I have been in Ottawa attending the first Joint Assembly of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Upon my return I realized that no major news organization paid any attention to what we were doing: a gathering of people representing 10% of the population of Canada speaking on behalf of the homeless, aboriginal people and those suffering from irresponsible resource extraction. It was this lack of interest on the part of 'the world' that led to my comments today in my homily.
Click here to hear my reflections on Luke 10.16.
Showing posts with label Waterloo Communion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waterloo Communion. Show all posts
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Let Us Disenthrall Ourselves
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| Terry Dance Mary Conliffe Cynthia Haines-Turner Richard Leggett and Jim Halmarson |
4 July 2013
Archbishop Hiltz,
Bishop Johnson and Members of the Joint Assembly:
First, I must thank
Bishop Pryse and Dean Wall for permitting me to introduce the discussion of the
resolution to appoint a new Joint Commission.
Second, I must thank
my Bishop, Michael Ingham, and several members of the National Staff, Bruce
Myers, Diane Izzard and Josie De Lucia, for making my participation in this
historic occasion possible.
Now to the
resolution. On the surface the
resolution to appoint a new Joint Commission may seem to be simply a
facilitating motion. But there is more
to this resolution than may meet the eye.
In December of 1862
President Abraham Lincoln delivered his annual report to the Congress. He had already declared his intention to free
all slaves residing in territory under the control of the federal forces as of
1 January 1863, but the war had not gone well for the Union and the Congress
expected a message indicating that Lincoln was about to make conciliatory
gestures to the Confederacy. Instead of
these gestures, Congress heard these words read to them:
The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate
to the stormy present. The occasion is
piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and
act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves,
and then we shall save our country.
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration,
will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance,
can spare one or another of us. The
fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to
the latest generation.
My sisters and brothers, some of you may find these words too dramatic
for this present moment, but I beg to suggest that these words speak to our own
situation as churches in the second decade of the twenty-first century.
Since 2001 we have disenthralled ourselves, piece by piece, pebble by
pebble, from some of the attitudes which kept us apart for more than four
centuries. But the work, my friends, is
not yet finished. There are still areas
of polity and institutional structure that enthrall us to a past that is no
longer adequate to assist us in becoming who we might truly become as churches
in full communion.
In the Waterloo Declaration we committed ourselves ‘to continue to work
together for the full visible unity of the whole Church of God and that we were
ready ‘to be co-workers with God in whatever tasks of mission serve the
Gospel’. Such work requires the
willingness to take risks, to help our two churches become more agile in
responding to the challenges of the present moment and to envision a future
that builds upon the gifts God has given our two communities but a future that
dares to be bold and to seek new ways of growing together in love for God’s
creation.
My fellow Christians, we cannot escape history because it is in our
history that God acts to achieve the divine purposes. This Joint Assembly will only be remembered
in years ahead if it comes to be seen as an important step on the journey
towards full visible unity rather than just an isolated celebration. For that history to be written, the Joint
Commission is needed as the body that keeps us honest, challenges us, even
cajoles us, to live into the future that God surely means for us.
In its report to the Joint Assembly the current Joint Commission has
identified its hopes for the future. It
has laid out a potential agenda for the coming years that will, if undertaken
faithfully and vigorously, further our common ministry and our common life as
we participate in God’s mission. But
you, Members of the Joint Assembly, must not only empower a new Joint Commission
but you must needs commit yourselves to join in this work wherever God has
given you responsibility.
Our case is new, my sisters and brothers, so let us think anew and act
anew. Let us empower a new Commission to
work with all of us in crafting the story we want to be told: a story of disciples who do justice ---
together, who embody steadfast love --- together and who walk humbly with God
--- together so that we and all God’s children may be free.
On behalf of all our brothers and sisters, I ask you to approve the resolution to confirm and support the work of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission and affirm its continued work.
Thank you.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
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