New and Renewed Strategies for the Ecumenical Mission
The Centenary of the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh 1910, the onset of the modern ecumenical movement, is an introspective moment for many who are seeking direction for Christian mission in the 21st century. Based on a critical assessment of the status of the world, a new vision of God's purposes for creation in Christ, a renewed spirituality and mission ethos need to be developed in the life of the churches worldwide.
This Montreal conference will explore ways of witnessing to Christ while acknowledging the religious plurality in a secular society. What is the meaning of "world evangelisation" today? How do we bear witness to the uniqueness of Jesus in a multi-religious world?
These and related questions will be explored in presentations from Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Independent perspectives. Participants will have the opportunity to offer insights from their own traditions in small group discussions and open dialogue.
Register for the Meeting using the Menu Conferences.
FRIDAY EVENING, September 24
“A Century of Ecumenical Engagement: The Legacy of Edinburgh 1910”
Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Best
Former Director and staff member, Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (1984-2007) former Director, Institut zur Erforschung des Urchristentums (Institute for the Study of Christian Origins), Tübingen, Germany
Mission is integral to the nature and life of the Church. But what does this mean in the 21st century, in an era when the “old” world seems to be abandoning the Gospel in favor of secularism? We need urgently an ecumenical mission practice which would call the churches to new levels of mutual accountability and practical acts of common mission.
SATURDAY MORNING, September 25
“Secularization: Challenges to Christianity”
Dr. Gregory Baum
Professor Emeritus of Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal Former Editor of The Ecumenist (1962-2004)
The separation of church and state is widening rapidly in Western society. In the name of progress, secularization and hyper-individualism have become the objective. In a society that welcomes and protects immigrants and their religious cultures through a Charter of Rights, is Christianity still accorded the same benefit?
“The Orthodox Engagement in Ecumenism”
Hegumen Philip Riabykh
Vice-Chairman, Department of External Church Relations, Moscow Patriarchate, Moscow
How does the Patriarchate envision its role in interchurch dialogue, and with other Orthodox? How important are relations with other World Religions?
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, September 25
Panel Reflections: Ecumenical Implications…
…Councils of Churches
Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton Secretary General, Canadian Council of Churches
…Academia
Dr. Daniel Cere Assistant Professor of Religion, Ethics and Law Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Quebec Director of the Institute for the Study of Marriage Law and Culture Co-director of the Newman Institute of Catholic Studies Rev. Dr. Gilles Routhier Professor of Theology Faculty of Theology & Religious Science Université Laval, Quebec
…Bilateral Dialogues
Rev. Dr. Peter Galadza Professor of Liturgy, Faculty of Theology Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies Saint Paul University, Ottawa
SATURDAY EVENING BANQUET, September 25
“Witnessing the Ecumenical Future Together”
Dr. Margaret O’Gara, Banquet Speaker Professor of Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of St. Michael's College, Toronto
What does the future hold for Christians? Are we on the verge of an ecumenical spring? Will the Christian message have greater impact on the world? Is our sense of mission up to the challenge?
SUNDAY MORNING, September 26
"Unity and Mission in 2010: The Changing Face of Global Christianity"
Dr. Catherine E. Clifford Associate Professor of Systematic and Theology and Vice Dean in the Faculty of Theology, Saint Paul University, Ottawa
In the past century the changing consciousness of global Christianity has had a profound impact on the way in which the churches understand their place in the world. The paper will attempt to sketch some of the significant developments in the understanding of the mission and identity of the Church of Christ since Edinburgh, 1910, and their implications in the search for Christian unity.
The conferences will be presented mostly in English. All speakers are bilingual; questions and discussions are welcome in both languages.
A complete information package will be mailed to you upon receipt of confirmed registration.
North American Academy of Ecumenists Académie des Oecuménistes de l'Amérique du Nord
The 2010 Student Essay Contest
New and Renewed Strategies for the Ecumenical Mission
On the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement at the Edinburgh Missionary Conference, students in professional or graduate programs in Theology and Religious Studies are invited to consider how best to promote Christian unity today. Each contestant's conclusions should be presented in a scholarly essay of moderate length (20-30 pages, double spaced). It is permissible for essays written for course credit to be submitted as contest entries.
