Leaders from the Evangelican Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) have shared an Earth Day statement with the two churches, encouraging members to "reflect on the complex challenges of climate justice and responsible resource extraction."

A pdf version of the statement can be viewed here: https://www.elcic.ca/Documents/201504EarthDaystatement.pdf

Full text of the statement follows:

EARTH DAY 2015 Statement by Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Anglican Church of Canada, and National Bishop Susan Johnson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Earth Day—observed annually on April 22nd—falls this year in the midst of the Festival of Easter in which we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created…. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17)

As we rejoice in the splendour of God’s creation, we encourage you to make time this week to reflect on the complex challenges of climate justice and responsible resource extraction.

At the 2013 Joint Assembly, Anglicans and Lutherans made a commitment to address these issues and to discern ways we might be healers of the Earth. We call on all members and congregations across the country to take action together for the love of the world.

Let us remember our first calling as human beings is caring for the Earth. So sacred is this calling that as Lutherans worldwide mark the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017 with an overall theme “Liberated by God’s Grace,” one of the subthemes is “Creation—not for sale.” So sacred is this calling to Anglicans worldwide that they hold among their Marks of Mission a commitment “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain and renew the life of the earth.” This mark of mission is
now reflected in the vows made in baptism.

On Earth Day we confess our sin in wreaking havoc upon the Earth. In our quest for its resources we have destroyed ecosystems. Human greed and overconsumption have driven our reckless behaviour. The world’s rich minority has come to enjoy levels of comfort and luxury at the horrible expense of creation and at a terrible price for the poor, those most affected by climate change. The number of environmental refugees increases. Many nations are calling upon political, economic, social, and religious leaders to address climate change as “the most urgent moral issue of our day.”

At home and abroad, Canadian companies are major players in resource extraction, energy, and related development projects. They generate wealth for our societies but they also give rise to serious and complex environmental, socio-economic, and human rights issues. Many of our global church partners, and members of our own churches, have called on us to address these issues as Canadian churches.

Let us ensure that those most affected by environmental degradation and resource extraction are heard. Let us stand with Indigenous Peoples in their struggles and honour the principles of free, prior and informed consent as resource extraction and transportation impact their traditional lands and ways of life.

On this Earth Day let us speak a word of urgency into global gatherings for climate talks in the lead up to the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in December in Paris. Church leaders meeting in South Africa in February urged Canadian and world leaders to work with haste towards “fair, ambitious, accountable and binding climate change agreements at national and international levels…(and)…to develop policies that genuinely assist climate refugees and promote mechanisms of entire governmental co-operation that ensures their human rights, safety and resettlement.”

Let us embrace the challenge to be healers of the Earth, ensuring its wellbeing is an integral part of the Christian witness. Let us not just speak a word of hope into the ecological crisis of our time but let us be that word of hope through our attitude toward the Earth and our actions—personal, ecclesial and political—in the interests of its healing and sustainability for our children and their children.

We recognize that these are long-term challenges that require time, patience, persistence, and commitment on our part. Our prayers help us to sustain each other and ground us in the truth of our reliance on God for all that we are and all that we do. Together, for the love of the world, let us continue to learn, raise awareness, act, advocate and pray.

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

Yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, Primate, 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.

Members and congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are invited to celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2015, as a Day of Prayer for Vocations to Rostered Ministry.

Prayers and bulletin insert are available at: https://elcic.ca/Leadership/VocationalSunday.cfm

Take the #VocationalSunday Challenge

To encourage conversation around the call to rostered ministry, this year we are introducing a challenge to all rostered ministers to make a 30 second video that starts with: “I first felt the call to rostered ministry when…” and finishes with “My one piece of advice to someone who may be feeling a call to ministry is…”

Use social media to post your video using the hashtag #VocationalSunday and #MyELCIC.

We hope you will consider sharing these videos in your congregation and via your social media networks.

ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson joins Rev. Dr. Willard Metzger, Executive Director, Mennonite Church Canada, and Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, General Secretary, Canadian Council of Churches, on the 2015 Justice Tour to engage people of faith in conversations about poverty in Canada and climate change.

If you are in the following cities be sure to join us for prayer and conversation on what faith communities are saying and doing about climate change and poverty.

