Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge the Canadian Government to address the issue of sexual exploitation.
 
In her letter, Bishop Johnson calls on the Government to "provide resources for the protection of victims of sexual exploitation, including counselling, accessible, affordable and safe housing, eligibility and access to health and social services, employment referrals, and offer language training."

"I urge the Government of Canada to provide law enforcement resources for the prosecution and rehabilitation of offenders who engage in human trafficking," said Bishop Johnson. "I also wish to express my support for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women."

A full version of the letter follows. A pdf version is available here: https://elcic.ca/From-the-Bishop/documents/20150327ELCIClettertoPMonHumanTrafficking.pdf

March 27, 2015

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing on behalf of the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) to urge the Government of Canada to address the issue of sexual exploitation.

Voices from around the world are calling attention to the tragedy, injustice and devastation of human trafficking. These voices include women’s groups across Canada, Indigenous leaders, the Canadian Council of Churches and the United Nations.

Our partner the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has summarized the challenge of human trafficking in this way:

The most basic notion of human dignity in all religious traditions maintains that human beings are not movable possessions (chattels) to be bought and sold. And yet an increasing number of human beings are trafficked each year across international borders, and probably even more within national boundaries. It is reported that some 80% of the people trafficked are women and girls, of whom about 50% are minors. The reasons are related to sexual exploitation, organized begging, forced or underpaid labour, and “organ harvesting”—all of which undermine the dignity of the persons trafficked. According to research undertaken by UNICEF, and UNESCO and other UN agencies every continent is affected in some way by the scourge of human trafficking. Thus no church or religious community can excuse itself from addressing this pressing issue.

The reasons for human trafficking are extremely complex because they interconnect with other factors. Therefore there are no stand-alone solutions to this problem. It can be summarized as falling into two categories, namely the “push” factors and the “pull” factors.

Push factors

Poverty: The single most important push factor in the developing countries is poverty. When individuals are living in an extremely desperate economic situation and need to feed themselves and their families, they fall victim to criminal syndicates.

Insecurity: Insecurity is also a major push factor. Insecurity may result from armed conflicts, political crises, domestic or community violence, natural disasters, or from the breakdown of social structures and symbols of authority that protect human dignity in traditional society. People fleeing from violence and other causes of insecurity lose the protection of family and community and find themselves at greatly increased risk of human trafficking.

Pull factors

Demand: A key external pull factor is obviously the demand in the wealthier countries in the Middle East and the West for cheap labour both in the general labour market and in the commercial sex industry.

Profit: For some, trafficking in human beings is a highly lucrative business. According to some estimates, profits are as high as 20 billion US dollars annually. Organized crime cartels involved in human trafficking operate through an amorphous network that involves a variety of intermediaries.

False promises/unrealistic expectations: Many of those trafficked are lured by false promises or by unrealistic expectations of life and economic opportunities in the destination countries. Without reliable information about the real experiences of those who have been trafficked, poor people in rural communities have very few defences to protect them from following—or sending their children to follow—a mirage.

We absolutely reject the turning of human beings into commodities, especially for the purposes of forced or exploitive labour, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, armed conflict, or “organ harvesting.

A variety of responses will be required to effectively address the push and pull factors that contribute to human trafficking.

On behalf of the ELCIC, I urge the government of Canada to provide resources for the protection of victims of sexual exploitation, including counselling, accessible, affordable and safe housing, eligibility and access to health and social services, employment referrals, and offer language training.

In addition, I urge the Government of Canada to provide law enforcement resources for the prosecution and rehabilitation of offenders who engage in human trafficking.

I also wish to express my support for a national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

As a church In Mission for Others, the members of the ELCIC have committed to responding faithfully to opportunities for partnerships and cooperation between church and society, to working for legislation that will protect persons liberated from being trafficked and to playing roles in bringing about cultural transformation and the elimination of trafficking.

My prayers are with you and the Government of Canada as you offer leadership to addressing issues of sexual exploitation and to eliminating human trafficking.

Yours in Christ,

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

cc. The Honourable Thomas J. Mulcair, Leader of the Official Opposition
Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party
Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party
Louis Plamondon, Bloc Québécois Caucus

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with over 121,000 baptized members in 533 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.

Canada Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, is looking for your ideas!

