Reformation Sunday 2016 saw the congregation of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Red Deer, Synod of Alberta and the Territories, planting a new tree as a symbol of their community’s commitment to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s (ELCIC) Reformation Challenge. The congregation has kicked off its 500th anniversary commemorations by emphasizing the challenge as a missional priority in the coming year.

Rev. Dr. Marc Jerry of Good Shepherd – who is also a member of the ELCIC’s National Church Council – expressed his delight and appreciation for what his church has been able to accomplish already. “We wanted, as a whole church, to do something very significant for the world in order to commemorate this historic anniversary,” Pastor Marc said.

“The Reformation Challenge has four specific goals: to support 500 refugees, to support 500 scholarships for students in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), to plant 500,000 trees (either locally, or worldwide in Ethiopia or Palestine through Canadian Lutheran World Relief), and to raise $500,000 to support the Lutheran World Federation Endowment Fund,” he noted. “What is significant about these ambitious goals is that it embodies what it means for us to have a national expression of the church. That is, no one congregation in the ELCIC is likely to meet these lofty goals, but as a National Church we, together, can meet these goals. That’s what it means to have a national church – it is where we can accomplish good work in the world together, that we may otherwise not be able to do individually.”

With the help of many generous donors, church groups and sponsors, the ELCIC has already surpassed their goal of 500 sponsored refugees. To date, the Reformation Challenge has been responsible for 524 new Canadians.

Chris Knelson, a church council member at Good Shepherd, and chair of the Reformation500 committee, pointed out that his congregation has, and will be engaging in a number of activities throughout the year.  Already, Good Shepherd’s confirmation class of 14 students held a servant auction immediately following the Reformation Day service. Over $500 was raised as the youth donated their time for work projects in the community that members bid on. Good Shepherd’s youth also raised another $300 for the reformation challenge as part of their annual cookie walk event. The Sunday School is also planning to raise money for the ELCJHL scholarships.

“We hope that the Reformation Challenge will continue to be our focus for this year’s missional work, Knelson said. “We are looking at making the challenge part of our Lenten discipline programming. In the spring we hope to hold an outdoor service in the local community nature centre in Red Deer, followed by a tree planting event of up to 1000 new trees.”

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 114,592 baptized members in 525 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop Blank, Director of Communications
600-177 Lombard Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 0W5
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

The Brockton Area Refugee Team (BART) is eagerly waiting to hear its name called as the newest refugee host team, and first in its community.

Based out of Brockton, Ontario, BART is an ecumenical group of compassionate and caring people who have come together with the common goal of sponsoring a refugee family.

Although the group is currently placed 40th on a waiting list, their hope has not faded.

Dorothy Frook, long-time vice chair of the Eastern Synod, and member of Trinity Lutheran Church, believes that BART will have their refugee family within the coming year.

“We do not yet know how many refugees we will be taking on, but we made it clear that we would take anywhere from one to seven people,” Frook said. “We are hoping to have our family by next July. As a whole, we are attempting to raise $40,000 to support this family; the funds are coming in by way of fundraisers, and we plan to continue in that regard. We have had many donations already – it is a very exciting time.”

Brockton is a rural community made up of two former townships and the town of Walkerton.

So how does such a small community come together to sponsor a family? It works because the people of all faiths and walks of life focus on social justice, and work together with the common goal of sponsoring a family of new Canadians.

“We have about 40 volunteers,” Frook revealed. “Some will do hospitality, and our ecumenical congregations are planning fundraisers. We have a Facebook page, and have been advertising through the churches, local newspapers and by word of mouth. The town of Hanover – which is about 10 minutes east of us – already has two families, and that has served as motivation for us moving forward.”

Along with advertising their campaign throughout churches and other organizations, Frook says that one of BART’s members came up with another great idea that has already helped bring in additional funds for the commitment.

“One of our fundraising chairs made up what we like to call a ‘Fund-O-Meter’,” she said. “So first of all, we took the Fund-O-Meter to Walkerton for our homecoming in July, and we set it up with the faith committee. We had a lot of donations from children in particular, who wanted to put their money in the special Fund-O-Meter.”

But it not just the Fund-O-Meter that is helping out the Brockton and Area Refugee Team. As Frook points out, the support and funding thus far has been “much appreciated”, but there is lots of work left to be done.

“We had an ecumenical service, and the offering that we collected went directly to our refugee team,” she said. “During a parade, our fundraising committee put on a barbeque down by the local butcher shop, and the butcher provided the meat for the hamburgers.”

