Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson has written an open letter to Muslim friends in Canada and Muslim neighbours in New Zealand, following the attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

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

Grace and peace to you.

Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you, says the Lord. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. —Isaiah 49:15-16

Early Friday morning, we received with shock the news of the attacks that occurred at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. I am heartbroken and lled with horror at the massacre of innocent people gathered for prayer in the Al-Noor Masjid and Linwood Islamic Centre.

In those early hours, I called on the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada to join me in the following prayer:

God of consolation, we mourn the two mass shootings at mosques in Christchurch. We pray for the victims, the injured, their families, and all who are now afraid of further violence. Strengthen us to stand with our Muslim neighbours against all forms of Islamophobia and to work to end gun violence. Amen.

In 2015, our ELCIC National Convention endorsed the document Welcoming the Stranger. In this action, we af rmed that our “faith teaches that compassion, mercy, love and hospitality are for everyone: the native born and the foreign born, the member of my community and the newcomer.” We joined with people of all faiths on a journey toward peace, respect and true community.

In January 2017, I called for prayers and solidarity following the attack that occurred during Sunday night prayers at a Quebec City mosque. I urged the members of our church to “reach out in a genuine expression of love for our neighbour as we stand in solidarity… and speak out against all forms of racism and violence against Muslims.”

At our upcoming National Convention this July, we will continue to work towards further relationship and the support of Christian-Muslim engagement in communities across Canada.

I am inviting every community in our Church to embrace our Muslim sisters and brothers; to stand with our Muslim neighbours against all forms of Islamophobia; and to consider how we might reach out to one another in our communities, in gestures of support and human solidarity.

In times of shock, horror, and dif culty, people of faith look to the God of mercy for comfort, strength and hope. It is God’s steadfast presence and love that leads toward healing and restoration of spirit that helps us to choose the ways of peace.

The nurturing of interfaith relationships and respect for persons of other faith communities is of the utmost importance as we seek to worship and follow the God who always remembers and cherishes each of God’s children.

Yours in Christ,

Susan C. Johnson,

National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Where do you see ‘people in mission’ in our community?

In our churches? On the playground? At work? At rest? In recreation?

The ELCIC Program Committee for Worship (PCW) is putting out a call for images to be used on worship bulletin covers for the 2018 – 2019 liturgical year based on the theme People in Mission.

The images of People in Mission can be as diverse as your imagination. How do you see people in mission in the world around you? Are you surprised by what you see, or maybe encouraged? Are there any images that challenge us and let us see mission in a different way?

Please submit images for the second half of the bulletin series by March 18, 2019 in an email to: BulletinPictures@gmail.com and include the following information:

• Photographer who took the image(s)

• Location where the photo was taken

• Story behind the photo – why did you take this photo?  How does it show people in mission to you? Include the name of the congregation, if appropriate.

• Completed Copyright Transfer and Confirmation of Consent to use Images, available on the Canadian Church Bulletin website at churchbulletins.ca.

o   As needed, there are also Consent to use Image forms available at churchbulletins.ca – both for youth under 18 years old and adults.

o   Consent is only needed for images where the main subject is recognizable. Images of a crowd in a public place (for instance, a worship service) do not require consent. Consent can of course be verbal, but a signed form is best.
 
Since the bulletin covers require a square image, your photo may be cropped to fit as needed. From a practical point of view, any jpeg (.jpg) image that is 2.6 MB or more in size can work.  Images must be submitted by March 18, 2019.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan C. Johnson, along with Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) National Indigenous Bishop Mark MacDonald and ACC Archbishop Fred Hiltz, are urging the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada to fulfil the "promise to create a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

The text of the letter to the Prime Minister follows. Download a copy of the letter here.

January 31, 2019

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister:

We are writing to urge you and the Government of Canada to fulfil your promise to create a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

On January 17, 2018, your government promised that:

• It would create the CORE,
• The CORE would be fully independent, and
• The CORE would have the powers needed to investigate—including the power to compel the truth.

In the 2013 Joint Assembly Declaration, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada committed to addressing together issues of responsible resource extraction (www.jointassembly.ca/delegates/acc/cc/joint-assembly-declaration/index.html).

We regard the CORE as a valuable tool to help support communities in defining their own development goals and to ensure Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world are able to exercise their right to free, prior and informed consent.

It has now been more than a full year since the CORE was announced and there is still no ombudsperson in place. The need to uphold rights is urgent. We urge you to act promptly to fulfill this promise.

It is the ongoing prayer of our churches that we would have the humility and discipline to use the earth’s resources wisely and responsibly.

Yours in Christ,

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

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

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

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson has written a letter to the church reaffirming the church’s support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to free, prior and informed consent.

