May 2009

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


 

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Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations

8765 W. Higgins Road

Chicago, IL 60631

800.638.3522, ext. 2610

erinfo@elca.org

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ELCA Churchwide Assembly

Aug. 17-23, 2009

Minneapolis Convention Center

Theme: "God's work. Our hands."

• Registration, open until July 15, 2009

• Travel Logistics

• Assembly Schedule

• Voting Matters

• New Voting Member Orientation

Please click here for further information pertaining to this year's assembly.

Confessing Our Faith Together: A Proposal for Full Communion Between the ELCA and the United Methodist Church

Full communion is not the end of a process but rather an invitation to grow together in Christian faith and love, commending to one another and the world the hope that is in us. Thus, in approving this agreement both churches commit to continue the process by holding regular talks, working responsibly through any issues that may arise, and providing resources to congregations and other groups. For this agreement to make a difference in the lives of our churches and our society, leaders at every level within our churches must explore how to remain faithful within their respective churches while at the same time finding new ways to implement the higher level of cooperation envisioned here. The goal of full communion must not simply be theological rapprochement but honest, committed cooperation for the sake of Jesus Christ and God’s mission in the world.  Read more...

A Proposal for Full Communion

Confessing Our Faith Together: Study and Discussion Guide

Building a Relationship: UMC-ELCA Best Practices

ELCA-UMC Frequently Asked Questions

2009 Synod Assemblies

Each spring, synods gather in assembly to uplift and celebrate ministries and address the issues facing the leaders, congregations, and agencies within the synod. Synodical Relations works with the Office of the Presiding Bishop to assign Churchwide Representatives that will attend the annual assemblies on behalf of the Presiding Bishop. This spring, 5 synods will hold bishop elections, and more than half of the synods are holding elections for other officers.

2009 Letter from Bishop Hanson to Synods

2009 Synod Assembly Dates

10th Anniversary of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification Between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation and Affirmed by the World Methodist Council in 2006

Thursday, October 1, 2009
6:30 p.m.
Old St. Patrick’s Church
700 West Adams Street • Chicago, Illinois 60661

Click here for the invitation flyer

Once again, Christian leaders who are committed to the quest for greater unity among the Christian denominations gathered together for a week of dialogue and worship. This year the NWCU was held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Among those attending, the largest number of attendees were from the following five denominations (listed in order of number of attendees). Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodists and Presbyterians. Also attending were persons from the Armenian Orthodox, Disciples of Christ, Greek Orthodox, LDS, Reformed Church of America, and the United Church of Christ.  Click here for the download center, where you can hear event recordings.

Please mark your calendars for the next NWCU:
April 19-22, 2010 in Tampa, Florida

You are invited to a once-a-decade multi-faith forum of all levels of religion communicators in Chicago, April 7-10, 2010. This extraordinary event brings together over 1,200 communications professionals to expand our experience and broaden our perspective on embracing change. RCCongress 2010 is the place to be as we explore the changing landscape, exchange views, educate ourselves, and embrace the challenge of effectively communicating faith in today’s world.

Peace Not Walls: Making a Difference in the Holy Land

The DVD, "Peace Not Walls: Making a Difference in the Holy Land," offers a dynamic introduction to the ELCA inter-religious work and the Peace Not Walls campaign dedicated to peace with justice in Israel-Palestine.

Click here for other PNW resources.

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LERNing Newsletter – May 2009 Issue

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Journey with us to Geneva, one of the Ecumenical centers of the world! Two courses are being offered through the Lutheran World Federation in coordination with Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations office of the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

A Communion of Communities:
Being Lutheran in a Globalizing World

December 1-12, 2009

The Ecumenical Church in a Globalized World
January 6-20, 2010

Registration is OPEN!

To view the brochures and registration requirements,
please visit our website.

June 8-10, 2009: Vatican II: Its Continuing Challenge to All Churches

An Ecumenical Conference for Clergy and Laity

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC

Cost: $210; $98 for full-time students.

