Same Sex Marriage: A Challenge to Christian Unity
A forum sponsored by the Christian Council of the Capital Area, May 5, 2005
Eternal God, we thank you for calling us by name. In you we live and move and grow. We pray for churches and Christians throughout the world. Remind us of our common foundation in Christ. May we grow together in faith and in love, until we attain that unity which is your will. -- The Liturgy of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2005
As current President, I report with great thanksgiving to God for the witness and work of the Christian Council of the Capital Area in this year past, its thirty-sixth in the name of Jesus Christ and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
1) Representation and Stated Meetings
The CCCA gathered for its regular monthly meetings the first Thursday morning of each month from January through December, excluding July and August. We are grateful for the hospitality offered by the Archdiocese of Ottawa in their facilities of Kilborn Place. Our meetings included duly appointed representatives of the Anglican, Baptist, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite, Orthodox Church in America, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gatineau-Hull, Salvation Army, Society of Friends, and United communities, as well as representatives from Faith Partners and the Women's Inter-Church Council. This is a wonderfully diverse Council. It was with pleasure that we welcomed new representatives, Lillian Roberts (United), and Max Bulmer (Salvation Army).
The Christian Council of the Capital Area arose from the Ottawa Council of Churches established in 1948, and was constituted in 1971 with the main purpose ‘To give visible expression to the unity of all Christian believers and congregations, of whatever tradition and denomination, who confess that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Lord according to the Scriptures.'. The Council continues to provide a local witness towards the unity of the Church of Christ.
We note with gratitude that our meetings in 2005 were enriched by two special presentations in particular. Ute Gerbrandt and Safaa Fouda introduced the work of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue of Ottawa, meeting monthly since 1990 to encourage greater communication and community between these two faiths. Pauline Leduc of Development and Peace and Paul Kompass of Kairos introduced the joint campaign to educate the Canadian Christian community about justice issues involved in the provision and stewardship of water.
2) Major Emphases
Once again, a major focus of the Council was the planning and offering of a Service of Worship to mark the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in our nation's capital. The liturgy was composed by the churches of Slovakia, around the theme of ‘Our Foundation is Jesus Christ'. This service was held on Sunday January 16, 2005, and was hosted by Parkdale United Church and the Rev. Dr. Anthony Bailey. The Rev. David Crawley of St. George's Anglican Church preached, and the Imani Gospel Singers of Montreal lifted up Christian praise. It was a pleasure for the Council to advertise this service jointly with another service, sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, Marcel Gervais, which marked the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and at which the Council's President was invited to preach. The Council notes and celebrates that several other services were held throughout the region during the Week, hosted by various community ecumenical groupings. We believe that these Services remain an important Christian witness to the larger community.
The Council also deliberated how to model a sense of unity amongst diversity that is the reality of the Church of Christ in Canada. After much preparation, a forum discussion was held on May 5around the theme of ‘Same-Sex Marriage: A Challenge To Christian Unity'. With forthrightness and mutual respect, presentations were made about the challenges this issue posed to unity a) within local congregations, b) within a world-wide communion, and c) within the ecumenical movement. This proved to be a very moving experience, and full transcripts are available from the Secretary of the Council, Don Friesen at dfriesen@ottawamennonite.ca
3) Other Matters Considered
Regular meetings included reports from the Advisory Committees and Liasons with whom the Council is in relationship - Women's Inter Church Council, Lay School of Theology, Algonquin College Chaplaincy, Interfaith Ottawa, Capital Region Interfaith Council, Multi-Faith Housing Initiative and the Pastoral Care Team Training Programme.
Throughout the year 2002, the Council monitored several events and issues. At our stated meeting early in January, in the midst of the tragedy of the South East Asia tsunami, the Council thanked God for the generosity of Canadians, remembered all at work in the aid and emergency agencies of the Canadian churches, and considered the possibility for the Christian communities to publicise their appeals in the secular press in a more co-ordinated way (one toll-free number, after which one could select Mennonite Central Committee, Primate's Fund, Development and Peace etc). At our stated meeting in December, time was dedicated to sharing how our churches held up in prayer the peoples in the midst of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and in particular how we might better support the Christian communities of Africa, Asia and South America in their witness.
The Council celebrated news that an informal centretown ministerial was being initiated, that a series of serminars on world religions organised by the Society of Friends received prominent publicity, that the Multi-Faith Housing Initiative purchased their first property, that the government of Ontario resumed significant funding for affordable housing. The Council suffered the news of the death of Pope John Paul II and the murder of Brother Roger of Taizé. In September the Council was made aware of the visit of a member of Christian Peacemaking Teams, and introductions were arranged with several of our local communities, which made prayers during the subsequent trials of four members of CPT in Iraq all the stronger. The Council was concerned to hear that much of recent gang activity in the region is increasingly being defined by religious traditions and symbols, and that the Ottawa Exhibition continued to schedule its interfaith celebration on a Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m., precluding Christians from attending both their own services of worship and this gathering.
4) Concluding Remarks
I conclude with words of gratitude. New members of the Council have already been noted and welcomed. With regret we accepted the resignation of Daphne Craig (United) due to ill-health. The dedication of the continuing members of the Council has been much appreciated, helping bring the wisdom of experience to bear upon the new context for Christian unity and service. We must also note our gratitude for the new Executive called to serve in the year 2005, including Don Friesen (Secretary), Peter Harkness (Treasurer), Barbara Faught (Past President), and Garth Bulmer (Vice President).
