Leaders of U.S. Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches will sign a historic agreement Tuesday in Austin [Texas] by which the two traditions will formally recognize each other’s liturgical rites of baptism.

The product of seven years of talks among five denominations, the agreement will be signed at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at a prayer service and celebration at St. Mary Cathedral. The service will be open to the public and will be part of the opening day activities of the national meeting of Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A., which will continue through Friday in Austin.

Representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Christian Reformed Church in North America, Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ will sign the document.
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This afternoon at 5:30pm, for the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Benedict XVI presided over second Vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls. The celebration marked the closure of the 46th Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year had the theme: “What does God require of us?” Many representatives from other Churches and ecclesial communities participated in the celebrations, including Metropolitan-Archbishop Gennadios (Limouris), representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Rev. Richardson, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury. Communion in the same faith is the basis for ecumenism,” the Holy Father said, emphasizing that “God gives us unity as something inseparable from the faith” and that “the profession of baptismal faith in God, the Father and Creator, who has revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ, pouring out the Spirit who gives life and holiness already unites Christians. Without faith―which is first a gift from God, but also the response of human persons―the entire ecumenical movement would be reduced to a type of ‘contract’, to adhere to out of common interest. … The doctrinal questions that still divide us should not be overlooked or minimized. Rather, they should be faced with courage, in a spirit of fraternity and mutual respect. Dialogue, when it reflects the priority of faith, can be open to God’s action with the firm confidence that alone we cannot build unity, but that the Holy Spirit is the one who guides us toward full communion and who allows us to see the spiritual wealth present in the different Churches and ecclesial communities.”
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The Ecumenism in Canada website is changing, moving, and growing. In its various forms since 1995, this site has continued to serve the global ecumenical community with a mission to “call the churches to visible unity in one faith, one baptism, and one eucharistic fellowship.” This mission is, of course, not ours alone. We find these words in the mission and vision of the World Council of Churches and they are echoed in the agreed statements of numerous dialogues.

The website has had a close relationship with the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism since the beginning. When I was executive director of the PCE, I began to play around with a website in my spare time sometime in the fall of 1995. Over the past 17 years, the site has grown into one of the most significant ecumenical websites, with over 10,000 visitors per month. The site has always given priority to collecting documents and other resources as a partial archive of the ecumenical movement in our time, and as a way of assisting the formation of an informed ecumenical leadership.
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon and St. Thomas More College are pleased to inaugurate a new series of lectures and workshops that will bring to Saskatoon distinguished ecumenists from around the world. Our hope is that this will be an annual event, sometimes in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The series is named in honour of Fr. Bernard de Margerie. Those who know him, know that his greatest complement is to remind you to “stay humble.” His own humility is one of the many virtues he has brought to ecumenical ministry for over fifty years. Bernard is best known for his work in founding the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in 1984, and serving as its first director for the next decade, but his ecumenical interest was sparked long before by Pope John XXIII who opened the Catholic Church to the ecumenical movement. Bernard’s vision for the ecumenical movement has always placed prayer at the centre. Spiritual ecumenism, which is fostered in prayer together and for each other, promotes humility about the distinctive aspects of our own faith and life. Through the early years of Catholic ecumenism, in the euphoria of new relationships between our churches, Bernard patiently and prayerfully built firm relationships that have seen us through the so-called “ecumenical winter.”
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The first event of a new ecumenical speaker series was held in Saskatoon Jan. 19, on the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, as Anglican Bishop Gregory Cameron of Wales presented a morning ecumenical workshop about “Lessons learned in ecumenism.” Cameron spoke in a joyful “affective” way about the work for Christian unity – telling stories of lessons he has learned through his ecumenical experiences – rather than addressing doctrine, shared mission or spiritual ecumenism. Through discussion questions, he also encouraged participants to share their experiences of ecumenism. “I think it is very important to list and to explore the benefits of ecumenism, to celebrate the riches of ecumenical experience,” Cameron said, stressing that such personal experience can be an important answer to those who question the need to work for Christian unity. “Unless we can recognize what gifts the Lord gives us through the ecumenical journey, we are never going to be able to talk with passion and commitment about why the Church needs to be One.” Cameron therefore explored seven blessings that he has experience on his own ecumenical journey – life lessons from numerous encounters – listing them in seven key words: faith, challenge, joy, nurture, friendship, Christ, and vision.
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An international trilateral dialogue between Mennonites, Catholics and Lutherans began in Rome, 9-13 December 2012.