April 13 – Vancouver
April 14 – Edmonton
April 15 – Saskatoon
April 16 – Winnipeg
May 10 – Kitchener-Waterloo
May 11 – Halifax
May 12 – Montreal
May 13 – Ottawa

Download the Justice Tour 2015 poster: http://cpj.ca/sites/default/files/docs/files/Justice%20Tour%20Poster.pdf

Find out more about the Justice Tour here: http://cpj.ca/justicetour2015

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan C. Johnson has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge the Canadian Government to address the issue of sexual exploitation.
 
In her letter, Bishop Johnson calls on the Government to "provide resources for the protection of victims of sexual exploitation, including counselling, accessible, affordable and safe housing, eligibility and access to health and social services, employment referrals, and offer language training."

"I urge the Government of Canada to provide law enforcement resources for the prosecution and rehabilitation of offenders who engage in human trafficking," said Bishop Johnson. "I also wish to express my support for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women."

A full version of the letter follows. A pdf version is available here: https://elcic.ca/From-the-Bishop/documents/20150327ELCIClettertoPMonHumanTrafficking.pdf

March 27, 2015

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

Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing on behalf of the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) to urge the Government of Canada to address the issue of sexual exploitation.

Voices from around the world are calling attention to the tragedy, injustice and devastation of human trafficking. These voices include women’s groups across Canada, Indigenous leaders, the Canadian Council of Churches and the United Nations.

Our partner the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has summarized the challenge of human trafficking in this way:

The most basic notion of human dignity in all religious traditions maintains that human beings are not movable possessions (chattels) to be bought and sold. And yet an increasing number of human beings are trafficked each year across international borders, and probably even more within national boundaries. It is reported that some 80% of the people trafficked are women and girls, of whom about 50% are minors. The reasons are related to sexual exploitation, organized begging, forced or underpaid labour, and “organ harvesting”—all of which undermine the dignity of the persons trafficked. According to research undertaken by UNICEF, and UNESCO and other UN agencies every continent is affected in some way by the scourge of human trafficking. Thus no church or religious community can excuse itself from addressing this pressing issue.

The reasons for human trafficking are extremely complex because they interconnect with other factors. Therefore there are no stand-alone solutions to this problem. It can be summarized as falling into two categories, namely the “push” factors and the “pull” factors.

Push factors

Poverty: The single most important push factor in the developing countries is poverty. When individuals are living in an extremely desperate economic situation and need to feed themselves and their families, they fall victim to criminal syndicates.

Insecurity: Insecurity is also a major push factor. Insecurity may result from armed conflicts, political crises, domestic or community violence, natural disasters, or from the breakdown of social structures and symbols of authority that protect human dignity in traditional society. People fleeing from violence and other causes of insecurity lose the protection of family and community and find themselves at greatly increased risk of human trafficking.

Pull factors

Demand: A key external pull factor is obviously the demand in the wealthier countries in the Middle East and the West for cheap labour both in the general labour market and in the commercial sex industry.

Profit: For some, trafficking in human beings is a highly lucrative business. According to some estimates, profits are as high as 20 billion US dollars annually. Organized crime cartels involved in human trafficking operate through an amorphous network that involves a variety of intermediaries.

False promises/unrealistic expectations: Many of those trafficked are lured by false promises or by unrealistic expectations of life and economic opportunities in the destination countries. Without reliable information about the real experiences of those who have been trafficked, poor people in rural communities have very few defences to protect them from following—or sending their children to follow—a mirage.

We absolutely reject the turning of human beings into commodities, especially for the purposes of forced or exploitive labour, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, armed conflict, or “organ harvesting.

A variety of responses will be required to effectively address the push and pull factors that contribute to human trafficking.

On behalf of the ELCIC, I urge the government of Canada to provide resources for the protection of victims of sexual exploitation, including counselling, accessible, affordable and safe housing, eligibility and access to health and social services, employment referrals, and offer language training.

In addition, I urge the Government of Canada to provide law enforcement resources for the prosecution and rehabilitation of offenders who engage in human trafficking.

