On Tuesday, November 5, the ELCIC Cross-Canada Lutheran Day of Learning will be taking place both online and in-person from Waterloo, Ontario.
An event geared towards bringing the church together from coast, to coast, to coast, the day-long experience will feature 12-hours of activity, presentation and education, concluding with the final segment of a five-part Bible study, Experiencing Gospel, by Rev. Dr. Gordon Jensen.
The hybrid event will be an opportunity for participants to tune in from across the country to hear from the ELCIC’s two Lutheran seminaries, Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR)’s Karin Achtelstetter, perspectives from young Canadian Lutherans, reflections on the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Lutheran women in the ELCIC, and the Bible study.
“The part that I think is most unique and exciting about November 5, is the aims to bring the entire church together,” says Rev. Karen Kuhnert, who organized the event. “We are synodically organized and tend to mainly communicate with those we affiliate with geographically: our churches, our communities, our seminaries. Bishop Susan called us into studying, learning and praying together as a part of a big National Church emphasis. This is a manifestation of that in real time.”
The morning session will feature a conversation with CLWR CEO Karin Achtelstetter fresh off the heels of her trip to Indonesia, before the release of the National Church Archive, to which the archivist Amanda Oliver will speak on the physical history of the ELCIC and its predecessor churches.
The afternoon will include two content-heavy panel discussions. The first will be an opportunity to listen to three voices belonging to young Canadian Lutherans (Rebecca Wong, Fred Sourial, Kristina Kuhnert), to which they will share personal struggles within the church, how these experiences have shaped their vision for the future, while discussing their hopes for a more inclusive and engaged church.
This will be followed by a four-person panel pertaining to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the ordination of Lutheran women in Canada, featuring National Bishop Bishop Susan Johnson, Rev. Kuhnert, Deacon Sherry Coman and Rev. Victoria Mwamasika.
“These are people telling stories about the church – about the ELCIC – as they have experienced it, and their hopes for the church in the years to come,” Kuhnert adds. “It’s an amazing opportunity to see what the ELCIC has been about, but also what it’s becoming in this time of transition. If you’re thinking about tuning in to hear what these people have to say, I’d tell you to most certainly do it!”
Learn more about the ELCIC Cross-Canada Lutheran Day of Learning here: https://canadianlutheranhistory.ca/nov-5-lutheran-day
Sign up for the online Zoom web link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ofu-tqTktG9N_LvXB9jdwivhyFVHt5la0#/registration