Most of all, we are grateful to God, who has brought us together in the name of Jesus Christ, and given us a wonderful opportunity to grow in Christian understanding and witness through the Christian Council of the Capital Area.
The Reverend Andrew Johnston
President
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 2004)
Arising from the Ottawa Council of Churches established in 1948, and constituted in 1971 with the main purpose ‘To give visible expression to the unity of all Christian believers and congregations, of whatever tradition and denomination, who confess that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Lord according to the Scriptures.' the Christian Council of the Capital Area reports continued faithfulness, witness and work in the year of grace of 2004.
‘My peace I give to you' is the promise with which the year began for many of our communities. These words of our Saviour and Lord from John 14:27 were the basis of the Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, composed by the women of Syria. Many ecumenical services of worship were held throughout the region – a Baptist preacher in a Roman Catholic sanctuary accompanied by a Salvation Army band is but one wonderful example. The CCCA itself sponsored a service on Sunday January 18, generously hosted by Rideau Park United Church and ably led by the Rev. Lillian Roberts with representative local clergy, at which Dr. Pierre Allard spoke about Restorative Justice. The Council noted with appreciation the initiative of Archbishop Marcel Gervais to organise a service at Notre Dame Cathedral – as it was scheduled for the evening of Sunday January 18, joint advertisements were placed in the Citizen inviting the community to join in celebrating Christian Unity at both services, ‘A time of mutual encouragement and corporate witness, Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic together.'
An equally meaningful gathering in 2004 for the Council occurred in April around the theme ‘Can We Be One? Christian Leaders Reflecting On Christian Unity'. Over 40 individuals joined the Council to hear Bishop Peter Coffin (Anglican), Don Friesen (Mennonite), Archbishop Marcel Gervais (Roman Catholic) and Norma McCord (United Church) speak to how they viewed the current state of ecumenism in Ottawa today, and how the CCCA could assist their Christian community in ecumenical experience and witness. Two of the many points made were that as Christians we need to make more visible to the community the unity we do share in faith and work, and that the increasing importance of interfaith relationships in Canada is itself an imperative toward Christian unity. Among the suggestions made were the need for more explicitly ecumenical events throughout the year to build upon the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and also the need for some publication that would celebrate the ecumenical witness and work already undertaken and enjoyed. There was a significant reaffirmation of ecumenism and of the work of the Christian Council of the Capital Area.
The CCCA met ten times during 2004, the first Thursday of every month with the exceptions only of July and August. Every meeting began with prayer and a time of meditation guided by personal reflections by members of the Council and thoughts from sources as various as ‘Blessing: The Art and The Practice' by molecular biologist David Spangler, ‘Book of Multi-Faith Prayers' published by the Ecumenical Study Commission for Education in the Province of Ontario, and the Pentecost message of the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.
The members of the Council met to ensure there is a continuing witness to Christian unity in the capital region, but also to share information and perspectives. We celebrated the continuing work of the Women's Inter-Church Council, the Ottawa Lay School of Theology, the Pastoral Care Team Training Programme. We celebrated the emerging work of the Algonquin College Chaplaincy as they moved towards their first staff person, and the Multifaith Housing Initiative as it moved towards the purchase of its first property. We discussed issues as diverse as the release of the film ‘The Passion of Christ' and its particular theology, the surprising popularity of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at the Museum of Civilisation, and the need to affirm the practice and right of the Church in Canada to offer sanctuary to refugees. We considered documents that ranged from the recently released Windsor Report of the Anglican communion, and the joint Lutheran/Roman Catholic Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification on the occasion of its fifth anniversary, and we revisited the Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry document of the World Council of Churches on the thirtieth anniversary of its first draft. We heard from Gordon Lorimer of Habitat For Humanity about the new plan to build 50 homes in the next five years and how the churches are being invited to become members of the ‘Faith Guild', to comprise of 100 members, each of whom commit to $1000 for five years.
Reaching beyond our meetings, the Council wrote to the CRTC to support the application of Radio Ville Marie to transmit in the region, and wrote also to the Mayor and City Councillors of the City of Ottawa expressing regret at how the annual city budget discussions had been framed in such a divisive and negative way. Various members of the Council were interviewed for an article in the Ottawa Citizen ‘Putting Aside Religious Differences' of October 17. The CCCA was represented at an interfaith meeting between the Dali Lama and the Prime Minister of Canada, and at a 60ieth anniversary celebration of the Canadian Council of Churches held at Southminster United Church. With the assistance of our representative on Interfaith Ottawa, a comprehensive map of all houses of worship in the City of Ottawa was composed. Desiring to grow in relationship with a new organisation that is bringing together many new-line and independent churches, individual members of the Council attended some of the new monthly gatherings of church leaders sponsored by Mission Ottawa/Outaouais.
During the year 2004 the Council enjoyed representation from the Anglican, Baptist, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, Salvation Army, Society of Friends and United communities, as well as representatives from Faith Partners and the Women's Inter-Church Council. It was with gratitude that the Council welcomed new representatives, Gordon Smith (the Greek Orthodox community) and Jane McCaig (the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa), even as with regret we said adieu to Nabih (Coptic Orthodox) and Pauline (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gatineau).