I also wish to express my support for a national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

As a church In Mission for Others, the members of the ELCIC have committed to responding faithfully to opportunities for partnerships and cooperation between church and society, to working for legislation that will protect persons liberated from being trafficked and to playing roles in bringing about cultural transformation and the elimination of trafficking.

My prayers are with you and the Government of Canada as you offer leadership to addressing issues of sexual exploitation and to eliminating human trafficking.

Yours in Christ,

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

cc. The Honourable Thomas J. Mulcair, Leader of the Official Opposition
Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party
Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party
Louis Plamondon, Bloc Québécois Caucus

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

Canada Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, is looking for your ideas!

Do you have a biblical/theological question that you would like answered in the Q & A section, or something you would like to read about in Practising our Faith? Or maybe you are interested in the possibility of writing for the magazine? Canada Lutheran’s editor would like to hear from you! Email: editor@elcic.ca

Does your congregation currently subscribe to Canada Lutheran? Congregational Subscription Plans can be either paid for by your congregation or by the individual members, while still enjoying a greatly discounted rate! Find out more by visiting the Canada Lutheran website and start your subscription today!

Individuals can also subscribe to Canada Lutheran. Visit the Canada Lutheran Subscription page for further information.

Congregations throughout the ELCIC are asked to designate one Sunday in 2015 to highlight the ELCIC Praise Appeal at a time that works best for your local circumstances.
 
This year, the ELCIC Praise Appeal Theme, Liberated by God’s Grace: Creation – Not for Sale, echoes The Lutheran World Federation theme for the commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

You will see the ELCIC lift up this theme of Liberated by God’s Grace and it’s three subthemes (Creation – Not for Sale, Salvation – Not for Sale, and Human Beings – Not for Sale) over the next three years as we participate in the international and ecumenical commemoration. The commemoration gives us the opportunity to remember and reflect on the Reformation and what it means for us now, living as Lutheran people within the whole body of Christ.
 
The Praise Appeal theme, Liberated by God’s Grace: Creation – Not for Sale invites us to explore the Lutheran understanding of the doctrine of justification and sets us free to serve our neighbours, to be responsible citizens in the world and faithful stewards of all God’s creation. Through your gift to the Praise Appeal, you help us fulfill this work through:

• Our partnerships with KAIROS and the Anglican Church of Canada as we work in the areas of homelessness and affordable housing and responsible resource extraction;
• Our partnership with The Lutheran World Federation and Canadian Lutheran World Relief as we work to support refugees around the world;
• Our partnership with churches in Argentina and Peru as we help support ministry in indigenous communities within these churches;
• Continuing the Call to Spiritual Renewal, working to deepen the discipleship of all our members and learning new ways to reach out in faith to those around us; and
• Building better relationships with other denominations and faiths here in Canada, through the Canadian Council of Churches, and around the world through the World Council of Churches

  Congregations throughout the ELCIC are asked to designate one Sunday in 2015 to highlight this appeal at a time that works best for your local circumstances.

  Resources for the 2015 ELCIC Praise Appeal can be found at: elcic.ca/praiseappeal

   

   

   

Diaconal Sunday, set by our National Church for the last Sunday each February, is a way to raise awareness for consecrated Diaconal Ministry vocation.

An annual Sunday focus on diaconal ministry is another way to highlight the mission of all believers in our church to seek the lost, the lonely, the disenfranchised in our neighbourhoods and throughout the world, ministering to them in the way of Christ.

New materials for Diaconal Sunday, written by ELCIC Diaconal Ministers, are available online at https://elcic.ca/Leadership/For-Ministers/DiaconalSunday.cfm

Many ELCIC congregations support Scouts and Guides by providing leadership, meeting places and administering various stages of the Religion in Life Award. Join with others across Canada in celebrating Scout-Guide Week from February 15-22, 2015.

A special bulletin insert is available on the ELCIC website at https://www.elcic.ca/Calendar-of-Events/documents/ScoutGuideWeek2015.pdf

A new contextual Bible study is set to bring the message of the scriptures to Anglicans and Lutherans in a relevant, accessible way this Lenten season.

Endorsed by members of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission (JALC), the shared resource is available free online and represents another initiative in the full communion partnership between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC).