Do you have a biblical/theological question that you would like answered in the Q & A section, or something you would like to read about in Practising our Faith? Or maybe you are interested in the possibility of writing for the magazine? Canada Lutheran’s editor would like to hear from you! Email: editor@elcic.ca

Does your congregation currently subscribe to Canada Lutheran? Congregational Subscription Plans can be either paid for by your congregation or by the individual members, while still enjoying a greatly discounted rate! Find out more by visiting the Canada Lutheran website and start your subscription today!

Individuals can also subscribe to Canada Lutheran. Visit the Canada Lutheran Subscription page for further information.

Congregations throughout the ELCIC are asked to designate one Sunday in 2015 to highlight the ELCIC Praise Appeal at a time that works best for your local circumstances.
 
This year, the ELCIC Praise Appeal Theme, Liberated by God’s Grace: Creation – Not for Sale, echoes The Lutheran World Federation theme for the commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

You will see the ELCIC lift up this theme of Liberated by God’s Grace and it’s three subthemes (Creation – Not for Sale, Salvation – Not for Sale, and Human Beings – Not for Sale) over the next three years as we participate in the international and ecumenical commemoration. The commemoration gives us the opportunity to remember and reflect on the Reformation and what it means for us now, living as Lutheran people within the whole body of Christ.
 
The Praise Appeal theme, Liberated by God’s Grace: Creation – Not for Sale invites us to explore the Lutheran understanding of the doctrine of justification and sets us free to serve our neighbours, to be responsible citizens in the world and faithful stewards of all God’s creation. Through your gift to the Praise Appeal, you help us fulfill this work through:

• Our partnerships with KAIROS and the Anglican Church of Canada as we work in the areas of homelessness and affordable housing and responsible resource extraction;
• Our partnership with The Lutheran World Federation and Canadian Lutheran World Relief as we work to support refugees around the world;
• Our partnership with churches in Argentina and Peru as we help support ministry in indigenous communities within these churches;
• Continuing the Call to Spiritual Renewal, working to deepen the discipleship of all our members and learning new ways to reach out in faith to those around us; and
• Building better relationships with other denominations and faiths here in Canada, through the Canadian Council of Churches, and around the world through the World Council of Churches

  Congregations throughout the ELCIC are asked to designate one Sunday in 2015 to highlight this appeal at a time that works best for your local circumstances.

  Resources for the 2015 ELCIC Praise Appeal can be found at: elcic.ca/praiseappeal

   

   

   

Diaconal Sunday, set by our National Church for the last Sunday each February, is a way to raise awareness for consecrated Diaconal Ministry vocation.

An annual Sunday focus on diaconal ministry is another way to highlight the mission of all believers in our church to seek the lost, the lonely, the disenfranchised in our neighbourhoods and throughout the world, ministering to them in the way of Christ.

New materials for Diaconal Sunday, written by ELCIC Diaconal Ministers, are available online at https://elcic.ca/Leadership/For-Ministers/DiaconalSunday.cfm

Many ELCIC congregations support Scouts and Guides by providing leadership, meeting places and administering various stages of the Religion in Life Award. Join with others across Canada in celebrating Scout-Guide Week from February 15-22, 2015.

A special bulletin insert is available on the ELCIC website at https://www.elcic.ca/Calendar-of-Events/documents/ScoutGuideWeek2015.pdf

A new contextual Bible study is set to bring the message of the scriptures to Anglicans and Lutherans in a relevant, accessible way this Lenten season.

Endorsed by members of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission (JALC), the shared resource is available free online and represents another initiative in the full communion partnership between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC).

The Rt. Rev. Terry Dance, Bishop of Norfolk in the ACC Diocese of Huron and a member of JALC, prepared the study for Lent during a sabbatical to help church members engage with each other and the biblical text while providing guidance to ministry in their own lives.

“This study is designed specifically for a church in the Canadian context, dealing with the kind of issues that we’re dealing with,” Bishop Dance said.

“There’s a phrase, diakonia, which talks about the fact that discipleship is inextricably bound to service, and that service is something which belongs to the whole people of God, not just those of us who are ordained.”

Dance is a long-time proponent of contextual Bible study, an approach to studying scripture that examines biblical passages from multiple aspects—literary, historic, and ultimately the modern cultural context participants live in.

The bishop spent an estimated 200 hours writing the study, which addresses scriptural readings for Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter and connects experiences in the life of Christ to the mission and ministry of the church today.

While questions asked in the study are the same across Canada, responses are likely to vary.

“In suburban London, Ont., the opportunities and possibilities for ministry would be different than they would be in, say, northern British Columbia or Vancouver,” Dance said.

