In recognition of her contribution to ecumenism on the local, national and international levels, the 2006 Ecumenical Leadership Award is presented to Renaude Grégoire. Born in 1960, in the aura of the Second Vatican Council and the opening up towards other Christian denominations, Renaude Grégoire studied theology at the University of Montreal, rubbing shoulders with the great thinkers of the various Christian churches.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper should move immediately to release funds designated for affordable housing, according to the leaders of four Canadian churches — Archbishop Andrew Hutchison of the Anglican Church of Canada, Bishop Ray Schultz of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Rev. Peter Short of the United Church of Canada and Henry Hess of the Christian Reformed Church of North America.
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La Journée internationale pour l’élimination de la discrimination raciale est mars 21, l’anniversaire du massacre à Sharpeville en 1960.
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[Toronto • February 19, 2006] The Muslim Canadian Congress has condemned attacks on Churches in Pakistan and Nigeria that have led to the death of 15 Christians, including women and children. In an appeal to Muslims across the world, the Muslim Canadian Congress is urging them to resist the temptation of participating in public demonstrations
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Prominent national Canadian Muslim organizations and umbrella groups have signed an unprecedented statement praising Canada’s collective response to the cartoon controversy, saying Canada has “made Canadian Muslims proud.” “Despite a few small occurrences, Canada’s collective response to this controversy has allowed us to overcome this crisis and strengthen our democracy,” says Dr. Tyseer Aboulnasr, a
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[Toronto • 17.2.2006] The United Church of Canada has sent a letter to the Islamic Council of Imams expressing the church’s “deepest regret that the name of Muhammad has been so tragically misused in the depictions of cartoons first published in Europe, but now also in Canada.” The letter strongly condemns the publication of the
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The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism has traditionally had open office hours five mornings per week. Starting the first week of 2006, the office hours will be: Monday — 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday — 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday — 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday — 8:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to
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We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus, the coming of hope to our world: hope for love and belonging; hope for compassion and sharing; hope for forgiveness and reconciliation; hope for justice and peace. How does the celebration of Christmas hope shape our interactions during a federal election campaign? An election campaign provides many
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[KAIROS Canada] The upcoming federal election has been seen by many as an intrusion on the Christmas season — something that doesn’t — and shouldn’t — be on our minds during this festive, family time. At KAIROS, we think there is another way to look at the relationship between Christmas and public affairs. Perhaps the
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The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism’s 21st birthday party will be celebrated with an open house on November 17 at 4 p.m. Come and join us for tea and cake. In addition we will be dedicating our new photocopier!

En vue de reconnaître et de promouvoir l’animation œcuménique tant au plan local qu’au plan régional, le Centre canadien d’œcuménisme décerne annuellement l’Ordre du Mérite œcuménique canadien. Le nom du récipiendaire sera dévoilé dans notre numéro de décembre 2005. Nous vous invitons donc à soumettre des candidatures accompagnées d’une courte description de leurs réalisations œcuméniques.
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To promote and recognize Grass-roots Ecumenical Leadership on the local or regional level, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism confers an annual Ecumenical Leadership Award. The recipient will be announced in the December 2005 issue of Ecumenism. We invite our readers to submit the names of the candidates with a brief description of why they are
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From September 30th until October 4th, The Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, will be paying his first official visit to the churches of Canada.

Dr. Kobia will begin his visit in Winnipeg where he will give a public lecture on the topic of ‘Ecumenism in the 21st century’ at the University of Winnipeg. In the afternoon of September 30th he will meet with aboriginal leaders.

In Toronto, Dr. Kobia will meet with various church houses and speak at a dinner for the church leaders of Canada. On Saturday, October 2nd, he will give the theme address at a public lecture, at 10:00 a.m., sponsored by Toronto School of Theology and the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism at Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology. The topic of his address will be ‘The Impact of Inter-Faith Relationships on the Theology and Practice of Classical Ecumenism’.
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Le Rév. Samuel Kobia, secrétaire général du ConsConseil œcuménique des Églises parmi nous du 30 septembre au 4 octobre; il s’agira de sa première visite officielle aux Églises du Canada.

M. Kobia se rendra d’abord à Winnipeg, où il prononcera une allocution publique sur le thème de « l’œcuménisme au 21e siècle » à l’université de Winnipeg. L’après-midi du 30 septembre, il rencontrera des dirigeants autochtones.

À Toronto, il rencontrera diverses organsations ecclésiales et prendra la parole lors d’un dîner pour les dirigeants des Églises canadiennes. Le samedi 2 octobre à 10 heures, il prononcera l’allocution thématique lors d’une conférence publique parrainée par la Toronto School of Theology et le Centre canadien d’œcuménisme à Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology. Son allocution aura pour thème « L’impact des relations interreligieuses sur la théologie et la pratique de l’œcuménisme classique.»

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During 2003, the Courts of Appeal in Ontario and British Columbia ruled that restricting marriage to couples of opposite sexes is discriminatory under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms equality provisions. As a result of the court decisions, marriage between same-sex couples in these two provinces became legal. The federal government has chosen not to appeal these rulings. Instead, the Chrétien government announced its intention to introduce new legislation in Parliament to legalise same-sex marriage across Canada and to ensure that the Charter provisions are respected. A reference was sent to the Supreme Court of Canada seeking clarification on a number of issues. In January 2004, the new Martin government affirmed its intention to reform the law, and asked the Supreme Court to respond as soon as possible. There will likely be a federal general election before any response from the Supreme Court is available.
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Le mariage est une structure fondamentale de toutes les sociétés humaines. Indépendamment des perspectives religieuses ou culturelles, chaque communauté humaine a reconnu, encouragé, et célébré le mariage. Les liens matrimonials et familials garantissent la stabilité et l’ordre social. Dans beaucoup de sociétés, les privilèges légaux résultant du mariage assurent et protègent l’héritage et le soin des enfants et des personnes âgées.

