Growth in Agreement I
Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, 1972-1982 Meyer, Harding & Lukas Vischer, eds., WCC Publications, 2007. ISBN: 978-2-8254-15108
from the Western Report 8, no.17 (1993): 44. Not since the Eastern and Western churches went their separate ways in 1054, with bitter reciprocal excommunications all around, has there been quite so much talk and hope for eventual reunification of the Christian world as there is today. “Ecumenism” has been a focus of much talk … Read more »… À suivre »
Pope John Paul II, in issuing a fresh initiative to promote Christian unity, has provided Protestants and Catholics a rare opportunity to work through long-standing theological differences in a modern context.
In North America, evangelicals and Catholic leaders say the pope’s invitation to examine together the role of the papal office is historic and significant. But there is disagreement on whether meaningful unity is achievable, even with the pope’s endorsement in the May 30 encyclical on Christian unity, Ut Unum Sint (“That They May Be One”). A common concern that Orthodox and Protestant believers share is opposition to the pope’s claim to a unique role in Christendom.
“The Catholic Church’s conviction that in the ministry of the Bishop of Rome she has preserved … the visible sign and guarantor of unity constitutes a difficulty for most other Christians, whose memory is marked by certain painful recollections,” the pope acknowledges. “To the extent that we are responsible for these, I join my predecessor Paul VI in asking forgiveness.”
Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and former Lutheran, now with the New York-based organization Religion and Public Life, says the statement is “historic” and “unprecedented.”
Neuhaus has formed an important link to the evangelical movement through working with Prison Fellowship’s Charles Colson. From this coalition emerged the controversial “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (CT, March 6, 1995, p. 52). … Read more »… À suivre »
Protestants and Catholics are working together more and more these days in Canada. Each believes it is the best expression of Christian faith, and each has often condemned the other’s teachings. Now some are trying to move beyond these criticisms and to forge limited new forms of cooperation, according to a series of articles in the May/June issue of Faith Today.
Gary Walsh, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), visited the offices of the Catholic Bishops in Ottawa and found himself “thanking the Lord for the things we share in common.” Despite doctrinal differences between the two organizations, EFC is having regular contact and working closely with Catholics on public policy issues such as abortion, family life and euthanasia, according to the lead article by Harold Jantz, a consultant and project manager of church-related projects in Winnipeg.
Sr. Donna Geernaert, who speaks for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ottawa, observes that not only have Catholics and the EFC joined with one another for presentations to government, they’ve also coordinated their efforts so they could prepare complementary briefs.
George Vandervelde of Toronto, convener of the World Evangelical Fellowship‘s task force on ecumenical issues, believes that dialogue between evangelicals and Catholics is important “simply to understand one another and clarify how we are different and how we are similar.” He says we shouldn’t be bearing false witness against each other. “If in evangelicalism we say this or that against Roman Catholicism, we should know that we are speaking truth, and you can find that out only by speaking to one another.” … Read more »… À suivre »
Representatives of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Evangelical Alliance met in dialogue August 8-11, 2006 on the campus of the International Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Prague, Czech Republic. Although informal contacts had occurred during the past 50 years, this was the first official meeting of the two groups. The purposes of the dialogue were to gain a clearer understanding of the theological positions of each body; to clarify matters of misunderstanding; to discuss frankly areas of agreement and disagreement on a Biblical basis; and to explore possible areas of cooperation. … Read more »… À suivre »
(Prague, République tchèque — WEA/APD) Des représentants de l’Eglise adventiste du septième jour au niveau mondial et de l’Alliance Mondiale Évangélique (WEA) se sont rencontrés pour un dialogue du 8 au 11 août 2006 sur le campus du Séminaire baptiste international, situé à Prague, République tchèque. Bien que des contacts informels aient eu lieu au cours des 50 dernières années, c’était la première rencontre officielle de ces deux groupes. Les objectifs de ce dialogue étaient : d’arriver à une compréhension plus claire despositions théologiques de chacun de ces groupes ; de clarifier des malentendus ; de discuter avec franchise et sur une base biblique les points d’accord et de désaccord ; et d’explorer des domaines possibles de collaboration. … Read more »… À suivre »
A new statement has been published by Evangelicals and Catholics Together, an ad-hoc group of theologians and church leaders headed by Charles Colson and Richard John Neuhaus. This text, entitled “That They May Have Life,” is the sixth statement issued by ECT since 1994. In their most recent offering, ECT returns its focus to public policy, morality, and the so-called “culture wars.” Seeking to promote dialogue within the US on the “culture of life,” the group affirms that they share common interests and concerns with those who oppose them. These include a common interest in the American experiment and a common humanity with its God-given capacity for reason. The text, which has the tone of a pastoral letter, appears to be interested in a dialogue between secular culture and Christians.