According to a joint release issued after the Rome meeting, the overall theme of the five-year process is “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church.” The release further stated: “This innovative trilateral forum will allow the dialogue to take up questions surrounding the theology and practice of baptism in the respective communions.”

The three international communions came to the inaugural meeting with a history of bilateral dialogues with each other. They mutually agreed to hold three-way talks on baptism, a topic that had surfaced in earlier exchanges.
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“Christian unity is an intrinsic dimension of God’s grace to us. It belongs to our faith, as we also confess it together in the creeds of the early church. To belong to Christ means to belong to the body of Christ, the church,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). He was referring to the covenanting process of five church denominations in Wales.
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Gathered in the name of the Triune God, the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO), under the chairmanship of the Most Revd Bernard Ntahoturi, Archbishop of Burundi, met for daily prayer, Bible Study of 2 Corinthians and celebration of the Eucharist, and to prepare their report for the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, 26 October-8 November 2012 (ACC-15). Members reflected on the Christian calling to work for the visible unity of God’s Church as ambassadors for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation. The Commission received updates from ecumenical dialogues with Lutherans, Methodists, the Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholics. Work relating to the Anglican Communion Covenant, Instruments of Communion, theological anthropology, and reception continued.
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Réunie au nom de Dieu Trinitaire, la Commission Inter-Anglicane sur l’Unité, la Foi et l’Ordre s’est tenue pour la prière quotidienne, étude biblique sur 2 Corinthiens, l’Eucharistie et s’est engagé dans la préparation du rapport pour la réunion du Conseil Consultatif Anglican devant se tenir à Auckland NZ en octobre et novembre 2012. Les travaux se sont aussi concentrés sur l’anthropologie théologique, la surveillance et la réception des rapports sur les dialogues oecuméniques bilatéraux comme Anglican-Luthérien ; Anglican-Catholique Romain ; et Anglican-Reformés. Le sujet de la Réception continue à être discuté par l’IASCUFO.
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An international Anglican commission considered a number of ongoing and proposed ecumenical dialogues at its meeting in Dublin from Sept. 12-19, according to a news release from the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS).

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

The commission received updates from ecumenical dialogues with Lutherans, Methodists, the Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholics. Regarding Anglican-related work, the group discussed the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant, the Anglican “instruments of communion,” theological anthropology and reception.
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One of Canada’s most eminent theologians and one of the greatest Catholic experts in ecumenism has died. Margaret O’Gara, Professor of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, entered the realm of eternal life on Thursday, August 16, at age 65. She had suffered from cancer for two years.

In 37 years of work as a theologian O’Gara was able to foster dialogue among Christians for the sake of overcoming divisions between the churches. Besides her teaching, research, writing, and extensive public lecturing, she was a member of official ecumenical dialogues in Canada, the United States, and at the international level. She served terms as president of both the North American Academy of Ecumenists and the Catholic Theological Society of America.
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The Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity had its fourth meeting from 12-19 July 2012 at the “Johann-Adam-Möhler-Institut für Ökumenik” in Paderborn, Germany. This is the fifth round for an official dialogue which began already in 1967. Looking toward the 500th Reformation anniversary in 2017, the Commission noted that this year will mark also the 50th anniversary of this process of dialogue. Harvesting the results of this ecumenical work, the Commission finalized a document “From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017.”
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At a historic meeting in Malaysia, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order approved a new theological agreement and proposed a major restructuring of its work in the future.

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

— Read the complete story on our website
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The Rev. Carlos Malave, who for the past 11 years has served as associate for ecumenical relations in the Office of the General Assembly, has accepted a call as executive director for Christian Churches Together (CCT).

Created in 2001, CCT is a forum of more than 35 churches and Christian organizations that encompasses the broad diversity of Christianity in the U.S. ― Evangelical, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostals, historic Protestant, Racial and Ethnic churches.

