After the morning Eucharist, the agenda of the council today began a briefing from the Patriarch’s Office reporting on the work of the strategic planning working group. At last year’s meeting of the council, the following statement was adopted as a sign of our international unity:
Each church will tithe, support with contributions CEC for life, Missions (IDA Christmas Offering), and Foundation Day (Building fund)
The Patriarch’s Council was asked to consider the following:
• What are those most non-negotiable elements of Unity?
• What are those most non-negotiable elements of Worship?
• By this the Patriarch’s Council determines what authority it will not /cannot delegate.
• This means that all authority not held by the International church belongs to the National Churches and Primates
• How we define Unity, relates to our structure.
The Patriarch presented two documents on Convergence Worship to guild a discussion about unity in worship as a visible sign of the unity of our Communion.
Fr. Terry Gensemer reported on the work of CEC for Life, summarizing the activities of the last year. Especially significant is the large number of young people from the CEC involved in the prolife movement. The young people present at the March for Life this last January showed how powerful their witness is, and how much God is using them in the fight to defend the unborn and the Sacredness of all life. The Patriarch suggested that each parish would keep a candle on the Altar as a prayer and memorial for the Unborn.
Bishop Michael Davidson reported on the International Catechism working group, that they are still active, and seeking the participation of each territory within the ICCEC. The working document is still very much a work in progress. Several theological readers are looking at the documents, which are expected to be ready as a draft for presentation at the next council meeting.
The next meeting will be Feb 1-3 2011 in Recife, Brazil.