June 15, 2010 DEADLINE
The author of the winning essay will receive an award of $250 and funding to attend the 2010 NAAE conference in Montreal, PQ, CANADA, September 24-26, where he or she will be invited to present a précis of the essay. The Journal of Ecumenical Studies publishes winning essays of sufficient scholarly merit.
Requirements: The essays will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: (1) awareness of the significance of the topic for the ecumenical movement; (2) soundness of argument (both from a logical and from a theological perspective); (3) use of primary sources (church documents, agreed statements from the World Council of Churches and ecumenical dialogues at the national or international levels); (4) familiarity with the relevant secondary literature; (5) creativity of approach to the theme and (6) scholarly style. In awarding points, readers will take into account the level of studies at which the entrant is currently working.
Submission: Essays (in English or French) and a brief biographical sketch of the author should be submitted (electronically if possible, preferably in MS Word format) by June 15, 2010 to the Essay Co-ordinator, Dr. Susan Mader Brown, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or at the following address: King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario 266 Epworth Ave., London, Ontario, CANADA N6A 2M3
Selected Resources
1. Gros, Jeffrey, Eamon McManus, Ann Riggs. “The History of Ecumenism.” In Introduction to Ecumenism, 9-34. New York: Paulist, 1998
2. Kinnamon, Michael and Brian E. Cope, eds. The Ecumenical Movement: An Anthology of Basic Texts and Voices. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997.
3. Rouse, Ruth, Stephen Neill, and Harold Fey, eds. A History of the Ecumenical Movement 1517-1968. 2 vols. 2nd ed. with rev. bibliography. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1967-1970.
4. Briggs, John, Mercy Amba Oduyoye and George Tsetsis, eds. A History of the Ecumenical Movement, 1968-2000. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2004.
Welcome to the website of the North American Academy of Ecumenists. This site is intended as a resource to introduce you to the Academy and to direct you to the Academy's officers and conference information.
The NAAE website is maintained by Nicholas Jesson; and Russell Meyer. In addition to the NAAE material found on this site, there are links to numerous denominational and ecumenical resource pages developed by Nicholas for the Ecumenism in Canada site. These links are external to the NAAE and should be explored with attention to their source and quality.
Please click on the link below. Fill out and submit the profile sheet. Once you receive and confirm the registration profile, your registration will go through the approval process (about a day). Once you receive the notice of approval, we invite you to become an active member of NAAE and register for the annual conference at the end of September.
Click here to register on this site as a new user.
The meeting will be held in Washington, D. C. at the Washington Theological Union. Additional lodging will be available at the Paulist House nearby. Online registration is preferred; payment may be made by check or credit card.
To register for the meeting, please use the NAAE Store.
The North American Academy of Ecumenists is a scholarly and professional community of those actively involved in realizing the unity of Christ's church through their teaching, research, ecclesiastic work, and common witness.
If your vocation has a focus in ecumenism for the sake of Christian unity, we invite you to join this community. We span the continuum of Christian religious affiliation with charity in all things, respect for each other's convictions and commitments, and hope for the day of fully embracing each other in the fellowship of the Triune God.
The goal of the North American Academy of Ecumenists is to inform, relate, and encourage men and women whose profession or ministry in the church involves them in ecumenical activities and studies. Its unique contribution is to provide ecumenists with an open structure for exploring issues too important to be left exclusively to official ecumenical agencies and projects.
Founded in 1957, the Academy meets annually in September. Its conferences are professional and scholarly in substance and informal in style.
The membership of the Academy includes ecumenically active clergy and laity as well as professors and students. It is an Academy by virtue of the concern members share for the theological reflection and scholarship that must accompany the movement toward mutual religious understanding and the unity of Christian church bodies.
The Academy is affiliated with the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (JES). NAAE membership includes a subscription to the JES. Note: NAAE Membership runs from June 1 - May 31; the JES subscription is entered for the year that begins in January of your membership.
Membership fees are regularly $60. For students, retirees, and the religious with limited income, the membership rate is $30.
The Academy is led by a twenty-one member board which plans the annual conference. Attendance at the conference is open to all who are interested in discussing the proposed theme.
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