Canada | Atlantic | British Columbia | Ontario | Prairies | Québec

In addition to the agencies and ministries listed below, there are a number of local councils of churches and ecumenical officers across Canada. Check the list of regional and local agencies on the list above.

• Anglican Church of Canada
  • Rev. Alyson Barnett-Cowan, director of Faith, Worship & Ministry:
• Canada Asia Working Group:
  CAWG is an ecumenical coalition which seeks to understand and practice, in solidarity with Asian partners, God's mission for peace, justice, human dignity and the integrity of creation. CAWG's renewed mandate commits to: analyze in cooperation with member churches and their partners, the impact of economic and political systems and structures upon the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of Asian peoples, especially when such rights are repressed; and advocate, educate and network for these basic rights of Asian peoples, with current priority being given to the situations in Burma/Myanmar, East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
• Canadian Association of Interchurch Families
  CAIF is a member of Association of Interchurch Families (AIF), a worldwide association, working in English, French, German, and occasional other languages. The website is maintained in Canada by . Contains links to interchurch family and mixed marriage resources worldwide. Extensive list of documentation and discussion of these resources.
  • Link to the AIFW listserv, an English language discussion group for interchurch families and their supporters.
  • S'inscrire à la liste de diffusion: par les Foyers Mixtes -- Familles chrétiennes interconfessionelles francophones.
  • email:
• Canadian Centre for Ecumenism (CCE)
  Founded in 1963, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism facilitates understanding and cooperation among believers of various Christian traditions and world religions. Centre activities focus mainly in the areas of spirituality, education and dialogue. An active interdenominational Board of Directors meets annually. Funding is derived from services rendered, magazine subscriptions, corporate and private donations, and an endowment fund.
  • General email:
  • Norman Lévesque, interim director,
• Canadian Churches' Forum for Global Ministries (CCFGM)
  Le Forum des églises canadiennes pour les ministères globaux
  "We are a Christian agency through which Canadian churches reflect and work together on global mission issues, and are challenged to prophetic global witness through programs of education, training and dialogue.  We offer programs for people involved in cross-cultural global mission and ministry, produce a semi-annual newsletter, and sponsor an annual conference for theological students with The Canadian Theological Students' Association (CTSA)."
  • Carlos Parra-Pirela, coordinator:
• Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB)
  Episcopal Commission for Christian Unity, Religious Relations with the Jews, and Interfaith Dialogue
  Jonas Abromaitis, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  The work of the Commission includes:
  
  a) Cooperation and Common Witness (Relations with the Canadian Council of Churches; Social Justice Coalitions; Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; Ecumenical Associations; Joint presentations to government; Participation in meetings of other churches) and
  