While this latest document is to be welcomed for its clear articulation of certain aspects of the “culture of life,” and for the continuing efforts of Evangelicals and Roman Catholics to speak together on issues of shared concern, it is disappointing for many of the same reasons that the first ECT statement was criticized. There is very little contribution made here to the ecumenical rapprochement between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics. Many of the issues that the participants agreed upon in this statement will divide them from others within their own churches. This statement will likely be received as just another contribution to the abortion debate by the Religious Right. To me, it seems like like they weren’t reaching high enough. … Read more »… À suivre »
Evangelical theology stresses the importance of a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ and sees the transformation of individuals as an important part of the transformation of the world. However, the notion of a purely privatized faith in which the gospel only affects individual, personal or family life but has no wider implications for society must be rejected as inadequate. … Read more »… À suivre »
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. … Read more »… À suivre »
Evangelical and Catholic Christians recently gathered to pray and to celebrate their common faith in Jesus Christ at a joyful gathering at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Saskatoon.
Sharing song, scripture and prayer, some 300 people attended the groundbreaking gathering March 22, 2011. Pastor Harry Strauss of Forest Grove Community Church, representing the Saskatoon Evangelical Ministers Fellowship, and Bishop Donald Bolen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon presided together at the service. Welcoming all those attending from many denominations and local churches, Bolen described the origins of the event, which he traced back to the prayer and friendship experienced when three Catholic women joined those in the Evangelical community gathering regularly to pray for local Alliance Church Pastor Ken Rutherford, who was ill with cancer and who died in September 2010.
“It was Ken’s request that those who gathered would also pray for the wounded body of Christ in the city of Saskatoon,” said Bolen, who attended one of the prayer services, where he first met Ken’s wife Lenna. “Eventually I got to meet Pastor Ken as well, and I was stirred by his profound desire for unity and reconciliation.”
In a sermon shared with Bolen and Strauss, Lenna Rutherford recalled her husband’s experience of joy when he introduced two of his beloved friends to each other – something that also reflected his experience of connecting to other friends through a mutual love of Jesus Christ.
Christ had introduced Ken to many other dear friends. Ken found them in many shapes and presentations, they came from many pastoral and priestly places, in various denominations across the city and Ken found that he was called to see not from a worldly, or religious, or denominational point of view, but from Christ’s point of view, which was: “let me introduce you to someone I love so much that I died for them too.’” … Read more »… À suivre »
When the new pope is consecrated, he will inherit a troubled global church. Internal scandal and unaddressed external problems pose great risks to the vitality of Catholicism. But the consequences of success or failure are huge for the church universal, the world’s 2.1 billion Christians of every denomination.This is more than a butterfly effect. Rome is not Las Vegas—what happens in Rome will not stay within the borders of Vatican City. One consequence of globalization is that the walls that have long divided Catholics from Orthodox, mainline Protestants, evangelicals, and Pentecostals are eroding.
