Anglican-Lutheran communiqué, November 2007

 — Nov. 26, 200726 nov. 2007

From Nov. 22 to 25, the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission met in Toronto to review the Full Communion relationship between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The two churches have shared this unique relationship since the Waterloo Declaration of 2001, and now, six years later, they are assessing what they’ve accomplished and where they can go.

The following communiqué gives the broad strokes of a new, exciting vision, which includes shared congregational ministries and training for lay and ordained ministry.

Joint Anglican Lutheran Commission communiqué – November 22-25, 2007 meeting

The Joint Commission of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada meeting at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Bloor Street, Toronto, greets the members of our two churches and sends this message to all.

We have spent three days reviewing the work of the past six years of full communion and planning the work that lies before us during the next six years. We have heard from the Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, and the National Bishop, Bishop Susan Johnson, of their hopes for the future as our two churches continue to grow into the full communion established in Waterloo in 2001. From all these conversations has emerged the realization that we are living into ‘the hope set before us’ when we embarked on this journey in faith. At a time when much of our attention is focused on divisions within the Christian communions we represent, we share with Anglicans and Lutherans in Canada that there is much in which to rejoice and many reasons to look forward to our churches working collaboratively in many areas of mission and ministry:

• the public face of our churches, especially in addressing together matters of human need and global concerns
• shared congregational ministries
• growth in our understanding of diaconal ministry
• formation for ministry, lay and ordained

We encourage the congregations of our churches to be imaginative in discovering ways to celebrate and work together. As a Joint Commission we look forward to working with the Primate and National Bishop, the Bishops of both churches, our national councils and with the people of our churches as we ‘build one another up into the fullness of the stature of Christ’ and into the unity for which our Lord prayed.

Canada’s Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission Commends Church Collaboration

[LWF News] Six years after the establishment of a full communion relationship between the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission (JALC) has commended both churches for their growing collaboration. The commission encouraged the ACC and ELCIC congregations “to be imaginative in discovering ways to celebrate and work together.”

The JALC made the appeal following its 22 – 25 November meeting at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Toronto, Canada, during which representatives from both churches reviewed the work of the past six years of full communion and planned for the next six years.

“At a time when much of our attention is focused on divisions within the Christian communions we represent, we share with Anglicans and Lutherans in Canada that there is much in which to rejoice and many reasons to look forward to our churches working collaboratively in many areas of mission and ministry,” the JALC stated in a communiqué at the end of its meeting. The commission stressed the need to focus on “the public face of our churches,” especially in addressing together matters of human need and global concerns, shared congregational ministries, training for lay and ordained ministry, and the understanding of diaconal ministry formation, among others.

At the JALC meeting, ACC Primate Archbishop Fred Hiltz and ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson spoke of their hopes for the future as both churches continue to grow into the full communion established in Waterloo in 2001.

The Waterloo Declaration was formally endorsed by the ACC and ELCIC governing bodies in Waterloo, Ontario in July 2001. It allows both churches to share resources and work closely together on common goals while maintaining their distinct identities.

The ACC includes nearly 642,000 members in 30 dioceses with around 1,790 parishes. The ELCIC is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 174,500 members in five synods comprising 624 congregations. It joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1986.

Posted: Nov. 26, 2007 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=386
Categories: CommuniquéIn this article: Anglican, Canada, Lutheran
Transmis : 26 nov. 2007 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=386
Catégorie : CommuniquéDans cet article : Anglican, Canada, Lutheran


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