“I’m convinced CCT offers hope to our country for a reconciliation that’s inclusive of all Christian traditions,” Malave told Presbyterian News Service in a June 14 interview. His selection as CCT’s executive director was confirmed June 19. “CCT is still an experiment in the works,” Malave said. “There are still some gaps, but the intention and possibility of being fully inclusive is there.”
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A preparatory meeting for the 16th session of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission identified areas of agreement and a considerable number of open questions and differences between the two traditions on their understanding of ministry/priesthood in the Church.

Meeting in London 5-10 May, representatives from The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Ecumenical Patriarchate began a new phase in the commission’s work by exploring the topic “The Understanding of Ministry/Priesthood in the light of the Holy Scriptures and the early Church,” which had been agreed at their 2011 meeting.
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The Anglican Church of Canada has entered a new round of dialogue with the United Church of Canada. The aim is to explore ways in which the two churches can work together for more effective ministry and mission.

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

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

Read the complete story by Marites N. Sison from the Anglican Journal
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After years of preparation, a new Christian denomination will be formed this week in France when two synods meet in the eastern town of Belfort, a location historically important in the growth of Protestantism.

The Reformed Church of France (L’Église Réformée de France, ERF) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (L’Église Évangélique Luthérienne de France, EELF) are merging to form the United Protestant Church of France (L’Église Protestante Unie). The new entity will be a reality after the churches’ synods meet 17-20 May, said Pastor Laurent Schlumberger, president of the ERF’s national council.
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The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has completed the second meeting of its new phase (ARCIC III), at the Mission to Seafarers in Kowloon, Hong Kong (3-10 May 2012).

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

Read more on “Ecumenism in Canada”
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The Archbishop of Birmingham has said he understands those frustrated with ecumenical dialogue but stressed the long term aim is “full visible unity”. Archbishop Bernard Longley was speaking to The Tablet days before members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) gathered for their latest round of meetings in Hong Kong, which was due to start on Friday.
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Representatives of a broad range of Christian churches and organizations met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 14 to 19 January to complete a report and make recommendations for significant advances toward Christian unity and inter-religious cooperation.
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As of Jan. 2, the Anglican Church of Canada will have a dedicated new advocate for ecumenism.

Archdeacon Bruce Myers, missioner of communications in the diocese of Quebec, will assume a one-year, part-time position as coordinator for ecumenical relations with the Faith, Worship and Ministry department of General Synod.

“I’ve always had a passion for ecumenism even if I didn’t always call it that,” says Myers, who is manager of the Quebec diocese’s website and editor of its newspaper, Gazette. “Early on, I recognized that it was not right that the body of Christ was divided into so many pieces.”

Myers, who holds a master’s degree in ecumenical theology from the The Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Switzerland, now brings that passion to healing the divisions in Christendom, so much of which was united as one church for 15 centuries. “I think ordinary Christians of every denomination are questioning whether the differences are all that important when we share so much in common,” he says. “The overarching ecumenical task is how to mend those broken fences and relations.”
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In the first century, when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians about the Church as “one body with many members,” he had no idea of the differences and divisions that would come to fragment the Church so many centuries later. Paul wrote to address the particular concerns that were plaguing the early Christian communities. He pointed out that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.”

It’s not difficult for us to apply the metaphor of the Church as the body to our congregations. We recognize the different gifts that are shared within our church communities – preaching, teaching, administration, music, hospitality, prayer, evangelism, and more – and we learn to value the different gifts and to acknowledge their importance for the healthy functioning of the church as a whole, as one body.

But what if this metaphor is meant to apply not only to the local congregation, but to the whole Church throughout the world? John’s Gospel indicates that it was Jesus himself who first prayed for the unity of the Church: “I ask … on behalf of those who will believe in me … that they may all be one … so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)
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Teams from the Baptist World Alliance and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople held exploratory talks Oct. 30-Nov. 2 that could lead to formal dialogue between Baptist and Orthodox Christians internationally.
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A top Vatican ecumenist said different types of divisions affect Catholic relations with the Orthodox churches and with those that were born from the Protestant Reformation, but both can be resolved with dialogue.