I record my appreciation for the company and encouragement of each member of the Council this year past, and particularly for the work of the Council Executive which included Don Friesen (Secretary), Peter Harkness (Treasurer), Barbara Faught (Past President) and Garth Bulmer (Vice President). Finally on behalf of the whole Council I thank each of the sponsoring churches and the Archdiocese of Ottawa of the Roman Catholic Church additionally for offering a wonderful meeting space each month.
The Reverend Andrew Johnston
President
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 2003)
The Christian Council of the Capital Area began this year of grace 2003 with a devotion based on 2 Corinthians 4:6 and the treasure we have in ‘the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ'. As the year unfolded and the Council gathered on the first Thursday of each month, we were continually reminded of the treasure we enjoy in Christ, and in unity as Christians. Thanks be to God.
The main purpose of the CCCA is ‘To give visible expression to the unity of all Christian believers and congregations, of whatever tradition and denomination, who confess that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Lord according to the Scriptures.' It was appropriate that the year 2003 began with the Council sponsoring a regional service to celebrate the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We are grateful to St. Peter's Lutheran Church for hosting this service on Sunday January 19, and to the Rev. Dr. Anthony Bailey of Parkdale United Church for preaching. This gathering, like others across the region and nation, remain an important witness to the community and even to our churches of ‘the unity of all Christian believers and congregations.'
Particular issues considered included:
We received presentations by:
During the year 2003 the Council enjoyed representation from the Baptist, Coptic Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gatineau-Hull, Salvation Army, Society of Friends and United communities, as well as representatives from Faith Partners and the Women's Inter-Church Council.
Our regular meetings received reports from the Council's Standing Committees. Late in the year, these committees were reorganised around the areas of ‘Worship', ‘Study' and ‘Service'. Updates were also received from other organisations with whom the Council is in relationship (Women's Inter-Church Council, Lay School of Theology, Algonquin College Chaplaincy, Multi-faith Housing Initiative and the Pastoral Care Team Training Programme). A great part of the work of the Council continued to involve receiving information about events and resources for communication to the Christian communities of the region through our representatives.
I record my appreciation for the company and encouragement of each member of the Council this year past, and particularly for the work of the Council Executive which included Don Friesen (Secretary), Peter Harkness (Treasurer), Barbara Faught (Past President) and Garth Bulmer (Vice President). Finally I would be remiss not to record on behalf of the Council our gratitude to the Archdiocese of Ottawa for providing us so generously with a meeting room month after month.
Signed
The Reverend Andrew Johnston
President
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 2002)
From the Liturgy of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2002.
As current President, I report with great thanksgiving to God for the witness and work of the Christian Council of the Capital Area in this year past, its thirty-third in the name of Jesus Christ and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
1) Representation and Stated Meetings
The CCCA gathered for its regular monthly meetings the first Thursday morning of each month from January through December, excluding July and August. We are grateful for the hospitality offered by the Archdiocese of Ottawa. Our meetings included duly appointed representatives of the Baptist, Coptic Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gatineau-Hull, Salvation Army, Society of Friends, and United communities, as well as representatives from Faith Partners and the Women's Inter-Church Council. This is a wonderfully diverse and strong Council. It was a particular pleasure to welcome new representatives, Daphne Craig (Bethany Hawthorne Pastoral Charge – United), Mike Welsh (Capitol City Church – Pentecostal), and Cliff Hollman (Salvation Army).
Our meetings in 2002 included presentations by several guests. Sister Lena of the Franciscan Order of Sisters spoke in January about home-based spiritual care. The Rev. Robert Assaly of St. Thomas Anglican Church brought the Council news on the situation of Palestinian Christians and news from the Friends of Sabeel. The Rev. Jim Christie of Southminster United Church and a member of the Governing Board of the Canadian Council of Churches informed us in May on developments in relationship between the CCC and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, as well as the activity of the CCC before the Supreme Court in a case concerning the patenting of living organisms. In June Ryan Ellis screened a brief video regarding a Christian youth gathering organised for August on Parliament Hill, sponsored by the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.
2) Major Emphases
Once again, a major focus of the Council was the planning and offering of a Service of Worship to mark the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the heart of our nation's capital. This service was held on Sunday January 20, 2002, hosted by St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church. on Elgin Street, at which Janet Sommerville, the General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches spoke. A fountain of water surrounded by living plants in the centre of the chancel wonderfully focused the congregation's upon the theme ‘with you, Lord, is the fountain of life'.
No sooner was this Service completed than the Council began planning for the present year, held on Sunday January 19, 2003, organised by the Lutheran community and hosted by St. Peter's Church. Dr. Pierre Allard, long at work in the field of restorative justice, graciously accepted an invitation to preach, but due to serious illness was forced to decline just days before the Service. We express our appreciation to the Rev. Dr. Anthony Bailey of Parkdale United Church for stepping into the breach (and pulpit), and delivering a moving sermon around the theme of ‘we have this treasure in clay jars'.
These Services remain an important Christian witness to the larger community, and the Council is pleased to provide this planning and co-ordination on behalf of its members.