The Second Vatican Council was a milestone for the Churches, Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. The 50th anniversary of the calling of the Council is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that Vatican II still presents to the churches. What promises remain unfulfilled? What paths from Vatican II have proven to be dead ends? What possibilities remain unexplored? The 2009 conference of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology will focus on these questions.  Click here to register.

Ecumenical Institute of Bossey

The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey is the international centre for encounter and formation of the World Council of Churches.  The Institute brings together people from diverse churches, and backgrounds for ecumenical learning, academic and personal exchange.

Student guidelines, application form, and scholarship information

2009 Seminars

U.S. Religious Landscape Survey

Based on interviews with more than 35,000 American adults, this extensive survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details the religious makeup, religious beliefs and practices as well as social and political attitudes of the American public. This online section includes dynamic tools that complement the full report. For a video overview and related material, go to the resource page.

The symposium, Ministries in the Church Today: North-South Dialogue, will take place from Thursday  to Friday, June 11-12 at Loyola University Chicago. Jon Sobrino, S.J., of the University of Central America, will deliver the keynote address on June 11. Other members of the Board of Editors will also be among the speakers.

Registration for the event is now open. Payments can be made via check or credit card. All registrations must be submitted by June 1, 2009. If you require lodging, arrangements and payment must be made by May 19, 2009. Click here for program brochure and registration.

The National Council of Churches will host Ecumenical Work Week III: Worship, Witness & Work August 2–8, 2009 in Gulfport, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana. This week of ministry and fellowship will not only help those still experiencing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but will highlight the need for continued work and ministry in this impacted region.  Read more...

Living Letters are small ecumenical teams visiting a country to listen, learn, share approaches and challenges in overcoming violence and in peace making, and to pray together for peace in the community and in the world.  The visits deepen ecumenical contacts among the churches, national councils of churches and related organizations and networks. Living Letters connects congregations, student and youth groups, theological and other church-related institutions in the search for an Ecumenical Declaration of Just Peace.  Read about the latest visit to Israel and Palestine...

43rd International Ecumenical Seminar: July 1-8, 2009
"The Liturgy as Ecumenical Chance and Challenge"

Participants come to the Ecumenical Institute from around the country to be formed for ecumenical leadership in a variety of settings. Ecumenical Institute 2009 is an ideal introduction to the ecumenical movement for newly ordained clergy, new staff in ecumenical and interreligious organizations, recently appointed ecumenical representatives and interested lay leaders.

Download the application  

Parliament of the World's Religions

Melbourne, Australia

December 3-9, 2009

A Parliament is a place to come together to listen and commit. Religious leaders and activists from around the world will address critical issues facing the global community. Over seven days, delegates will choose from over 450 activities, including daily morning observances of many traditions, intrareligious and interreligious programs, models of engagement, symposia, performances, open space dialogue and exhibits.  Read more...

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Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, May 8, 2009:
Religion and Peace in the Middle East

There’s a little-known multifaith initiative also working for Middle East peace, with support from the U.S. government and visiting delegations of American Christians, Muslims and Jews. They say there can never be peace in the Holy Land without strong relationships between religious leaders.  Read more...
 

The World Council of Churches is inviting member churches and related organizations to join a week of advocacy and action for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. Those who share the hope of justice are invited to take peaceful actions, together, to create a common international public witness. During World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, churches in different countries send a clear signal to policy-makers, interested publics and their own parishes about the urgent need for a peace settlement that secures the legitimate rights and future of both peoples.  Read more...

Christian-Muslim team from Lebanon

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is organizing a visit of a distinguished interfaith team from Lebanon, October 19-31, 2009. Guests will be Dr. Mary Mikhail, President of the Near East School of Theology, and Dr. Muhammad Sammak, writer and counsellor to the Mufti of Lebanon.