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

Dear friends in Christ,

On behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), I wish to reaffirm our church’s support for the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to free, prior and informed consent.

In 2015, the ELCIC National Convention repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery and committed to walking with Indigenous peoples in their ongoing efforts to exercise their inherent sovereignty and fundamental human rights. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified the UN Declaration as the framework for reconciliation in Canada.

Recent events on Wet’suwet’en land, including the arrests at the Gitdimt’en checkpoint on January 7, 2019, remind us of the ongoing need for reconciliation and for a true nation-to-nation relationship. Court injunctions and police enforcement should not be used as alternatives to the commitment, patience, good-will and true consultation that is required in order to ensure that free, prior and informed consent is achieved.

Senator Justice Murray Sinclair, former Chair of the TRC, has said that, “because it took us so many generations to get to this point, it is going to take us at least a few generations to be able to say that we are making progress.” As members of the ELCIC, we admit that we have much to learn and we are committed to a long journey. We can begin by seeking new paths for discerning together how to live on the land wisely and how to use resources responsibly. We give thanks for the voices that remind us of the spiritual significance of our relationships with the land and with each other.

I invite you to join me in this ongoing prayer:

Creator: teach, guide and lead us on the path to reconciliation. Strengthen our conviction to uphold all rights of Indigenous peoples. Fill us with patience, respect, understanding and hope as we engage our neighbours and seek to discern how to live faithfully together and in healthy relationship with the earth. Open our eyes to the ways of peace. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson

National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) in partnership in ministry with the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC), Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church (TEC) have prepared a liturgical resource for the annual ecumenical celebration of The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed January 18-25.

The Daily Devotions for The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites Christians to reflect together on a biblical theme based on the words of the Book of Deuteronomy: “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.”

All of the devotions have been prepared by the four presiding bishops of each of the churches: ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson, ACC Archbishop Fred Hiltz, ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, and TEC Bishop Michael Curry.

The devotions can be found on the ELCIC website.

These devotions are available for use not only during The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, but also throughout the year.

Many of us would love to spend more time in spiritual practice than we do, but often find it hard to make space for it in the day-to-day challenges of our lives. As the hectic holiday season subsides, a new year can offer us a chance to make changes and deepen our commitment to what matters most.

In the spirit of our seasonal devotional projects, Lutherans Connect invites you to journey with us through January and the first weeks of the season of Epiphany. As always, we will combine scripture with prayer, images, reflection and music. 

This Epiphany our theme is Living Our Faith. In collaboration with Bishop Susan Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, we will explore ways to renew our spiritual practice while deepening our experience of what it means to be disciples of Jesus. 

In our church readings between Epiphany and Lent we hear the stories of the life and ministry of Jesus, the events that flow from his baptism to his transfiguration. How can we be like the first century followers of Jesus responding to these events in our own twenty-first century world? How can the waters of the baptism of Jesus flow through our own lives in building the realm of God?

Working with a single chapter of Scripture over twelve days and accompanied by excerpts from Praying the Catechism by Donald W. Johnson, LC† Living Our Faith will help us find ways to live our faith anew as disciples in a modern world. 

Join us for twelve days as we Pray, Read, Worship and Love. And may the light of Epiphany guide us in living our faith now and always.

Find the Epiphany Devotional Series here: https://lclivingourfaith.blogspot.com/

The ELCIC National Office will be closed from December 25 to January 1. We will reopen on January 2, 2019. Wishing you a blessed Christmas.

"I invite you to pray for all those affected by poverty, raise awareness about the issues that contribute to poverty within our communities, and engage in initiatives that address these challenges," says Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson in a letter to the church on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Read the full letter here: https://www.elcic.ca/Documents/201810InternationalDayfortheEradicationofPoverty.pdf

The text of the letter follows:

October 17, 2018

They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor,
which was actually what I was eager to do. (Galatians 2:10)

Dear Friends in Christ,

On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, I invite you to pray for all those affected by poverty, raise awareness about the issues that contribute to poverty within our communities, and engage in initiatives that address these challenges.

As Paul and other apostles debated and discerned the shape of mission in the early church, they came to clear and enthusiastic agreement that “remembering the poor” is essential to the call to share the gospel. Care for neighbours in need is not only about acts of generous sharing and caring, it also includes ongoing learning about issues and a commitment to seek justice.

As the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s (ELCIC) National Church Council (NCC) continues to discern what it means to be a church In Mission for Others, they have identified that one of our strategic priorities is Reconciled Relationships, and that working to end poverty in Canada is a key goal for this priority.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals commit to eliminating poverty by 2030. In Canada, more than 4 million people live in food insecure households. The Government of Canada has established a national poverty reduction strategy. The goal of eradicating poverty can only be achieved through a comprehensive, human rights-based strategy, back by strong legislation and sufficient funding for ending poverty for everyone. The ELCIC supports Dignity for All’s model of what Canada’s comprehensive national anti-poverty strategy needs to include: www.dignityforall.ca/about/our-plan/.

