"What’s at Stake?"
An ecumenical conference on human sexuality and marriage
Edmonton, AB
January 14-15, 2005
Why
are we holding this conference?
Despite the painful divisions of the last five centuries,
all Christians until recently have been united in their support
for marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. They
have also shared certain common gospel values relating to
God’s great gift of sexuality, values which have guided
the disciples of Jesus from the earliest days of Christianity.
In the last thirty years, however, in our secular society
and even within many Christian churches, these shared gospel
values have been called into question, and at times set aside.
Some faith communities have proposed the blessing of same
sex unions. The civil recognition of these relationships as
marriage has been accepted by several courts and will be proposed
to parliament. The question of ordination has also divided
several churches.
Many Christians of diverse religious traditions are deeply
concerned by these recent developments, in which they cannot
in conscience recognize the Good News of Jesus. While profoundly
committed to the love of all people, certainly including those
who personally face the issue of same sex attraction, they
are troubled by these developments which go against the common
traditional faith of the Christian people, and, in fact, are
not in accord with the values of people of other faiths too.
They are convinced that all people, whatever their sexual
orientation, can find true peace and joy in the evangelical,
catholic, and orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality,
rooted in the loving message of freedom which God reveals
to us in the scriptures.
In preparation for the annual week of Christian Unity, an
ecumenical conference examining what is at stake in this current
debate on sexual ethics will be held at St. Joseph’s
basilica in Edmonton, Alberta, January 14-15, 2005. We have
enlisted an excellent range of speakers to rigorously engage
the question on many levels. In a spirit of prayer, thoughtful
reflection, and loving concern, Lutheran, Anglican, Roman
Catholic, and Presbyterian scholars and pastors will articulate
the common Christian belief relating to human sexuality and
marriage, and in the light of that examine what is at stake
in these recent developments, in the hope that in a spirit
of charity and clarity the message of the Gospel may be seen
more clearly, and more truly guide us.
Who
should attend? Pastors, laypeople, lay-leaders, seminarians,
Bible School students, University students, parents, teachers,
Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, or anyone else interested
in this vitally important issue. All are welcome. Please consider
joining us this January.
"What’s at Stake?"
Registration Details
Pre-Registration:
(By
November 30, 2004)
$45.00 (inc. bag lunch)
$40.00 (no lunch)
Registration at Door:
$60.00 (no lunch)
Students
(student id or letter from school required)
$10.00 with lunch
You
are not considered officially registered until we receive
your registration fees!!!
Please send your completed registration form, along with
a cheque or money order for the registration fee to:
Registrar: Phone: 780-458-8422
www.whatsatstake.org
“What’s At Stake”
Registrar: Rev William Flath
Mission Hill Plaza
PO Box 65093
St Albert, Alberta, Canada
T8N 5Y3
"What’s at Stake?"
Speakers
Dr. Robert Gagnon
Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary, and author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice:
Texts and Hermeneutics.
Rev. Phillip Max Johnson
Pastor of St Paul’s Lutheran, Jersey City, NJ, and
former Senior of the
Society of the Holy Trinity
Rev. Amy Schifrin
Pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran, St. Cloud Minnesota.
Currently working on her Ph.D in Liturgy.
Rev. Dawn MacDonald
Pastor at Holy Cross Anglican, Vancouver BC, and a member
of the Gay and Lesbian Voices Committee of the Anglican
Diocese of New Westminister BC.
Dr. Merton Strommen
Founder of the Augsburg Family Institute and author of The
Church and Homosexuality: Searching for a Middle Ground
Father Raymond J de Souza
Campus Chaplain at Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario,
and a regular and widely read columnist for The National
Post.