He also criticized the “anti-Catholic attitude” displayed by some Pentecostals and said Catholics must resist a temptation to adopt the “sometimes problematic evangelical methods” of those churches.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Swiss-born president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, spoke at The Catholic University of America Nov. 3. The title of his talk was “Fundamental Aspects of Ecumenism and Future Perspectives.”
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The island of Malta located in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and the shores of Tunisia and Libya was the setting for the last plenary meeting of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) before the forthcoming WCC assembly in 2013 in Busan (Korea). Malta has been at the crossroads of Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East throughout its history. According to Acts 28, the Apostle Paul stayed three months on the island following his shipwreck on the way to Rome. While a prisoner, he established the Church in Malta that remains faithful to its apostolic origins until today. Meeting in Rome and Damascus before, the members of the JWG were again reminded of the breadth of St. Paul’s missionary vision of the church and community in Christ. Our deliberations were guided by the words of St. Paul to “receive one another just as Christ has received you, for the glory of God” (Rom 15:7).
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To Love and Serve the Lord is the title of a new report published in October by the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission (ALIC) on diakonia (church social service work). Jointly produced by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Anglican Communion for the third phase of their bilateral dialogue – ALIC III – the publication offers a diverse array of stories about church ministries that are transforming relations between churches in both communions.

The ALIC III co-chairpersons Lutheran Bishop Dr Thomas Nyiwe (Cameroon) and Anglican Archbishop Bishop Fred Hiltz (Canada) point out that the concluding report of the 2006-2011 dialogue period was intended to highlight what both partners had learned from their growing experience and therefore focus on “why growth in relations between Anglican and Lutheran churches is possible.”
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Jonathan Luxmoore and Christa Pongratz-Lippitt, The Tablet The head of the German Church’s Ecumenical Commission has said that he believes the Pope “rehabilitated” the reformer, Martin Luther, during his visit to the country last month, write Jonathan Luxmoore and Christa Pongratz-Lippitt. Speaking on 23 September to the council of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, in
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As the Bishop of Rome, it is deeply moving for me to be meeting you here in the ancient Augustinian convent in Erfurt. As we have just heard, this is where Luther studied theology. This is where he was ordained a priest. Against his father’s wishes, he did not continue the study of Law, but instead he studied theology and set off on the path towards priesthood in the Order of Saint Augustine. And on this path, he was not simply concerned with this or that. What constantly exercised him was the question of God, the deep passion and driving force of his whole life’s journey. “How do I receive the grace of God?”: this question struck him in the heart and lay at the foundation of all his theological searching and inner struggle. For Luther theology was no mere academic pursuit, but the struggle for oneself, which in turn was a struggle for and with God.
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The joint commemoration of the Reformation by Catholics and Lutherans could begin with an admission of guilt by both sides, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, said in an interview last week. The Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation are planning a joint declaration on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. “Without joint recollection, joint purification and without an admission of guilt on both sides, an honest commemoration will not be possible,” Cardinal Koch told the Austrian Catholic Press Agency.
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Representatives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Mennonite World Conference held the first of several theological conversations June 28 to July 1, 2011 at the world headquarters of the 17 million-member Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland.

For four days representatives of both world communions exchanged ideas and perspectives centering on the theme of “Living the Christian Life in Today’s World.” After each group presented an overview of the history of their communion, papers were also presented by each group on the topics of peace, non-violence and military service; discipleship and non-conformity; health, healing/salvation and ecology; and the nature and mission of the church.

… continued.
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by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt for The Tablet Pope Benedict XVI has intervened personally to demand more time for ecumenical talks with the Protestant Churches when he visits Germany in September. In a highly unusual move he has written directly to the leader of the Protestant Churches, Chairman Nikolaus Schneider, expressing dissatisfaction with the brevity of the
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Statement issued by the participants of an ecumenical Theological Consultation on Tourism organised by the Ecumenical Coalition On Tourism (ECOT), Thailand, and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), in Chennai, India, from 19-21 March 2011.
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The co-Chairmen and co-secretaries of the new phase of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) have drawn up a plan for the first meeting of the Commission. This will be hosted by the Monastery of Bose, northern Italy, from 17 to 27 May 2011. The new phase of ARCIC’s work was mandated by Pope Benedict XVI and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, at their meeting in Rome in November 2009.
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According to Pastor Harry Strauss, the Saskatoon Evangelical Ministers Fellowship (SEMF) intention is to build up fellowship among its members and within the wider community.

