Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations

CALC Educational Event- April 10th Register For The April 10, 2021 Educational Event CALC will hold an online educational event on April 10th from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM (MDT). It will be a presentation by Jose (Jojo) Ruba. The presentation will focus on Bill C-6, the federal government’s proposed ban on conversion therapy. ... The 2021 convention schedule included a presentation by a keynote speaker. The theme chosen for the convention addressed a pressing social issue. The House of Commons is in the process of passing Bill C-6 which will ban conversion therapy. Conversion therapy involves any practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation from LGBTQ to heterosexual. This bill has severe negative implications for Christian counseling, preaching and teaching. Bill C-6 has advanced to a second reading on the House of Commons. The bill was referred to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The Justice Committee proposed some minor changes as described in their Report on the proposed legislation. The bill is now slated for a third reading. If Bill C-6 is passed at the third reading it will go to the Senate, who will go through the same process. It will receive royal assent and become law if the Senate passes the subject bill without amendment. This is a crucial time. CALC must take every opportunity to begin to teach our membership about Bill C-6 and its implications. National Council reached out to Jose (Jojo) Ruba to speak to the convention. He has been endorsed by many within and outside CALC as a speaker. He has agreed to speak on April 10th. Mr. Ruba is the Executive Director of Faith Beyond Belief of Calgary, Alberta. His biography states that he equips Christians to be effective ambassadors for Christ for everyday conversations. Mr. Ruba earned a Bachelor of Journalism and a Masters in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa. Most recently he testified virtually before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in opposition to Bill C-6. His presentation to us is slated to touch Bill C-6 and its implications for Christian therapists and counselors, pastors and all Christians. National Council believes it is important for our membership to hear this presentation. CALC will host an online presentation on Saturday April 10, 2021 from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM Mountain Daylight Time. This education event is open to all members of CALC. https://www.cognitoforms.com//Spring2021EducationEventRegi

Date for CALC's Annual General Convention Changed to Saturday June 12th, 2021 The date of CALC’s 2021 Annual General Convention has been changed from Saturday April 10th to Saturday June 12th. Rationale for changing the convention date: The delegates to CALC’s online 2020 Annual General Convention voted to hold the 2021 Annual General Convention as a one-day event on April 10, 2021. The convention was to be convened as a hybrid meeting with some delegates attending an in p...erson meeting to be held at a central location in Alberta and some delegates participating in the meeting online via an online video conferencing service such as ZOOM. The day-long event included the annual business meeting and a keynote speaker. National Council met on February 4, 2021 for the purpose of looking at proposals for convening the April 10th convention submitted by hotels located in Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton. Provincial COVID-19 restrictions currently prohibit inside events, such as conventions, and no assurance can currently be given that provincial restrictions will be lifted by April 10th. National Council unanimously voted to change the date of the 2021 Convention to Saturday June 12th, based on the belief that: indoor and outdoor gatherings of a size conducive to our convention are more likely to be permitted in Alberta by reason of more favorable weather conditions in June; conditions surrounding travel for delegates outside of Alberta may also be improved by then; and online delegates in other parts of Canada are more likely to be allowed to meet in small clusters around a computer screen. The convention will be convened as a one-day event beginning at 9:00 AM and concluding at 5:00 PM (MDT) and will include the annual business meeting and an address by a keynote speaker. National Council made the decision to move the date of the 2021 convention in reliance upon the authority granted by Subsection 4.1 of Article 10 of CALC’s constitution which permits the National Council to function as the legislative agency of our Association in the interim between General Conventions in order to deal with situations which necessitate action before the next General Convention. Any and all inter-convention legislative action taken by the National Council will be disclosed to the delegates to the 2021 general convention for their review and approval.

Transfiguration Sunday The season of Epiphany begins with the Magi’s encounter with the infant Jesus. God opened their eyes and revealed Jesus identity as His Son and in response they worshiped the infant. God’s revelatory activity continued. We see that activity in Peter’s confession of Christ. Jesus and the disciples were in the region of Caesarea Philippi. But what about you?" he [Jesus] asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of th...e living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." On Transfiguration Sunday we recall God’s penultimate revelation of the identity of Jesus, with his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday being the ultimate revelation. We celebrate the revelation of the eternal glory of God’s only begotten Son, which was at all other times veiled. Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus and spoke to him. Luke’s Gospel testifies that: They spoke about his [Jesus’] departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Moses and Elijah testified that the Law and all of the Prophets declared with one voice that the Son of God must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life (Luke 9:22), and thereafter ascend into heaven. The presence of Elijah and Moses made concrete Jesus’ declaration: "Now about the dead risinghave you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken! (Mark 12;26-27) On Transfiguration Sunday we see the Church on earth and the Church in heaven, bound and held together by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Transfiguration Sunday is a foretaste of what we all hope for, life together in heaven with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We will all know one another, because we are all known by our heavenly Father as a beloved son or daughter. In Christ Pastor Ed Skutshek, President

Epiphany 5 Finding a Needle at the Bottom of the Ocean This is Hosanna Crowell of Edmonton, Alberta. This 14 year old is like many teenaged Edmontonians. She is an avid Oilers fan, a voracious reader and a fan of BBC period dramas and Star Wars. She plays the violin. She is taking diving lessons. She loves card tricks. However, in many ways she is unlike any teenager in Edmonton....Continue reading

Delta Hospice Society - Struggling to Create a Space Free of Medical Assistance in Dying In 1991 the Delta Hospice Society (DHS) was formed by residents of Delta, BC (a community near Vancouver). DHS built a ten (10) suite hospice and a separate support center that provides counseling and support for individuals who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, those who are grieving, as well as their family and friends. DHS maintains a thrift-shop in the community to r...Continue reading

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastors and Congregational Delegates, don't forget to register for the 2020 CALC Convention. https://www.cognitoforms.com//RegistrationForm2020CALCAnnu

CALC's Annual General Convention for 2020 Moves Online CALC's National Council (NC) met online by ZOOM on Saturday August 15th. In response to the risks associated with large in-person gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NC voted to cancel CALC's in-person Annual General Convention, scheduled for October 16-17, 2020, and associated Pastors' Study Conference scheduled for October 14-15, 2020. ... The NC voted to hold the business meeting normally associated with the 2020 Annual General Convention on Saturday October 17, 2020 as an internet meeting using ZOOM an online video conferencing service. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time. Read all about NC's decisions and plans for the meeting in the Summer Edition of the Lutheran Connector found in the news section of our website: www.CALC.ca

Enjoy the August Long Weekend!

Happy Canada Day!