In a letter from Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan C. Johnson and Anglican Church of Canada Primate Fred Hiltz, the leaders lift up National Housing Day and call on members of the two churches, "to reflect on our calling, as Christians, to care for our neighbours and to offer prayers for affordable housing for all."

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

November 2017

November 22 marks National Housing Day in Canada, an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the need for safe, adequate, and affordable housing, and to learn about the social, economic, and health impacts of homelessness in our communities. National Housing Day is also an occasion for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada to reflect on our calling, as Christians, to care for our neighbours and to offer prayers for affordable housing for all.

More than 235,000 Canadians experience periods of homelessness every year, with as many 35,000 people finding themselves homeless on any given night. Thousands of others live in precarious housing, struggling month after month to pay rent or remaining in unsafe or inadequate housing because of a lack of appropriate options.

Homelessness and a lack of affordable housing affects every community in this country, from large urban centres to remote northern communities, and is experienced by diverse populations including young people, seniors, families, veterans, and more. Indigenous people are disproportionately represented among homeless populations in Canada, and many Indigenous communities continue to experience acute housing crises such as overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and poor condition of existing housing stock. Many Indigenous people in urban contexts also continue to experience discrimination in access to housing.

Canada remains a wealthy country, with the capability to eliminate homelessness in our communities and to ensure access to safe, adequate, and affordable housing for all. Meeting this challenge requires collaboration between all levels of government, faith communities, the private sector, and civil society organizations. The upcoming release of a national housing strategy by the federal government will be an important step in insuring this collaboration. We encourage you to lift up National Housing Day in your communities, to advocate for improved access to housing for those in need, and to pray for the action necessary to address this need. Toward this end, we commend to you the following prayer:

Creator,
You give us land and neighbours and all our relations to provide for all our needs.
We give you thanks.
You give us land and neighbours and all our relations that we might demonstrate your love through kindness, care and service.
Inspire our hearts and minds that we may discern where and how we can make a difference.
You give us land and neighbours and all our relations that we might live in justice and peace.
We ask for courage and wisdom to transform unjust structures of society and to work for reconciliation.
Inspire our actions, that we may promote equitable and innovative approaches to the challenges that we share.
We remember before you the homeless, the under housed and refugees.
We pray for safe, affordable and adequate housing for all.
You give us land and neighbours and all our relations to teach us to rely on you.
Bless us with faith and hope.
In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Fred Hiltz, Primate, Anglican Church of Canada
Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

As part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s (ELCIC) commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, a Leadership Award was introduced at the 2017 National Convention. Don Storch was selected to be the first recipient of the award which is presented to individuals committed to advancing the mission and ministry of the ELCIC, and demonstrating Leadership In Mission for Others.

In this interview, Storch shares his reflections on the award and also speaks about his current involvement at the Shelbourne Community Kitchen, located on Vancouver Island, B.C.

The leadership award was presented to you at National Convention in July. How do you feel now that you have had a few months to reflect on this award?

It still is very humbling, and I have continued to get emails and letters from people across the country that I have known from over the years. The major tie in for me is with the Shelbourne Community Kitchen, as there was a cash contribution made in recognition of the award to the kitchen. But as I said, it has been a very humbling feeling and I’m just very pleased.

Can you share a little bit about the ministry at Shelbourne Community Kitchen?

The kitchen is located in Saanich, on the island. It is open Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. for people to come in, access the food bank, or to ask for some assistance. During those hours and beyond those hours there are lots and lots of cooking classes. When I was there yesterday there was a group of six people learning how to make dumplings. The youngest in the group was about eight years old, while the oldest would have been probably mid-fifties.

How did you first get involved with this program?

Back in 2012, we had a pastoral intern and for a project, the Lutheran Church of the Cross, Victoria, B.C. was running a food pantry and providing cash to individuals who came to the door. St. Luke’s Anglican across the street was doing a similar thing, as was St. Aidan’s United – which is about three blocks away. The intern wondered if there was a way that these three groups could work together.

