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Setting the table for peace:
World Food Day resource for October 16 

The Foodgrains Bank engages Canadians in working together to end global hunger; we inform and inspire actions such as giving, learning, praying, and advocating. This short worship guide provides various resources for churches, communities, and individuals to mark World Food Day on October 16 or any other day of the year.

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank World Food Day resource highlights how conflict drives hunger – and how peace can help build food security. In this worship guide, you will find resources to PRAY, LEARN, ADVOCATE, and GIVE. The full resource can be downloaded here.

You have the opportunity to download the above resources. In addition, they’ve added some additional goodies that will truly expand your worship and learning, including: videos, postcards, posters, bulletin covers, PowerPoint slides, group Bible study, sermon starters, and prayers. 

Encyclical Reading Group on Magnifica Humanitas
This fall, The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) invites you to join a small-group reading experience of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity). This encyclical explores a vital question for our time: What does it mean to safeguard the human person in the age of Artificial Intelligence? As AI technologies become increasingly embedded in our daily lives, Pope Leo XIV offers this reflection as a gift to the world, calling us to deepen our understanding and respond with wisdom.

To foster meaningful dialogue, the CCC is convening reading groups of 8–10 people across Canada. These groups will gather bi-weekly throughout the fall to discuss the encyclical’s themes, share insights, and explore how its teachings resonate with their lives and faith traditions. Whether you’re connecting with familiar faces from your parish, neighbourhood, or workplace, or meeting new people through our national network, this is an opportunity to reflect and learn together.

Why participate? This is an opportunity to explore the intersection of faith, technology, and humanity in a supportive community. Whether you’re new to encyclicals or deeply familiar with Catholic social teaching, Magnifica Humanitas offers fresh perspectives on how we can nurture human dignity in an age of rapid technological change.

Join in this collective act of reflection and discernment. Together, we can deepen our understanding of AI’s ethical implications and discover how our faith traditions call us to respond.

To sign up for a reading circle, click here.
More information at https://councilofchurches.ca/erg/



Season of Creation study
at St. Philip Neri Parish, Saskatoon



Saskatchewan Visual Arts Project, 2026-2027

We know how much dedication it takes to inspire young artists, and we are so excited to partner with Saskatchewan high schools again. On behalf of Multifaith Saskatchewan, we are thrilled to welcome back our province-wide Visual Arts Project for the 2026–27 school year!

This project is a special opportunity for high school students to express their unique perspectives through original artwork. This year, we are inviting students to explore themes that feel more relevant than ever: peace, unity, spirituality, diversity, and care for the Earth. To celebrate their voice and talent, the initiative will culminate in a public exhibition, awards, and a final presentation ceremony at Regina Public Library.

Please share this brochure with teachers and students in Saskatchewan high schools
For inquiries, please contact Gurpreet Kaur or Judy Mazur at committeevisualarts@gmail.com

The “MAiD for You?” Tour has completed but information can be found here: Hope Does Not Expire

As Canada prepares for the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to include mental illness, many are left with significant questions. This tour aims to explore the evolving landscape of MAiD, share real-world stories from healthcare settings, and raise critical ethical and social questions about how we support those who are suffering.

The tour featured Larry Worthen, Executive Director of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) of Canada. Larry brings a wealth of expertise on the medical and ethical implications of MAiD legislation and a profound perspective on the value of life in healthcare.

Learn more at hopedoesnotexpire.ca

To watch the full presentation please visit here:https://www.youtube.com/live/GhnqXrJidRY?si=h7lGzomWu1Posjpk&t=318

 Hunger on the Hill:
 Canadian Foodgrains Bank Advocacy Education

Next Hunger on the Hill event: October 17–21, 2026

Are you concerned about the global food system? Have you wondered about Canada’s role in improving food security for people around the world who experience hunger? Would you like to make a difference?

Applications for our next Hunger on the Hill cohort are now open until June 21, 2026!

Read the Application Guide. Apply now!

Please note that applicants must be residents of Canada.

