Join ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson, Primate Linda Nicolls of the Anglican Church of Canada, and interfaith activist Dr. Ingrid Mattson for an evening of Christian-Muslim friendship and learning at Huron University in London, Ontario. The night promises to be illuminating with speeches, responses, Scripture recitations and prayers. Light refreshments to follow.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan Johnson and Anglican Church of Canada Archbishop Linda Nicholls share their Christmas message to Lutherans and Anglicans across Canada.

The full text of the letter is below. View a PDF of the letter here.

Dear friends in Christ,

Once again, we stand at the door of the manger in anticipation. Once again, our dreams for the world have not yet been fulfilled.

We hear the cries of the earth groaning and cracking under the effects of climate change. We hear the cries of refugees driven from the countries they love by war or drought or economic collapse only to be refused at border after border. We hear the cries of hatred and polarization pulling us apart nation by nation. We long for the fulfillment of the peaceable kingdom promised in the vision of Isaiah 11 where one will rise from the stump of Jesse who lives by righteousness and is faith filled with the spirit of wisdom, counsel and the fear of the Lord, and all will live in peace.

Once again, we stand at the door of the manger knowing that the child born there is the one in whom all hope can and will be fulfilled. In the face of powers and systems that abuse we need once again to see the face of God in that most vulnerable baby. We need to remember how he lived in this world and calls us to follow the way of forgiveness, grace and love. We will be touched again by the ordinariness of a young woman and her partner willing to be parents of this child as we are called afresh to our vocation of bearing Christ into the world.

Once again, we stand at the door of the manger knowing we will find the hope we need to turn back into the world God loves and give ourselves to proclaiming this Good News.

May our hearts be renewed in this hope as we enter the manger again.

 

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

The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls – Primate, Anglican Church of Canada

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The ELCIC Praise Appeal allows the opportunity to highlight different aspects of the ministry of the wider church. Congregations throughout the ELCIC are asked to designate one Sunday this year at a time that works best for them to highlight the ELCIC Praise Appeal.

The theme for the 2019 ELCIC Praise Appeal focuses on the call we hear in Micah 6:8 to do justice, love kindess and walk humbly with our God in a way that is both memorable and compelling.

Resources for holding an ELCIC Praise Appeal can be found here: https://elcic.ca/praiseappeal/2019Resources.cfm

Has your congregation already held a Praise Appeal Sunday this year? Let us know! Email tgallop@elcic.ca

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an annual ecumencial celebration. Christians around the world are invited to pray for the unity of all Christians, to reflect on scripture together, to participate in jointly-organized ecumenical services, and to share fellowship.

In the northern hemisphere, Week of Prayer for Christian unity is traditionally held every year between January 18 (the Feast of the Confesssion of Saint Peter) and January 25 (the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul).

Resources for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity can be found here: https://form.jotform.com/ELCIC/stewardship

This year’s theme calls us to move from shared prayer to shared action. The international resources for the 2020 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by colleagues in Malta. The 2020 them, "They showed us unusual kindness" (Acts 28:2), remembers the historic shipwreck of Paul on the island of Malta and calls us to a greater generosity to those in need.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan Johnson, National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop Mark MacDonald of the Anglican Church of Canada and Anglican Church of Canada Primate Linda Nicholls write to the two churches in advance of the October 21 federal election. In their letter, the leaders invite members of the two churches to consider, "What kind of Canada do you desire? How is that desire rooted in your spiritual convictions as a follower of the way of Jesus Christ?"

The text from the letter follows. Download the full letter here: https://elcic.ca/Documents/documents/Election2019jointletter.pdf

September 26, 2019

Dear Friends,

On October 21, Canadians will vote in a federal election, electing Members of Parliament who will help shape the life of our country for the next four years.

On the one hand, an election provides an opportunity for citizens to reflect deeply on the values we hold dear, on the common good, and on the promises that candidates and parties make as they seek our vote. On the other hand, an election can focus on fear and on appeals to apparent self-interest. Decisions based on fear are often flawed, even dangerous, and what appears to be our self-interest may be so detached from the common good that, in fact, it does everyone harm.