Another major emphasis of the Council this year was our involvement in inter-faith matters, and in particular, our relationship with the Capital Region Interfaith Council. The CCCA was involved in initiating the formation of CRIC and has continued to have an official participation since its establishment. During the year 2002, CRIC worked on creating by-laws to formalise its current understandings of membership, governance and work. Following these discussions through our representatives on CRIC, the members of the CCCA have been considering the basis of an appropriate relationship for the years to come. CRIC began as a forum for mutual understanding and has grown into a body active in the public arena. This raises questions of how best the Christian community should be represented on CRIC, questions with which the CCCA continues to struggle.
Finally, as is appropriate for a body in its third decade, the Council also dedicated a considerable amount of time and energy to considering our own mandate and calling in a society very different from the context in which it was first formed. We returned to our Constitution and Terms of Reference for study. We have re-affirmed our understanding of the great need for a common Christian voice in the capital area in this time and place, perhaps more profound than ever before. We are committed to a re-mandating process with the bodies who are represented on the Council – the Council is the servant of the Churches, and seeks their guidance and direction. This work will continue in the year 2003.
3) Other Matters Considered
Regular meetings included reports from the Council's Standing Committees (Ecumenism, Interfaith, Justice/Peace/Creation and Social, Membership and Publicity) as well as from the Advisory Committees and Liasons with whom the Council is in relationship (Women's Inter Church Council, Lay School of Theology, Algonquin College Chaplaincy and the Pastoral Care Team Training Programme).
Over the course of the year 2002, the Council monitored several events and issues. These included a) Christian perspectives surrounding the meeting in Canada of the G8 countries (greatly aided by the work of the new ecumenical coalition known as Kairos), b) the Governor General's Habitat for Humanity build in Ottawa the summer of 2002, c) the change at the Ottawa Hospital from ‘pastoral care' to ‘spiritual care', d) the autumn educational focus of Development and Peace on patenting living organisms, e) initial results of the Mission Ottawa survey that included a large number of local churches. Perhaps most time was invested upon the desperate need for affordable housing in the capital region and the Council celebrated the transition of the Faith Community Housing Foundation to the Multi-Faith Housing Initiative and its appointment of patrons.
A great part of the work of the Council involved receiving information about events and resources and arranging for communication to the Christian communities of the region through our representatives. Occasionally, however, action was taken by the Council as a whole. When Temple Israel was defaced by graffiti early in the year, the Council agreed to send a letter of support to the congregation. When it was learned that an inter-faith service was being planned for Thanksgiving Sunday morning on Parliament Hill in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee visit of our Queen, the Council petitioned the Government of Canada to move the service to a time when no members of any faith community would be excluded – the Government budged, but not much, for the service was set for 12 noon, effectively excluding many Christians from participating in Christian worship and this inter-faith gathering.
4) Concluding Remarks
I conclude with words of gratitude. New members of the Council have already been noted and welcomed. We have missed the company and contributions of David Yue and Douglas Heard, both due to retirement from full-time ministry. The dedication of the continuing members of the Council has been much appreciated, helping bring the wisdom of experience to bear upon the new context for Christian unity and service. We must also note our gratitude for the new Executive called to serve in the year 2002, including Don Friesen (Secretary), Peter Harkness (Treasurer), Barbara Faught (Past President), and Garth Bulmer (Vice President).
Most of all, we are grateful to God, who has brought us together in the name of Jesus Christ, and given us a wonderful opportunity to grow in Christian understanding and witness through the Christian Council of the Capital Area.
From the Liturgy of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2002.
Signed
The Rev. Andrew Johnston
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 2001)
Perhaps it has been a while since any of us has read a copy of our Christian Council Constitution. It is sometimes a good thing to remind ourselves of the basics. I recommend a reading of all 8 clauses under Article II - Purpose.
As we begin our thirty-second year as a Council, I was encouraged to see that we have attempted "to provide a channel or agency for cooperation in fellowship, study, worship, service and witness activities related to the Capital area; to serve as a channel for Christian concerns, locally relevant..., and to assume responsibilities arising from the geographic proximity of the Capital area churches to the seat of federal government." (clauses 2, 5, 6.)
When one has served on the Council for several years, it is easy to become discouraged by the lack of progress made on some issues of concern. For that reason alone, the writing and reading of Annual Reports are good, even necessary exercises which serve to remind us we have done and indeed are doing some very good things to give visible expression of our unity in Christ.
1) The Council’s Standing Committees
a) Ecumenism
Jacques Faucher is chair of this committee and as the Council's ouly member appointed to the full time task of ecumenism by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ottawa, he is an ideal person for the position. He keeps us informed monthly of a host of local, national, and international ecumenical news items which he knows through his involvement here in Ottawa and his increasing familiarity with the internet.
In January 2001, Jacques worked with Tom Sherwood of the Carleton University Ecumenical Chaplaincy to plan the service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service was held at Carleton.
The Eastern and Western Churches shared a common date for Easter in 2001. We celebrated by attending the Vespers of Love on April 18 hosted by Father Alex Michalopulos at the Ascension of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church. Archbishop Marcel Gervais was a guest of honour and other Orthodox clergy participated in the liturgy. The congregation hosted a reception following the service.
His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch of All - Armenians visited Ottawa, May 17th. Jacques brought greetings from the Council congratulating the Armenian Church on 1700 years of continuing faith and witness.
