Sermon Preached by

The Most Reverend Fred Hiltz,

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,

January 20, 2008 St. Paul's Basilica, Toronto.

13th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada

Anglicanism

The following is the text of a sermon preached by Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, at St. Paul's Basilica, Toronto, Ontario January 20, 2008,  commemorating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

At the very heart of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is the  Prayer of Jesus that they may all be one, even as you Father are in me  and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe  you have sent me. (John 17: 21)

By way of reflection on this prayer Jean Vanier in his book, Drawn  into the mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John, writes.

Today people of different faith traditions are working to bring people  and churches together. Disciples of Jesus are walking towards greater  unity and mutual love. Jesus reveals that unity, however, can only  come as God lives more fully in each one of us, as we become holy  through having welcomed the Holy One within us, and as each of us  together begin to reflect his presence in our lives. We all have work  to do to welcome the holy One within us and to love as he loves. (p.  302) These are lovely words to ponder in having just celebrated  Christmas -- the coming of God among us. Lovely words to ponder as we  seek to fulfill his commandment to love. Lovely words to ponder as we  seek to fulfill his prayer for common life in Him.

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Week of Prayer for  Christian Unity. It was first introduced in 1908 as an octave of  Prayer between The Church's commemoration of the Confession of St.  Peter (January 18th) and The Conversion of St. Paul (January 25th),  the two great apostles whose writings continue to inform our  understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ in the world, each  of us members one of another in Him.

This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the production of materials  for worship and reflection through this Week of Prayer. Annually a  joint committee of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical  Council for Christian Unity select a theme grounded in the Scripture.  This year's theme is pray without ceasing. It is drawn from St. Paul's  First Letter to the Thessalonians -- one of the oldest, if not the  oldest book in The New Testament. One can only fully appreciate this  call to prayer in the context in which it is issued by Paul in his  words of encouragement to the Church in Thessalonica.

Be at peace among yourselves, he writes. And we urge you, beloved, to  admonish the elders, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be  patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil,  but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstance; for this is the  will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (Thessalonians 5:13b-18)

Having read through the resources prepared for the Bible Studies for  the week, I was struck by the points for discussion posed for the  study on day eight. They are as follows:

1) What gains have we made in our pursuit of Christian unity over
     the past 100 years?
     the past 20?
     the past 5?

- - - Give thanks for these gains.

2) In what areas is there still much work to be done?

- - - Lift up these areas in prayer.

Let's then recall and give thanks for Gains:
In the past 100 years -- we give thanks for the founding of the World  Council of Churches in 1948. That Council stated that the goal of  ecumenism is to call the churches to the goal of full visible unity in  one faith and in one Eucharistic fellowship, expressed in common  worship and in common life in Christ and to advance that unity so the  world may believe.

A major step toward the realization of unity among the Church came  in1952 when the World Council of Churches adopted what has come to be  known as The Lund Principle which states that the Churches should  hence forth act together in all matters except those in which deep  differences of conviction compel us to act separately.

Another very significant step was the production in 1982 of a  document, commonly known as The BEM Document, -- Baptism, Eucharist  and Ministry. A production of the World Council of Churches, it  represents the convergence of a common understanding of the essential  nature of baptism, eucharist, and ministry, as set forth in the New  Testament and Christian Tradition. Widely read, this document  continues to have a profound influence on conversations between and  among Churches.

This century has seen Christians using a Revised Common Lectionary for  the Scripture readings appointed for Sunday Liturgy and that has  inspired many clergy and lay leaders of a number of churches to come  together in study and prayer in preparation for preaching and programs  for spiritual formation in Christ.

We have witnessed some very historic moments in this century. Pope  John XXIII's declaration, Whenever I see a wall between Christians, I  try to pull out a brick. John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch  Demetrios I giving a common blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's  Basilica, Rome. John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie jointly  renewing their baptismal vows in Canterbury Cathedral.

Within this nation we think of the Founding of the Canadian Council of  Churches in 1944. At that time there were 10 member churches -- now  there are 21. According to its Constitution, the Council is a  community of Churches which confers the Lord Jesus Christ as God and  Saviour according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill  together their common calling to the glory of one God, Father, Son and  Holy Spirit, and also other churches which affirm the same faith but  do make doctrinal confession. (Article II) So the Council is a forum  for consultation co-operation and common witness among its member  churches.

I've always liked the way someone put it when they said, If ecumenism  is to take hold in Canada, it will come at the local level and it will  come because the Spirit will move neighbours of faith to overcome  their separation in order to embody the Gospel in their communities.  In this regard we give thanks for initiatives on the part of local  neighbouring churches in coming together for worship, and action in  addressing the needs and hopes of their communities.
In the past 20 years -- we give thanks continuing conversations  between and among churches that have led to a number of agreed  statements on matters of faith and order in the Church.

Again there have been some remarkable moments of witness to the unity  to which we are called in Christ.

One was in 1998 -- Jean Vanier had been invited to lead the Central  Committee of the World Council of Churches in a time of quiet  reflection. After his talk he invited everyone to follow his lead in a  foot washing ceremony. People representing some 230 different churches  participated. By way of reflection on the event, he wrote We are only  just beginning to discover and to live the ecumenical and inter- religious dimensions of this act.
Another was in the year 2000 at an ecumenical liturgy inside St.  Paul's outside the Walls in Rome. John Baycroft, the former Anglican  Bishop of Ottawa was the Director of the Anglican Center in Rome at  the time. Reflecting on the service some weeks later he wrote, Even  before the liturgy began you could feel that the opening of the Holy  Door at Saint Paul's was going to be very special. Leaders and  representatives from a score of the major Christian Churches  representing the vast majority of Christians in the world were  gathering and greeting one another…It felt like a gathering of friends  some old and some new, all meeting in mutual respect.