  b) Dialogues in progress (CCC Faith and Witness Commission; Anglican-Roman Catholic; Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue; Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue; Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation)
• Canadian Council of Churches (CCC)
  The Canadian Council of Churches is the largest ecumenical body in Canada, now representing 22 churches of Anglican, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions. We are one of the few ecumenical bodies in the world that includes such a range of Christian churches. The officers and staff of the Council are drawn from the whole diversity of traditions represented by the member churches.
  The Canadian Council of Churches was founded in 1944. Member churches believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour, according to the Scriptures. Members seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  
  • General email:
  • Council officers elected by governing board of the Canadian Council of Churches
  • Rev. Karen Hamilton, general secretary:
  • Commission on Faith and Witness
    Dr. Mary Marrocco, associate general secretary for Faith and Witness:
    "The Commission on Faith and Witness engages the churches in theological study in order to increase an understanding of the faith we hold in common and to provide an ecumenical witness to Christ's mission in the world. The purpose of the Commission is to provide a meeting-place, a lively and fertile ground for reflection and work, among Christians of different families. Together we work to reflect theologically on matters of concern in our own day, and on questions of historical interest to the churches." [from the CCC website]
    • Canadian Christian-Jewish Consultation
      "This body has been in existence for about 25 years. It is a table at which meet representatives of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the United Church of Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) and its member churches, which may send representatives. Beginning in 1977, when it was established by the CJC, CCCB and CCC, the Consultation has met three or four times a year. Discussion has focused on such practical issues as refugees and immigration, famine relief in Africa, and proselytism on university campuses. In partnership with the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto, the CCJC has sponsored symposia inviting Jewish, Christian and Muslim reflection on such topics as: The Spiritual Significance of Jerusalem; the Spiritual Significance of Suffering; The Meaning of Holiness and Virtue; What is the Heart of Faith. Over the past few years, the Canadian Christian-Jewish Consultation (CCJC) has felt the impact of events in the Middle East and members have engaged in some serious conversations. The CCJC is currently reflecting on anti-Semitism, and is considering how Christian and Jewish communities in Canada can help each other understand various perspectives in the Middle East." [from the CCC website]
    • Christian Interfaith Reference Committee
      The Mandate of the Interfaith Reference Group involves both ecumenical engagement about religious diversity and continued ecumenical engagement with different religions. The foundational work will be in-house engagement with the participation of the member churches focusing on interfaith matter. The group may make contact with different religions, build relationships, and build foundations for addressing common concerns. The programmatic focus of the group is information sharing, education, theological reflection, and building relationships.
    • National Muslim Christian Liaison Committee
      "This Committee was formed over twenty years ago. Its membership comprises several Muslim and Christian national organizations, including the Council of the Muslim Community of Canada, Canadian Islamic Congress, Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Islamic Circle of North America, Council of Imams, United Church of Canada, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Presbyterian Church of Canada, and The Canadian Council of Churches. The Committee is intended to be a forum for the exchange of mutual concerns between Muslims and Christians and their official representatives. The committee meets four or five times each year to discuss areas of sensitivity or conflict and issues of common interest. Although the committee cannot speak for any of the member organizations, it does urge the representatives to return to their organizations with a position or policy and have their organizations act on the position taken by the Committee. Some of the recent matters the committee has urged its member organizations to take up include: issuing statements to Canadian government officials against war in Iraq; urging a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Palestine; advocating for the poor and homeless in Canada; working with the United Church of Canada in the preparation of their document on Muslim-Christian understanding, That We May Know Each Other." [from the CCC website]
    • Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Writing Committee