Planning began in June to invite Dr. Janet Sommerville to the 2002 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
b) Inter-Faith
David Yue chairs the Inter-Faith Committee. He and Yvon Vanasse and Suzanne Savoie (until June) are the Council's representatives on the Capital Region Inter-Faith Council.
In June CRIC sponsored "Common Ground for the Common Good." This meeting examined how we can influence governments on issues that we hold in common despite differences in faith and practice.
Yvon is involved in drafting new bi-laws for CRIC.
c) Justice, Peace, Creation and Social Concerns
Garth Bulmer chairs this committee which brings to the Council's agenda curreut social issues of concern to our churches.
The crisis in social and affordable housing has been the focus of much of our discussion this year. The interfaith Dialogue on Affordable Housing meets the first Monday of the month. Its goal is to raise the consciousness of this issue for people of faith.
Ruby Elver, Rob Campbell and Garth are members of the Dialogue but the Council as a whole is committed to supporting the initiatives underway at present in any way we can.
A second issue with repercussions farther away concerned the Council this year - the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
Peter Harkness reported on the Canadian Tour by a Palestinian and an Israeli to alert Canadians to the issue of Home Demolition in the Palestinian territories.
Robert Assaly, Chair, Canadian Friends of Sabeel visited the Council in April just after returning from a visit with other Christian leaders to the West Bank. Robert had served there previously as a representative of the Canadian Council of Churches. He urged us to stand in prayer and solidarity with Christians in the area who are attempting to seek peace with justice.
d) Membership
The role of this committee primarily is to fill denominational vacancies and to attempt to enlist unaligned churches to send representatives to the Council. Even without a permanent chair, this year has brought some excellent new members to our Council.
We welcomed Pauline Leduc, appointed to represent the Gatineau-Hull Diocese on the retirement of Suzanne Savoie; Joel Crouse, Lutheran representative, who has replaced Bart Beglo who ably served the Council until he assumed increased denominational responsibilities, the reappointment of Andrew Johnston by the Presbyterian Presbytery and most recently Nabih Abdelmalek to represent the Orthodox Church on the Council. Nabih comes as a result of Jacques Faucher's tireless effort to pursue links with the Eastern Church.
e) Publicity
Peter Harkness has ably acted as a committee of one to look after publicity. Don Friesen manages the web site.
f) Nominations
A nominations committee was struck in November under the chairmanship of Fred Leydon. Rob Campbell and Barbara Faught also served. All offices and committee chair positions have been filled for 2002.
2) Advisory Committees and Liaisons
Don Friesen reports on Habitat for Humanity which this year plans a blitz of building in the Alta Vista area. Ruby Elver and Suzanne Savoie reported on the Algonquin College Chaplaincy which received $1,500 from the D.C. Millennium Fund to assist in a search for a chaplain. Ruby and Barbara Faught report on the activities of the Women's Inter Church Council. We celebrate the 27th year since the founding of the Pastoral Care Team Programme under the sponsorship of the CCCA. The spring 2002 programme had to turn away would-be-registrants testifying to its popularity in training people for service in the churches.
Michel Gauthier of the Tulip Festival visited the Council with a proposal to have the churches participate in the festival. The proposal proved too expensive to pursue.
With the support of the Council, Peter Williams presented a request to the Dominion Chalmers Millennium Fund to set up a "Community Ministries Website." Funds were not granted but CHRI Radio may assist in developing the project.
In Conclusion:
I wish to thank all the Board members for their commitment to the work of the Council and their attendance at Board meetings.
During the year we have had some very frank discussions and differences of opinion have been expressed from the heart. The result has been to strengthen our relationships as a Council and, I believe, to move them to a new depth.
Doug Heard will be retiring from the Council and his position as minister of Woodroffe United Church in May. He has been secretary of the Council throughout my years as President and made my job so much easier. Jacques Faucher has been a great dialogue partner and supportive vice-chair. Don Friesen had an easier year as treasurer in 2001 but he will once again be changing hats - our most versatile member?
In addition to the concerns that have been mentioned in this report and which will remain on our agenda, there are other issues for our future. For example, we need to address more satisfactorily what qualifies a faith group to participate legitimately in inter-faith dialogue. We continue to hope for links with the evangelical churches in our National Capital Area.
I am so pleased after five years to pass the presidency on to Andrew Johnston who comes with a sense of God's call to the work of this council. He will be aided by a strong executive and committed members both new and veteran. We have every reason to be hopeful as we endeavour together to honour the presence of Christ in our lives and in our Council.
Respectfully submitted
Barbara Faught
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 2000)
Recently I reread a document Anne Thomas, a member of the Ottawa Quaker meeting, wrote for the Canadian Council of Churches in 1994. She spoke of ecumenism as "a still fragile experiment" and of the continuing ambivalence toward it fifty years after the founding of the Canadian Council of Churches.
Recognizing the truth of these statements the Council sought for a robust way to celebrate 2000 years of Christian faith which would bring the Christian community together. Thus the idea of the Hymn Festival was born. On May 7th, eight choirs or musical groups participated in a program that followed the development of Christian hymnody from the first centuries of the church to the present. The honourary co-chairs for the event were Archbishop Marcel Gervais and Captain Fred Waters of the Salvation Army. For many, the highlight of the festival was the congregational singing in the L'Eglise Saint-Francois d'Assise accompanied by organist Giles Leclerc and the Salvation Army Brass Chorus. Approximately 700 people attended.