The Rt. Rev. Terry Dance, Bishop of Norfolk in the ACC Diocese of Huron and a member of JALC, prepared the study for Lent during a sabbatical to help church members engage with each other and the biblical text while providing guidance to ministry in their own lives.

“This study is designed specifically for a church in the Canadian context, dealing with the kind of issues that we’re dealing with,” Bishop Dance said.

“There’s a phrase, diakonia, which talks about the fact that discipleship is inextricably bound to service, and that service is something which belongs to the whole people of God, not just those of us who are ordained.”

Dance is a long-time proponent of contextual Bible study, an approach to studying scripture that examines biblical passages from multiple aspects—literary, historic, and ultimately the modern cultural context participants live in.

The bishop spent an estimated 200 hours writing the study, which addresses scriptural readings for Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter and connects experiences in the life of Christ to the mission and ministry of the church today.

While questions asked in the study are the same across Canada, responses are likely to vary.

“In suburban London, Ont., the opportunities and possibilities for ministry would be different than they would be in, say, northern British Columbia or Vancouver,” Dance said.

“The needs that exist in the local community would be different…It gets people, I think, talking at a fairly serious level about who we are as a church, what it means to be a church, what it means to be a follower of Christ, and begins to deepen the level of conversation.”

To help the Bible study reach the widest possible audience, Bishop John Chapman of the Diocese of Ottawa examined the first draft and offered suggestions to make the final product useful for laypersons and theological experts alike.

“If you’re doing a theological work that is to serve the whole church, then it needs to be accessible to the whole church,” Chapman noted.

Meanwhile, Dean Peter Wall, Anglican member and co-chair of JALC, looked over the final draft to ensure the study would prove an ideal resource for both Anglicans and Lutherans.

“This is an impressive piece of work—carefully and comprehensively looking at the Sunday readings for Lent in this [church] Year B,” Wall wrote in an email.

“It provides good and easily used resources for a facilitator and also gives excellent ‘extra’ background reading material for those who wish to use it. I believe that it would deeply enrich one’s journey through the Sundays in Lent.”

Both the ELCIC and ACC will promote the Bible study online. An overview and resources for the first, second and third weeks of Lent are now available. Resources for the fourth and fifth weeks of Lent as well as Palm Sunday, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection will be available at the end of January or sooner.

The Rev. André Lavergne, a member of JALC and assistant to the bishop, ecumenical and interfaith for the ELCIC, praised the study for its “grassroots quality.”

“It follows the lectionary, and that’s a lectionary that is shared between Anglicans and Lutherans…It’s very accessible, whether you’re an Anglican or a Lutheran,” Lavergne said.

“We’re going to be reading the same texts during Lent and therefore studying the same material, so that’s very helpful.”

Click here to download the Lenten Bible study: https://www.elcic.ca/ecumenical/2015LentStudy.cfm

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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 Rev. Cindy Halmarson, former bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) Saskatchewan Synod, has accepted a position in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission Unit. Her new position as Area Program Director for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (Europe/MENA), based at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, will involve building and maintaining relationships with partner churches in order to strengthen Christ’s mission in the world. Mission accompaniment is focused on churches in Central Eastern Europe, including Siberia, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) as well as supporting ELCA-sponsored English language ministries in the typically Lutheran areas of Scandinavia, Germany and Western Europe.

ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson offered her congratulations to Halmarson. "I am delighted Bishop Cindy will be working for ELCA Global Mission," she said noting that the skills Halmarson brings to this new role will strengthen both the existing partnership the two churches maintain in the area of global mission and the relationship with the ELCA. "It’s another example of the way we are working out one of our strategic goals – Effective Partnership," said Johnson.

Speaking about this new opportunity for service, Halmarson said, “It’s exciting to think how my rich experience in the Canadian church, particularly as bishop of Saskatchewan Synod, can translate to the global call to make Christ known in partnership with churches doing the faithful mission work of peace-making, refugee settlement and leadership development.”

Halmarson and her husband Rev. Jim Halmarson, presently serving as parish priest at Christ Church Anglican in Saskatoon, will relocate to Chicago in March 2015. Halmarson will start her term on February 9, 2015.

(With files from ELCA.)

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 145,376 baptized members in 594 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, 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.