In the midst of the exile, when it would perhaps seem quite normal to be driven by fear and self-interest, Jeremiah utters these words on behalf of the God of Israel: “Pray for the city into which I have sent you in exile, and seek its welfare, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” As Lutheran and Anglican Christians, we receive this as lively counsel from the living God.

What might that look like as we prepare to vote in October? How might we reflect on key elements of our churches’ public witness as Election Day approaches?

Along with a broad base of faith communities, our two churches share a deep sense of call to actively work for the common good. In 2013, our two churches made particular commitments to encourage each other in addressing issues of Reconciliation, Climate Change, Responsible Resource Extraction, Affordable Housing, and “free, prior and informed consent” for Indigenous peoples.

An election campaign is a good time to think about these issues, pray about them, talk about them in our churches, and ask about them in town hall meetings and to campaigners at the door. Both The Canadian Council of Churches (www.councilofchurches.ca/news/2019-federal-election-guide/) and KAIROS (www.kairoscanada.org/resources/federal-election-2019) have prepared ecumenical resources to encourage discussion and reflection on various issues. We commend them to you for your consideration.

What kind of a Canada do you desire? How is that desire rooted in your spiritual convictions as a follower of the way of Jesus Christ? Let’s talk about that in our churches, pray about it in the deep longing of our hearts, bear witness to it in our public discourse, and seal it with a vote that thoughtfully considers what will make our country a good place for all, and therefore a good place for each of us.

Yours in the Spirit of Full Communion,

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

The Most Rev. Mark MacDonald
National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop, Anglican Church of Canada

The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls
Primate, Anglican Church of Canada

The ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson has prepared the following pastoral letter calling on members of the church to join with the Anglican Church of Canada, "to offer prayers from September 27 to 30 for the children who did not return home from Residential Schools."

The text from the letter follows. Read the full letter here: https://elcic.ca/Documents/documents/201909PastoralLetter.pdf

Dear members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada,

The Anglican Church of Canada, our full communion partner, is calling on relatives, friends and people of compassion to offer prayers from September 27 to 30 for the children who did not return home from Residential Schools. On September 30 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, a first list of known names will be publicly released by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at a ceremony in Ottawa at the Canadian Museum of History.

September 30 is also the day known as Orange Shirt Day, a day to remember all the children taken from their homes to residential schools.

To quote the statement from The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, Primate, and The Most Rev. Mark Macdonald, National Indigenous Archbishop:

Releasing these names may bring relief at the public acknowledgement of this family pain but it may also open wounds of grief afresh. While publishing the names may honour the children, the act of doing so is another public reminder for every family of the legacy of residential schools, paid by indigenous people across Canada.

The Anglican Church of Canada stands with the families and communities in sorrow. Sorrow for the preventable deaths of children in our care. Sorrow for every family that unwillingly released their child to a residential school expecting them to be cared for only to be told the child died and for most, no body ever returned.

Let us join our sister church in prayer.

Prayer for the Children

God who came into the world as a child, we bring before you in deep grief the children who did not survive Residential Schools. Continue to hold them closely in the safety, comfort and everlasting Love which you desire for all creation. Hear again our cries of sorrow and lament for our participation in a system that allowed these deaths to happen. Forgive us.

Holy Spirit, in the unimaginable pain of this loss, when all words fail, hear and hold our “groans too deep for words”* as we see and honour the anguish of families left without the life, love and laughter each child represents. Be present with us in the myriad of emotions that the release of these names may bring—sadness, anger, relief, confusion, fear. Guard also the hearts and minds of survivors as they are faced again with memories of their own trauma and suffering.

Jesus, who showed us how Love is meant to live in the world, call us again out of denial and into truth, out of despair and into hope. Spur us to action in the places where systems of injustice prevail. Provoke us to speak out against racism, discrimination, climate injustice, and all that stands between us and the good, just, beautiful life you designed for us together. Be our strength when weak, our courage when afraid, our light in dark places.

Hear our prayer, God of all, in the name of your son the Reconciler of all things,

Amen.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson,
National Bishop