’s saving work is accomplished through Christ so that all will come to believe.

The ecumenical pilgrimage is a way in which we realize the wondrous deeds of God. Christian communities which have been separated from each other come together. They discover their unity in Christ and come to understand that they are each part of one church and need one another.

The vision of unity can be darkened. It is sometimes threatened by frustrations and tensions. The question may arise whether we Christians are truly called to stay together. Our continuous praying sustains us as we look to God and trust in him. We are confident that he is still at work in us and will lead us to the light of his victory. His kingdom begins with our reconciliation and growing unity.

Prayer

God of all creation, hear your children as we pray. Help us keep our faith and trust in you. Teach us to give thanks in all circumstances, relying on your mercy. Give us truth and wisdom, that your church may arise to new life in one fellowship. You alone are our hope. Amen.

***

Source: 2008 Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
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The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being observed in Canada from January 20 to 27th. The theme is taken from I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

One resource for the Week is a series of biblical reflections for the 8 days. Today’s reflection for Day 1 has been posted on our website.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Bien que la prière soit sans nul doute au coeur de la vie chrétienne, prier ensemble n’est pas une tâche facile pour les Eglises qui forment la chrétienté mondiale. Même aujourd’hui, les prières communes sont des événements exceptionnels plutôt qu’une partie de la vie quotidienne des Eglises. Mais au moins une fois par an, il est devenu “normal” pour beaucoup d’Eglises et de communautés de prier ensemble lors de la célébration annuelle de la Semaine de prière pour l’unité des chrétiens. En 2008, le 100e anniversaire de cette initiative œcuménique hautement significative est célébré partout dans le monde.
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Although prayer is certainly at the heart of Christian life, praying together is not an easy exercise for churches within worldwide Christendom. Even today, common prayers are exceptional events rather than part of the daily life of the churches. But at least once a year it has become “normal” for many churches and congregations to pray together during the annual celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In 2008, the 100th anniversary of this most meaningful ecumenical initiative is being celebrated around the globe.
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This year marks the 100th anniversary of International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in North America, and the 20th anniversary of the event in Saskatoon. Sister Juliana Heisler, director of parish life at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, has witnessed a steady increase in interest over the past two decades. “Services of prayer
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If you pray for something for 100 years you might find the prayer refines itself in the light of new realities, and then perhaps the prayer itself deepens your understanding and broadens your horizon. For 100 years Christians have been formally setting aside seven or eight days in January to pray with Christ for unity. “It’s really about being on our knees together and praying for the unity that is willed by God, in the way God wants, when God wants,” [Marianist] Father Luis Melo told The Catholic Register.

…

After 100 years of acknowledging Jesus’ last will and testament in prayer, the theme for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “Pray Without Ceasing.” “We’ve come to a new level of maturity in terms of ecumenical activity,” said Atonement Friar Father Damian MacPherson, ecumenical and interfaith affairs officer for the archdiocese of Toronto. “Perhaps that’s why it’s becoming more difficult.”

Glib talk of an easy and obvious unity among Christians may have been common in the first decade or more after the Second Vatican Council, but as churches make substantial progress — the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Lutheran World Federation and the 1965 rescinding of the excommunications of 1054 between Orthodox and Catholic Churches — ecumenists begin to see how long the road to unity might be. “We cannot be looking for giant steps. It’s painfully slow, painfully slow,” said MacPherson. “Patience is the hallmark of the good ecumenist.”
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“Pray without ceasing” is the theme of the 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Celebrated in Canada from January 20 to 27th, this year the theme is drawn from the St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (I Th. 5:17). Paul’s encouragement to pray without ceasing is particularly apt for this year’s Week of Prayer which commemorates the 100th anniversary of this annual observance.

The materials from the 2008 WPCU international resource package are available for download in PDF format. Adapt these materials in your own settings, and print the worship service freely in your own church bulletins.

Worship services and other events are scheduled across Canada and around the world. Events are listed on this website for Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Saskatoon, Victoria, and Winnipeg. If you would like us to list your WPCU event in Canada, please email the webeditor.
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2008 is the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the United States. In 1908, the Rev. Paul Wattson, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, suggested that the period between January 18 and 25 be an octave of prayer for Christian unity. In this proposal, he was giving form to Pope Leo XIII’s 1894 call for an octave of prayer, and to earlier suggestions from the Lambeth Conference and various other leaders. Wattson and the Friars observed the octave at Graymoor beginning in 1908, and championed the octave throughout the United States. In France, efforts to establish the octave in France were led by Fr. Paul Couturier beginning in the late 1920s. Further details can be found in our “A brief history of the Week of Prayer” written by Nicholas Jesson.