Through her initiative and the original organizer and chair, Laura Cochrane, meetings began and we decided to work together to develop a kitchen. My interest was that I thought it was a great idea. I helped edit some of the paperwork in the background, and provided support. I just thought that it was a marvelous idea working together and it would really help out more than just providing food or cash but actually teaching program participants how to cook. I also liked the idea of having the kitchen in a house close to the bus route, making it easy for people to get to.

How has the community at the kitchen grown since it first started?

One of the good stories from the kitchen is how the canisters in the kitchen initially had the words ‘sugar’, ‘flower’, and ‘salt’ written on them. After a while, we began to tackle some international cooking and a group of Syrian people were coming in, so had to figure out what ‘flour’ was in Syrian. So now on the canisters ‘flour’ is written in three languages: English, Syrian and Mandarin. It has certainly been quite a great learning experience just to get to know some of the 455 or-so people are that come to our door regularly.

How do all the volunteers, instructors, and teachers work together to make this function?

Kim Cummins is the hired coordinator and she is a marvelous teacher. She is a trained chef, she loves gardening, and is a very easy to relate to person. She is in charge overall, but there are lots and lots of independent cooking courses and other teachers or chefs that come in. Remember, it’s just an ordinary house, so it’s only 6-8 people per class. In 2016 there were 104 cooking classes in all. If you go to the house, the backyard is almost a huge garden. There is a big deer fence all around it so the veggies go to the people and not the animals!

Walking down the street, would anything about this place jump out, or is it just another house on the street?

It’s just another house on the street. There is a little sandwich board on the front with a sign saying “Welcome to the Shelbourne Community Kitchen”. Other than that, there is a sign in the window signifying if it is open or closed, but if you walk down the street you wouldn’t have any idea.

Can you touch on the importance of giving back to the community?

I grew up in a rural area in an Alberta farming community, and people needed each other to survive. This was before Medicare. So I can remember fundraisers to provide money so that someone could get the kind of operation or medical care that they needed; it was just what you did as a part of the community. Church was also a large part of the community. Churches served as community centres – all kinds of things happened there. For me it is just a way of life. In a rural area, you knew all of your neighbours. That doesn’t always happen in urban areas, so we need to find ways in these urban areas to build community. How can we connect? How do we find a sense of place, and a place where we can say, “I can help you, can you help me, how can we work on something together?” Shelbourne is a place where that happens.

On Reformation Day, join Lutherans around the world and across seven Lutheran World Federation regions to witness how the Reformation has become a global citizen.

A live stream of worship services from 11:00 – 23:00 CET (5:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CDT), will show the rich diversity and unity of the Lutheran churches as they commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

This journey will also feature three ecumenical services, demonstrating the spirit of ecumencial accountability with which the LWF has commemorated the 500th Reformation anniversary.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan C. Johnson will preside at Holy Communion at the service taking place in the LWF North American region. She will join Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.         

For further information, visit: www.lutheranworld.org/content/live-reformation-day

In commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation dating back to October 31, 1517, the congregations of the Montreal Ministry Area of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada have teamed up and extended their efforts to help educate, fundraise, and build community surrounding the theme of the commemoration of the Reformation.

These upcoming events are by no means anything new for many of the congregations in Montreal, as this past year has already been highlighted by countless activities and gatherings in preparation for the upcoming anniversary.

Under the auspices of the Montreal Lutheran Council – which represents the Montreal Ministry Area – a Reformation 2017 fund was established to collect direct donations from various parishes as money to use for the 2017 events. These activities highlighted Lutherans and the Lutheran teachings and practices to those in the community unfamiliar with such things.

Over the course of the 2017 calendar year, four major Reformation-focused events took place in Montreal, with four more planned dates to come. These events served as a way to create awareness of the coming anniversary, as well as an interactive chance to provide insights and education to those yearning for more information on the history and significance that the year 2017 holds.

On Transfiguration Sunday, February 26, the members of St. John’s gathered to acknowledge the upcoming anniversary of the 95 Theses and to discuss plans for the upcoming year. Throughout the following months, various study groups formed in the Montreal congregations as a way to look closer at the set themes of the Reformation 500 celebrations. In using the study guides prepared by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), St. John’s held Lenten study groups exploring each of the three sub-themes the LWF and ELCIC have been lifting up leading up to the anniversary: Liberated by God’s Grace, Salvation – Not for Sale, Creation – Not for Sale, Human Beings – Not for Sale.

