Fonds F568 - United Church of Canada Committee on Theology and Inter-church and Inter-faith Relations fonds

The Committee on Ecumenical Affairs was established by General Council in 1958 to cultivate an understanding of the ecumenical movement and its relevance to the United Church. Through participation in the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, as well as through direct contact with several Canadian churches and coalitions, the Committee promoted interdenominational cooperation with other Christian denominations and later, other faiths. At the November meeting of the General Council Executive in 1969 the Committee on Ecumenical Affairs submitted the following recommendation: That the work of the following four committees – Ecumenical Affairs, Committee on Union, Protestant-Roman Catholic Relations, Joint Committees of Seven (Presbyterian-United Church) be subsumed into one Committee which would assume the present responsibilities of each Committee and that its name be “The Committee on Inter-Church and Inter-Faith Relations”. The Committee was superseded by the Committee on Inter-Church and Inter-Faith Relations in 1971.

The Purpose of the Committee, as stated in 1971, was to “challenge the Church to a vision of ecumenism which includes the whole inhabited world. The committee shall encourage, support, enable, and hold the Church accountable to its role as a sign of reconciliation and renewal among human communities at both the local and global levels. The Committee shall constantly remind the whole church that ecumenism is not an option, but rather, an integral part of its life and witness.”

A standing Committee of the General Council, the Committee on Theology and Faith was established by the 27th General Council in 1977 “to study, to clarify, and to make provision for the issuance of position statements expressive of the theology of The United Church of Canada”.

In 2009 the Committee on Theology & Faith and the InterChurch Interfaith Committee were integrated to form the Theology and Interchurch and Interfaith Relations Committee.

Peter Wyatt, Steven Chambers and Bruce Gregersen (2007-2015) have served on staff.