The team will visit seminaries, universities and church and mosque gatherings in a limited number of locations around the United States. They will speak about Christian and Muslim life together in the Middle East, and the challenges and opportunities that are before each of their communities. They are also prepared to discuss new developments in Muslim-Christian relations, and their significance for Christians and Muslims in the United States. You may want to engage them in conversation about concerns that you have regarding international or interfaith issues.

To request the team, please complete this application by June 15, 2009.

This kit contains a variety of resources to help as you engage with neighbors of faiths other than your own, or prepare to do so. It contains “how to do it” sorts of pieces, examples of what others have done, as well as more reflective materials on interfaith relationship as an integral part of being faithful followers of Jesus Christ.  Read more...
 

The Islam and Civil Society Seminar is a week-long program for young adults in Islam-related fields of study and work. In a small seminar setting alongside scholars and religious leaders (Muslim and non-Muslim), participants will explore the relationship of Islam to civil society by engaging together in study, reflection, discussion, and pragmatic solution-seeking. The seminar will consider history and the modern world, with a focus on modern challenges and opportunities for Islam and civil society.  Read more..

2009 Bishops' Academy Post-Trip Resources Webpage

This resource is meant for all viewers to familiarize themselves with the most recent Bishops’ Academy 2009 trip to the Holy Land. Over 90 bishops, staff, and others traveled throughout Israel-Palestine and returned with new information, increased focus in all of our synods, and renewed desire to build
relationships of peace in their own communities and with those in the region.  Read more...

The NCCC Interfaith Relations Commission is encouraging local churches, synagogues and mosques as well as other organizations to use these PBS documentaries and accompanying study guides to stimulate dialogue. The videos are also useful to use as educational resources within houses of worship.  “Three faiths” has played on over 200 PBS stations and “Jews and Christians” has been on public television stations nationwide. These resources are being used by many congregations, universities and community organizations to foster interfaith dialogue and understanding.

The videos and study guides can be ordered from the National Council of Churches at a discount.  Click here for more information 

Film: "Elisabeth of Berlin"

"Elisabeth of Berlin" is a new film by Steven D. Martin, maker of the acclaimed "Theologians Under Hitler." "Elisabeth of Berlin" is now screening at churches and universities across the US and Germany for the next several months. The filmmaker is seeking churches and other organizations willing to present the film in events designed to build interfaith dialogue and friendship..

This groundbreaking new film, based on original research, tells the story of a woman of the Confessing Church, who during the years of the Nazi regime, challenged her church to do more to protect the Jews, and sheltered them herself during those most dangerous years. We now have the opportunity to know Elisabeth Schmitz, a contemporary of Bonhoeffer and a remarkable woman who not only spoke to her own time, but speaks to ours as well.

A screening by your organization offers a terrific opportunity for community witness. Please contact Vital Visions at 865-483-6823 or online at www.vitalvisions.org.

Your Guide to Inter-Religious Life in the ELCA

This guide will help you and your congregation gain a hands--on appreciation of
the inter-religious relations in the life of the church.  Navigate the waters of inter-religious relations, and take opportunities to learn more about how you can be part of an important journey.

Download as PDF file

If you wish to receive printed copies of this resource, please call 773-380-2610.

We share a strong, growing relationship with pan-Lutheran and ecumenical partner ministries, such as Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Lutheran Services in America (LSA), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and many more.

Learn why our partners are so critical to this church’s mission.

lnter-Religious Resources

Windows for Understanding: Jewish, Muslim, Lutheran Relations

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. 

Additional Inter-Religious Links:

• Tips for ELCA and Ecumenical Partners planning to visit The Holy Land and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

• The ELCA Social Statement for Peace in God's World

• Inter-Religious Resources from other Churches including Discussing Tough Issues,
  a resource from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.

