Editorials
Canadian Lutherans and EKD renew partnership
National Bishop Susan C. Johnson signs partnership agreement with EKD
November 4, 2009
On her journey from the LWF Council meeting in Geneva to the commemorative events celebrating ten years of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in Augsburg, the national Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), the Rt. Rev. Susan Johnson paid a visit to the EKD Synod meeting in the city of Ulm, famous for its medieval cathedral which has the tallest spire in the world.
The reason for this visit was the signing of an agreement between the EKD and the ELCIC which reaffirms the communion that was already practiced between them. The new agreement confirms the mutual recognition of ordination and gives it a solid theological foundation. This allows ministers from all member churches of the EKD to serve as pastors within the ELCIC where a significant number of its 613 congregations worship in German. In the Toronto area alone four Lutheran congregations are bi-lingual celebrating weekly services in German.
For the EKD the agreement was signed by Bishop Martin Schindehütte who heads the EKD's department of international and ecumenical relations as well as by Bishop Dr. Margot Käßmann, the newly elected chairperson of the EKD Council. This was her first signature under an official document in her function as the leading representative of the EKD.
Following the underwriting ceremony Bishop Susan Johnson thanked the EKD Synod for "the partnership in ministry, and in particular the mission and ministry we share as expressed in this new partnership agreement".