Strauss is an associate pastor at Forest Grove Community Church and chair of SEMF which is an association and fellowship of pastors and leaders from about 40 evangelical churches in the city. It also includes representatives from a dozen or so para-church organizations like Youth for Christ, Power to Change, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and Christian Counselling Services.

SEMF has been operating for many years as an organization that sees its membership constantly changing.

“The heart of our mission is to foster a spirit of unity among Christian ministers and ministries in the city,” Strauss says.

The group meets monthly, and in recent years has become involved in a number of interesting initiatives.
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The leaders of many Saskatoon churches gathered on Wednesday, November 24th to sign a letter of support for Station 20 West’s Good Food Junction grocery store. The churches have agreed to work together as an ecumenical advent project, to raise much-needed funds for the equipment required by the store.

At today’s public event, the Rev. Amanda Currie (Presbyterian Church in Canada) and Bishop Donald Bolen (Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon) offered their reflections on this project. Speaking about the dream of having a full-service grocery store in the core neighbourhoods, Currie said: “What may come as a surprise to many people across Saskatoon is that many of the families and individuals who live in the core neighbourhoods are not dreaming that they’ll get to move to the East side. Their dream is the transformation of their own neighbourhoods. And that is a dream that can become a reality.”

“We do have differences which separate us as Christian communities, but nevertheless we chose to stand together today,” said Bolen, the Roman Catholic bishop of Saskatoon. “We hope this is an invitation to all of Saskatoon to rise above differences, political differences, differences of neighbourhoods or perspective, to join in support of people of Pleasant Hill.”

“The only politics that really belongs here is the politics of providing food to people who need food, to providing food security for this neighbourhood,” said Bolen.
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By Nicholas Jesson On April 24th next year, we will celebrate Easter together in the Eastern and Western calendars. This happens occasionally, and it can always be a moment of great ecumenical opportunity. However, it also reflects one of the deepest divisions in the Body of Christ. Easter, as the celebration of the passion, death,
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Members of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States approved by unanimous consent on October 17 the dialogue’s final report on “The Hope of Eternal Life.” The 65-page report represents the fruit of the dialogue’s four-and-a-half-year study. It explores issues related to the Christian’s life beyond death, such as the communion of saints, resurrection of the dead, and final judgment, as well as historically divisive issues such as purgatory, indulgences, and prayers for the dead.
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The Lutheran commitment to ecumenism will not end until members can share the Eucharist with other churches, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to a news release from Lutheran World Information (LWI).

The LWF Assembly is the organization’s highest legislative body, and it is meeting here July 20-27. The LWF is 140 member churches in 79 countries, representing more than 70 million Christians worldwide.

Speaking at a July 21 news conference following the presentation of his report to the LWF Eleventh Assembly, Hanson outlined progress made in ecumenical relations, but said that “we must continue the dialogue about theological issues that still prevent us from communing together,” LWI reported.
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A fully integrated meeting with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is planned to take place at the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod 2013 in Ottawa.
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Two ecumenical partners greeted the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod members on Wednesday. The Archbishop of Halifax Anthony Mancini represented the Roman Catholic Bishops of Canada, and Moderator Mardi Tindal represented the United Church of Canada.
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The fifth round of the Lutheran – Roman Catholic Commission on Unity had its first meeting, 19-24 July 2009 at the Christian Jensen Kolleg in Breklum, Germany. The commission’s work will focus first on the ecumenical significance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and then on the topic “baptism and growth in communion.”
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SEI 2009: Formation of Catholics on unity still ‘severely lacking’

Four panelists reflected on the state of the ecumenical movement during a Summer Ecumenical Institute organized by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism June 2 – 5 in Saskatoon.

The churches and their leadership need a new conversion to Christian unity, said Rev. Bernard de Margerie, founder of the Prairie Centre. “The journey has become too long, too heavy, and light has dimmed.”