Pope John Paul II had generously invited the Anglican Archbishop of  Canterbury and the representative of the Orthodox Ecumenical patriarch  to help him open the Holy Door. This wonderful symbolic gesture became  a more powerful sign as I watched it happen. The doors did not swing  open smoothly with a gentle push. On the first push or two they did  not open at all. So these three leaders had to push harder together.  And they did. And the doors opened. I am sure that many who witnessed  this took to heart the message that if we want the ecumenical way to  open up, and the Church's doors to be open to all, we must push  together and push harder!

Walking through that doorway together with so many other church  leaders, he wrote, felt to me like a renewed commitment to walk  together in Christ's way of love…

The Churches in Canada marked the dawn of the new millennium in  launching The Jubilee Inititatives.

A call for the Restoration of Right Relations among all peoples;
A call for the Reduction of International Debt, and
A call for the Renewal of the Earth.

All across Canada there was enthusiastic response to these initiatives  -- a tremendous witness on the part of the Churches Acting Together.

In 2001, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran  Church in Canada declared Full Communion with one another. Among other  things that means full Eucharistic sharing, inter changeability of  ordained ministries, and continuing commitment to consult with one  another over matters of faith order and common witness. The conclusion  of The Declaration reads,

We rejoice in our declaration as an expression of the visible unity of  our churches in the Body of Christ. We give thanks for the gift of  unity that is already ours in Christ and we pray for the fuller  realization of this gift in the entire Church.

In the past 5 years -- there have been a number of significant gains  in pursuit of unity. There is an annual ecumenical retreat for  Canadian Church Leaders. There has been continuing common witness  through the ecumenical coalition known as KAIROS. Church Leaders have  come together in signing letters addressing a number of issues  including poverty, immigration, refugees and calls for just and  peaceful resolutions to international conflicts.

On Sunday, April 22, 2007 hundreds of people gathered in St. James'  Cathedral in Toronto to pray for Afghanistan. In Emmanus, a newsletter  of the Canadian Council of Churches, the service was described as  follows. The people gathered to hold up in prayer the dark tragedy of  Afghanistan and the pain of all its people; children, women and men.  They gathered to hold up in prayer the pain of the members of the  Canadian Forces and the troops of all nations who desperately long for  peace in a torn and hurting place in God's world.

On National Aboriginal Day, June 21st 2007 leaders representing eleven  Canadian Churches and other religious organizations renewed  commitments made 20 years ago in the signing of A Covenant Toward The  Constitutional Recognition and Protection of Aboriginal Self- government in Canada -- a significant moment in the long road to self- determination.

This year in the interests of raising public awareness of the  establishing of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Research  Centre to preserve the history of the Residential Schools, Church  Leaders will participate in a Sacred Walk beginning in Ottawa and  travelling to a number of other places across the country.

On January 1st I was at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa celebrating  The Feast of The Naming of Jesus. In the context of the liturgy a  Canadian Anglican priest, the Rev. Canon Dr. John Gibault was  commissioned for his new responsibilities as Director of the Faith and  Order Commission of the World Council of Churches at its headquarters  in Geneva, Switzerland. As Canadians we rejoice in this appointment  and uphold him in our prayers.

So in the past 100, 20, and 5 years we give thanks for these and many  other gains, global and local in the pursuit of the unity Christ wills  for the Church.

The second question I named earlier calls us to identify areas in  which there is more work to be done. I will mention just three:

1) Common Witness to Shared Faith
It seems to me there is much more that we could be doing by way of a  common witness in the celebration of Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and  the Feast of the Reign of Christ. That is not to diminish in any way  the richness with which these festivals are celebrated within each of  our traditions but rather to share something of that richness in a way  that reveals to the world our unity in the Gospel of God's love in  Christ Jesus.

2) The Recognition of Ministries
Here there is much work to be done. It will require of us all both  humility and courage. It will involve a deep commitment to dialogue,  intentional listening, mutual respect. It will mean an authentic  commitment to the healing of old divisions and a capacity to embrace  one another's vocations in ways not seen before.

3) Our Compassionate Service to those in need
Many church leaders speak out for instance about homelessness in this  city of Toronto. I believe we must continue to do that but more and  more we must also speak and act together. A hymn writer put it so  succinctly, One voice alone is ragged, together we are strong.

Within and beyond Canada Christians alongside people of other faiths  as well are called to a commitment to the UN Millennium Development  Goals:

To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
To achieve universal primary education
To promote gender equality and the empowerment of women
To reduce child mortality
To improve maternal health
To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
To ensure environmental stability
To build a global partnership for development

Within the next couple of years we must mobilize major public  initiatives in calling on political leaders in Canada and among the  nations to remain diligent in their resolve to achieve these goals by  2015.

So, we have much more work to do, work for which we pray the grace and  guidance of the Holy Spirit of God.

I conclude with an excerpt from remarks prepared by the Rev. Dr. Karen  Hamilton and Pastor Willard Warnock.

As we mark the 100th Anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian  Unity, celebrating it within the context of the yearnings, prayers,  and initiatives for Christian Unity through the centuries, we do well  to take stock of where we are on this Spirit led journey. It is a time  to give thanks for the many fruits of prayer for unity. Dialogue has  assisted in building bridges of understanding and has led to the  resolution of some of the doctrinal differences that have separated  us. In many places, animosity and misunderstanding have given way to  respect and friendship. Christians who have gathered to pray for unity  have often joined together in acts of common witness to the gospel,  and worked side by side in serving those in great need.
Ultimately as someone once said, ecumenism is not about our plans for  the reunion of the separated churches. It's about playing our part in  God's plan for the gathering up of all things in Christ. With him let  us pray without ceasing that we all may be one. Amen.