The first major educational event of the year focused on northern environmental issues and Inuit peoples. This event – held mid-March – featured a conference in conjunction with Concordia University College and Layola College for Diversity and Sustainability.

Another joint education event also took place as the Reformation and the City conference rolled into Montreal in early May. This conference featured the theology departments of McGill and Concordia Universities, and provided an invitation to observe keynote presenters and topics relating the reformation issues to life in the 21st century.

A fund-raising concert, highlighted by Juno award-winning folk singer, Connie Kaldor also took place in early May at St. Barnabas Anglican Church. The collected funds went towards the ELCIC Reformation Challenge.

Coming up on Saturday, October 21st, at Très-St-Nom-de-Jesus Roman Catholic Church, Maestro Kent Nagano of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra will be the honorary patron of a concert of reformation music with musician from the orchestra and Montreal’s top choral singers.  The evening is a “Hommage à Luther” and features as a highlight J.S. Bach’s Reformaiton Cantate “Ein Feste Burg.” Honoured guest is the Roman Catholic Archbisihop of Montreal.  This event focusing on Luther and music works of faith over the centuries will be free to the public, but supporter tickets are also available. Proceeds will go towards concert expenses and the Reformation Challenge.

On Reformation Sunday, October 29, St. John’s will be hosting a festive Reformation liturgy featuring guest preacher, Bishop Thomas Dowd of the Roman Archdiocese in Montreal at 11:00 A.M. downtown. An open house will follow the liturgy.

Although the 500th anniversary of the Reformation will already have passed, Saturday, November 18th will also be a special day at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Eastern Synod Bishop Michael Pryse and Roman Archdiocese Christine Lapine will co-host, “From Conflict to Communion: Together in Hope”, a celebration of prayer service.

Finally, on Saturday, December 9, a Reformation concert featuring works from the Lutheran and Roman traditions will be held at Salle Claude Champagne in the Université de Montreal Concert Hall. Mendelssohn’s “Reformation Symphony” will be juxtaposed with Messiaen’s “Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum”, as conducted by Kent Nagano.

More information regarding the upcoming Reformation Commemoration and related activities/events in the Montreal Ministry Area can be found at www.reformation500.quebec and http://www.saintjohnslutheranmontreal.org/events/.

A letter from Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson on this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

View the pdf version of the letter here: https://elcic.ca/From-the-Bishop/documents/IntlDayfortheEradicationofPovertyletter.pdf

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. We also join churches around the world to lift up Churches Week of Action on Food 2017 from October 15 to 22 to pray, reflect and take action together, for food-justice across the globe.

The call to address issues of poverty has deep roots in the Christian faith, and is central to what it means to be a church In Mission for Others. For over 25 years, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) has supported putting a priority on policies and programs that provide for the basic needs of people.

The ELCIC supports the call for a Federal Anti-Poverty Plan to eradicate poverty and hunger for the 860,000 people in Canada who use food banks each month and the millions of others struggling to get by (dignityforall.ca/chew-on-this/). Successful anti-poverty strategies focus on those most in need, are comprehensive, uphold human rights, and involve leaders in community and governments.

In July 2017, delegates to the ELCIC National Convention affirmed That the ELCIC support the Basic Income Guarantee initiative. Providing a minimum level of income is one way of helping to ensure people have access to their basic human rights, including housing, water, health, life, liber y and security of person.

In 2013, in partnership with the Anglican Church of Canada, the ELCIC issued a Joint Assembly Declaration to address issues of Homeless and Affordable Housing, and Responsible Resource Extraction, including a call for renewed Federal funding, an integrated national collaborative strategy, and greater accountability on the part of provinces and municipalities in addressing underlying causes of homelessness and in providing opportunities for affordable housing.

The ELCIC also 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.

In this season of thanksgiving and harvest, I am aware of the relative abundance I experience in my life and I am conscious of Gods ongoing call to seek reconciled relationships and a more just world. As we pray for the eradication of poverty, I give thanks for all the ways that you participate in Gods mission as empowered disciples and I pray for Gods blessing on all the ways you work to eradicate poverty.