The planning committee included Jacques Faucher, Andrew Johnston, Douglas Heard, Barbara Faught and Barton Beglo, who was responsible for publicity.
1) The Council’s Standing Committees
a) Ecumenism
Jacques Faucher has just completed his second year as chair of this committee. While much time and energy was devoted to the Hymn Festival, the first activity of 2000 organized by the Ecumenism Committee was the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service held at St. Andrew's Church in January. Anne Squire spoke on the Jubilee initiative to forgive the debt of poor nations. There was good media coverage of the event.
This year the Orthodox and Western Christian Churches share a common date for Easter and Pentecost. The Council discussed several possibilities for a joint activity and decided it would be best to find a way to join the Orthodox community in worship celebration. In October Jacques Faucher and Andrew Johnston met with Fr. Alex Michalopulos of the Greek Orthodox Church with the result that the whole Christian community is invited to 'Vespers of Love' on April 18, 2001 at 7:00 p.m. for a 45 minute service.
The year 2,000 marked the 25th Anniversary of the Roman Catholic/Anglican dialogue. A joint service was held in Notre Dame Basilica on November 23rd to celebrate. Jacques circulated a video from the important bishops conference in Toronto which looked at the twenty-five year history of dialogue.
b) Inter-Faith
This committee has been without a chair since Bern Barrett retired from the Council last year. Suzanne Savoie and Yvon Vanasse were the Council's representatives to the Capital Region Inter- Faith Council. CRIC sponsored a celebration of Creation and Culture of Peace in June. David Yue has agreed to chair this committee. Jacques Faucher attends monthly meetings of the Christian/Jewish dialogue.
c) Justice, Peace, Creation and Social Concerns:
Ruby Elver has been chair of this committee for some time. Garth Bulmer assumes the chair for the coming year.
In March, Garth and Andrew Johnston on behalf of the CCCA prepared and presented a brief to the Trustees of the Ottawa Carleton Public School Board concerning the decrease in funding for English as a Second Language. The Council was concerned about the "overall effect of such a move on the fabric of our community."
In April, the Council sent a letter to the Ottawa Transition Board stating that we appreciate the bilingual character of the Capital.
Some members of Council attended the United Church Moderator's Consultation on the Economy on Parliament Hill April 10.
Faith Partners sponsored a Symposium on Faith Values, attempting to build bridges between Churches, social agencies and the Business Community. Approximately 65 people attended.
In the late months of the year, the housing crisis which someone called "the issue of the day" has taken our attention. The Christian community is looking for ways to raise awareness and provoke action. Monthly discussions are held at the Catholic Diocesan Centre and have included Rob Campbell, Ruby Elver and Garth Bulmer from the Council.
d) Membership
Our thanks as a Council goes to Suzanne Savoie who has chaired this Committee of One for several years. She has worked diligently to have our supporting denominations represented, to fill the vacancies that occur, and to invite other churches to join the Council. This year we welcomed Rob Campbell representing the Baptist Convention and Don Maclean from the United Church. Mrs. Penny Reklitis has come to represent Fr. Alex Michalopulos of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Barton Beglo will be the new chair of the Committee.
e) Nominations
Fred Leyden served as the nominations committee for the election of officers and committee chairs for 2001. He was able to persuade individuals to serve in all the positions so our thanks go to him and to all who have agreed to serve.
2) Advisory Committees and Liaisons
As a Council we have links to the Women's Interchurch Council, organizers of the World Day of Prayer, the Lay School of Theology, Algonquin College Chaplaincy, and the Pastoral Care Team Training Program. The Council is a member of the Canadian Health Coalition, Ottawa branch. I attended three meetings on the Council's behalf in 2000.
3) Other Matters
Our Annual General Meeting of 1999 was held at Parkdale United Church. Rev. Tom Sherwood of Carleton University's Ecumenical Chaplaincy spoke of his work there and the changing nature of campus ministry.
At our November meeting of Council, Archbishop Marcel Gervais, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, came to speak with us about the Vatican Declaration "Dorninus Jesu." We were especially concerned with the reference made in the document to other churches. We were engaged in a discussion with him for over an hour. We appreciated his willingness to come.
In Conclusion:
I wish, once again, to thank all the Board members for their commitment to the work of the Council and their attendance at Board meetings. Many of you are busy pastors and your involvement speaks of a serious commitment to ecumenism and the essential unity we have in Jesus Christ.
Personally, I appreciate the work of Doug Heard as secretary; Don Friesen who as treasurer had a particularly busy year keeping the account balanced as the bills came in from the Hymn Festival; Jacques Faucher, a man who is fortunate to be doing as a job what he really loves - ecumenism, full-time. As Vice-Chair of the Council he has been responsible for the largest number of emails to the Faught household and some of the longest.