… read the entire article at ecumenism.net/news/
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The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations (IASCER) held its last meeting in Kyoto, Japan, under the chairmanship of the Most Revd Drexel Gomez, Primate of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. The Commission is charged with reviewing current international ecumenical dialogues involving Anglicans, and provincial and regional initiatives towards unity with other Christians. IASCER consists of representatives from each international dialogue involving Anglicans, including the multilateral dialogue of Faith and Order, and of certain other commissions and networks, and consultants who bring particular regional or theological expertise.
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LWF Council receives ecumenical reports

• LWF Council Approves Preparation of a Lutheran Statement to Ask Forgiveness for Anabaptists Persecutions
• Council Actions Affirm Ecumenical Dialogues and Conversations

[Arusha, Tanzania • LWI] The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) voted to provide for preparation of a statement that will, on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), ask for forgiveness for Lutheran persecutions of “Anabaptists,” in which many died as this violence was justified by appeal to the Lutheran Reformers’ theological statements.

Receiving recommendations from its Program Committee for Ecumenical Affairs, the Council also acknowledged with appreciation the communiqués from the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission in 2007 and 2008, and commended the study commission for its thorough and important work. It encouraged the Commission to publish the final report of its work in 2009.

The committee, chaired by Prof. Joachim Track, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Germany, had discussed the outcome of the Lutheran-Mennonite study commission, and focusing on the 11th Assembly in July 2010, elaborated possible Assembly actions with regard to weighing the language of regret and asking for forgiveness.

The Council endorsed the committee’s recommendation that Rev. Dr Theodor Dieter, Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg, France; Rev. Dr Donald McCoid, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Archbishop Nemuel A. Babba, Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria, prepare a draft of such a statement.

Lutheran – Roman Catholic Commission on Unity

Based on recommendations from the ecumenical affairs program committee on a fifth phase of the discussions on the Lutheran – Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, the LWF Council received with appreciation the report from the 2007 preparatory meeting, and noted it was looking forward “with hope” to the beginning of a fifth round of the Lutheran – Roman Catholic Commission on Unity.

The LWF governing body also approved the preparation of a “Text on the Anniversary of the Reformation in 2017”, and approved the theme of the Commission’s work, “Baptism and Growth in Communion.”

The Council approved the appointment of Lutheran members to the dialogue, taking into account gender and regional balances. They include co-chair Bishop Dr Eero Huovinen (Finland); Rev. Dr Wanda Deifelt (Brazil); Prof. Turid Karlsen Seim (Norway); Dr Fidon Mwombeki (Tanzania); Prof. Friedericke Nüssel; (Germany); Prof. Michael Root, USA; Prof. Hiroshi Augustin Suzuki, Japan; Rev. Dr Theodor Dieter as a consultant; and an additional woman from Eastern Europe.

Lutheran – Orthodox Relations

The Council received the Common Statement from the 2008 plenary of the Lutheran – Orthodox Joint Commission. It requested the General Secretary and the Office for Ecumenical Affairs to identify one or two additional members for the Commission in order to allow academic specialties necessary for its examination of ministry to be present on the Commission, and to strengthen its gender and regional balance.

The Council also received with appreciation the report from the 2008 conversations with the Oriental Orthodox churches.

Lutheran – Anglican

The Council received the 2007 and 2008 communiqués from the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission.

It also received the communiqué from the 2007 All Africa Anglican-Lutheran Commission (AAALC), and affirmed it would support efforts toward the goal of a full communion relationship among LWF members and those belonging to the Anglican Communion in Africa.

Lutheran – Reformed

The LWF Council received the communiqué from the Lutheran-Reformed Joint Commission 2007 with appreciation. It affirmed the continuation of the common efforts of cooperation between the LWF and its Reformed partners during the time of transition to the World Communion of Reformed Churches, which will unite the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council.

International Lutheran Council

The Council received for information the communiqué from the 2008 contact meeting between the LWF and International Lutheran Council (ILC). It expressed appreciation for the continued consultative process between both global Lutheran bodies.

It affirmed the importance of the communication between the two Lutheran families on issues that are important to both of them and to their respective member churches.

Global Christian Forum

The Council received with appreciation the Final Message from the November 2007 gathering of the Global Christian Forum (GCF). It also received the report of the first subsequent meeting of the GCF committee, and expressed hope for the new expression of Christian unity, and encouragement for its ongoing structure.