      The theme and a focus biblical text are prepared by an international Joint Committee of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. National and regional councils of churches work to adapt and add to these resources as appropriate to their local context. The Canadian resources are produced by an ecumenical Writing Team coordinated by The Canadian Council of Churches' Commission on Faith and Witness. The team, made up of members from constituent churches of the CCC, meets in February and April to prepare the text and adapt the worship service for Canadian churches for the following year. [adapted from the CCC website]
  • Commission on Justice and Peace
    Peter Noteboom, associate general secretary for Justice and Peace: 
    "The Commission on Justice and Peace provides a forum for sharing information and concerns among those involved in ecumenical work on peace and social justice in Canada and the world; reflecting biblically and theologically on peace and social justice, and facilitating the cooperation of the churches in peace and justice concerns." [from the CCC website]
• Centre canadien d'œcuménisme (CCO)
  Fondé en 1963, le Centre canadien d'œcuménisme favorise la compréhension et la coopération entre les croyants de diverses Églises chrétiennes et traditions religieuses. Les activités du Centre sont axées principalement sur la spiritualité, l'éducation et le dialogue. Le conseil de direction interconfessionnel se réunit une fois par année. Les fonds proviennent d'honoraires, d'abonnements à la revue, de dons corporatifs ou privés et d'un fonds de dotation.
  courriel : Norman Lévesque, directeur,
• Church Council on Justice and Corrections
  The CCJC is "a national faith-based coalition of eleven founding churches, created in 1974, to promote a restorative approach to Justice with an emphasis on addressing the needs of victims and offenders, mutual respect, healing, individual accountability, community involvement and crime prevention. ... Since 1974, The Church Council has demonstrated in publications, pilot projects and numerous other initiatives how to strengthen community through its understanding that real justice requires the pursuit of wholeness for all." [from the website]
• Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC)
  Commission épiscopale pour l'unité des chrétiens
  « La Commission épiscopale pour l'unité des chrétiens vise à promouvoir chez les évêques canadiens une "conscience" œcuménique. Pour ce faire, elle: aide les évêques à identifier les grandes questions de l'heure dans la recherche de l'unité chrétienne; cherche à inscrire la dimension œcuménique dans toutes les activités de la Conférence; stimule un dialogue théologique qui promeut l'unité chrétienne et une meillure compréhension des traditions religieuses des uns et des autres. » [sur leur site web]
  • Jonas Abromaitis, pour l'œcuménisme et les relations interreligieuses
• Conseil canadien des églises (CCE)
  « Le Conseil canadien des Églises, l'organisme œcuménique le plus vaste au Canada, représente 22 Églises de traditions anglicane, orthodoxe de l'Est et orientale, protestante et catholique. Nous sommes l'un des rares organismes œcuméniques au monde à réunir un tel éventail d'Églises. Sa direction et son personnel proviennent de toute la diversité des traditions représentées par ses Églises membres. Le Conseil canadien des Églises fut fondé en 1944. Ses Églises membres confessent le Seigneur Jésus-Christ comme Dieu et Sauveur selon les Écritures et s'efforcent de suivre ensemble une même vocation pour la gloire du seul Dieu, Père, Fils et Saint-Esprit. »
  • Courreil:
  • Conseil de direction
  • Rév. Karen Hamilton, Secrétaire générale :
  • La Commission Foi et Témoignage
    Dr. Mary Marrocco, Secrétaire associée, Foi et Témoignage :
    La Commission Foi et Témoignage engage les Églises á mener á bien des études théologiques destinées á susciter une meilleure compréhension de notre foi commune et á porter un témoignage œcuménique á la mission du Christ dans le monde. Elle offre á des chrétiens et chrétiennes de familles différentes un lieu de réunion, un terreau vivant et fertile pour la réflexion et le travail. Nous nous livrons ensemble á une réflexion á caractère théologique sur des sujets actuels de préoccupation et sur des questions revêtant un intérêt historique pour les Églises.
    • Consultation judéo-chrétienne du Canada
      « Cet organisme existe depuis environ 25 ans. Il s'agit d'une table autour de laquelle se réunissent des représentants du Congrès juif canadien (CJC), de la Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC), de l'Église presbytérienne du Canada, de l'Église évangélique luthérienne du Canada, de l'Église unie du Canada, de l'Église anglicane du Canada et du Conseil canadien des Églises (CCE) ainsi que de ses Églises membres, ces dernières pouvant déléguer des représentants. »
    • Comité de liaison interconfessionnel
      Sous-comité de la Commission Foi et Témoignage, ce comité rassemble tous ceux qui font du travail interconfessionnel au nom de nos Églises membres. C'est un lieu de rencontre où nous partageons nos préoccupations, nos activités et nos intérêts et examinons ensemble les fondements et l'évolution de notre travail interconfessionnel.