BART held a major fundraiser on Sunday, October 31st, in the form of an Awareness Dinner and Auction. 128 dinner tickets were sold, the auctioneer donated his time, most of the meal items and all the auction items were donated.

“We have had a lot of support from many different areas, churches, services clubs, business, and individuals, and continue to work diligently on this process,” Frook said. “We are excited and very hopeful.”

Sponsoring refugees is one of four goals of the ELCIC Reformation Challenge. Find out more at: www.elcic.ca/ReformationChallenge

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 114,592 baptized members in 525 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop Blank, Director of Communications
600-177 Lombard Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 0W5
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

Communities, congregations and sponsorship teams from coast to coast to coast have teamed up to help the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) meet, and exceed, its Reformation Challenge goal of sponsoring 500 refugees to Canada in just a little over one year’s time.

This significant achievement shows just how much can be accomplished when communities come together In Mission for Others.

Pastor, Brad Mittleholtz, of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, and New Beginnings Interdenominational Refugee Sponsorship Group in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, has seen his community come together like never before to provide various forms of help to these incoming families.

“We started by sponsoring one family, but after that we realized that we have enough capacity – both financially and our volunteers – to go for three families,” he said. “We have a large group here, but none of it would have been possible without the support from our community.”

Although only averaging a weekly attendance of 75-100 people, MIttleholtz believes that roughly 25 people in the church have since taken on leadership roles in this project. On top of the support from his Lutheran church, additional assistance has come from outside the walls of his congregation.

“Many folks from around the neighbourhood are clearing houses after hearing we could use some help,” Mittleholtz said. “It’s amazing. Obviously Zion Lutheran started the awareness, but we have all sorts of other denominations helping us out financially who had heard of this project, and what we are doing.”

A similar community-style refugee sponsorship team located in Brockton, Ontario, as well as Mount Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Waterloo, Ontario, have also each stepped up to the plate and recently delivered in the form of refugee sponsorship. The Brockton Area Refugee Team has committed to sponsoring a family of refugees, while Mount Zion has received seven refugees.

Although already surpassing 500 sponsored refugees, the ELCIC encourages the continuation of providing support towards refugees coming to Canada. Planting trees, supporting scholarships and donating to The Lutheran World Federation Endowment Fund are additioanl ways to become involved in the ELCIC Reformation Challenge.

To find out more about the ELCIC Reformation Challenge and how you can get involved, visit: elcic.ca/ReformationChallenge

—————————————————————–
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 114,592 baptized members in 525 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop Blank, Director of Communications
600-177 Lombard Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 0W5
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) members and congregations have come together to sponsor over 500 refugees!

For over a year, ELCIC members have been engaged in the ELCIC Reformation Challenge as one of the ways to mark the 2015-17 emphasis the church has been lifting up around the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

The announcement that the goal to sponsor 500 refugees has been achieved was met with great excitement.

"I am delighted we have met the first of our Reformation Challenge goals," said ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson.

Bishop Johnson noted that when the challenge was first adopted by the ELCIC’s National Church Council the goals were considered to be ‘stretch goals.’ "Council members thought we would be better off to try to reach more challenging goals and come short, than to set our goals too low and stop before we reached our full potential," said Bishop Johnson. "To be just over one year into the challenge and to have reached the goal of sponsoring 500 refugees is inspiring. This truly is a sign of our church growing In Mission for Others. I’m humbled, joyful and proud of our church!"

As Lutherans around the world prepare to commemorate the Reformation anniversary in 2017, the ELCIC is lifting up themes from The Lutheran World Federation (LWF): Liberated by God’s Grace, Creation – Not for Sale, Human Beings – Not for Sale, Salvation – Not for Sale. The ELCIC Reformation Challenge draws from the themes and provides a way for ELCIC members and congregations to bring Reformation activities close to home and make it possible for congregations and synods of any size to participate.

Through the ELCIC Reformation Challenge, members and congregations are invited to help sponsor 500 refugees, support 500 scholarships for students in schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), plant 500,000 trees in Canada, Palestine and Ethiopia, and contribute $500,000 to the LWF Endowment Fund.

To date, ELCIC members have sponsored 504 refugees, provided 49 scholarships for ELCJHL schools, planted 44,981 trees and raised $125,931 for the LWF Endowment Fund.

ELCIC members and congregations are encouraged to consider how they might be able to get involved in the Reformation Challenge.

They are many creative and innovative ways to engage in one or more areas of the initiative. A Sunday School class in Winnipeg recently shared how they have connected with the goal to provide scholarships to students in ELCJHL schools. Over the past year, 20 children from the congregation have been involved in the challenge and are currently working towards raising funds for their second scholarship (https://www.elcic.ca/news.cfm?article=450).

