wfn.org | Canadian churches move closer to interim sharing of Eucharist

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Process scheduled to begin next October

WINNIPEG, Canada/GENEVA, 28 May 1999 (lwi)   The National Church
Council (NCC) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is
asking delegates to the Seventh ELCIC Biennial Convention next July
to approve a formal invitation to the Lutheran Church-Canada (LCC) to
enter into a relationship of interim sharing of the Eucharist for a
five-year period beginning October 1, 1999.

According to information availed to lwi by the ELCIC, the invitation
to LCC reflects a part of the mission of the ELCIC that is defined by
its constitution, "to strive to unite all Lutherans within Canada in
one church." The 7 to 11 July convention to be held in Regina will
meet under the theme, "Jubilee: In Christ called to a new beginning".

The initiative to effect this form of sharing between the two
churches was prompted by the ELCIC's bishops following their recent
meeting with the LCC leadership. "It is hoped that during the period
of the interim sharing of the eucharist, the two church bodies will
participate in a series of formal studies and structured
consultations for the sake of understanding each other and exploring
the prospect of full communion in the future," ELCIC Bishop Telmor
Sartison is quoted as saying.

Established in the late 1980s, the two bodies represent Canada's
major Lutheran churches. They constitute the Lutheran Council in
Canada which is responsible for overseeing such areas as Lutheran
chaplaincies in the Armed Forces and correctional institutions. The
ELCIC and LCC also work together in the Canadian Lutheran World
Relief (CLWR), their common agency involved with international
development, emergency relief and refugee concerns.

Regarding relationships with other churches, delegates will also be
requested to approve in principle the declaration of full communion
between the ELCIC and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC), entitled
"Called to Full Communion: The Waterloo Statement." The proposed text
of the declaration is to be considered by the national convention of
the ELCIC and the general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in
Waterloo, Ontario, in the year 2001.

The convention will also be requesting participants to endorse the
Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative. This would mean that the
ELCIC would encourage Bible study and theological reflection on the
biblical image of jubilee and the meaning of the jubilee themes 
which include release from bondage, the redistribution of wealth, and
rest for the land.

Such an endorsement would also mean assistance for ELCIC members in
supporting actions leading to debt reduction for poor nations, the
reduction of child poverty and renewed support for the relationship
of Aboriginal peoples to the land. A related recommendation asks the
ELCIC to call upon all levels of government to redress the growing
reality of child poverty in the next five years.

At its meeting in Winnipeg last September, the ELCIC council decided
to include the church in the Jubilee 2000 campaign, which according
to the council is a broad international initiative reflecting "our
invocation of the biblical tradition of Jubilee." In a letter then
addressed to Canada's Minister for Finance, Paul Martin and his
Commonwealth counterparts, the NCC expressed the church's belief
"that the approach of a new millennium presents an extraordinary
opportunity for giving new hope to the impoverished people of the
world."

^From the forthcoming ELCIC meeting, Canadian authorities will also be
hearing about gambling if a resolution calling for an independent
federal inquiry into the impact of state-sponsored gambling in the
country is passed. This would include a further request for
provincial governments to place a moratorium on any expansion of
gambling in their provinces.

Last year, 18 Canadian church leaders jointly wrote to the country's
justice minister, requesting an independent review of state-sponsored
gambling. Commenting then on the issue, David Pfrimmer of the
Lutheran Office for Public Policy said: "What is remarkable is the
unanimous ecumenical consensus among Christian churches in Canada
that state- sponsored gambling is bad public policy, bad economics
and bad public morality."

Lutherans form the fourth largest Protestant body in Canada. A member
of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the ELCIC has more than
198,000 members while the LCC, which is in contact with the LWF, has
a membership of 79,000.

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/