• Articles and Essays on Muslim-Christian Dialogue

• Interfaith Activities and Inter-Religious Dialogue

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Was Jesus a Muslim? by Robert F. Shedinger

An intriguing question—Do Muslims understand Jesus in some ways more historically appropriate than Christians do?—leads Robert F. Shedinger into a series of provocative challenges to the disciplines of religious studies and comparative religions. Questioning the convenient distinction between “politics” and “religion” and the isolation of “religion” from wider social and cultural questions, Shedinger offers a proposal for a more accurate and respectful understanding of faith that he argues will improve possibilities for mutual understanding among Christians, Muslims—and others.  Read more...

Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World's Religious Traditions
by Aostre N. Johnson

Perspectives from the World's Religious Traditions provides a forum for prominent religious scholars to examine the state of religious knowledge and theological reflection on spiritual development in childhood and adolescence. Featuring essays from thinkers representing the world's major religious traditions, the book introduces new voices, challenges assumptions, raises new questions, and broadens the base of knowledge and investment in this important domain of life. Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality will set the stage for new waves of scholarship and dialogue within and across traditions, disciplines, and cultures that will enrich understanding and strengthen how the world's religious traditions, and others, understand and cultivate the spiritual lives of children and adolescents around the globe.  Read more...

Interfaith Dialogue at the Grass Roots, edited by Rebecca Kratz Mays

This book presents the ten commandments for how to conduct effective interfaith dialogue in the local community. The essays seek to empower rabbis, imams, pastors, and their congregants to take up the work of interreligious dialogue as a peacemaking activity. The book provides guidelines for conducting interfaith encounters, showing how storytelling and conversations can make these meetings productive and constructive. Additional chapters reveal how to establish and inspire peace.  It includes a chapter discussing interfaith dialogue for youth groups as well.  Read more...

In Girl Meets God, this appealingly honest young woman takes us through a year in her search for a religious identity. Despite her conversion to the Christian faith, she finds that her world is still shaped by her Jewish upbringing. Even as she rejoices in the holy days of the Christian calendar, she mourns the Jewish rituals she still holds dear. Attempting to reconcile the two sides of her religious self, Winner applies the lessons of Judaism to the teachings of the New Testament, hosts a Christian seder, and struggles to fit her Orthodox friends into her new religious life. Ultimately she learns that faith takes practice and belief is an ongoing challenge. Like Anne Lamott, Winner's journey to Christendom is bumpy, but it is the rocky path itself that makes her the perfect guide to exploring Christian spirituality in a complicated world.  Read more...

Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation
by Eboo Patel

Patel, a former Rhodes scholar with a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford, is the founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that unites young people of different religions to perform community service and explore their common values. Patel argues that such work is essential, manifesting the faith line that will define the 21st century. With honesty, Patel relates how he suffered the racist taunts of fellow youth, and, in response, alternately rebelled against and absorbed the religion of his parents—Islam—but in his own way. Meanwhile, he continued to pursue interfaith work with vigor, not quite knowing his end goal but always feeling in his gut that interfaith understanding was the key. This autobiography of a young activist captures how an angry youth can be transformed—by faith, by the community and, most of all, by himself—into a profound leader for the cause of peace.   Read more...

Walking Together Series
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Publishing

The brochures in the Walking Together Series enrich ministry by exploring the different relationships between the Catholic Church and other churches and religious groups. Produced with individual parishioners in mind, the brochures demonstrate that the church has an important role in preparing parishioners to understand interchurch and interfaith dialogue.

Series topics include: Catholics and Muslims, Interreligious Prayer, Jesus and the Jews, Mary in Ecumenical Perspective, When a Catholic Marries a Protestant, When a Catholic Marries an Orthodox Christian, Who Can Go to Holy Communion?

Click here to purchase or call toll-free 800-235-8722.

Young Adult Dialogue Curriculum
A Contemporary Student Program Guide for Interfaith Living
Produced by the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College

This is a ready-to-use, no-other-materials-needed resource for Jewish-Christian programming on campus. Why and how should a relationship that has existed since the first century be relevant for any college student? How would one become so connected and enthused about this dynamic bond as to decide to act differently? This resource is an answer to these questions, offering guides and the necessary materials for the encounter. Each topic packet includes suggestions for group dynamics; a ready-to-run program activity; discussion questions that correlate with that activity; ready-to-read presentations; a bridge-the-gap activity; pledge-for-change suggestions and resources for further exploration of each subject.

