In a letter issued today, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan C. Johnson invites individuals and congregations to join in intentional prayer for climate justice and for world leaders who are working to forge a new international climate agreement at the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris, November 30-December 11, 2015.

The text of the National Bishop’s letter follows. A pdf version can be found here: https://www.elcic.ca/Documents/201511PrayersforParis.pdf

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

Grace and peace to you.

The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
—Psalms 24:1

As we lead up to the UN Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris, November 30 to December 11, 2015, I invite you to join me in intentional prayer for climate justice and for world leaders who are working to forge a new international climate agreement.

In recent months, I have had a variety of opportunities to hear people express concerns regarding the reality of climate change, including a cross-Canada Justice Tour, a Future of Life in the Arctic conference on Sami Territory in Sweden, and Lutheran World Federation council meetings.

At the 2015 ELCIC National Convention, our church affirmed the urgent need to address climate change and committed us to joining the global Christian community, people of all faiths and all people of good will on the journey for climate justice.

All of these voices have deepened my monthly participation in prayer and fasting with #fastfortheclimate. COP21 is a critical junction and has the potential to be a real turning point for the fate of creation. As people of faith, our prayers encourage leaders in their work and responsibility and they help us to discern our own opportunities to address climate change.

You are encouraged to participate in Prayers for Paris—prayers and action for climate justice, a collection of resources and activities to support faith action on climate change. Prayers for Paris includes worship materials (in particular, designed for November 29, 2015—the first Sunday in Advent and the eve of the Paris negotiations), a cross-Canada prayer chain, and a call for climate action. Find these resources and further information here: www.cpj.ca/climate.

I signed up for the prayer chain on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. EST. I invite all members of the ELCIC to join me in praying during this time. I invite you to add your own name or the name of your congregation to the prayer chain.

Thank you for your deep love for God’s world and for your partnership in our church In Mission for Others. May God bless us and guide us during this time of prayer.
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.

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 an open letter to newly sworn-in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada National Bishop Susan Johnson and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada extend their heartfelt congratulations and describe some of the pressing issues that call for visionary leadership in Canada and the world.

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

November 4, 2015

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

Dear Prime Minister:  

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), we extend our heartfelt congratulations to you as our new Prime Minister.

You have set a bold vision for our country. The times in which we live call for visionary leadership in Canada and in the world so that we may build a truly just, healthy and peaceful world.

We welcome your approach to governance and your commitment to work closely with all levels of government on issues such as homelessness, lifting children and seniors out of poverty, improving our welcome of refugees, and refocusing development assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable. Anglicans and Lutherans from coast to coast to coast share a deep concern and profound hope for justice, peace and the well-being of creation. Your invitation to Provincial Premiers and to representatives of other political parties to participate in the Climate Change Conference in Paris is an important sign of the kind of partnership needed to address critical issues.

We support your commitment to implementing the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. We share the goal to build and strengthen relationships across Canada—with Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians—grounded in right relationships, compassion and justice.

We assure you that week by week, members of our churches are praying for you, for all Members of Parliament, and for the Government of Canada. May your service to this country be a blessing to many, and may God guide us in the better future we intend to foster together.

Yours in Christ,

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

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 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.

In a letter issued today, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson invites the members of the church, "to consider the richness of diversity which is Canada" and "include prayers for those who suffer for their differences and for the whole human family with whom we share God’s image and the fullness of God’s creation."

The National Bishop’s call for respecting the dignity of every human being comes from concern for the recent tone of national debate regarding the right of Muslim women in Canada to choose to wear the niqab. Bishop Johnson lifts up the declaration of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Welcoming the Stranger, affirmed at the 2015 ELCIC National Convention, which calls for the commitment to "treat the stranger to our community as we would like to be treated, and challenge intolerance."

The text of Bishop Johnson’s letter follows. A pdf version can be viewed here.

October 9, 2015

Dear members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada:

Grace and peace to you.

‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.’ (Matthew 25:25)

I am troubled by the recent tone of national debate regarding the right of Muslim women in Canada to choose to wear the niqab. At times the discourse, especially online, has been derogatory, prejudiced, and characterized by a suspicion or downright fear of the other in our midst. Such rhetoric has consequences.