“The needs that exist in the local community would be different…It gets people, I think, talking at a fairly serious level about who we are as a church, what it means to be a church, what it means to be a follower of Christ, and begins to deepen the level of conversation.”

To help the Bible study reach the widest possible audience, Bishop John Chapman of the Diocese of Ottawa examined the first draft and offered suggestions to make the final product useful for laypersons and theological experts alike.

“If you’re doing a theological work that is to serve the whole church, then it needs to be accessible to the whole church,” Chapman noted.

Meanwhile, Dean Peter Wall, Anglican member and co-chair of JALC, looked over the final draft to ensure the study would prove an ideal resource for both Anglicans and Lutherans.

“This is an impressive piece of work—carefully and comprehensively looking at the Sunday readings for Lent in this [church] Year B,” Wall wrote in an email.

“It provides good and easily used resources for a facilitator and also gives excellent ‘extra’ background reading material for those who wish to use it. I believe that it would deeply enrich one’s journey through the Sundays in Lent.”

Both the ELCIC and ACC will promote the Bible study online. An overview and resources for the first, second and third weeks of Lent are now available. Resources for the fourth and fifth weeks of Lent as well as Palm Sunday, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection will be available at the end of January or sooner.

The Rev. André Lavergne, a member of JALC and assistant to the bishop, ecumenical and interfaith for the ELCIC, praised the study for its “grassroots quality.”

“It follows the lectionary, and that’s a lectionary that is shared between Anglicans and Lutherans…It’s very accessible, whether you’re an Anglican or a Lutheran,” Lavergne said.

“We’re going to be reading the same texts during Lent and therefore studying the same material, so that’s very helpful.”

Click here to download the Lenten Bible study: https://www.elcic.ca/ecumenical/2015LentStudy.cfm

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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 Rev. Cindy Halmarson, former bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) Saskatchewan Synod, has accepted a position in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission Unit. Her new position as Area Program Director for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (Europe/MENA), based at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, will involve building and maintaining relationships with partner churches in order to strengthen Christ’s mission in the world. Mission accompaniment is focused on churches in Central Eastern Europe, including Siberia, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) as well as supporting ELCA-sponsored English language ministries in the typically Lutheran areas of Scandinavia, Germany and Western Europe.

ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson offered her congratulations to Halmarson. "I am delighted Bishop Cindy will be working for ELCA Global Mission," she said noting that the skills Halmarson brings to this new role will strengthen both the existing partnership the two churches maintain in the area of global mission and the relationship with the ELCA. "It’s another example of the way we are working out one of our strategic goals – Effective Partnership," said Johnson.

Speaking about this new opportunity for service, Halmarson said, “It’s exciting to think how my rich experience in the Canadian church, particularly as bishop of Saskatchewan Synod, can translate to the global call to make Christ known in partnership with churches doing the faithful mission work of peace-making, refugee settlement and leadership development.”

Halmarson and her husband Rev. Jim Halmarson, presently serving as parish priest at Christ Church Anglican in Saskatoon, will relocate to Chicago in March 2015. Halmarson will start her term on February 9, 2015.

(With files from ELCA.)

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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, 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 annual Christmas greeting by leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) has become a holiday tradition symbolizing the full communion partnership the two churches have enjoyed since 2001.

In their 2014 Christmas video message, Bishop Susan Johnson, National Bishop of the ELCIC, and Fred Hiltz, Primate of the ACC, reflect on a year marked by turmoil and violence around the world – one that makes the message of the Prince of Peace more relevant than ever.

Amidst widespread human suffering in areas from Nigeria to Iraq and from Gaza to Ukraine, Hiltz offers the hopeful message of the Christmas story, quoting Isaiah 9:6: “A child is born, to us a son is given, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Evoking the spirit of the season, Johnson expresses hope that the coming year may see “peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, peace in our communities, and peace in the very many places around the world that are in so desperate need of the message” of Jesus Christ.

Through their full communion partnership, the ACC and ELCIC retain each church’s independence while maintaining a deeper bond through joint worship, co-operative ministries and the exchange of liturgies and clergy.

View the 2014 Christmas message here: http://youtu.be/EDCt-I7sMxI
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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.

Leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada have written to the two churches, calling on church members to publically recite the promise to “never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women”.

The text from the letter follows. A pdf version of the letter can be found here.

November 25th marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is followed by the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence which ends on 10 December, United Nations Human Rights Day.  Statistics continue to reveal the awful truth that no country rich or poor, dictatorship or democracy has come close to eradicating gender based violence.  It is a global issue.

