Canada: Lutheran Bishops issue statement on joint meeting with Anglican Bishops

October 31, 2008 -- Members of the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, who met jointly with the Anglican House of Bishops in Niagara Falls Ont. this week, issued the following statement at the conclusion of the gathering:

Dear friends,

We, the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, write to you having just concluded five days of joint meetings with the Anglican House of Bishops. It was a particular honour and a privilege, and a sign of our deepening full communion relationship, to be present during the discussion on the agreement by many bishops at Lambeth on three moratoria: on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-gender relationships, and on cross-border interventions.

The diversity of opinions expressed reflects a similar diversity that we experience within our own church. We, too, continue to seek to discern the mind and heart of Christ for the wholesome care of all members of his Body, the Church. We echo the desire to “stay at the family table” and commit to walking in partnership with our sisters and brothers of the Anglican Church of Canada, and continuing to work to deepen our full communion relationship.

Yours in Christ,

+ The Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop
+ The Rev. Gerhard Preibisch, Bishop of the British Columbia Synod
+ The Rev. Ron Mayan, Bishop of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories
+ The Rev. Cynthia Halmarson, Bishop of the Saskatchewan Synod
+ The Rev. Elaine Sauer, Bishop of the Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Synod
+ The Rev. Michael J. Pryse, Bishop of the Eastern Synod
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‘The poor can wait no longer,’ says primate at Walk of Witness
ART BABYCH
Nov 1, 2008

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Bishop Susan Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

OttawaThe leaders of Canadian Anglicans and Lutherans say ending poverty at home and abroad must be a priority for the newly-formed government.In a joint statement read at the end of an ecumenical “Walk of Witness” in Ottawa Sept. 25, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Bishop Susan Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, said Canadians care about the poor. “According to a recent Angus Reid poll, poverty ranks among the top four issues in the current federal election campaign,” they stated. the rest