Last week in Montreal a pregnant Muslim woman was knocked to the ground when two passers-by grabbed her by the hijab she was wearing. Some days later, a Toronto woman wearing a niqab was physically assaulted in front of her children. These are vivid and near-to-home examples of how easily hostile thoughts and words can morph into hostile acts, often directed at the most vulnerable. This demeans us all.

Behind these heated debates—and these veils—are individual human beings whose human dignity and human rights must be respected and protected. For Christians, human rights are grounded in the dignity accorded each human being by virtue of having been made in the image and likeness of their Creator.

Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada affirm this in a variety of ways. Earlier this year our Church endorsed Welcoming the Stranger, a declaration of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that includes a commitment that we “should treat the stranger to our community as we would like to be treated, and challenge intolerance.” When we affirm our baptism, our people vow “to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms names freedom of conscience and religion first among the “fundamental rights” of the people of this land. As Christians, we do not seek religious freedom that is denied to others. Rather, we support an inclusive society, open to all.

I call on the members of our church, our civic leaders, those currently seeking federal office, and all the citizens of this land to treat the strangers in our midst—and those whom we will welcome as refugees—as we would like to be treated, and to respect the dignity of every human being.

One way of challenging negative stereotypes of others from whom we differ is to get to know them personally, rather than to rely on caricatures that are sometimes generated by ulterior motives. I therefore also encourage everyone to seek out opportunities to meet for themselves their neighbours of other faiths and cultures, to do so in a spirit of openness and welcome, and in recognition of our common humanity.

This Thanksgiving, I invite all of our people to consider the richness of diversity which is Canada and to include prayers for those who suffer for their differences and for the whole human family with whom we share God’s image and the fullness of God’s creation.

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 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.

In an open letter, ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of The Anglican Church of Canada, and National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald encourage Anglicans and Lutherans to write letters to the federal government expressing solidarity with the northern community of Pikangikum, Ont.

A pdf version of the letter can be viewed here.

The text of the letter follows:

September 24, 2015

Dear Friends in Christ,

We wish to share with you our concerns regarding the water situation in Pikangikum and invite you to consider writing a letter to the Federal Government.

Through the 2016 National Youth Project, Lutheran and Anglican youth have been lifting up the Right to Water and walking in solidarity with the people of Pikangikum through our partnership with the Primate’s World Relief Development Fund (PWRDF) and the Pimatisiwin Nipi (Living Water) group. This has included raising funds to support providing potable water to homes in the community.

Writing letters to elected representatives is one way to express solidarity. It is also an opportunity to deepen understanding of our democratic processes. The government is elected to represent the people and hearing from one’s constituency is an essential element of decision making and democracy.

We have including a sample letter you may use as basis for crafting your own letter to your government officials. You may wish to write to the Honorable Bernard Valcourt, MP, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and/or to your own MP. (And a full list of list of Members of Parliament can be found at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members.)

Additional things to consider when you write your letter:

1. Think about who should receive your letter. Writing to the minister responsible for an issue can be as effective as writing to the Prime Minister. Writing to your local Member of Parliament is always appropriate, as they are your direct representative.
2. Focus on one issue—you can always write another letter in support of something else.
3. Include relevant information.
4. Tell elected leaders what action you think should be taken.
5. Ask for a response.
6. Make sure to sign your name.
7. Postage to Members of Parliament is free.

Don’t worry if you aren’t an expert. What matters is that you let them know this is something you care about and that you want to see them do something about it.

The mission of striving for justice and peace in all the earth is a life-long calling that we receive in our Baptism. We are inspired by the leadership in promoting the Right to Water that is being offered by youth through the National Youth Project. It is an important expression of the Full Communion partnership between Lutherans and Anglicans and a valuable contribution to the witness of the church.

Yours in Christ,

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

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

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

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 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.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) have issued an appeal to support Syrian refugees suffering and displaced by brutal violence in their country.

“We are asking all ELCIC members to keep Syrian refugees in their prayers,” says ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson. “We pray for their safety and access to shelter and basic necessities. I urge our members to assist with financial contributions to the appeal and help support our sisters and brothers.”

CLWR, through the support of on-the-ground partners such as The Lutheran World Federation, is working with Syrian refugees who have settled in communities in Jordan and Iraq. Funds received for this appeal will go where most needed to provide basic aid such as clothing, personal hygiene supplies and food vouchers to people most in need of support. Funds will also assist with helping refugee children returning to school by supporting school and classroom rehabilitation and school supplies. Youth and young adults affected by trauma will be supported through psychosocial support programs.