This year the world has witnessed horrific atrocities in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Gaza and Sudan.  It is well documented that the majority of innocent victims of war are women and children.  By far the greatest number of human beings trafficked for the sex trade are women and girls.

The Lutheran World Federation has launched the theme for the 500th anniversary commemorating the Lutheran Reformation in 1517 – “Liberated by God’s Grace”.  Three subthemes for the commemoration focus on Salvation – not for sale, Creation – not for sale and Human Beings – not for sale.  The Lutheran churches invite all churches to participate in this resolve in addressing human trafficking.  

The Anglican Communion Office has recently launched an initiative “Anglicans Ending Gender Based Violence”.  It urges the churches “to not remain silent about this tragedy but to speak up and take action in addressing it”.  It calls us “to provide safe space for victims of violence”, and “to promote and model safe, equal, respectful relationships between men, women, girls and boys”.  It calls the churches “to teach young men and women to honour themselves and each other as human beings cherished equally by God.”

As Canadians, many of us were horrified by the November 7th beating of Rinelle Harper, a 16 year old Grade 11 student in Winnipeg.  Viciously beaten and thrown into the Assiniboine River, she managed to crawl out of the river upstream, only to be beaten again and left unconscious.  Thankfully she was found, hospitalized and is recovering.  She came so very close to being numbered among the more than 1000 missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada, but she survived.

Her beating is a stark reminder of the brutality suffered by so many aboriginal women and girls.  According to the Federal Government Report “Invisible Women: A Call to Action” (March 2014), aboriginal women and girls are two times more likely to be victims of domestic abuse and three times more likely to be the target of a violent attack.  The report calls for action through all levels of government in increasing police and emergency measures services, and in increasing the number of shelters, safe houses, and second stage housing for those escaping violence.  It also addresses the need in Canadian society at large to break the silence about gender based violence.

Throughout the “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence” initiative, thousands of people will gather in vigil in public squares, at town halls, Band Council offices and provincial legislatures.  We will light candles in memory of all victims of gender based violence.  We will pray for all who remain imprisoned in its vicious cycles, for all making an escape, and for all who counsel and empower them in reclaiming their dignity and their life itself.  We will be invited to make the promise associated with these sixteen days, “I will never commit, condone or remain silent about violence again women”.  A group of Canadian men wrote this promise in response to the horrific murder of fourteen young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6, 1989.  Now it is made in more than sixty countries around the world.

While the promise is particularly for men to make, it is in truth a promise all of us can and ought to make as people of faith – for in every respect it reflects our baptismal vow “to respect the dignity of every human being”.

Accordingly we call the Church, on one of the Sundays within the sixteen days to a public reciting of this promise, “I will never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women”.

Fred J. Hiltz
Archbishop and Primate
The Anglican Church of Canada

Mark MacDonald
National Indigenous Anglican Bishop
The Anglican Church of Canada

Susan C. Johnson
National Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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.

On November 22, Lutherans and Anglicans are called to lift up National Housing Day 2014, learn more about the issues contributing to poverty, homelessness and substandard housing, and advocate for changes.

Inadequate housing and homelessness impacts a growing number of Canadians. An estimated 400,000 people are without access to a healthy place to live. These numbers continue to increase despite economic growth and prosperity here in our country.

“Our churches have a faithful record of working with and for people who are homeless or who struggle to find affordable housing,” says Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson. “But still home ownership and even affordable rental options are out of reach for many. We are called to support the agencies and programs that address these issues, as well as explore and advocate for new approaches to address poverty and homelessness.”

At the 2013 Joint Assembly, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the ELCIC unanimously endorsed a shared commitment to learning, action, advocacy and prayer concerning homelessness and affordable housing.

“Every day and night thousands of children, women and men are fed and housed by the churches in partnership with social agencies. This is holy work,” says Anglican Archbishop Fred Hiltz. “We press on with the call for a comprehensive national housing strategy reflecting the 2012 commitment of all members of Parliament ‘to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to adequate housing’ for all people living in Canada.”

Several resources have been prepared by the ELCIC and ACC to assist churches and their members in lifting up National Housing Day on November 22. They include:

• Homelessness and Affordable Housing: A Backgrounder
• A Prayer for those who are homeless and precariously housed

If you are in the Toronto area, consider participating in the Come & See Pilgrimage where you can visit local churches committed to working alongside those who experience inadequate housing.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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.