Brian Stiller,a global ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance, commenting about Catholic and evangelical relations, wrote on his blog recently, “Not in 500 years have the two sides been so close and friendly.” … Read more »… À suivre »
For more than two years, a group of Evangelical and Catholic Christians in Saskatoon have been meeting to talk about their common faith in Jesus Christ, discussing what is shared, as well as examining where their understandings and convictions differ.
Formally appointed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Evangelical Ministers Fellowship, the local dialogue group is now in the process of writing a joint statement, just as a second Catholic-Evangelical worship service is being planned for Saskatoon Nov. 14.
It was after the first shared worship service in March 2011 at St. Paul’s Catholic Cathedral that a small group of church and ecumenical leaders met to try and find ways for the two traditions to further engage in common prayer, common witness, common mission and common study. A dialogue group was subsequently launched, with the first meeting held in December 2011.
Rev. Harry Strauss, associate pastor at Forest Grove Community Church (left) and a member of the Saskatoon Evangelical Ministers Fellowship, and Nicholas Jesson, ecumenical officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, are part of the 20-member dialogue group, which includes 10 representatives from each tradition.
Both Strauss and Jesson are also serving on a four-member committee that is now drafting a joint statement emerging from two years of conversation, study and relationship building.
Strauss describes the joint statement: “We confess our common faith, we acknowledge our differences and we affirm our common mission.”
Although the joint statement is not finished, there are plans to introduce portions at the 7 p.m. Nov. 14 Evangelical-Catholic worship service being hosted by Circle Drive Alliance Church, led by Pastor Eldon Bolt. … Read more »… À suivre »
What one speaker described as a “fellowship of the burning heart” was evident Nov. 14 in the spirit of joy characterizing the second Catholic-Evangelical worship service to be held in Saskatoon, this time hosted by Circle Drive Alliance Church. The reference to the gospel story from Luke about the disciples on the road to Emmaus – who felt their hearts burning within them at the words of the resurrected Jesus Christ – resonated during the celebration of joy and thanksgiving for shared Christian faith and love of God’s word. The celebration began with Evangelical leaders entering down one aisle, and Catholic leaders down another. Rev. Eldon Boldt of Circle Drive Alliance and Saskatoon Catholic Bishop Donald Bolen then each lit a candle from a central candle, symbolizing Christ. When the celebration ended, the two leaders carried out the lit candles in the unity of a procession of both Catholic and Evangelical Christians down a single aisle. … Read more »… À suivre »
In what might very well be a historic first, on Sunday January 19 Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Bolen was the guest preacher at one of Saskatoon’s flagship Evangelical churches, Circle Drive Alliance Church. Pastor Eldon Boldt invited Bishop Bolen to preach some months ago and suggested January as a possible time. Boldt has been offering the congregation a series of sermons through January on the theme of Reconciliation so the bishop’s sermon on Christian unity was a natural fit. Nevertheless, the significance of the occasion was not lost on anyone, including the congregation of Holy Family Cathedral to whom Bolen had preached earlier in the morning. Before he left for Circle Drive Church, the Catholic congregation gave Bolen a rousing cheer amid their prayers for Christian unity and thanksgiving for their bishop’s ecumenical passion.
The invitation to Circle Drive Church did not come out of the blue. Pastor Boldt and Bishop Bolen have been friends for a number of years and have happily shared together in prayer and witness. They are both members of a joint consultation committee between the Catholic diocese and the Saskatoon Evangelical Ministers’ Fellowship (SEMF). … Read more »… À suivre »
“I’m always a bit nervous. I’m very mindful of my own shortcomings and inadequacies whenever I preach anywhere,” Bolen told The Catholic Register a few days after his Jan. 19 appearance at Saskatoon’s Circle Drive Alliance Church. “I did prepare more because they told me I had 30 minutes. Sweet, but it did require more preparation.”
Bolen preached on the story of the woman caught in adultery and Jesus’ ruling under the law that the one who has no sin should cast the first stone.
