From October 27 to 31, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s (ELCIC) Conference of Bishops and the Anglican Church of Canada’s (ACC) House of Bishops have been meeting jointly in Niagara, Ontario. In a letter sent from the ELCIC today, the Conference of Bishops express their commitment to, "walking in partnership with our sisters and brothers of the Anglican Church of Canada, and continuing to work to deepen our full communion relationship."
A copy of the full text of the letter follows:
Dear friends,
We, the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, write to you having just concluded five days of joint meetings with the Anglican House of Bishops. It was a particular honour and a privilege, and a sign of our deepening full communion relationship, to be present during the discussion on the agreement by many bishops at Lambeth on three moratoria: on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-gender relationships, and on cross-border interventions.
The diversity of opinions expressed reflects a similar diversity that we experience within our own church. We, too, continue to seek to discern the mind and heart of Christ for the wholesome care of all members of his Body, the Church. We echo the desire to “stay at the family table” and commit to walking in partnership with our sisters and brothers of the Anglican Church of Canada, and continuing to work to deepen our full communion relationship.
Yours in Christ,
+ The Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop
+ The Rev. Gerhard Preibisch, Bishop of the British Columbia Synod
+ The Rev. Ron Mayan, Bishop of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories
+ The Rev. Cynthia Halmarson, Bishop of the Saskatchewan Synod
+ The Rev. Elaine Sauer, Bishop of the Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Synod
+ The Rev. Michael J. Pryse, Bishop of the Eastern Synod
View a pdf version of the letter here: www.elcic.ca/Documents/documents/2008LettertoACCHouseofBishops.pdf
The ACC House of Bishops also released a statement at the conclusion of their meetings. The full version is available online at: www.anglican.ca/news/news.php?newsItem=2008-10-31_hob.news
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 174,555 baptized members in 620 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
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