June 5: Abide in My Love: Cross-Canada Online Celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity



Saturday, June 5, 3:00-4:00 pm EDT


Organized by The Canadian Council of Churches in partnership with The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism

Download the poster

For over 100 years, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) has gathered Christians around the world in ecumenical prayer and fellowship. The worldwide WPCU is traditionally held in January and during the Pentecost season. This year’s theme, Abide in My Love and You Shall Bear Much Fruit (John 15:5-9), calls us to nourish unity with God and with one another through prayer, contemplative silence, and common action.

Amid this year’s unique challenges and possibilities, The Canadian Council of Churches and its ecumenical partners, The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, invite you to a special event

Abide in My Love: Cross-Canada Online Celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Saturday, June 5, 3:00 – 4:00 pm EDT

Gathering as branches of Christ the True Vine, let us experience, and bear witness to, God’s abiding love during this season of Pentecost!

Leaders from diverse Christian traditions in Canada will offer prayers and Scripture readings. The Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary, General Council, The United Church of Canada, and His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada, will offer homiletic reflections.

This event is bilingual (English and French), with simultaneous translation in both languages. 

This online celebration is free for all who would like to attend, but a small contribution to offset the cost is welcomed.

Please register on Eventbrite: wpcu-2021-spuc.eventbrite.ca

For more information, please contact Maria Simakova, Program Coordinator, Faith and Witness, simakova@councilofchurches.ca

 
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42nd Christian Commemoration of the Shoah

NO TIME FOR SILENCE
42nd Christian Commemoration of the Shoah


at Montreal West United Church on April 11, 2021
Montreal, March 29, 2021. The Christian Jewish Dialogue of Montreal (CJDM) will hold its 42nd annual Christian Commemoration of the Shoah online on Sunday, April 11, 2021, at 10:00. The host Congregation this year is Montreal West United Church and the theme is “No time for silence”. The service will be available at https://www.mwuc.org/ .
This event will bring together Jews, Christians, and others to commemorate the six million Jews and one million other victims of the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah (“the annihilation” in Hebrew), during World War II.
Presided by Rev. Rosemary Lambie (Executive Minister, Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council), the commemoration will include an intergenerational interview with Holocaust survivor Eva Kuper by a member of the MWUC youth group. A candle-lighting ceremony will be led by Rev. Mark Hammond and Rabbi Sherril Gilbert in remembrance of all the victims of the Shoah. Songs and music will be performed by singers Fran Avni, Evan Burman, the MWUC Choir, and organist Owen Spicer. A message will be delivered by Hon. Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. Online fellowship will follow. All are welcome.
Yom Hashoah (“the Day of the Shoah”) was established in 1951 by the Knesset, the Parliament of Israel. In Montreal, the first Christian Commemoration of the Shoah took place at Christ Church Cathedral in 1979. Since then, different Christian churches have engaged with members of the Jewish community in a shared act of remembrance on the Sunday closest to Yom Hashoah. In 1999, the National Assembly officially recognized the observance of Yom Hashoah and invited Quebec citizens to share in the memories and mourning of the Jewish community and to ponder the lessons learned from the Shoah.
Founded in 1971, the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Montreal is composed of representatives of various sponsoring organizations, who come together on a regular basis in order to build and strengthen mutual understanding and support between Christian and Jewish communities.


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Information: Montreal West United Church (https://www.mwuc.org/)
Contact: mwucoffice@gmail.com or 514-482-3210.

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LE GOUVERNEMENT DOIT CORRIGER LES MESURES INÉQUITABLES

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Pour diffusion immédiate

 

LE GOUVERNEMENT DOIT CORRIGER LES MESURES INÉQUITABLES

 

Montréal, le 18 mars 2021 – Les membres de la Table interreligieuse de concertation du Québec poursuivent un dialogue exigeant avec la Santé publique afin d’ajuster les protocoles sanitaires en vigueur dans les lieux de culte en fonction de la nouvelle épidémiologie.

Cette semaine, les leaders religieux ont été renversés d’apprendre qu’à partir du 26 mars, en zone rouge, une salle de spectacle pourrait accueillir jusqu’à 250 personnes, soit dix fois plus qu’un lieu de culte, et ce, quelle que soit la taille de ce dernier. Puisqu’il s’agit de rassemblements présentant des caractéristiques semblables, cela est objectivement inéquitable.

Devant un tel écart, il se dégage une forte impression d’incohérence. On est facilement porté à y voir de l’incompréhension, sinon de la discrimination à l’égard des Québécoises et Québécois dans la vie desquels la religion joue un rôle essentiel.

C’est pourquoi les membres de la Table réclament qu’un nombre égal de personnes soient autorisées dans une salle de spectacle ou dans un lieu de culte dès le 26 mars.

Par ailleurs, la Table persiste à croire qu’il serait plus simple de calculer le nombre de personnes admissibles dans un lieu en fonction d’un pourcentage sa capacité maximale, dans le respect d’une distance physique acceptable. Enfin, la Table rappelle que, s’il est maintenu, le couvre-feu devra bientôt être ajusté au-delà de 21h30 pour rendre possible la prière commune du soir.

Les leaders religieux jouent un rôle important dans leurs milieux pour communiquer et mettre en œuvre les recommandations de la Santé publique. Mais leur responsabilité est aussi de veiller à ce que les autorités civiles respectent les croyances et les pratiques des communautés de foi. Tout en poursuivant les discussions avec les autorités pour obtenir un traitement équitable, ils continuent à encourager les fidèles à observer rigoureusement les règles en vigueur pour protéger la vie et la santé de tous, surtout des plus vulnérables.

 

Source :               Table interreligieuse de concertation du Québec
Modérateur : Mgr Pierre Murray, C.S.S.,  514-914-0553

 

La Table interreligieuse de concertation du Québec regroupe des représentants de plusieurs églises chrétiennes, de différentes traditions juives, de différentes mosquées, et du Centre canadien d’œcuménisme.

 

Pour des commentaires ou des entrevues :  Imam Hassan Guillet (
hassan_guillet@hotmail.com) 514-699-7257; Mgr Pierre Murray, C.S.S. (pmurray@evequescatholiques.quebec), AECQ, 514-914-0553
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The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism will always be committed to safeguarding our donors’ and benefactors’ privacy and personal information. We look forward to continuing our commitment as we operate in line with Law 25 in Quebec, which strengthens the privacy rights of all individuals. For more information on Law 25, please enter the link here.

The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism will always be committed to safeguarding our donors’ and benefactors’ privacy and personal information. We look forward to continuing our commitment as we operate in line with Law 25 in Quebec, which strengthens the privacy rights of all individuals. For more information on Law 25, please enter the link here.