wfn.org | Joint Declaration Is Significant for Church Life in Canada

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Joint Declaration Is Significant for Church Life in Canada 
Communities Express Hope to Celebrate the Eucharist Together 

WINNIPEG, Canada/GENEVA, 17 December 2004 (LWI) * Commemorating the fifth
year of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
(JDDJ) in Winnipeg, Canada, was an occasion to express the significance of
the Lutheran-Roman Catholic agreement for church life.

Participants in a festive Lutheran-Roman Catholic worship on November 14 in
Winnipeg voiced their hope that such services could be held more often, and
that eventually the two Christian communities would be able to celebrate the
Eucharist together.

"The joint declaration has helped reconnect justification with Christian
formation and prayer life," said National Bishop Raymond L. Schultz,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). He noted that the JDDJ "has
created a more familiar and friendly environment" among Lutherans and
Catholics in Canada. 

At the ecumenical service under the international theme for the anniversary,
"Justified * Freed for Life," more than 200 worshippers from churches in
Winnipeg and surrounding areas came together to affirm the ecumenical
agreement, and to pray for the full healing of divisions within the universal
Church of Christ. 

Representatives of the LWF and Roman Catholic Church signed the JDDJ on 31
October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, declaring that a consensus has been
reached in the Joint Declaration, and the condemnations from the 16th century
Reformation to do not apply to the teaching presented in the JDDJ.

An ecumenical choir from various Lutheran congregations and Catholic parishes
of the Winnipeg area led congregational singing. The service included an
affirmation of baptism, intercessory prayers in English, French, German and
Spanish, and excerpts from the JDDJ, which were read antiphonally by
Lutherans and Catholics.

The fifth anniversary celebration continued the pattern of strong JDDJ
involvement in Winnipeg. A joint Lutheran-Catholic group developed a study
resource that was used by churches throughout North America, leading up to
the signing in Augsburg. On that occasion, a joint worship celebration was
also held in Winnipeg. Close ecumenical relationships in Canada were
demonstrated during the LWF Tenth Assembly through the hospitality shown by
local Catholic and Anglican churches in hosting the opening and closing
eucharistic services and the daily morning worship. The ELCIC hosted the
21-31 July 2003 Assembly under the theme, "For the Healing of the World."
(382 words)

(Reported for LWI by Rev. Arthur Leichnitz.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of
common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

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