 Through Hunger on the Hill, participants will:

 

  • Connect with people from across the country who share a passion for ending global hunger
  • Discover tools and tips to advocate for change, and learn how to effectively communicate with parliamentarians about global hunger
  • Learn from sector experts how climate change and food insecurity are connected to our food systems
  • Meet face-to-face with MPs and Senators in Ottawa
  • Be equipped with resources and support to engage others in advocacy

For more details, please read our Application Guide.
Still have questions? Please contact us at foodjustice@foodgrainsbank.ca  

Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence
Encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIV, May 25, 2026

 The dignity of the human being as the criterion to orient technical progress. Pope Leo XIV, in presenting to the world and to all the people of God, his first Encyclical Letter, focused on the care for the human person in the time of Artificial Intelligence, said “I invite all members of the Church and of the human family: let us learn to listen to one another, face the present challenges with courage, and cooperate in building a more human and fraternal society. [...] Please take with you a commitment to stay awake and, as ‘artisans of hope’, to keep on building the worksite of our time. May the Spirit of the Risen Lord Jesus sustain our work together.”

 

Theology of Church Apologies

The Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada has issued a report on their three-year study of apology through the lenses of scripture, theology, and history. In recent years several churches have offered formal apologies to individuals and communities
 of people who have been harmed – sometimes traumatically – by our words and deeds. Do such apologies make any difference? What makes an apology genuine? Why apologize in the first place? These are some of the questions we’ve heard people inside and outside of our churches ask, and they’re among the questions we’ve asked ourselves in preparing this latest work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada, which also includes Lutheran and Eastern Catholic participation.


‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ adopted by Revised Common Lectionary
 May 19, 2026
 
The Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) has officially adopted the festival of ‘Creation in Christ’, also known as ‘Feast of Creation’, by adding it to the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for a three-year period of trial use. As the lectionary shaping the calendar of many Protestant churches, this is a historic breakthrough in Christian ecumenism given its inspiration in the Eastern tradition.

The enhanced version of this feast, which will begin to be celebrated in September 2026, is the fruit of a theological process with the participation of various Christian global bodies in recent years. By expanding the feast’s theological symbolism with a rich set of biblical readings, this proposal elevates the doctrine of creation to a more prominent position within Christian worship, filling a gap in the liturgical calendar of churches who previously did not celebrate Christ’s role in the creation of the world.

The announcement marks the first addition of a new feast to the common lectionary since its release in 1983, when two new observances were adopted — the festivals of the Baptism of the Lord and Christ the King, also known as Reign of Christ — inspired by Roman Catholic practice.

This new festival of ‘Creation in Christ’ is inspired by another tradition: that of the Eastern Orthodox church, for whom September 1 is a liturgical feast since the 8th century. Given its ancient symbolism as the day marking God’s creation of the world, the Eastern Orthodox invited “the entire Christian world” in 1989 to celebrate this observance together in view of the ecological crisis. Since then, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been a vocal advocate of the annual celebration of the Feast of Creation, or ‘Creation Day’ as it is also known, with WCC and many churches adopting the day of prayer throughout the decades.

 Now, following scriptural recommendations from an ecumenical working group, the Consultation on Common Texts has taken it one step further by expanding its theological symbolism and adding the feast to the common lectionary that shapes the liturgical calendar of many Protestant churches. Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, who chairs the Feast of Creation ecumenical process, said: “The official adoption of the ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ in the Revised Common Lectionary is a huge milestone, a truly historic step in the journey towards Christian unity. At the World Council of Churches we rejoice in seeing how an ancient tradition of the Eastern Orthodox church has inspired a major group of Western churches to adopt this festival in their liturgical calendars. It is theologically profound, liturgically sound, pastorally urgent, and ecumenically unprecedented.”

Materials released by the Consultation on Common Texts include biblical texts that will be used in liturgical celebrations of the festival, as well as theological reports by the ecumenical committee that outline the feast’s theological themes. These themes span a theological spectrum beginning with the act of creation of the universe as a Christological and Trinitarian mystery, extending to the sacredness of the natural world, which is regarded as revelatory of God and is nowadays desecrated by human abuse. Biblical readings and details are available at www.bit.ly/readings-feast-creation.

The festival’s title, grounded in the expression “Creation in Christ”, signals that Christ’s role in the act of creation is the starting point for this celebration in line with the Christological nature of liturgical calendars of Christian traditions. This central Christian doctrine is iconically expressed by the opening lines of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word... All things came into being through him.” The new festival translates the foundational place of this tenet into adequate expression in the liturgical year, reverting its prior absence and enriching the calendar’s Christological span.