“He chose a beautiful text,” said Circle Drive Pastor Eldon Boldt. “Jesus showed grace and it was mercy upon mercy upon mercy. One girl wrote me (after the service) and said, ‘I don’t know why, but I found myself choking back tears as the bishop spoke.’ Well, that’s just the Holy Spirit.”
A Catholic bishop preaching in an Evangelical church is a rarity. As a member of the Evangelical-Roman Catholic International Consultation, Bolen hasn’t heard of other bishops preaching to Evangelicals. He plans to bring it up when the official international dialogue meets in March. … Read more »… À suivre »
When evangelicals and Catholics set aside centuries of mutual suspicion 20 years ago, the idea was fairly simple: Even if we can’t always work together, at least let’s not work against each other. Now, two decades after the launch of the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together, relations between the two groups appear stronger than ever, forged by shared battles over abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom and immigration. A new pope is finding crossover appeal among evangelicals who share Pope Francis’ emphasis on evangelism and his distaste for the fancier trappings and authoritarianism of the papacy. “The first affirmation of Evangelicals and Catholics Together is that Jesus Christ is Lord, and there’s the source of our hope,” Catholic theologian Matthew Levering of Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago told the recent Q conference of evangelical movers and shakers in Nashville, Tenn. “This was an anchor for when they began to discover that we share the same gospel.” … Read more »… À suivre »
Pope Francis has taken the first steps towards forging unprecedented bonds with evangelical and charismatic Protestant groups, CCN has learned. The Pope met for three hours June 24 with several evangelical and charismatic leaders over lunch at his residence inside the Vatican. Occurring outside of the Pope’s official schedule, the meeting had no formal agenda or secretaries present. Bishop Tony Palmer, ecumenical officer of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC), said the meeting could lead towards concrete steps for a visible unity after 500 years of division. Following a discussion about religious persecution and religious liberty, the Pope and his guests discussed the creation of a global initiative specifically for the persecuted Church, according to Brian Stiller, global ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). In a report for Revival Magazine, Bruno Ierullo, co-chairman of United in Christ North America, who did not attend the meeting, said it marked “the beginning of a Joint Declaration between this large faction of the Evangelical world and the Roman Catholic Church.” United in Christ promotes ongoing dialogue between emerging charismatic churches and the Roman Catholic Church. … Read more »… À suivre »
Pope Francis’ friend Bishop Tony Palmer of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC) died in England July 20 after his motorcycle collided with another vehicle.
According to e-mail reports obtained from The Ark Community he founded, three teams of surgeons tried to save Bishop Palmer’s life but he passed away in the evening, leaving behind his wife Emiliana and two teenaged children. Bishop Palmer was in his early 50s, and grew up in South Africa, though recently he had been living in England.
The bishop recently facilitated an historic private meeting of evangelical and charismatic leaders June 24 with Pope Francis at the Holy Father’s residence inside the Vatican. The two had become friends when Palmer was doing ecumenical work with charismatic Catholics in Buenos Aires.
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) global ambassador Brian Stiller was among the leaders present at the June meeting with Pope Francis.
“Tony was a most remarkable young man,” he said in an e-mail. “I so well remember his gracious and active leadership in bringing members of the World Evangelical Alliance together in conversation with Pope Francis late June.
