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.

The ELCIC encourages congregations to consider ringing their #BellsForAleppo.

Churches all around the world have been ringing their bells at 5:00 p.m. daily for the victims of the Aleppo massacre and to demand an end to ongoing killing.

Aleppo is currently the largest city in Syria, however, if the severe bombings and brutal air strikes continue, city status may no longer even exist by 2017.

The Syrian Civil War is responsible for roughly 450,000 deaths over the past five-and-a-half years.

Included in that death toll are more than 15,000 children.

This bell-ringing initiative began with the Evangelical Lutheran Parish of Kallio in Helsinki, Finland, on October 12th.

The bells will continue to ring daily until United Nations Day on October 24th.

Add your church to the featured world map: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekk-NxCbGkcZQWEibWj90e74BcEcsBtWkQ_RQuiyO-V4BbPg/viewform

For more information on #BellsForAleppo visit: http://bellsforaleppo.org

Almost 1,000 youth from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) came together in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for the 2016 Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth (CLAY), Gathering, August 17-21.

During the gathering, youth from across the country participated in fellowship, worship, Large Group Gatherings, morning "mash-ups" with Lutheran and Anglican Bishops, time for reflection, and aservant events that took them out into the community.

Throughout CLAY, speakers, a drama team, music, and ministry project built on the theme, "Not for Sale." This theme picks up the focus The Lutheran World Federation is using to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Liberated by God’s Grace: Salvation – Not for Sale, Creation – Not for Sale, Human Beings – Not for Sale. By gathering around this theme, CLAY joined in this historical commemoration and took up the challenge of living out faith in the world today.

View highlights, photos, and videos of CLAY via the following social media platforms:

Facebook: Canadian Lutheran, CLAY Gathering
Twitter: @ELCICinfo, @CLAYgathering
Instagram: CanadianLutherans, CLAYgathering
Snapchat: ELCICinfo

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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.

In the continuing spirit of full communion, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2016 Companion of the Worship Arts (CWA).

The CWA is awarded every two years in recognition of significant contributions to the worship life of both churches. Since 2014, one Anglican and one Lutheran recipient receive the honour, recognizing ongoing inspiration and encouragement to others, and service to God, through worship, spirituality and the arts.

This year’s Anglican recipient is the Reverend Dr. Paul Gibson. As the leading force behind the development of the Book of Alternative Services, from its inception through its completion, distribution, and use, the Rev. Gibson is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in transforming the worship life of the Anglican Church of Canada—influencing generations of Anglican leaders, preachers, musicians, and worshippers from coast to coast to coast through his commitment to liturgical renewal and reform. As a member of the Hymn Book Task Force, the Rev. Gibson helped develop Common Praise for the Anglican Church of Canada, channelling his passion and energy into a dynamic tool for engaging worshippers in their experience of God through poetry, hymnody, music, and art.

Through his work as a teacher, scholar, university chaplain, chief liturgical officer for the Anglican Church of Canada, and liturgical coordinator for the Anglican Consultative Council, the Rev. Gibson has left an indelible impact on the worship patterns of Canadian and international Anglicans and Christians. By coordinating the best talent and scholarship in the Anglican Church of Canada and drawing upon the ecumenical work of the liturgical movement, the Rev. Gibson produced foundational texts that have shaped the belief of Anglicans for more than 30 years, offering new ways of worship and prayer that nevertheless remain consistent with the church’s heritage. His work and dedication embody and have equipped many to experience and fulfill the Anglican ethos of lex orandi, lex credendi—as we pray, so we believe.

This year’s Lutheran recipient is Reverend André Lavergne. Rev. Lavergne’s contributions to worship and the arts in the ELCIC, from local parishes to the international worship community, are extensive, influential, and continuing. His involvement began early, providing leadership and vision to the beginning of worship discussions and activities in the newly formed ELCIC. That work included establishing biennial National Worship Conferences; discussions on communion of the baptized and its adoption by the ELCIC in the Statement on Sacramental Practices; serving as ELCIC representative on the Consultation on Common Texts and development of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) and resources; supporting implementation of the RCL in the ELCIC by developing the comprehensive resource Gathered for Worship that provided musical and liturgical resources for each Sunday and festival of the three-year lectionary; before most others, heralding computers and email for worship communication and establishing the “Lift Up Your Hearts” website at worship.ca; and establishing the Companion of the Worship Arts as a national honour.

Rev. Lavergne has served in various capacities on National and Synodical worship working groups, including National Staff for worship, and on many ecumenical worship committees. He was an ELCIC representative throughout the Renewing Worship process toward the development of Evangelical Lutheran Worship and its introduction in the ELCIC. He has written and facilitated the creation of numerous articles and essays on concerns, issues and continuing renewal of worship in the church. Rev. Lavergne now serves the ELCIC as Assistant to the National Bishop—Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, and resides in Kitchener-Waterloo.  

The CWA awards will be presented by ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson and ACC Archbishop Fred Hiltz at the 2016 National Worship Conference “FORMATION & REFORMATION: Worship, Justice and God’s Mission,” which will take place from July 24-27, 2016 at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener-Waterloo. For more details, visit www.nationalworshipconference.org.

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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.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan C. Johnson and Anglican Church of Canada Archbishop Fred Hiltz share 10 important (and fun!) reasons why you should attend the Anglican–Lutheran National Worship Conference being held on July 24-27 in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.

Check out their Top 10 video here: https://youtu.be/7KOREN3GIlU

For more information and to register for the 2016 National Worship Conference, visit http://www.nationalworshipconference.org/