Further information on the ELCIC Reformation Challenge is available online: elcic.ca/ReformationChallenge

ELCIC members are asked to share how they and their congregations are engaged in the challenge by completing the brief form which is also available at elcic.ca/ReformationChallenge.
—————————————————————–
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 114,592 baptized members in 525 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop Blank, Director of Communications
600-177 Lombard Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 0W5
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

In a letter from Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan C. Johnson, Anglican Church of Canada Primate Fred Hiltz and Anglican Church of Canada National Indigenous Bishop Mark MacDonald, the leaders of the two churches call on members to pray for safe, affordable and adequate housing for all on November 22, National Housing Day.

The text of the letter follows.

Download a pdf of the letter: www.elcic.ca/Documents/201611HousingDayletter.pdf

November 16, 2016

National Housing Day 2016: A call to prayer

Dear friends in Christ,

In the spirit of the 2013 Joint Assembly Declaration, we call on members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) to pray for safe, affordable and adequate housing for all on November 22, National Housing Day.

Adequate housing is essential to one’s sense of dignity, safety, inclusion and ability to contribute to the fabric of our neighbourhoods and communities.¹ Housing is a human right.

We live in a country of abundance, yet not all benefit. Among the most vulnerable are the many who are homeless or living in precarious or unaffordable housing, children living in poverty with little hope for a brighter future, and young people who are underemployed and increasingly alienated from the political process.

More than 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness each year, with as many as 35,000 people homeless on any given night. Nearly one in five Canadians spends more than 50% of their income on housing costs, resulting in extreme housing affordability problems.²

Housing in many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities is currently in extremely poor condition, with many families living with mould, insufficient heating, and overcrowding. Indigenous peoples are more likely than other groups to live in inadequate housing conditions and will often experience systemic discrimination in the housing market.³

The 2013 Joint Declaration calls on our churches to address the long-term challenges of homelessness and affordable housing. Along with prayer, both churches committed to learning about the underlying issues, supporting existing programs, exploring innovative approaches, and advocating for renewed federal funding and a collaborative national strategy on housing.

We invite you to lift up National Housing Day on November 22 and commend to you the following prayer:

God of compassion and hope,

Open our hearts to the needs of our neighbours who are homeless, under housed, seeking refuge or denied the right to water.

Open our minds to the issues that contribute to poverty, homelessness, and substandard housing.

Open our eyes to opportunities for ministry, to partnerships, and to innovative approaches for addressing these challenges.

Open our hands to act with compassion and for justice.

Bless us with time, patience, persistence, and commitment over the long term, So that all may have safe, affordable and adequate housing.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz
Primate, (Anglican Church of Canada

The Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald
National Indigenous Anglican Bishop, Anglican Church of Canada

Rev. Susan C. Johnson
National Bishop,( Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

    1  Ontario Human Rights Commission (http://www.ohrc.on.ca/)
    2  The State of Homelessness in Canada 2014, Homelessness Hub Research Paper (www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/ les/SOHC2014.pdf
    3 http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FS21_rev_1_Housing_en.pdf 1

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 114,592 baptized members in 525 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop Blank, Director of Communications
600-177 Lombard Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 0W5
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) invites members and congregations to participate in a church-wide study and reflection surrounding the Orders of Ministry Study Guide.

The study was produced by the Faith, Order and Doctrine Commmittee (FOD). In May 2015, the ELCIC’s National Church Council (NCC) asked FOD to study orders of ministry with particular attention to diakonia and Diaconal Ministry.

Rev. André Lavergne, Assistant to the Bishop, ecumenical and interfaith, believes this work will not only be beneficial for the ELCIC and NCC, but also for members of the church who want to share a deeper understanding of the roles of their ministers.

“There are a number of different reasons why churches should be participating in this study,” he said, noting that the study will help congregations understand their own church while also lifting up diakonia and Diaconal Ministry. “The Orders of Ministry Study Guide offers us an important opportunity to cast our face outward.”

The study guide, titled To Love Our Neighbours as Ourselves, is broken up into four sections. The first section focuses on a theology of God, mission and church. The second section focuses on the call of the baptized, asking what the vocation of those baptized into ELCIC may be, and how it differs from those set apart for the public office of ministry. The third section talks about the rostered forms of ministry in the ELCIC. The final section describes how the ELCIC sees its place in God’s mission today, acknowledges some challenges before us, and looks at some possibilities for promoting an enthusiastic embrace of everyone’s role in the mission of the church.