Yours in Christ,

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

From September 1 through to October 4, Christians around the world lift up the Season of Creation.

Congregations across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada are invited consider how they might engage in worship that deepens their ties and connections to creation with a focus on renewing commitments to climate justice.

Lutheran Church of the Cross in Victoria, B.C. is responding to the call in a very unique way.

For congregational member, Don Storch, it was the back page of the July/August 2017 issue of Canada Lutheran that provided the inspiration to get involved. “It talked about how this liturgical emphasis on creation came about,” he says. “And as we were talking about this on the board of worship several months ago, one of our members, Lynn Jones – who is a weaver – said that she would be very happy to lead a workshop in dyeing fabric naturally.”

Not long after that initial meeting, 15 congregation members of all ages assembled on the front lawn of the church to learn about the fine art of Bengala dyeing.

“We dyed some prepared cloths and strung the fabric up on clotheslines to dry,” Storch says. “The material was very thin – somewhat like a cheesecloth. There were many pails of dye and everyone took turns putting the bits of fabric into the dye, squeezing it and kneading it until it turned to the right colour. It was then hung it up on the clotheslines to dry. The following week, the fabrics were hung in the church on display.”

Bengala dyes are natural earth pigments, and although most commonly used in Japan, this technique was first used in the Stone Age. Created from the soil and consisting of iron oxide minerals, Bengala is known as a ‘mud dye’. These dyes do not require a mordant or hot water to prepare. The only requirement is the ability to knead the natural dye into the selected fabric. And important feature of this dye process is that is non-detrimental to the environment and ecologically safe because the elements easily break down into the earth upon disposal.

“This was certainly a marvelous way to raise awareness of the Season of Creation,” Storch says, noting that the event drew interest from both new and long-time members. “We also had lots of dog walkers and other onlookers stopping by since we were out on the front lawn. They would casually walk up to us and ask what we were doing, how it worked, what is was for, and what it was like. It was a great chance to spread the creative mission of our church.”

The natural dyeing exhibit in the church is not the only way the Lutheran Church of the Cross has lifted up the 2017 Season of Creation.

“Recently we have actually changed the order of our service to reflect the emphasis on creation,” says Storch. The theme has also been emphasized sermons and children’s lessons. The congregation intends to display the fabric until Reformation Sunday, “which will remind our members of the Season of Creation on each and every day leading up to the Reformation.”

Do you know someone that contributes substantially to the worship life of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)? Do they give of their time and talents locally, synodically and nationally?

On behalf of ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson, the Program Committee for Worship (PCW) is now accepting nominations for the Companion of the Worship Arts Award. This honour is conferred upon a recipient biennially, highlighting the individual’s ongoing work and service within worship life of the ELCIC. The distinction recognizes the recipient’s ongoing inspiration and encouragement to others, together with service to God through worship, spirituality, and the arts.

The award will be presented to the at the National Worship Conference in Victoria, B.C. in 2018. (www.nationalworshipconference.org). Current PCW members are not eligible for nomination.

Submit your nomination today!

Please include these supporting materials with your nomination:

1. Reasons for the nomination; i.e., biographical material with a listing of the person’s specific contributions to the worship life of the ELCIC (examples should include national, synodical, and local involvements).

2. An indication, with examples, of the ways the person continues to inspire and encourage others in the worship life of the church.

3. A minimum of three letters of support for the nomination from others familiar with the individual’s contributions.

Send nomination materials in by February 15th, 2018 to:

Kathryn Smith
8 Jodi Place
Guelph, ON N1H 7R1
jeffkatejb@rogers.com

Did you know the ELCIC produces an Annual Report?

The 2016 annual report for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is now available.

Read stories about our work as a church and how we respond together to the call to be a church In Mission for Others.

Copies of the publication are available online and in print. Individuals and congregations wishing to order print copies of the publication can request from the National Office (info@elcic.ca). There is no cost to order copies of this publication.

