When I teach my students about the ecumenical movement, I tell them that the establishment of the World Council of Churches in 1948 is an historic achievement. It is historic because the WCC is the principal instrument of the ecumenical movement in the 20th century. It is historic because it sets a benchmark in church history for the commitment of the churches to walk together. It is an achievement of unparalleled importance because it brought together the historic churches of the Reformation together with the Eastern churches in a commitment to seek visible unity and common witness. However, even in 1948 there was an awareness that there were essential voices missing from the ecumenical table.
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A letter from Rt. Rev. Rodney Andrews (Anglican bishop of Saskatoon), Rev. Cynthia Halmarson (ELCIC bishop of the Saskatchewan Synod) and Most. Rev. Albert LeGatt (Roman Catholic bishop of Saskatoon) has been sent to the editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. The letter addresses the living conditions at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre, a prison and detention centre operated by the Province of Saskatchewan. The issues raised in the letter have been brought to the attention of the churches and the community by the chaplains serving at the correctional centre.
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Des responsables d’Eglise de Jérusalem ont averti les factions palestiniennes en conflit qu’elles risquaient de déclencher une guerre civile et, proposant de jouer les médiateurs, ils les ont exhortés à mettre fin à la violence afin de pouvoir se concentrer sur la priorité absolue de leur peuple : l’indépendance.

“En tant que responsables des Eglises chrétiennes à Jérusalem préoccupés par la situation actuelle dans les territoires palestiniens, nous tenons à exprimer nos craintes pour nos populations, qu’elles soient chrétiennes ou musulmanes, en raison de la détérioration des relations entre les leaders du Fatah et du Hamas et entre leurs forces armées,” ont-ils déclaré.
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Church leaders in Jerusalem have warned warring Palestinian factions they could trigger civil war and, offering to play a mediating role, they are urging an end to violence in order for them to focus on the true priority of their people – independence.

“As leaders of the Christian churches in Jerusalem concerned at the present situation in the Palestinian Territories we feel we must voice our anxiety for all our people – Christian and Muslim alike – at the deteriorating relations between Fatah and Hamas leaders and the armed forces,” they said.
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Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. Yet in the churches there is a fear of conflict, and a tendency to go for peace at any price, sweeping conflict under the carpet until it cannot be contained. The 2007 Summer Ecumenical Institute aims to help church people build a vision of how conflict can become a force for good in our communities, and to equip participants with the basic skills they need to become active peace-builders in their own settings.

The Summer Ecumenical Institute (SEI) — scheduled for June 26 to 29 in Saskatoon — is sponsored by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism.
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The Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches USA hopes people will see a new connection between film and theology when it holds its first-ever Oikumene Film Festival to promote further exploration of visual media as a form of ecumenical expression. The festival will be part of the commission’s 50th-anniversary celebration, July
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