For Rev. Marc Jerry, chair of FOD, this study guide will have significant implications on the future usage of, and appropriate training for Diaconal Ministers. Jerry serves as a member of the NCC, and will have a chance to review responses to the study during a thorough evaluation period – an opportunity that he believes will provide many chances to learn, reflect and reassess.

For Jerry, the hope is that this study triggers the same kind of response and conversation that the NCC’s previous study of Word and Sacrament Ministry generated.

“What we did not expect to happen following our most recent study was that there was a real thirst across the church to have good theological discussion about what it means to be Lutheran,” he said. “My hope is that the church is still in the mood to have some of these great conversations.”

The study guide can be found online and downloaded by individual congregations to use as they are able. The due date for responses is April 17th, 2017. Access to the material can be found at https://elcic.ca/faithorderdoctrine/OrdersofMinistry.cfm.

“Where does my offering go?”

For one certain group of Sunday School children from Winnipeg, Manitoba, that thought has never even crossed their minds.

“We had heard about the different areas of the ELCIC Reformation Challenge, and felt as though raising money for scholarships for children in Jordan and the Holy Land would be a nice way to get the kids of our church more involved with their giving,” said Messiah Lutheran’s Co-Sunday School Coordinator and Christian Education Coordinator, Teri Skakum.

“We switched over our offering goals for the two years leading up to the reformation, and created this big chart for the kids. We thought that $1,500 (the cost of approximately one scholarship) over two years with our 20 Sunday School kids would be a great number to work towards, so we broke it down into three more manageable $500 chunks.”

To say that the children of Messiah Lutheran fully embraced the idea of bringing their money every Sunday would be an understatement. According to Skakum, most of the kids just couldn’t get enough of the idea.

“We were quickly approaching our first $500, and we hadn’t even gotten to Christmas of the first year,” Skakum said. “So at that point we decided that we would try for another $500 before the end of the year, to make a total of $1000. By the time we hit spring break we were already approaching the $1000 mark. The kids ended up raising enough money in just one year to do the full scholarship.”

But it didn’t stop there. After raising the first $1,500, the Sunday School class decided that they would begin working towards their second scholarship in as many years.

“These are just 20 little kids, ranging in age from two to 11,” Skakum reminded. “We have a great visual for them to colour in, and in doing so, we are able to have some good conversations about being a part of the larger church body, while talking to them about the Reformation – as that typically isn’t a part of the Sunday School curriculum.”

Skakum has two children in the Sunday School class at Messiah Lutheran, and has really noticed a significant change in their behaviour when it comes to money, as well as their willingness to donate.

“Just the other day my son found a quarter on the ground, and instinctively put it with his offering for the coming week,” she said. “This program has really brought new life into their giving.”

On Monday, October 31, Lutherans around the world commemorated the 499th anniversary of the Reformation. One way the ELCIC is commemorating the anniversary, in particular leading up to the 500th anniversary in 2017, is through its two-year Reformation Challenge. Sponsoring refugees, planting trees, raising funds for scholarships and The Lutheran World Federation Endowment Fund are all ways to get involved in the challenge.

You can find out more about the ELCIC Reformation Challenge at www.elcic.ca/ReformationChallenge.

On the anniversary of the Reformation, leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church issue a joint letter along with a series of Advent devotions lifting up The Lutheran World Federation‘s 500th anniversary theme and sub-themes.

In their letter, the leaders note the anniversary theme provides a,"fitting framework; We are ‘liberated by God’s grace’ and affirm that ‘salvation, human beings, and creation are not for sale."

The text of the letter follows.

Read the full letter here: https://www.elcic.ca/Documents/Adventdevotionsletter.pdf

The Advent devotions are available for download here: https://www.elcic.ca/Documents/2016Adventdevotions.pdf

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October 31, 2016

All this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has giving us the ministry of reconciliation. – II Corinthians 5: 18

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:

Today in Lund, Sweden, the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church will inaugurate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. After five hundred years of division, and 50 years of dialogue, Lutherans and Catholics will publicly remember their history, and look to the future—together. For the first time, a centennial anniversary of the Reformation will take place in a spirit of reconciliation, for the whole world to see. In our broken world, this ministry of reconciliation is a faithful response to the love of God in Jesus Christ.

As churches shaped by the 16th century reformations—the Anglican Church of Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Episcopal Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—we also participate in this ministry of reconciliation. Over fifteen years ago, our churches’ respective full communion agreements inaugurated new relationships in which we fully recognized each other “as churches in which the gospel is truly preached and the holy sacraments duly administered” (Called to Common Mission), an achievement that “marks but one step toward the eventual visible unity of the whole Church catholic” (Waterloo Declaration). We are committed to working together toward reconciliation—of the church, and of the deepest social ills that plague our world. It is our hope, together with you, to be signs of anticipation—of the “already, but not yet” of God’s realm of reconciliation, justice, and peace.