2008 offers an opportunity to look back at our efforts at Christian unity and to recognize the central importance of prayer together in Jesus’ name. A new website for the 100th anniversary observances has been established at the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute.
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A hundred years on from the establishing of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, how much further forward are we? And what exactly are we praying for during this week of prayer? On the whole, it’s become a fixture for most “mainstream” denominations, a few days when the more enthusiastic or more biddable members of the congregation turn up to someone else’s church for a well-mannered but often rather lukewarm joint service or two, or perhaps for a talk by a prominent local leader.

The aspiration that we end up relating better with each other, or even that we end up more willing to engage in witness and work together is entirely worthy, and is probably widely fulfilled. But are we praying for anything more than this?

For some people, the answer is clearly “no”. To look beyond this fostering of local goodwill, they would say, is always in danger of slipping towards the yearning for some universal institution with clear central control – at worst, a Pullmanesque Magisterium, some people’s nightmare of Roman Catholicism.
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The United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in all member states. The resolution passed on Tuesday by a vote of 104 to 54 with 29 abstentions. This is the third attempt to pass a moratorium resolution in the General Assembly. Previous attempts in 1994 and 1999 failed. The current resolution called on member states to “progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed.”
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Designer babies, nanotechnology, and genetically modified crops were a few of the topics covered at a Dec. 2-5 consultation in Johannesburg, SA. The Global Consultation for Genetics, New Biotechnologies, and the Ministry of the Church gathered 45 church representatives, scientists, young people, indigenous people, disabled people, and theologians to talk about biotechnology, defined as the industrial use of microorganisms or biological substances.
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Ce matin près la Salle-de-Presse du Saint-Siège, le Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Préfet de la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi, Mgr.Angelo Amato, SDB, Secrétaire de ce même dicastère, le Cardinal Francis Arinze, Préfet de la Congrégation pour le culte divin et la discipline des sacrements, et le Cardinal Ivan Dias, Préfet de la Congrégation pour l’évangélisation des peuples, ont présenté la Note doctrinale sur certains aspects de l’évangélisation.

Le Cardinal Levada a d’abord dit que ce document veut répondre “à une certaine confusion quand à la question de savoir si les catholiques doivent témoigner de leur foi”, et qu’il envisage “certains points précis semblant entraver la réalisation du mandat missionnaire donné par le Christ”.
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This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of a “Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization” prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Cardinal Levada explained that the document is intended to respond “to a certain confusion about whether Catholics should give testimony about their faith in Christ. The congregation,” he said, “decided to address some specific points which seem to undermine the fulfillment of Christ’s missionary mandate. It does so under three general headings:” the anthropological, ecclesiological and ecumenical implications of evangelization.
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La Note doctrinale sur certains aspects de l’évangélisation, élaborée par la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi, a été publiée aujourd’hui.
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A consultation has been held in London to review the progress of the report of the Anglican – Methodist International Commission “Sharing in the Apostolic Communion”, which was received by the World Methodist Council in 1996 and the Lambeth Conference in 1998. The meeting was chaired by the Revd Professor Robert Gribben, Chair of the Standing Committee for Ecumenics and Dialogues of the World Methodist Council, and Bishop Harold Miller, Bishop of Down and Dromore in the Church of Ireland, nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General on behalf of the Anglican Communion. Five members were nominated by each church for the purpose of this review. The meeting took place from 30 October to 1 November 2007 at the historic Wesley’s Chapel.
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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the governors of the Anglican Centre in Rome are delighted to announce the appointment of the Very Revd David Richardson as the Archbishop’s Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Centre. David Richardson is Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne Australia and was previously Dean of St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide. David Richardson succeeds the Right Reverend John Flack, former Suffragan Bishop of Huntingdon, as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s personal representative in the Holy See. Bishop John retires in February. David Richardson will take up his appointment after Easter.
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Aujourd’hui est publiée la seconde Encyclique de Benoît XVI, Spe Salvi, qui comprend une introduction suivie de huit chapitres, et qui s’ouvre passage de l’Epître aux romains où Paul dit que nous avons été sauvés dans l’espérance.
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