Donations made between September 12, 2015 and December 31, 2015 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Canadian government through their Syria Emergency Relief Fund.

You may make a donation in one of the following ways:

1. Donate online: clwr.donorshops.com/product/685132A/syrianrefugeerelief.php
2. Make a designated offering (Syrian Refugee Relief) donation through any ELCIC congregation.
3. Call CLWR at 1.800.661.2597 (locally at 204.694.5602) to donate by credit card.
4. Send a cheque made payable to CLWR and mailed to CLWR, 600-177 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0W5. Please indicate that you wish to contribute to “Syrian Refugee Relief.”

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 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.

Delegates at the 15th National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) endorsed the document “Welcoming the Stranger: Affirmations for Faith Leaders” and approved a resolution on climate justice on Saturday, July 11.

A pledge to welcome strangers, refugees and internally displaced persons while challenging others to do the same, “Welcoming the Stranger” evolved from a December 2012 dialogue organized by UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres between leaders of different faiths, faith-based humanitarian organizations, academics and government representatives.

Based around the theme “Faith and Protection,” the dialogue ended with a recommendation to develop a Code of Conduct for religious leaders to welcome migrants and refugees and to combat xenophobia.

During the period from February to April 2013, a coalition of faith-based humanitarian organizations that included the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) joined with academic institutions to produce the “Welcoming the Stranger” document.

The motion to endorse the document at this year’s ELCIC convention invited members and congregations to review it and sign the affirmations honouring respect for strangers, welcoming them into the community and speaking out in favour of social justice for them.

A strong 96 per cent of convention delegates voted in favour of the motion.

In approving the resolution, delegates asked the ELCIC’s National Bishop Susan Johnson to communicate the church’s endorsement of “Welcoming the Stranger” to major ecumenical and interfaith partners of the ELCIC, to Canadian Lutheran World Relief, and to the LWF, thanking the latter for its work and leadership in promoting values of hospitality, protection, respect and equality.

The climate justice resolution also received a strong endorsement from the convention, with 93 per cent of delegates voting in favour.

The resolution states that the ELCIC affirms the position of the LWF by acknowledging that climate change is real and influenced by human activity; that increasingly severe impacts are being felt around the world with growing social and economic costs; that it is possible to keep the effects below the internationally recognized danger threshold of 2 degrees Celsius by acting quickly now to reduce carbon emissions; and that climate change is a matter of social and economic justice, affecting the poorest and most vulnerable.

It supports the LWF in calling on political and business leaders to develop a strong global response to climate change by making deep cuts in carbon emissions through clear targets, respecting egalitarian principles by providing special assistance to the most vulnerable communities already dealing with the impacts of climate change.

As part of its commitment to climate justice, the ELCIC calls on all members, congregations, and synods, as well as the national church, to become more sustainable and eco-friendly with the goal of neutralizing carbon emissions by 2050.

It also calls for greater advocacy efforts, including:
-registering as an Accredited Greening Congregation through the ELCIC’s stewardship creation program: https://elcic.ca/Stewardship/Stewardship-of-Creation/default.cfm;
-sharing good practices with others through the LWF Facebook page LWF for Climate Justice; https://www.facebook.com/LWFforclimatejustice?fref=ts
-sustained climate justice advocacy in the perspective of COP20 in Lima, Peru leading up to COP21 in Paris, France, based on the LWF advocacy call and policy papers by the ACT Alliance: http://www.actalliance.org/what-we-do/issues/climate-change/issueview?b_start:int=15;
-participation in ecumenical and interfaith climate justice initiatives at the local, regional and national levels; and
-signing up to the #fastfortheclimate campaign: http://www.lutheranworld.org/fastfortheclimate on the first day of every month until the beginning of COP21 on Dec. 1, 2015.

Finally, delegates through the resolution asked Bishop Johnson to write to the Prime Minister of Canada and other federal leaders expressing the ELCIC’s concern for the climate and pushing for an effective response at COP21, as well as writing to the LWF sharing the climate justice resolution as one response to the Call for Commitment by member churches.

