ELCA Ecumenical Life PowerPoint Presentation -
From grass-roots to seminaries and your local congregation -- 27 minutes
long with discussion questions, pictures, and a brief history of
ecumenism in the ELCA
The theme of this issue:
"Ecumenical and Inter-Religious
Advances"
A Reflection on the ELCA Church
Council by the Rev. Dr. Randall Lee,
Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Office of the
Presiding Bishop.
2007
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity- "Open our ears and
loosen our tongues", Mark 7:31-37 isthe theme for
this year, January 18-25, 2007.
2007 National Workshop on
Christian Unity in Washington, D.C- Sponsored by the National
Association of Ecumenical Officers, this annual event will be
from Monday, January 29 to Thursday, February 1, 2007. The
Workshop offers ten seminars each day on current ecumenical
issues. Read more about the workshop, check out the online
brochure, and register online! To register for the luncheons,
please download the LARC
and EDEIO - LERN
forms and send them
to our office by December 15, 2006.
2007 January
Term "The Ecumenical Church in America in a Globalized World"
is the annual course held in Geneva, Switzerland from January
6-20, 2007. Sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation and the
ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations,
this course is an excellent opportunity for students currently
enrolled in a Masters or Doctoral program relating to theology to learn
more about global ecumenism.
Read more about the topics, requirements, and how to
apply. Contact us for further inquiries.
Joint
ELCA-UMC Resource - Confessing Our Faith Together: A
Discussion and Study Guide is designed so that ELCA and UMC
congregations can learn about Full Communion
between our churches.
Please read the
letter from our Associate Director, Dr. Michael R. Trice,
inviting you to work with United Methodists in your area.
We need the evaluation form from the study guide (Color
PDF | Black and White
PDF) no later than
November 30, 2006 to make a contribution to the bilateral
dialogue committee.
NEW
ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations The Office of the Presiding Bishop
invites Lutherans and
and others from different denominations to share with us their
ecumenical experiences! View
Your Story, the
Power of Many, and the
Power of One to learn more about
Ecumenical Formation, possible scholarships, and related
items.
NEWELCA
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations-
Building Bridges in the Body of Christ
is
a new resource.
Use Building Bridges in bulletins to assist in the education of
parishioners regarding our five communion partners and one
interim Eucharistic sharing partner. View other
Ecumenical resources .
How you can support
the Lutheran World Federation and its work with those most in
need in the Holy Land: Buy olive oil straight from the
Mount of Olives as a fundraiser in your congregation.
For more information please
click here.
Churches for Middle East Peace
A coalition of 21
public policy offices of national churches and agencies --
Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant.
CMEP seeks to maintain on-going dialogue with Congress, the
administration and the
diplomatic community, to advance concerns, assessments, and
advocacy positions. Concerns include: The avoidance and resolution of armed
conflicts, human rights, arms control, foreign aid, and the
unique nature of Jerusalem - sacred to Christians, Jews and
Muslims.
2006
National Council of Churches General Assembly-
The General Assembly, the highest decision-making body of
the National Council of Churches USA and Church World
Service opens today in Orlando. All 35 member communions
are sending nearly 200 delegates to the November 7-9
meeting in the the Wyndham Orlando Resort. Worship, bible
study, celebration, and action will all be a part of the
annual gathering of the USA's oldest national ecumenical
body. The delegates from Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican,
historic African American and peace churches represent 45
million Christians from 100,000 congregations.
Read more!
The Episcopal
Church-
Bishop Jefferts Schori, is the first woman in Anglicanism's nearly
520-year history to lead a church province as its chief
bishop. She was elected June 18 by her colleagues in the
House of Bishops from among seven nominees. The House of
Deputies confirmed her election the same day. Read
more!
Ever Been to a U2charist? Imagine
a worship service with the music of U2. The idea was
first tried by an Episcopalian church and has quickly turned
into a trend in many mainline Protestant churches. If
this peaks your interest,
check out this article by Bread for the World.
Celebrate! At the River December 28,
2006 - January 1, 2007. If you are a college student
then this trip is for you! Come join 1,000 other college
students from a variety of Christian backgrounds. This
is an event that only happens every 4 years, so don't delay!
This year we will gather in New Orleans for a time of
education, service, and even some fun.
Check out the
website and register soon.
WORLD AIDS DAY - Friday, December 1, 2006 This year's theme for World AIDS Day is Accountability.
Click
here to learn about this unique day, and what you
can do to support activities around World AIDS Day, including
liturgies and prayers, study guides, fact sheets, poster
images, fact sheets, video, and advocacy ideas. To read
about the most recent International AIDS Conference in
Toronto, Canada
follow this link.