Ecumenical Assemblies

The possibility for the Lutheran communion to find room to gather in the context of the “expanded space” foreseen for future assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC) was discussed by the program committee. The Council asked the general secretary to establish an ad-hoc group of about four people to assist in developing and articulating the LWF’s position in preparation for meetings of the WCC Discernment Committee and other discussions on the relation of LWF Assemblies to other ecumenical gatherings. (781 words)

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Around 170 participants attended this year’s Council meeting including church leaders, officials from LWF partner organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators, LWF staff and co-opted staff and accredited media.

The Council is the LWF’s governing body meeting between Assemblies held every six years. The current Council was appointed at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. It comprises the President, Treasurer and 48 persons elected by the Assembly. Other members include advisors, lay and ordained persons, representing the different LWF regions.
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The question of how Christians can witness to their faith in an interfaith world is never easy — and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is hoping to provide guidance in that through a new ecumenical policy statement.

With little discussion, the 218th General Assembly approved the new policy statement on June 25 – listing 10 priorities ranging from peacemaking to bringing more ecumenical voices to the table.

The assembly also reaffirmed the PC(USA)’s commitment to continue working through the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the National Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches, while at the same time strengthening other ecumenical relationships.

And the document contains a biblical and confessional section and an historical overview of the PC(USA)’s long-time ecumenical involvements – putting the 10 priorities into context.

The statement is an effort to explain “why we do what we do” in ecumenical work, said Edward W. Chan, an elder from Los Angeles and chair of the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Relations.

The last policy statements were written before the northern and southern branches of the Presbyterian Church re-united in 1983, and the world has changed a lot since then, Chan told the assembly.
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We hear complaints these days decrying much that is wrong with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): ministers with questionable theology, regrettable statements from denominational officials, and misguided decisions by judicatories at all levels. One effect of these recitations surely is to leave under a cloud Presbyterians who profess continuing loyalty to the denomination. We who remain affiliated with the denomination are often portrayed by separation-minded colleagues as sell-outs, as compromisers, as “lukewarm Laodiceans” who have sacrificed theological and biblical integrity for the sake of unity-at-any-price.

We reject these portrayals and intend now to declare the biblical and confessional faith that leads us to keep faith with our brothers and sisters within the PC(USA). We contend that the decision to remain within the fellowship involves neither a softening of confessional commitments nor a sentimental minimizing of the problems afflicting the denomination. Rather, our commitment to hold firm in common life with our fellow Presbyterians is grounded in the recognition that the hope of the church lies nowhere else than in the saving Lordship of Jesus Christ its Head.

The corollary to this affirmation is the recognition that the decision to leave is questionable as an act of Christian faithfulness. While we do not doubt the godly intentions of many who have left or are considering leaving, we suggest that the path of separation tends to reflect a certain kind of despairing unbelief regarding Christ’s presence in and with the church, an abandonment of hope in a living, acting, and reigning Lord Jesus. Such a position stands in contradiction to the Gospel.
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The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced Oct. 6 that the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, former bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh, will lead the church’s Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations section for four years, effective Nov. 1.

McCoid, 63, completed his service Aug. 31 as a synod bishop, a role in which he served since 1988. He had previously announced he would not be available for re-election as bishop.

McCoid will succeed the Rev. Randall R. Lee, who will conclude his service as section executive on Oct. 31. Lee, 51, has led ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations since 2002.
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An agreed statement entitled “Growing Together in Unity & Mission” was released today by the Anglican Communion Office and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The statement attempts to foster discussion and reflection on the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) over the past 40 years. However, the statement insists, “it is more than this: it is a call for action, based upon an honest appraisal of what has been achieved in our dialogue. Despite our present ‘imperfect communion’, there is, we feel, enough common ground to take seriously how we work together.”
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The Apostolicity of the Church is the title of the current study document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity. With this document, the Commission completes the 1995-2006 fourth phase of the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue at the global level. The study document of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) is aimed at contributing toward deepening communion between the Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran churches. The document has been sent to the respective churches of the mandating bodies and to the wider public of persons and groups engaged in the ecumenical movement.
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