“However, with his life and witness still fresh in our memory, I believe it is important that we carry on, as he would have desired, finding ways for our major Christian bodies to have friendship and to understand our respective communions,” said Stiller, who headed the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada for 16 years. … Read more »… À suivre »
During his visit with an evangelical pastor and his congregation in the Italian city of Caserta, Pope Francis apologized for the persecution of Pentecostal Christians by Italian Catholics. His remarks were greatly welcomed by evangelical leaders, who responded in a similar way. They also apologized to Catholics. The president of the World Evangelical Alliance, Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, said he was sorry about the discrimination that Protestants, including Evangelical Christians, also imposed on Catholics. “While we can disagree theologically, this should never lead to discrimination or persecution of the other,” he said. The Rev also added that the Pope’s step in apologizing is a great example, and should be a message to the entire world, especially for those countries where tensions between Catholics and Protestants remain. Geoff Tunnicliffe attended the Pope’s Inauguration Mass. He also visited the Vatican for the Pope’s meeting with evangelical leaders at Casa Santa Marta. The World Evangelical Alliance represents about 600 million Protestants in nearly 130 countries. … Read more »… À suivre »
The Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Saskatoon has recently issued a draft “Common Statement of Faith” after three years of study. The text is offered to our sponsoring churches for study and discernment, with the prayer that this text might be adopted as a sufficient statement for further dialogue and common mission.
Three community-wide meetings have been planned to present and discuss the draft statement.
October 16 – “We Confess our Shared Faith” 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 at Church of Christ, 134 Cardinal Crescent, Saskatoon (beside Leon’s Furniture Store).
December 4 – “We Acknowledge our Central Differences” 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 at St. Paul’s Co-Cathedral, 720 Spadina Crescent East, Saskatoon (Spadina and 22nd St).
February 5 – “We Affirm our Common Mission” 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5 at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1636 Acadia Drive, Saskatoon.
For further information contact Nick Jesson, Roman Catholic diocesan ecumenical officer at jesson [at] ecumenism [dot] net or (306) 659-5814; or Pastor Harry Strauss, Forest Grove Community Church at harry [at] forestgrovecc [dot] com or (306) 933-2266. … Read more »… À suivre »
The Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Saskatoon has recently issued a draft “Common Statement of Faith” after three years of study. The text is offered to our sponsoring churches for study and discernment, with the prayer that this text might be adopted as a sufficient statement for further dialogue and common mission.
The dialogue is sponsored by the Saskatoon Evangelical Ministers’ Fellowship (SEMF) and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon. The group was established in 2011 to build upon earlier efforts to draw our churches together. The twenty members of the dialogue are drawn from across the Evangelical and Catholic communities with both clergy and lay people well represented. The dialogue spent two years exploring issues that have historically divided Catholics and Evangelicals before concluding that a statement of the faith we share in common would assist in promoting the growing relationship between our churches. Over a year in drafting and revision, the statement offered to our church at this time is not intended to be a final or complete exposition of these doctrinal matters or of all of the matters essential to Christian faith. We intend to give an account of the hope that we share for the visible witness of Jesus Christ by his followers in Saskatoon. … Read more »… À suivre »
Read the 2015 joint statement of the Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogue in Saskatoon, Called to Common Witness
Growth in Agreement I
Permanent link: https://ecumenism.net/?p=6059
Evangelical and Catholic Christians recently gathered to pray and to celebrate their common faith in Jesus Christ at a joyful gathering at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Saskatoon.
When the new pope is consecrated, he will inherit a troubled global church. Internal scandal and unaddressed external problems pose great risks to the vitality of Catholicism. But the consequences of success or failure are huge for the church universal, the world’s 2.1 billion Christians of every denomination.This is more than a butterfly effect. Rome is not Las Vegas—what happens in Rome will not stay within the borders of Vatican City. One consequence of globalization is that the walls that have long divided Catholics from Orthodox, mainline Protestants, evangelicals, and Pentecostals are eroding.
For more than two years, a group of Evangelical and Catholic Christians in Saskatoon have been meeting to talk about their common faith in Jesus Christ, discussing what is shared, as well as examining where their understandings and convictions differ.
