Changes now being considered to the structure of the United Church of Canada could conceivably ease clergy-sharing and other forms of cooperation between that church and the Anglican Church of Canada, say some leaders from the two churches.

One challenge now facing merged Anglican and United congregations, as noted in a report issued following the conclusion of the most recently completed round of dialogue between the two denominations, is that they lack an agreement allowing the interchangeability of ministries. Clergy of one church have been allowed to serve as clergy for the other generally only in circumstances regarded as exceptional, such as in ecumenical shared ministries, for which special permission needs to be granted by the authorities of each denomination.
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Saskatoon Theological Union (St. Andrew’s College) will be offering a “Preparing for Ecumenical Ministries” course from January 18-22, 2010, for credit or audit. It will run from 9-5 daily. The instructor will be Sandra Beardsall (Professor of Church History and Ecumenics).

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Ecumenical Shared Ministries: an idea whose time has come?

by Rev. Dr. Jan Bigland-Pritchard
(Executive Director, Prairie Centre for Ecumenism & Coordinator, Shared Ministries Bureau)

In Winnipeg, a Catholic parish and an Anglican parish share a large building on a busy city street. In Shell Lake Saskatchewan, Anglican, Lutheran and United Church Christians have joined buildings and hearts together to form one worshipping community with joint staff and programming. In Montreal, downtown clergy of two denominations start talks about sharing a worship space: one has a big church with a small congregation, while the other has a congregation with no suitable place to meet. In Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, three existing congregations are about to break ground for a new church facility which will serve them as one congregation and help them serve the needs of their town. In Biggar, Saskatchewan, the Anglican and Lutheran pastors run a ‘Monday School’ kids club for the children of the whole town. What are all these Christians doing? They are exploring ecumenical shared ministry.

An Ecumenical Shared Ministry (ESM) exists where Christians of more than one denomination worship and serve God in a united way while still maintaining their denominational identities and connections. ESMs take many forms, from sharing a building, to sharing programs, staff and worship. There are an estimated 80-150 ESMs in Canada. Some are found in tiny rural communities. Some are in major cities. Most ESMs are located in Western Canada and the Maritimes, and new ones are forming all the time.

Ecumenical Shared Ministries are showing themselves to be part of the solution to the problem our churches face in the rural areas, and in new urban areas. In places where numbers are diminishing due to rural depopulation, ESMs offer a way for rural Christians of several denominations to work together in ministry to their communities without losing their denominational allegiances. In the new city suburbs in Western Canada, denominations are stretched to finance the planting of new churches, and some are creating new urban ESMs, like the Living Spirit Centre in Regina. These ESMs not only maximize limited financial resources, but also give ‘flesh’ to Christians’ spiritual commitment to seek Christian unity and reconciliation.

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St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon is pleased to announced that Sandra Beardsall, professor of ecumenics and church history, will offer a five-day course (for credit or audit) called “Preparing for Ecumenical Ministries,” June 4-8, 2007 (course #HA 356).
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by Jana G. Pruden, Regina Leader Post [Lumsden, SK] On a day that celebrates the life of St. Francis of Assisi, four Christian church groups came together in an agreement that would have made him proud. Representatives of the Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church and Franciscan Friars met Monday on St. Francis’s
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