Almost 400 delegates, special guests, visitors and volunteers came together in Edmonton for the ELCIC’s 15th National Convention, July 9-12. News, photos and video highlights from the gathering are available on the National Convention website: https://elcic.ca/In-Convention/2015-Edmonton/default.cfm
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 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.
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The 15th National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) formally wrapped up on Sunday, July 12, leaving a wave of excitement as participants departed home to further the work of liberation by God’s grace.

For the final day of their convention in Edmonton, Alta., attendees joined parishioners at Trinity Lutheran Church for a closing worship service. Hundreds packed the church pews as their joyful voices rang out during the singing of hymns.

Reflecting the full communion partnership between the ELCIC and the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, delivered the sermon, putting the accomplishments of the convention in a biblical context.

He congratulated the ELCIC’s National Bishop Susan Johnson on her re-election to a third term, noting to applause, “We have been blessed at this convention and for the last eight years by the ministry of our national bishop Susan, and we all rejoice in her re-election.”

Invoking the theme of the convention and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, “Liberated By God’s Grace,” Archbishop Hiltz offered images and impressions of what the ELCIC had been liberated from and what it had been liberated for.

“By God’s grace, yours is a church being continually liberated from a clinging to the past, and liberated for that future to which God is calling you at every level of your church, in the spirit of continuing reformation,” the Primate said.

“Yours is a church liberated from continually looking in upon itself. You have been turned inside out, liberated for looking out upon the world as a church In Mission For Others.”

Indigenous issues were a major focus, as Archbishop Hiltz praised the ELCIC for its repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery; its endorsement of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; its support for Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and ongoing efforts at healing; and its call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

He also highlighted the church’s embrace of the Reformation Challenge to welcome 500 refugees to Canada, its focus on environmental stewardship—which includes a commitment to plant 500,000 trees around the world—and its acknowledgement that it cannot accomplish everything alone, building effective partnerships with other organizations and faith traditions.

“Do you see all the work you did in convention?” the Primate asked. “Your church is looking outward … You are seeing the needs and the hopes of the world, and by God’s grace, you are responding.”

Following the sermon, Bishop Johnson presented the newly elected members of the National Church Council before officially closing the convention.

Outside, church members who had attended the convention offered their thoughts on the experience.

Cindy Schriner, a member of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Edmonton who served as treasurer of the local arrangements committee, sat in on many of the sessions as a non-delegate.

“I thought it was amazing, I really do,” Schriner said.

“When you get that many people together in one room, everybody has an opinion and everybody was respectful of the reason we were there … They brought up good points from what I could see, and they had fun doing it … There was a mixture of business, fun and worship, and it all melded together for an amazing experience.”

Youth delegate Katlin Kitching, a member of Westside Evangelical Lutheran Church in Barrie, Ont., was appearing at her first national convention after previously attending last year’s Eastern Synod Assembly.

“Even after last year, going back into the church and hearing them talking about things, I understood where it was coming from more,” she said. “I could understand what they were talking about because we’re involved in it.”

“It just makes you feel … that you’re more part of the church, going to the big decision-making stuff.”

Kitching, 17, described worship services, the sermon by Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and getting to know people from all over Canada as highlights of the national convention.

The Rev. Bart Coleman, parish pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Beausejour, Man. and a member of the registration and credentials committee, noted the passion of delegates and their unity on many issues, as many resolutions were approved with more than 90 per cent in favour.

Highlighting one issue in particular, Rev. Coleman noted, “I’ll go away feeling very proud to be part of a community of people who take very seriously the reconciliation and building of right relationships between us and Indigenous people.”

“I think it was a very bold, very soul-searching look at the past,” he said. “But also a hopeful look to the future.”

Almost 400 delegates, special guests, visitors and volunteers came together in Edmonton for the ELCIC’s 15th National Convention, July 9-12. News, photos and video highlights from the gathering are available on the National Convention website: https://elcic.ca/In-Convention/2015-Edmonton/default.cfm
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 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.

Liberated by God’s grace—the theme of the 15th National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)—has the potential to drive the spirit of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, Dr. Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) told convention delegates on Friday, July 10.

One of three commissioners on the TRC along with chair Murray Sinclair and Wilton Littlechild, Wilson invited Lutherans to continue work towards reconciliation by following the example of Indian residential school survivors.

“I think the liberation offered by God’s grace at this time in our country’s history is not our own,” she said.