What one speaker described as a “fellowship of the burning heart” was evident Nov. 14 in the spirit of joy characterizing the second Catholic-Evangelical worship service to be held in Saskatoon, this time hosted by Circle Drive Alliance Church. The reference to the gospel story from Luke about the disciples on the road to Emmaus – who felt their hearts burning within them at the words of the resurrected Jesus Christ – resonated during the celebration of joy and thanksgiving for shared Christian faith and love of God’s word. The celebration began with Evangelical leaders entering down one aisle, and Catholic leaders down another. Rev. Eldon Boldt of Circle Drive Alliance and Saskatoon Catholic Bishop Donald Bolen then each lit a candle from a central candle, symbolizing Christ. When the celebration ended, the two leaders carried out the lit candles in the unity of a procession of both Catholic and Evangelical Christians down a single aisle. 
In what might very well be a historic first, on Sunday January 19 Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Bolen was the guest preacher at one of Saskatoon’s flagship Evangelical churches, Circle Drive Alliance Church. Pastor Eldon Boldt invited Bishop Bolen to preach some months ago and suggested January as a possible time. Boldt has been offering the congregation a series of sermons through January on the theme of Reconciliation so the bishop’s sermon on Christian unity was a natural fit. Nevertheless, the significance of the occasion was not lost on anyone, including the congregation of Holy Family Cathedral to whom Bolen had preached earlier in the morning. Before he left for Circle Drive Church, the Catholic congregation gave Bolen a rousing cheer amid their prayers for Christian unity and thanksgiving for their bishop’s ecumenical passion.
Preaching to Evangelicals at the beginning of the 
When evangelicals and Catholics set aside centuries of mutual suspicion 20 years ago, the idea was fairly simple: Even if we can’t always work together, at least let’s not work against each other. Now, two decades after the launch of the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together, relations between the two groups appear stronger than ever, forged by shared battles over abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom and immigration. A new pope is finding crossover appeal among evangelicals who share Pope Francis’ emphasis on evangelism and his distaste for the fancier trappings and authoritarianism of the papacy. “The first affirmation of Evangelicals and Catholics Together is that Jesus Christ is Lord, and there’s the source of our hope,” Catholic theologian Matthew Levering of Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago told the recent Q conference of evangelical movers and shakers in Nashville, Tenn. “This was an anchor for when they began to discover that we share the same gospel.” 
Pope Francis has taken the first steps towards forging unprecedented bonds with evangelical and charismatic Protestant groups, CCN has learned. The Pope met for three hours June 24 with several evangelical and charismatic leaders over lunch at his residence inside the Vatican. Occurring outside of the Pope’s official schedule, the meeting had no formal agenda or secretaries present. Bishop Tony Palmer, ecumenical officer of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC), said the meeting could lead towards concrete steps for a visible unity after 500 years of division. Following a discussion about religious persecution and religious liberty, the Pope and his guests discussed the creation of a global initiative specifically for the persecuted Church, according to Brian Stiller, global ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). In a report for Revival Magazine, Bruno Ierullo, co-chairman of United in Christ North America, who did not attend the meeting, said it marked “the beginning of a Joint Declaration between this large faction of the Evangelical world and the Roman Catholic Church.” United in Christ promotes ongoing dialogue between emerging charismatic churches and the Roman Catholic Church. 
During his visit with an evangelical pastor and his congregation in the Italian city of Caserta, Pope Francis apologized for the persecution of Pentecostal Christians by Italian Catholics. His remarks were greatly welcomed by evangelical leaders, who responded in a similar way. They also apologized to Catholics. The president of the World Evangelical Alliance, Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, said he was sorry about the discrimination that Protestants, including Evangelical Christians, also imposed on Catholics. “While we can disagree theologically, this should never lead to discrimination or persecution of the other,” he said. The Rev also added that the Pope’s step in apologizing is a great example, and should be a message to the entire world, especially for those countries where tensions between Catholics and Protestants remain. Geoff Tunnicliffe attended the Pope’s Inauguration Mass. He also visited the Vatican for the Pope’s meeting with evangelical leaders at Casa Santa Marta. The World Evangelical Alliance represents about 600 million Protestants in nearly 130 countries.