North American Academy of Ecumenists

Académie des Oecuménistes de l'Amérique du Nord

The 2009 Student Essay Contest

THE ETHICAL HORIZON FROM AN ECUMENICAL PERSPECTIVE

Students in professional or graduate programs in Theology and Religious Studies are invited to probe either or both of these questions and to present their conclusions in a scholarly essay of moderate length (20-30 pages, double spaced).  Essays submitted as contest entries can originally have been written for course credit.

June 15, 2009 DEADLINE

Award: The author of the winning essay will receive an award of $250 and funding to attend the 2009 NAAE conference in Washington, DC, September 25-27, 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) General content, (2) Scholarly style, (3) Appropriateness to the theme, (4) Use of World Council of Churches references and/or agreed ecumenical statements and official church documents, (5) Advancement of Christian unity, and (6) Publishable quality. Academic background will be taken into consideration. Essays should meet JES submission requirements (Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed; inclusive languae, etc.; see http://journal.jesdialogue.org/guidelines/#c216. 

Submittal: Essays (in English or French) and a brief biographical sketch of the author should be submitted (electronically if possible, preferably in MS Word format) before June 15, 2009 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. World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, the Joint Working Group.

"The Ecumenical Dialogue on Moral Issues: Potential Sources of Common Witness or of Divisions," September 25, 1995. In Growth in Agreement II. Edited by Jeffrey Gros, FSC, Harding Meyer and William G. Rusch. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. #73.

2. Anglican Roman Catholic Dialogue II. "Life in Christ: Morals, Communion and the Church," September 5, 1993. In Growth in Agreement II. #36.

3. Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States, 1995. "Christian Ethics in the Ecumenical Dialogue: Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission II and Recent Papal Teaching." In Growing Consensus II: Church Dialogues in the United States, 1992-2004. Edited by Lydia Veliko and Jeffrey Gros, FSC. Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2005. #14.

4. Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada, 1998. "On the way together: a people created for the common good [response to ARCIC II's Life in Christ]." Catholic New Times 23.1 (Jan 31, 1999):10 ff. Can be accessed at: http://proquest.umi.com.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca:2048/ pqdweb?did=413205191&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=11263&RQT=309&VName=PQD

5. Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue of Canada, 2004: "Sin, Reconciliation and Ecclesial Identity. Can be accessed at: http://www.oikoumene.ca/CCCBDocs/RCUC_Sin_Reconciliation_Eccl_Identity.pdf

6. Mudge, Lewis S. The Church As Moral Community: Ecclesiology and Ethics in Ecumenical Debate. New York: Continuum, 1998.

7. Rasmusson, Arne. "Ecclesiology and Ethics: The Difficulties of Ecclesial Moral Reflections." The Ecumenical Review (April 2000): 180-91.

8. Crossin, John. "Virtue as an Ecumenical Ethic." Ecumenical Trends (February 2005): 12/28-15/31.