“It is the liberation of grace manifested as courage and resilience in the survivors of the residential schools,” who fought through the courts to establish the TRC “in the face of a resistance from Canada and from some of the churches who did not want these truths to be so widely told and so widely known.”

In her presentation to delegates, Wilson described the work and significance of the TRC, its recommendations and the road toward reconciliation, while touching upon more spiritual aspects of the process.

Early on in her presentation, she praised the ELCIC for its “extraordinary” engagement with the TRC, despite its lack of legal obligation to do so.

“You’re not one of the parties to the settlement agreement,” Wilson said—referring to the legal settlement between survivors, the federal government and churches (Roman Catholic, Anglican, United, and Presbyterian) who ran the residential schools that mandated the creation of the TRC.

“And yet,” she added, “you are a collective of people of faith and of citizens, and so you’ve understood what the spirit of reconciliation in our mandate talks about.”

Describing reconciliation as a process of positive change, Wilson argued that, “We can live our faith through truth to achieve change.”

One of the witnesses to that truth was her own husband Stephen Kakfwi, former premier of the Northwest Territories and a residential school survivor, who appeared onstage alongside Wilson.

Recounting the trauma he had suffered after being sent away to residential school at age nine, Kakfwi noted how he had reacted to what happened to him through denial, by choosing to “lock it away somewhere.”

“I was about 50 years old when I finally admitted that some things had happened to me, and it’s like taking a scab off of a wound deep inside you,” he said.

“It’s a painful, difficult experience, and the moment it happened to me, I realized why students had committed suicide.”

Choosing to express his feelings through music, Kakfwi performed a song he had written inspired by the residential school experience. Its lyrics described the feelings of a father who tried to hide the pain he felt inside for many years, before finally confronting the fears he held deep “in the halls of his mind.”

After detailing her experience of travelling across the country and hearing the stories of survivors, Wilson explained the 10 principles of reconciliation written by the TRC.

One principle argued for the need to recognize and respect treaty rights, which Wilson likened to a spiritual covenant such as a marriage.

“A marriage is a treaty … a contract,” she said. “It is a covenant and it has a spiritual underpinning and it must be recognized and respected. Why should Canada have the right to break its own laws?”

Moving on to the 94 calls to action made by the TRC, she highlighted a number that were particularly relevant to Lutherans.

One, for example, recommended the adoption of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation, calling on all religious denominations and faith groups to issue a statement no later than March 31, 2016 declaring how they would implement the Declaration.

Others related more to the role of Lutherans as Canadian citizens, such as pushing for the creation of a Royal Proclamation of Reconciliation to be issued by the Crown, the establishment by Parliament of a National Council for Reconciliation, an annual “State of Aboriginal Peoples” report to be issued by the Prime Minister, and an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Reconciliation, Wilson said, would require the leadership and lived values of people of faith working together with secular society and all others committed to change.

In the leadup to the 150th anniversary of Canada—the country’s name, she noted, comes from the Iroquian word kanata—Wilson posed a number of stark questions to delegates.

“Will we be ready to inherit the courage and the resilience of the survivors?” Wilson asked. “Will we be ready to reconstitute our notions of our country in real and measurable ways? Will we keep the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission alive and work actively to see them implemented? Will we allow ourselves to be guided and so liberated by God’s grace?”

A brief question and answer period followed. One delegate drew parallels between Indian residential schools and modern prisons.

Another used the parable of the Good Samaritan to describe what the role of Lutherans should be in promoting healing and reconciliation. A third noted the encouraging sign that Indigenous history and the legacy of the residential schools were increasingly being taught to Canadian students.

Watch Commission Wilson’s presentation to ELCIC National Convention delegates here: https://elcic.ca/In-Convention/2015-Edmonton/Friday.cfm

Read more about the ELCIC commitment to promote right and renewed relationships between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples within Canada: https://www.elcic.ca/CompassionateJustice/IndigenousRightsandRelationships.cfm

Almost 400 delegates, special guests, visitors and volunteers came together in Edmonton for the ELCIC’s 15th National Convention, July 9-12. News, photos and video highlights from the gathering are available on the National Convention website: https://elcic.ca/In-Convention/2015-Edmonton/default.cfm
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 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.