A Theological
Reflection on Cruelty - The Ugly Face of Violence- The ELCA together with
the
Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches
is organizing a
consultation to facilitate theological reflection on peace
within the context of the
Decade to
Overcome Violence. The consultation will reflect
theologically on structural and institutional forms of
cruelty, and the alternatives of churches to pursue
reconciliation in the world. Scholars and clergy from
around the world will gather in Geneva, Switzerland for the
conference, December 5-8, 2006. Dr. Michael Trice and
Dr. Ronald Duty will attend on behalf of the ELCA.
Lutheran World Federation (LWF)-
Theology in the Life of the Church - An LWF
theological initiative (2005-2009) is to encourage and develop
theological work that engages major contextual challenges
faced by the global communion of Lutheran churches and
ecumenical partners.
An invitation is open to theologians of
Lutheran as well as other traditions to participating in this
effort being led by the LWF. For further information, please
click
here. (Requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Focus: "Confessing and Living out Faith in the
Triune God," with four major themes: 1. death and
injustice, 2. multi-faith challenges, 3. charismatic and
Pentecostal challenges, and 4. moral differences that threaten
church unity. Join our Online Discussion at:
www.luthersem.edu/lwfdiscuss
This resource offers
opportunities to learn more and become better informed. You
are invited to explore Windows and grow in your faith. We
encourage you to send us your comments and suggestions by
filling out the Evaluation Form on back of Windows.
NEWELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations designed a new page for
Inter-Religious Relations. Visit our web site
and send your comments at
/ecumenical/
The
Pluralism Project is
the name of this organization from Harvard University. Their
mission is to help Americans engage with the realities of
religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active
dissemination of resources. Read more about the project and look at
the
Pluralism Project Newsletter
Jewish-Lutheran
Relations- The
Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago is the temporary home for the traveling exhibit
entitled "Jews of Luthertown Wittenbergin the Third Reich." Open from October 23-November 29, this exhibit hopes to
foster communication and healing between Jews and Lutherans.
Click here to arrange a visit.
A Season of Prayer for Peace in the Middle East: A Call to Prayer from
Religious Leaders
Augsburg Fortress Press announces the new book
Encountering Jesus & Buddha: Their Lives and Teachings
withthemes that include the relative importance of Jesus and
the Buddha within Christianity and Buddhism and their
different perspectives on the self, the self's future, love,
and ethics.
Click
here to read more!
NEW
Please view our new
Bibliography with many additional books and articles on
Ecumenism!
The LERN
network is a group of ELCA clergy and laypeople
appointed by their synodical bishops throughout the ELCA.
They are the eyes and ears of ecumenism in their synods. LERN reps meet annually at the
National Workshop on Christian Unity and with staff
members of the ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious
Relations. These representatives and the LERN Executive
Committee meet the challenge of the ELCA’s
strategic directions to authentically “step forward as a
public church, support congregations, assist synods, produce
wise and courageous leaders, and deepen and extend our...
ecumenical relationships.”
2007 National Workshop on
Christian Unity in Washington, D.C- Sponsored by the National
Association of Ecumenical Officers, this annual event will be
from Monday, January 29 to Thursday, February 1, 2007. The
Workshop offers ten seminars each day on current ecumenical
issues. Read more about the workshop, check out the online
brochure, and register online! To register for the luncheons,
please download the LARC
and EDEIO - LERN forms and send them
to our office by December 15, 2006.
News and
Events
- ELCA and the Lutheran Communion throughout the world!
The
Lutheran - Theme of the November 2006: Understanding
Consumerism
www.lutherlink.org is one of many religious networks
joined in Ecunet, the world's longest-running ecumenical
online community. You can sign up here or call 800/733-2863.
Worldwide Faith News (WFN) -
is a database of full text official news releases and other
documents, including policy statements, from the news
offices of national and world faith groups. This collection
indexes more than 18,000 documents.
2007 January
Term "The Ecumenical Church in America in a Globalized World"
Joint
ELCA-UMC Resource - Confessing Our Faith Together: A
Discussion and Study Guide is designed so that ELCA and UMC
congregations can learn about Full Communion
between our churches.
NEW ELCA
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations-
The Episcopal
Church- 
Jewish-Lutheran
Relations- The
Augsburg Fortress Press announces the new book
Encountering Jesus & Buddha: Their Lives and Teachings
with
themes that include the relative importance of Jesus and
the Buddha within Christianity and Buddhism and their
different perspectives on the self, the self's future, love,
and ethics.
Click