    • Comité national de liaison chrétiens-musulmans
      « Créé il y a plus de quinze ans, ce Comité réunit plusieurs organisations nationales musulmanes et chrétiennes, dont le Conseil de la communauté musulmane du Canada, le Congrès islamiste canadien, le Conseil canadien des musulmanes, le Cercle islamique d'Amérique du Nord, le Conseil des imams, l'Église unie du Canada, La Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada, l'Église presbytérienne du Canada et le Conseil canadien des Églises (y compris le ou la secrétaire associée, Foi et Témoignage). Il se veut un forum pour des échanges sur des préoccupations mutuelles entre des musulmans et des chrétiens, ainsi que leurs représentants officiels. Le Comité se réunit de trois à cinq fois par année pour discuter de sujets sensibles ou conflictuels et de questions d'intérêt commun. Bien qu'il ne puisse pas s'exprimer au nom de ses organisations membres, il incite les représentants à retourner à leurs organisations respectives avec une position ou une politique et à les amener à agir en conformité de la position prise par le Comité. »
    • L'équipe canadienne de rédaction du texte de la Semaine de prière
      Le thème et le texte biblique clés sont préparés par un Comité mixte international formé du Conseil œcuménique des Églises et du Conseil pontifical pour la promotion de l'unité des chrétiens. Des conseils nationaux et régionaux d'Églises adaptent et enrichissent ces ressources en fonction du contexte local. Les ressources canadiennes, pour leur part, sont produites par une Équipe de rédaction œcuménique coordonnée par la Commission Foi et Témoignage du Conseil canadien des Églises. Cette équipe formée de personnes des Églises membres du CCE se réunit en février et en avril pour préparer le texte et adapter la cérémonie de prière à l'intention des Églises canadiennes pour l'année suivante.
  • La Commission Justice et Paix
    Peter Noteboom, Secrétaire associée, Justice et Paix :
    La Commission Justice et Paix offre un forum où échanger l'information et les préoccupations entre les personnes intéressées par un travail œcuménique sur la paix et la justice sociale, au Canada et dans le monde entier; se livrer à une réflexion biblique et théologique sur la paix et la justice sociale; faciliter la collaboration des Églises en matière de paix et de justice.
• Conseil des Églises pour la justice et la Criminologie
  « Le Conseil des Églises pour la Justice et la Criminologie est une coalition nationale d'individus et d'églises qui partage une même vision et veulent mettre en lumière une approche plus humaine à la justice pénale. » [sur leur site web]
• Conseil œcuménique des chrétiennes du Canada
  "WICC is a national Christian women's council encouraging women to grow in ecumenism, to share their spirituality and prayer, to engage in dialogue about women's concerns, to respond to national and international issues affecting women, and to take action together for justice. The Council has membership (appointed and elected) from eleven church bodies. The Council sponsors in Canada the World Day of Prayer on the first Friday of March each year, and the Fellowship of the Least Coin prayer movement. The ongoing work which came out of the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988-1998) is part of the work of WICC."
• Churches' Council for Theological Education (CCTE)
  "CCTE is an ecumenical foundation directed by its constituent churches to provide for the coordination of consultation, research, and the administration of grants awarded by the Council, in support of the promotion and development of theological education for ministry."
  • Rev. Dr. Stewart Gillan, director
• Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC)
  "The EFC is an association of denominations, ministry organizations, educational institutions and local church congregations that collaborate for Christian mission. Since 1964 the EFC has gathered evangelical Christians together to uphold and promote biblical principles in all areas of life, and to encourage partnerships for more effective ministry. The affiliates of the EFC cherish the historic Christian gospel and unite around a common statement of faith."
  Rev. Gary Walsh, president.
  • Religious Liberty Commission
  • Christianity.ca
    Online Christian magazine and resource centre. A communications ministry of the EFC.
  • Faith Today
    A national magazine that seeks to inform, equip and inspire Christians across Canada.
  • Canada Watch
    A newsletter that highlights the ministries and initiatives of the EFC.
• KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
  KAIROS is a dynamic church-based social justice movement. KAIROS unites churches and religious organizations in a faithful ecumenical response to the call to “do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). We deliberate on issues of common concern, advocate for social change and join with people of faith and goodwill in action for social transformation.
  