As mentioned earlier in this report, an emerging concern of the Council during 2000 was the issue of affordable housing in the Ottawa region. There is a feeling that as a Council we should be prepared to work to raise awareness of this issue among our Christian communities. How we do this is not yet clear but we do believe we are our brothers' keepers and live with the mandate to "bear one another's burdens" and in so doing we "fullfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
Respectfully submitted
Barbara Faught
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 1999)
The purpose of the Christian Council of the Capital Area, according to our constitution, is, firstly, "...to give visible expression to the unity of all Christian believers and congregations, of whatever tradition and denomination, who confess that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Lord of humanity according to the Scriptures."
1) The Council’s Standing Committees
a) Ecumenism:
Jacques Faucher chairs this committee. In January 1999, Jacques and Suzanne Savoie, with the pastor of St. Joseph's in Hull, organized the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service. The Honourable David Kilgour was the speaker.
The January 2000 service held in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was the work of Jacques and Andrew Johnston. The speaker was Anne Squire and her theme, the Jubilee initiative to forgive the debt of poor nations.
The theme of debt-forgiveness forms a kind of inclusio to the year because it was at the 1999 service in Hull where we first circulated the Jubilee petition for signatures. Several members of Council attended a Jubilee 2000 event on Parliament Hill in May and a second event in June that coincided with the G-8 meeting in Germany.
The Council rejoiced with Barton Beglo and Jacques as they reported on the Lutheran / Roman Catholic accord.
In June, several of us attended the consecration of Peter Coffin as the Anglican Archbishop of Ottawa.
b) Inter-Faith:
Bern Barrett has given leadership to this committee for several years. He serves also as the first chair of CRIC, the Capital Region Inter-Faith Council which was formed in a large part due to his persistent effort. Suzanne Savoie, Jim Lee, Yvon Vanasse and recently Jacques Faucher attended meetings of this group representing the Council.
Both Bern and Jacques are members of the Jewish-Christian and Moslem-Christian dialogues.
On April 25th, the Council organized an interfaith prayer service for the conflict in the Balkans. Prayers were offered and testimonies given by members of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities.
c) Justice, Peace, Creation & Social Concerns:
Ruby Elver chairs this committee which monitors current social issues of concern in our area. The Council supports Faith Partners in its weekly vigil at the Human Rights monument in support of the poor. They also sponsored a discussion "God and the Ontario election" and prepared 5 pamphlets on poverty.
The Council is a member of the Ottawa Health Coalition and the Community Care Access Centre. I attend meetings of these two groups on the Council's behalf. We were also participants in the "Success by Six" consultation in April.
d) Membership:
Suzanne Savoie is the diligent and sole member of this committee. It is she who works to fill the denominational vacancies. This year, the Society of Friends appointed Peter Harkness and the Presbyterian Church appointed Andrew Johnston as their Council representatives. A Baptist member has been promised to us and Suzanne has had several conversations with clergy of the various Orthodox communities and she remains hopeful.
e) Publicity:
Currently publicity is managed on an ad hoc basis. Don Friesen manages the web site and is working on a new directory.
f) Nominations:
A nominations committee was struck recently to prepare for the election of the Council's executive and committee heads. Thanks to Don Friesen and Ruby Elver for their work in this regard and the willingness of other board members to serve in these roles.
2) Advisory Committees and Liaisons
There are several ecumenical activities to which we as a council are related through our individual members. Suzanne Savoie reports on the Algonquin College Chaplaincy and the Lay School of Theology. Ruby Elver and I report on the activities of the Women's Inter-Church Council.
Our board meetings were visited by Lloyd Mackey of Christian News Ottawa; Dr. Bill Prentice, Director of Programming for the Anglican diocese; Evelyn Kelly, Co-chair of Ottawa's Jubilee Coalition; and Sylvia Zalts, a Lutheran pastor visiting from Argentina who spoke of ecumenism in her country.
Millennium Project
Early in the year, the Council discussed various ways in which we could bring the Christian community together to celebrate 2000 years of Christian faith. "Music!", everyone said and fairly quickly the idea of a hymn festival emerged from our discussion.
The date is May 7th, 2000 at 3:00 p.m. at Eglise St. Francois d'Assise. The honorary co-chairs for this event are Archbishop Gervais and Capt. Fred Waters of the Salvation Army. Seven choirs and a contemporary praise and worship team will be participating.
The committee of Jacques Faucher, Doug Heard, Andrew Johntson and I have been working on this endeavour for eight months or so. The major details are in place and a commemorative booklet will be ready shortly for translation into French.
In Conclusion
Our annual General Meeting of 1998 was held at Woodroffe United Church. Sr. Donna Geernaert of the Canadian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Canadian Council of Churches addressed the meeting on current initiatives in ecumenism.
I wish to thank all the Board members for their commitment to the work of the Council and their attendance at monthly Board meetings. Many are very busy pastors who would not be there if they did not believe deeply in the unity of the church in Jesus Christ beneath and beyond its denominational divisions.
I especially appreciate the work of Doug Heard and Don Friesen as secretary and treasurer respectively. Our gratitude as a board goes out especially to Bern Barrett who is retiring after this meeting. Bern has served the Council for a long time as Anglican representative, President, Past President, as well as the role already mentioned as Inter-Faith Committee chair. His presence will be greatly missed.
We are also losing Jim Lee, one of our United Church members of Council and a faithful contributor. Jim is leaving to devote more of his time to the Parliamentary Prayer Group.