In this spirit we have prepared a series of devotions for the season of Advent, which may be used as bulletin inserts. The Lutheran World Federation’s 500th anniversary theme and sub-themes provided a fitting framework: We are “liberated by God’s grace” and affirm that “salvation, human beings, and creation are not for sale.” The devotions can be downloaded from each of our churches’ websites, and shared broadly. May our prayers united be a modest but hopeful sign of what our churches can do together as we bear witness to the One who first reconciled himself to us.

In Christ,

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson
National Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz
Primate
Anglican Church of Canada

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop
Episcopal Church (United States)

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Catholic Church will hold a joint ecumenical commemoration of the Reformation on October 31, 2016 in Lund, Sweden.

ELCIC members are invited to follow along via livestream: www.lund2016.net/media/livestream

Pope Francis, LWF President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and General Secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge will lead the Ecumenical Commemoration in cooperation with the Church of Sweden and the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm.

"The LWF is approaching the Reformation anniversary in a spirit of ecumenical accountability," says LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge. "I’m carried by the profound conviction that by working towards reconciliation between Lutherans and Catholics, we are working towards justice, peace and reconciliation in a world torn apart by conflict and violence."

Further details on the commemoration and livestreaming information can be found on the Lund2016 website.

Program details are as follows:

Monday, October 31, 2016
13:30 (local time): Malmö Arena
From Conflict to Communion: Together in Hope.

14:30 (local time): Lund Cathedral 
Common Prayer. Pope Francis, Bishop Munib Younan and General Secretary Martin Junge and others. The Common Prayer will be live streamed in Malmö Arena.

To convert times to your local time, consider the following link: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Social media hashtags for the ecumenical commemoration will include #TogetherInHope and #Lund2016.

In January 2017, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will release joint material entitled Together in Christ — Lutherans and Catholics Commemorating the Reformation, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

Together in Christ — Lutherans and Catholics Commemorating the Reformation includes a five-part parish study guide that may be used in individual segments or as a whole series by any Lutheran, Catholic, or ecumenical study session focusing on the Reformation.

The resource is designed to bring Catholic and Lutheran parishes together to facilitate discussions touching on some of the historical and theological questions surrounding the Reformation and the advancements in reconciliation which have occurred over the past 50 years. Together in Christ is based on From Conflict to Communion (2013) and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) which were developed by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

In addition to the five-part parish study guide, a homily resource has been developed for Sunday January 29, 2017, the concluding Sunday of the 2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the launch date for Together in Christ. Celebrants and preachers are encouraged to use this resource to help emphasize the theme of reconciliation and the importance of Christian unity during this year of commemoration. Lutheran and Catholic communities across Canada are already planning to use Common Prayer (2015), a worship resource also prepared by the LWF and PCPCU for the commemoration. This resource may be accessed for free at the following links:

ENGLISH – https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/dtpw-lrc-liturgy-2016_en.pdf

FRENCH – https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/dtpw-lrc-liturgy-2016_fr.pdf

In advance of 2017, Catholics and Lutherans in Canada are eagerly anticipating events in Sweden, which will include His Holiness Pope Francis, Bishop Munib Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation, and the Rev. Martin Junge, the Federation’s General Secretary. Their meeting will mark the 500th year of the Reformation and will culminate in a prayer service held on October 31, 2016 at the Lund Cathedral. The prayer service will be based on Common Prayer.

Following the service of prayer, Malmö Arena will be the stage for joint activities focusing on the commitment to common witness and service of Catholics and Lutherans in the world. An International and Ecumenical Day of Prayer for Peace in the Middle East, with a special focus on the people of Syria, will further expand upon the theme of reconciliation on October 31, 2016. This important ecumenical witness for peace is being organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Caritas Internationalis, and the Lutheran World Federation.

For a live feed of the October 31 events, use the following link:

https://www.lutheranworld.org/content/joint-commemoration-livestream

For further information on Syria and various peace initiatives, please click on the following links:

ENGLISH –  http://syria.caritas.org/

FRENCH –  http://syria.caritas.org/fr/

ENGLISH ONLY – https://www.lutheranworld.org/content/photo-essay-scars-war-syria

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 114,592 baptized members in 525 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop Blank, Director of Communications
600-177 Lombard Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 0W5
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.