Les chrétiens considèrent que le mariage est plus qu’une institution humaine. Dieu nous a donné des partenaires. Nous sommes créés à l’image de Dieu, comme communauté des personnes dans l’amour réciproque et l’appui mutuel. « C’est pourquoi un homme se séparera de son père et de sa mère et s’attachera à sa femme, et les deux ne feront plus qu’un. » (Gen. 2.24) Cependant, les pratiques matrimoniales ne sont pas les mêmes dans chaque culture. Les églises chrétiennes ont lutté avec des pratiques tels que la polygamie, le mariage arrangé, les dots, et les accords pré-nuptiaux. Est-ce que toutes ces pratiques reflètent l’image de l’amour trinitaire ?
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Marriage is a fundamental structure of all human societies. Regardless of religious or cultural perspectives, every human community has recognised, encouraged, and celebrated marriage. Marital and familial bonds provide stability and social order. In many societies, the legal privileges resulting from marriage ensure and protect inheritance and the care of children and the elderly.

Christians consider marriage to be more than a human institution. God has given us partners. We are made in the image of God, a community of persons in mutual love and support. “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Gen 2:24) However, marital practices are not the same in every culture. Christian churches have struggled with practices such as polygamy, arranged marriage, dowries, bridal prices, and pre-nuptial agreements. Do all of these practices reflect the image of trinitarian love?
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Bernard Daly was a Canadian journalist standing probably 15 feet in front of Pope John XXIII when the pontiff announced on Oct. 13, 1962, that the Second Vatican Council was about to change the modern world for Catholics.

“I had been a journalist for 14 years, writing about public events and commenting on them,” says Daly, “but the assignment to cover Vatican II as the only English-speaking Canadian journalist was a complete surprise and, in reality, such an honour.

“There he was, on a raised platform in the Sistine Chapel, in front of 1,000 journalists, with that beautiful face and jovial attitude, and none of us knew really what to expect. He spoke in French, I could follow well enough, and the texts were supplied in English later. And what he was telling us was that we should tell the truth, the whole truth, about what was going to happen during the council.”
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Semaine de la justice réparatrice, novembre 16 à 23, 2003, Sentiers vers une Communauté renouvelée

Lorsque nous vaquons à nos activités quotidiennes, nous cherchons à emprunter des sentiers qui nous aideront à vivre en harmonie, parce que nous sommes convaincus que cela améliorera nos collectivités. Les relations sont au coeur de la justice réparatrice, et lorsque nous appliquons activement une approche réparatrice où les personnes en font partie et sont écoutées, nous permettons la compréhension, la guérison, la responsabilisation ainsi que le renouvellement de la communauté.
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«Je suis la vigne, vous êtes les sarments: celui qui demeure en moi et en qui je demeure, celui-là portera du fruit en abondance… Ce que je vous demande c’est de vous aimer les uns les autres.» (Jean 15, 5 et 17)

Bienvenue à notre nouveau site web intitulé «œcuménisme au Canada».

Ce site est développé conjointement par les deux centres au Canada qui s’occupent des relations interchrétiennes et interreligieuses, le Centre canadien d’œcuménisme et le Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. Il vise à montrer les fruits nombreux que portent les différentes Églises au Canada.
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“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit… I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” (John 15:5 and 17)

Welcome to our new website entitled “Ecumenism in Canada.”

This site was developed jointly by the only two Canadian centres working in the area of interchurch and interfaith relations: the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, Saskatoon, and the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, Montreal. It aims to show the many fruits produced by the Christian Church in Canada.
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A photo of Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, a devout Anglican, standing before a Roman Catholic archbishop to receive communion has prompted a renewed discussion in the two denominations over the issue of who may take communion in a Catholic church.

After the photo was published in January in the Ottawa Citizen, there was a flurry of letters to the newspaper over the issue. The story was widely covered across the country and the letters and coverage prompted a published response in the newspaper from Archbishop Marcel Gervais, Catholic archbishop of Ottawa.
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In recognition of their contribution to ecumenism on the local, national and international levels, the 2001 Ecumenical Leadership Award is presented to Ray and Fenella Temmerman.

Ray, along with his wife Fenella, are an interchurch couple who have been active in the Canadian Association of Interchurch Families since it was established in 1996. Ray pioneered interchurch families on the Internet, by establishing the interchurch families website [www.interchurchfamilies.org] which is the premiere website for interchurch families worldwide. His website hosts information on interchurch families and their associations around the world and in several languages. Ray continues to be the webmaster and email list administrator for interchurch families.

From August 1-6, 2001 Canada hosted an international conference for interchurch families in Edmonton, Alberta. This conference brought together families from eight countries on three continents to share their joys and pains of interchurch life. The success of this conference is largely due to Ray’s efforts. Ray was involved in the planning for the 2001 conference since it was conceived in July 1998 and was an anchor in the planning from the beginning. He set up an e-mail list expressly for the preparation of this conference and ensured that Canadian families from across the country had input into the format and content of the conference. He also organised regular Internet chat sessions leading up to the conference where people from around the world, including a couple from England, discussed electronically, issues relating to the conference. It was through these chat sessions that the site for the conference was decided, the theme for the conference was established, and the keynote speakers were selected, among other issues. Ray’s expertise with computers and the Internet has given people from across the country a chance to make a real contribution to the conference.
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Growing up in Winnipeg, I had a stereotypical image of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Albertans were cowboys and oilmen while people from Saskatchewan and rural Manitoba were all grain farmers. Saskatchewan was flat, dull, and almost barren. We used to joke, half seriously, that when driving west from Winnipeg one should leave in the evening so
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