In less than two months, delegates representing the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will gather in Winnipeg, Manitoba for the 11th Biennial National Convention of the ELCIC. Over the next few weeks CONVENTION NOTES will share information and highlights on the upcoming gathering.
For more information, please contact:
Ms.Trina Gallop
, Manager of Communications
302 – 393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca
The second article in this series is on the ELCIC and Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) joint day which will take place on June 21, 2007. This article is written by the Rev. Paul Johnson, Assistant to the Bishop for Ecumenical Relations. Further information, including specific information for delegates, is available on the ELCIC website at www. elcic.ca (click on the link to 2007 National Convention).
Joint Day, ELCIC and ACC – June 2007
On a beautiful Sunday morning in July of 2001, in the arena at Kitchener-Waterloo, members of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) General Synod and delegates to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Convention, along with many local members and friends, came together to celebrate the Full Communion relationship between our two churches. There was great jubilation in the congregation, and at the end of the morning, during the recessional music, the Primate of the ACC, Michael Peers, and the National Bishop of the ELCIC, Telmor Sartison, were dancing in the sheer joy of the moment.
Six years have passed. In many ways our two churches are closer than ever. In other ways we realize that there are many differences yet. But, most importantly, we continue to celebrate the Eucharist together, in the full communion which is Our Lord’s desire for all Christians, and we work together in many and various ways, including the full exchange of clergy. There have been and remain numerous instances of ELCIC pastors serving Anglican congregations and ministries, and ACC priests serving ELCIC congregations and ministries, as together we seek to make the best use of the gifted people which God has given us.
On a Thursday morning in Manitoba, the longest day of the year, and National Aboriginal Day, also known as 21 June 2007, our two churches will meet once again, as both bodies hold their national assemblies in Winnipeg. We will spend the day together at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, celebrating our relationship, giving thanks to God for it, as we gather in worship to celebrate our one Saviour, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, to whom the one church belongs. In a day structured as a Eucharistic (thanksgiving) service, about a thousand of us will sing together, pray together, study together, and feast together, at a shared luncheon and most especially at the Lord’s table.
The featured speaker for the day will be Dr. Sallie McFague, Distinguished Theologian in Residence at the Vancouver School of Theology. Her most recent book is Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril. The focus for the day is water, that which gives us life both literally – no living creature on this planet can do without it – and spiritually, as water comes together with the promise of God to bring us into the church of Christ.
The Scripture readings for the day are Isaiah 55.1-11, Psalm 107.33-43,Revelation 22.1-5 and John 4.7-15. The liturgy is built from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, our new primary worship resource (along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, or ELCA); our Anglican partners have expressed a strong desire to be introduced to that which is most important to us, the framework we use as we gather for worship Sunday by Sunday. The musician for the day is our National Convention Musician, Mark Sedio, the Music Director at Central Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The National Bishop, Raymond Schultz, and the Primate, Andrew Hutchison, will share in presiding, in the Thanksgiving for Baptism, that which makes us one, and in the celebration of the Meal which keeps us one. Everyone will be assigned to a table group for the day, half Anglican, half Lutheran, with other factors to keep it all interesting, and each group will spend the day together as we worship in Holy Communion, song, prayer, Scripture, study, and share food together. It promises to be a rich day of fellowship, of growing together, as we give thanks to God for our Full Communion relationship six years in, and recommit ourselves to this shared journey into which Christ has called us.
Rev. Paul Johnson
Assistant to the Bishop for Ecumenical Relations – ELCIC