The Reformation sparked by Martin Luther in 1517 was a movement for liberation with lessons echoing through to the present day, church scholars argued in a Bible study at the 15th National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC).

The Rev. Dr. Allen Jorgenson, assistant dean and associate professor of systematic theology at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the Rev. Dr. Gordon Jensen, William Hordern chair of theology and dean of studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, facilitated the study on the afternoon of Friday, July 10.

“Liberation—we often take it for granted and don’t think much about it,” Rev. Jorgenson began. “But for those who are oppressed, it means everything.”

“Christianity should be, although it hasn’t always been, about liberation and freedom,” he added.

Jorgenson described the Reformation as an attempt by Luther to restore the liberating qualities of the faith.

Luther’s efforts at reform flowed from his responsibilities as a professor of theology who felt the need to speak out when he believed the prevailing theology was in error, and from his duties as a protective pastor.

“The Reformation was about God liberating people from enslaving religiosity … It was about liberating people from oppressions so that people could be liberating people and each other,” Jorgenson said.

Referring to Ephesians 2:8-9, he noted that in the original Greek, the word “you” referred to a community rather than an individual. The focus on “us” rather than “me,” he added, was common to both Indigenous spiritual beliefs and early Christianity.

Basing his analysis on the point that “we are people before we persons,” Jorgenson connected past beliefs with modern concerns.

“What does liberation mean today?” he asked. “It means learning to recognize that we are not self-made individuals … Freedom, true freedom, always aims at the common good.”

As an example, he pointed to the communal work of truth-telling and reconciliation regarding the legacy of residential schools in Canada.

In his own reflections, Rev. Jensen echoed one of the themes of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation: “Salvation—not for sale.”

Recounting the oft-told story of how Luther nailed 95 Theses on the wall of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Saxony, while acknowledging the disputes surrounding its historical veracity, Jensen described “salvation—not for sale” as one of the biggest lessons of the Reformation.

The idea first emerged as a reaction by Luther to the sale of indulgences by the medieval Catholic Church, which promised to free souls from purgatory in exchange for a monetary fee.

“If [salvation] were for sale, only the rich could be saved,” Jensen said. “Trust in God and God’s grace, and trust in God’s actions for us wouldn’t matter. Our relationship with God would not matter … God then becomes nothing more than a salesperson or greedy capitalist looking to separate us from our money.”

Parallel to the sale of indulgences, on which the Catholic Church had a monopoly, was the doctrine that one could attain salvation through good works.

By contrast, Luther argued that salvation could not be earned, but was possible through faith alone. Rather than being a contract, it was a gift of grace.

“That’s the term that God offers, and this grace breathes life into our world,” Jensen said.

Salvation today, Jorgenson said, consists of “stories, memories, and community” —the story of Jesus through which God would not allow humanity to fail, and the strong relationships that bind people together with God, with creation and with each other.

The scholars wrapped up their study with a series of questions for discussion:

• What do you think the Reformation in the 16th century liberated people from? What were people liberated for?
• What do we need liberation from, as individuals and as a church? What are we liberated for?
• If salvation were for sale, what would it cost? What would you be willing to pay? Who around you couldn’t afford it?
• If salvation is about being with, what are ways in which God is with you and ways in which you are with others?

On the third ballot for National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), the Rev. Susan C. Johnson was re-elected by delegates at the 15th Biennial National Convention for a third four-year term.

In her acceptance of the call to a third term, Bishop Johnson thanked delegates for asking her to serve for another term. “I want you to know how much I love God and how much I love this church,” she said. “I promise you that I will faithfully serve to the best of my ability.”

In particular, Bishop Johnson lifted up the support of her parents, Rev. Don and Lois Johnson, who were in attendance at convention.

“I want to thank them for their unfailing love and support, and for they way they have continued to model discipleship,” she said.

“I look forward with hope for the next few years,” concluded Bishop Johnson, “because hope does not disappoint.”

Bishop Johnson is the fourth bishop to serve the ELCIC. This will be her third four-year term as National Bishop. She was first elected in 2007.

Almost 400 delegates, special guests, visitors and volunteers are meeting in Edmonton for the ELCIC’s 15th National Convention. Full agenda details and a live link to the proceedings are available on the National Convention website: https://elcic.ca/In-Convention/2015-Edmonton/default.cfm

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 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.

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