As we continue the work of the Council, let us "spare no effort to make fast with bonds of peace the unity which the Spirit gives. There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope held out in God's call to you; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4: 3-6
Respectfully submitted
Barbara Faught
ANNUAL REPORT (for the year 1998)
In my files only recently I found a copy of the CCCA Mission Statement. It reads:
We have keenly felt the loss of Ed Bell whose sudden death in September shocked us all. Ed served as our treasurer for enough years that we had to amend the constitution to keep him in that position legally. We miss his quiet, steady presence.
Neil Hunter left us in November to take up a pastoral position in Perth. Neil was invaluable not only in representing his Baptist denomination but in keeping us informed from his perspective as Carleton University Chaplain. We will miss the organisational skills he exhibited in planning some important events in the Council’s life the last few years.
Gary Morton, vice chair of the Council when he took an early retirement from the Presbyterian ministry, did not have the long history of Ed and Neil. In a few years, however, we came to really value his wisdom and experience and the voice he brought to the table.
We begin our twenty-eighth year as a Council grateful for the contribution of our veteran members but seeking for some (hopeffilly younger than ourselves) who will be as committed to ecumenical endeavours as they are.
1) The Council’s Standing Committees
Most of the Council’s work is carried on by its standing committees whose membership is flexible, with various individuals joining as the need arises.
a) Ecumenism Committee
The event every year where ecumenism is celebrated is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service for January 1998 was held at St. Joseph’s Church on Laurier Ave. and took the form of a Taize worship service. Jim Lee and Suzanne Savoie did most of the planning for this service.
Jacques Faucher joined our Council in the spring of 1998 and brings many years of experience with ecumenical activities in the Capital Area.
Jacques agreed to chair the ecumenism committee in the fall and was immediately involved with Suzanne Savoie in planning the first Week of Prayer Service sponsored by the CCCA to be held in Hull in January 1999. The Council decided that unity in our various churches is often more fragile between those with liberal and conservative positions on issues and theological viewpoints than it is between our denominations. With this in mind, we identified the Hon. David Kilgour, Minster of State for Latin America and Africa as the appropriate speaker. Jim Lee was also involved in planning that service.
Much discussion has begun regarding an appropriate way of celebrating this event in the Year 2000.
Several members of Council attended the L’Arche Community celebration with Jean Vanier at the Basilica in May.
b) Inter-Faith Committee
The members of this committee are Bern Barrett, Yvon Vanasse, Suzanne Savoie and Jim Lee, all of whom are members of the Capital Region Inter-Faith Council (CRIC). Bern Barrett serves as chair. As well as its regular meetings which the committee reports on to us, CRIC and the CCCA sponsored an inter-faith event, "Faith in the Classroom: A Question of Values" in November with Peter Evans as the speaker. A Circle of Prayer for Peace was held in December.
c) Justice, Peace, Creation and Social Concerns Committee
Ruby Elver is the chair of this committee but in many ways this is really a committee of the whole since most Council members have concerns to be shared from time to time. Faith Partners continues their weekly silent vigil at the Human Rights monument in support of the poor. We received their report "People First" for the People’s Hearings on Poverty. On request, we supplied some material to the anti-gambling coalition and some Council members attended an anti-gambling rally.
d) Membership Committee
Suzanne Savoie has sole responsibility for this committee. Major Douglas Speakman has joined the Council this year to represent the Salvation Army. We have still been unable to interest the Orthodox churches in attendance and have not yet been sent replacements for the Baptist, Presbyterian and Society of Friends members we lost this year.
e) Publicity Committee
Don Friesen was committee chair until he took on the position of treasurer in the late fall. He still manages the web site and prepared and sent the posters we all received for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and for this meeting.
2) Advisory Committees and Liaisons
There are ecumenical events in the region to which we as a Council are related through our individual members. Ed Bell regularly reported to us on the Lay School of Theology. Ruby Elver and Barbara Faught informed us of the activities of the Women’s Inter-Church Council and Suzanne Savoie of the work of the AIqonquin College Chaplaincy.
3) Christian Festival Discussion.
The question of whether there would be a Christian Festival in Ottawa in 2001 was discussed throughout the year with a negative decision being made finally in November. After meeting with the National Coalition for Christian Festivals and a few other individuals in September it became apparent to the Council that the responsibility for a Festival would belong to a local leadership. The question was whether such leadership could be found.
An exploratory committee was formed under the leadership of Bart Beglo. The six individuals who met three times contacted several Orthodox and evangelical community leaders to see if there would be support for a Festival. We did not find any enthusiasm for such a project and regretfully we had to conclude a Festival was not possible.
The exploratory committee recommended to the CCCA that through our Ecumenical Committee we pursue some way to mark the joint Easter/Pentecost season in the year 2001 (April 15 - June 3).
Conclusion:
Our 1997 Annual General Meeting was held at All Saints, Westboro in April. Peter Schonenbach who had just left the Council to take a position with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops spoke to us of twenty-five years of ecumenism in Ottawa.
In closing, I wish to thank all the Board members for their interest in and commitment to the work of the Council. Doug Heard is an invaluable secretary and Don Friesen’s willingness to step in to the position of treasurer so promptly, while typical of Don, is much appreciated. I believe that the Council members do seek to honour Jesus’ prayer that we who follow him "may all be one" (John 17:21).
Respectfully submitted
Barbara Faught