I am grateful that we journey together with many partners as we work towards Reconciled Relationships in the following ways:
The ELCIC works in effective partnership with Canadian Lutheran World Relief to support refugees, promote food security, and challenge the causes and respond to the consequences of injustice and poverty.

Organizations such as KAIROS, the Canadian Council of Churches, Citizens for Public Justice and the Lutheran World Federation help us to live out Jesus’ call to remember the poor.

We join with our full communion partner, the Anglican Church of Canada, in addressing the issues of homelessness and affordable housing and of responsible resource extraction.

Paul reminds us every congregation and faith community is called to remember the poor and discern the particular ways it can promote compassion, justice and peace in its neighbourhood.

As we pray for the eradication of poverty, I give thanks for all the ways that you participate in God’s mission and pray for God’s blessing on all the ways you work to eradicate poverty and to journey toward reconciled relationships.

Yours in Christ,

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

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson has written a letter to the church affirming the commitment to upholding the dignity of all people and "to standing with our LGBTQ2+ siblings in Christ, both inside and outside of our church."

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

Dear members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC),

Then [Jesus] took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:36–37, NRSV)

Grace and peace to you.

On Sunday, we will hear how the followers of Jesus were arguing about who was the greatest. When confronted, they are silent. Jesus takes a child into his arms, and directs the disciples to welcome everyone with a sense of the holy in each person.

From the margins of society, Jesus draws people into his arms and into the centre of our communities; and asks us to reconsider our attitudes, our assumptions and our ways of welcoming. I am reminded of how tempting it is for leaders and communities to argue about who is important and who is not; to make decisions about who is in and who is out; and to magnify the significance of our own experience of normal. Even after we have committed to following Jesus, to treating people fairly and to being inclusive, there is much work to be done to turn our commitments into true and meaningful action.

In 2011, the ELCIC National Convention adopted a Social Statement on Human Sexuality, which calls us as a church to the following commitments.

We commit to upholding the dignity of all people. We recognize the image of Christ in every person and serve that person as Christ himself. In meeting diverse people, we begin with a core sense of respect for the value of each person as a unique child of God. We commit to following Jesus by welcoming everyone.

We commit to engaging in practices that more fully enable all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, to live as members of the body of Christ and as co-workers in ministry, and to help nurture disciples in the image of God. We recognize we are affected by the biases of our predominantly heterosexual culture. We commit to keep on learning.

We commit to engaging the diverse faces of the world in which we live. We recognize that meeting diverse peoples and forming a truly inclusive community is a journey of discovery that will include moments of discomfort and anxiety. We commit to using these moments to help us grow as disciples.

The ELCIC finds itself in an increasingly pluralistic context which invites us to think anew about how we preach and live the gospel. As we continue to learn and grow as God’s people, we gain new understanding of our world. When we name our complex history, it can assist us in repairing those broken relationships and moving us towards being a more inclusive church. Language becomes an important vehicle to proclaim God’s justice and well-being and reflects hospitality and welcome to all.

In March 2018, the ELCIC’s National Church Council approved new Inclusive Language Guidelines. Women and men, transgender and non-binary people, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, two-spirit, asexual, and heterosexual communities deserve to have their individual identities, titles, and pronouns respected and upheld. While it isn’t required to know all of these terms, it is critical that we have a general understanding of the range of identities we have been gifted with by God and reflect that in our use of language with one another.

Just as the church wonders how to uphold dignity, so do our communities and our societies.
Recently, in different parts of Canada, there have been conversations regarding what curriculum will be used in schools as appropriate sexual education. Concerns are being raised about possible future use of the notwithstanding clause that may affect our LGBTQ2+ siblings. In the face of these conversations and concerns, how do we help each other to deepen respect for each other?

I am conscious that persons whose sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity means living as a minority in a predominantly heterosexual and gender-binary culture, the risk of painful, harmful and/or dangerous experiences remains far too high. The ELCIC does not support conversion therapy to change a person’s sexual orientation; or any other form of treatment that is hostile to a person’s identity. Rather, we sense a deep need for safe opportunities to listen to diverse experiences, to learn from each other, and to honour people’s God-given identity. We are called to form families, communities and societies where all are welcome and where all make a meaningful contribution. We are committed to standing with our LGBTQ2+ siblings in Christ, both inside and outside of our church.

This church lives by faith and grace. Living faithfully means trusting in God’s grace boldly, and taking risks. This church is yearning to see how God will be active in our future, and how God will use us as agents of reconciliation in our broken world.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. 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 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.

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