This announcement is the fruit of several years of ecumenical collaboration and academic conferences in Assisi with liturgical scholars, theologians from other disciplines, and church leaders exploring the potential of this ancient feast and seeking to restore the centrality of creation theology in the Christian tradition. The process was anchored in and inspired by the recent commemorations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

Observed annually on the first Sunday of September, the inaugural celebrations of the festival of Creation in Christ will be aided by the RCL lectionary readings and various materials published at the website www.FeastOfCreation.com.

Resources:
● Official lectionary readings: www.bit.ly/readings-feast-creation
● Theological report – “Overview of the Feast of Creation”: www.bit.ly/feast-of-creation-theology
● Lectionary Methodology report
● Feast of Creation Introductory Overview
● Ecumenical and liturgical resources: www.FeastOfCreation.com

Image: Creation of the world in 13th-century Bible Moralisée (Codex Vindobonensis 2554).
 Credit: Wikimedia, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

If you missed out on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity you can catch the two lectures below with the following YouTube links:

Lecture 1:

https://www.youtube.com/live/05EuUd4XAqI?si=PBLQQ_Qi07LnyZCO

Lecture 2:

https://www.youtube.com/live/cIEl19Gw-6Q?si=ObsA9bUW8KUVv4KP



 2026 De Margerie Lectures on Christian Reconciliation and Unity

"Christian Martyrdom and the Unity of the Church," a two-lecture series with Dr. Jeremy Bergen.

When Pope Francis heard about the 21 Copts killed by ISIS in Libya in 2015, he said this: “It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts, or Protestants. They are Christians!... Their blood confesses Christ.” He was tapping into a powerful intuition. There is something in the stories of Christian martyrs—both those killed centuries ago and those killed much more recently—that might inspire, instruct, and draw together otherwise divided Christians.

 In the first lecture, we examine the basic claim that a history of martyrdom serves as a resource for ecumenism. By exploring the stories and legacies of some particular martyrs, we can see how unity and solidarity might be expressed, but also some of the challenges and tensions. In the second lecture, we look at one major barrier—the history of Christians killing Christians. During the Reformation, for example, the execution of fellow Christians was justified on theological grounds, and some of those killed are honoured as martyrs by some churches. How do we reckon with this history in ways that do justice to the past, and promote reconciliation and unity in the future?

 

  • Lecture 1: The Ecumenism of Blood: Solidarity in Trying Times
    We examine the basic claim that a history of martyrdom serves as a resource for ecumenism. By exploring the stories and legacies of some particular martyrs, we can see how unity and solidarity might be expressed, but also the challenges and tensions. https://www.youtube.com/live/05EuUd4XAqI?si=PBLQQ_Qi07LnyZCO
  • Lecture 2: Christians Killing Christians: Reconciling Violent Pasts and Conflicting Martyrdoms
    We look at one major barrier — the history of Christians killing Christians. During the Reformation, the execution of fellow Christians was justified on theological grounds, and some of those killed are honoured as martyrs by some churches. How do we reckon with this history in ways that do justice to the past, and promote reconciliation and unity in the future? https://www.youtube.com/live/cIEl19Gw-6Q?si=ObsA9bUW8KUVv4KP

 
Dr. Jeremy Bergen is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theological Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. He has written on church apologies, martyrdom, ecclesiology, ecumenism, the Holy Spirit, and Mennonite theology, and is currently completing a book on Christian martyrdom and the unity of the church for Baylor University Press. He is the author of Ecclesial Repentance: The Churches Confront their Sinful Pasts (2011), and several articles on church apologies for residential schools in Canada. He is a member of the Faith & Life Commission of Mennonite World Conference and is co-editor of the Mennonite Quarterly Review.

The 2026 De Margerie Lectures on Christian Reconciliation and Unity are sponsored by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, St. Thomas More College, Campion College, the Saskatoon Theological Union, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon and the Archdiocese of Regina.

For further information, contact Cathryn Wood, PCE executive director, at 306-653-1633 or admin@pcecumenism.ca