A PDF version is available online: https://elcic.ca/About-the-ELCIC/Overview.cfm

New Dundee ELCIC congregation’s unique worship service and focus on creation enables them to surpass Reformation Challenge tree planting goals

It began as a typical Sunday morning service on the outskirts of Kitchener/Waterloo in early spring of 2017, until the tractors rolled in& As a component of the ELCIC Reformation Challenge, Rev. Bonnie Schelter-Brown, pastor of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Dundee, Ontario, led the gathered members of the Eastern Synod congregation in a very unique service that morning.

"So, we held what we called a Blessing of the Seed and Tree service that Sunday," Schelter-Brown explained. "We invited people to drive their tractors to church that day while we provided a short blessing of those tractors. We also blessed some marigold seeds and handed them out to everyone that came. We basically spent the whole day focusing on creation, by affirming and honouring that part of our community."

After the pre-service blessings, those in attendance at St. James were treated to a Reformation-themed message from a familiar face.

"We also had a guest speaker at that service," Schelter-Brown reflected. "It was actually Jesse Sop, one of our former youth-turned young adults who had planted trees up north and in B.C. for a couple of summers. He gave us a great idea of what it was like to plant trees for the summer and the amount of hard work that it took. And after that service we actually went out ourselves and planted roughly 100 trees on the grounds of one of our parishioners."

Schelter-Brown and her congregation of twelve years were not done there.

"Every May 24th there is a big celebration in town," Schelter-Brown said. "Typically, we have a garage sale during the day and fireworks during the night. This year we assembled a float on a pickup truck for the lunchtime parade; as well as having a big sign, we walked in the parade and handed out trees to people to plant. Along with the trees were little notes explaining what we were doing, why we were doing it, and a piece of encouragement for the recipients in hopes that they would indeed plant the trees."

Although the church of St. James only sees a weekly average attendance of roughly 52, the rural congregation has been able to deliver on its promises. Already surpassing their total number of pledged trees, Schelter-Brown and her church hope to continue with their support of the ELCIC’s Reformation Challenge again as the congregation reconvenes after the summer.

"I would call New Dundee an incredible congregation with incredible people, who always seem to step up," Schelter-Brown said."I offered this Reformation Challenge idea to them, and they picked up the tree planting aspect and have already surpassed their goals. We are certainly not done with our challenge yet we have even had a suggestion to look outside the box and consider planting some trees in Fort McMurray. We definitely plan to revisit our goals in the fall, and as the reformation anniversary comes up again I will be reminding the congregation again of the other options out there. Whether its trees or not, I have the utmost confidence that this group will be able to deliver again, if we do go that route."

Find out more about the ELCIC Reformation Challegne here: www.elcic.ca/ReformationChallenge

The Right Rev. Jordan Cantwell, moderator of the United Church of Canada, issued an invitation to the fullness of life that the Gospel offers in her sermon at the closing service of the 16th Biennial National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC).

In her message to convention delegates, she observed that this invitation involves relinquishing status and power that actually holds us captive to that which is not gospel. “And when we let it go, we discover the life that God intends for us,” she said.

“A message of liberation is only received as good news by those who know themselves to be in need of liberation,” she explained.  “It is only those who recognize their own captivity who embrace a message of liberation as a good thing.”

Action needs to be rooted in love

Cantwell spoke about her own experiences of trying to do something about injustice being done to others and explained how easily one experiences anger and hatred. “The kind of anger that just wants to tear people down, and the kind of hatred that just wants to destroy is not the right footing for justice,” she said.

She shared that a lesson that has taken her most of her life to learn is, “The only place from which to work for justice, and the only place from which anything good could be birthed was a place of love. Action needs to be rooted in love.”

Her message gave fresh insight to the theme Liberated by God’s Grace at a convention where action was taken to engage ELCIC members and congregations “in developing respectful, meaningful and mutual relationships with Muslims;” to “learn, pray, connect and act” through a new resource Encouraging People of Other Fiaths – Interfaith Guidelines;” and to be a church In Mission for Others.

View the recording of the Closing Worship service and Rt. Rev. Jordan Cantwell’s message here: https://youtu.be/vrnCRTCddfc

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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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