Click here for a free copy. Bound color copies can be purchased for $15.

Where Mercy Fails: Darfur's Unfinished Story
by Chris Herlinger and Paul Jeffrey

This new work provides a graphic and literal context for understanding the current tragedy in Darfur and describes a framework for how people of faith are responding to the crisis. The text by Herlinger makes clear that the crisis in Darfur cannot be explained easily, glibly, or in a simplistic fashion. It includes personal stories of those uprooted and currently living in the camps. Additional sections examine the debates surrounding Darfur, including concerns over genocide, the debate over “protection” and “responsibility” by the international community, and the role of activists and religious communities in the ecumenical humanitarian response.  Read more....

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• Christian unity workshop explores difficult issues
• Lutheran seminarians support task force recommendation
• Budget Reductions Impact ELCA's Engagement Overseas
• ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other U.S. Religious Leaders Meet King of Jordan
• Mennonites back peacemakers in India's troubled Orissa state
• ELCA Presiding Bishop Speaks to Antipoverty Activists
• Mobilization to End Poverty in the USA inspires faith and hope
• Pope Benedict XVI tells Middle East Christians to persevere
• Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.
• US peace church mobilises for international day of prayer
• Lutheran Women Today article: What Kind of Christian
• Religions for Peace USA Newsletter: March 2009
• WCC Youth Newsletter: April 2009
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land Newsletter: January-February 2009
• CWS Hotline - Weekly program update on disaster responses

• Christian Churches Together E-Newsletter: Volume 3, No. 1, May 2009

• NCC - 25 most recent headlines from NCC News Service

• Lutherans, Jews, Muslims Gather for Prayer after Shooting in Binghamton
• The Black Rabbi From Chicago: As a young man in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was encouraged to become a pastor. Instead, he went to rabbinical school. Now one of about 27 black rabbis in the United States, he heads an Ethiopian Hebrew synagogue on the Southwest Side of Chicago.  Click here to download the audio file from Interfaith Voices 
• May 9, 2009: Pope's Address Upon Visiting Mosque
• Pope tells reporters: inter-faith cooperation is key to peace
• Obama to address Muslims in Egypt
• Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits
• Watch Dr. Juan Cole & Salam Al-Marayati Discuss 'Forging a New Relationship with the Muslim World'
• Rabbi David Rosen Q & A: Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Israel
• "A Common Word" Accomplishments 2007 - 2008
• NAIIF Together Newsletter: March/April 2009
• Institute of Islamic Studies – Muslim Women Newsletter: April 2009 and May 2009
• General Commission on Christian Unity and Inter-religious Concerns – March Newsletter
• Middle East Network Newsletter: All Issues

• Religions for Peace USA – March 2009 E-Newsletter

• Cardinal Bea Center for Judaic Studies Launches Newsletter – Issue 5: Spring 2009

• Churches for Middle East Peace Quarterly Newsletter – April 2009

• A Common Word

• Ecumenical News International (ENI)

• Journal of Lutheran Ethics

• Inter-Religious Organizations, Resources, and Links

• 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

• Independent Spiritual Website: http://www.beliefnet.com

• Resources, tools and training for writing about religion: http://www.religionwriters.com

• PBS Religion & Ethics

• Howard M. Friedman's blog: http://religionclause.blogspot.com//

• Daily, e-magazine on current events: http://meaningoflife.tv/

• Independent, not-for-profit think-tank examining the role of religion in public life and advocates transformative theological ideas and solutions: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news/news.shtml

Timelines

• BBC Timeline: A History of Conflict

• CNN Timeline: Decades of Conflict in Lebanon, Israel

• NPR Timeline: The Middle East and the West, A Troubled History