  KAIROS works with its members, partners, and community based network in the following areas: Aboriginal Rights, Canadian Social Development (including Refugees, Health and Anti-poverty), Ecological Justice, Global Economic Justice (including Corporate Issues), International Human Rights.

  KAIROS Regional Structures
  KAIROS regional structures support local ecumenical groups as they engage in grassroots activism on a wide range of justice issues. Regional representatives work together with Regional Coordinating Committees to facilitate access to education and action resources, foster networking among local groups, and encourage the creation of new groups. Most regions distribute their own annual or trimestral newsletter offering updates on regional justice priorities and initiatives. Once a year, regional meetings offer an opportunity for members of local groups to come together for mutual learning and encouragement, regional planning and dialogue with national staff.
  
  The KAIROS network is made up of five geographical regions and a Quebec-based francophone partnership, the Réseau œcuménique justice et paix.

  • Atlantic Region
  • BC-Yukon Region
  • Cambrian Agassiz Region
  • Great Lakes-St Lawrence Region
  • Prairies North Region
• KAIROS: Initiatives canadiennes œcuméniques pour la justice
  « KAIROS réunit 10 coalitions inter-Églises, jusque-là indépendantes, dont les préoccupations et le travail chevauchaient de plus en plus, étant donné les réalités de la mondialisation. La nouvelle organisation œcuménique assure la continuité du travail de ces coalitions et de leurs plus de trente ans de recherche hautement estimée, de formulation de politiques, de soutien et de mobilisation de la base, sur un vaste éventail de questions de justice, que ce soit au Canada, en Amérique latine, en Asie ou en Afrique. KAIROS maintiendra également son partenariat avec les réseaux de justice sociale œcuméniques locaux, tout en assurant les fonds nécessaires pour augmenter les capacités des organisations partenaires du Sud mondial. Dans ce contexte à la fois de continuité et de changement, l'appellation de KAIROS est tout indiquée, puisqu'elle désigne un moment de transformation par la foi. »
  
  Il y a six champs d'action prioritaires pour KAIROS. Chaque priorité est portée par un comité de programme thématique qui fera des recommandations au Conseil de direction. Ces priorités sont les suivantes: Droits humains internationaux; Justice économique mondiale; Justice écologique; Développement social canadien; Peuples autochtones; Animation/éducation/communication.
  
  Le réseau de KAIROS
  KAIROS est un important mouvement chrétien en faveur de la justice et de la paix. Vous pouvez en faire partie en joignant une « communauté » œcuménique KAIROS. Dans tout le pays, il y a une centaine de ces communautés dynamiques, inclusives, centrées sur la réalité et orientées vers l'action. Certaines se spécialisent, sur les droits autochtones ou dans la lutte contre la pauvreté par exemple, tandis que d'autres s'engagent dans un large éventail de domaines touchant la justice et la paix. Toutes travaillent avec des comités formés de membres de différentes Églises, avec des communautés éclésiales interessés et avec des personnes motivées par leur foi et le désir de bâtir ce mouvement dynamique et en croissance.
  
  KAIROS regroupe ses communautés dans cinq régions anglophones et vit un partenariat francophone au Québec avec le Réseau œcuménique justice et paix.
  • CB/Yukon
  • Prairies-Nord
  • Cambrian-Agassiz
  • Grands Lacs/St Laurence
  • Atlantique
• Middle East Working Group
  In October 1993, the MEWG was formally established with the following objectives: to support the development and consolidation of Canadian NGOs and NGO networking on development in the Middle East; to support the development and consolidation of Middle Eastern NGOs and NGO networking in the region. This includes facilitating partnerships between Canadian and Middle Eastern NGOs, and the development of coherent and coordinated programming, particularly in the areas of training, human resources development and institutional / NGO strengthening and capacity building; to promote and facilitate information-sharing, development education, policy work and advocacy efforts among Canadian NGOs and other interested organizations; to embark on a process to increase human, technical and financial resources available to the region, such as the development of a special funding mechanism to support the programs of Middle Eastern NGOs and networks.
• North American Academy of Ecumenists (NAAE)
  "The goal of the North American Academy of Ecumenists is to inform, relate, and encourage men and women whose profession or ministry in the church involves them in ecumenical activities and studies. Its unique contribution is to provide ecumenists with an open structure for exploring issues too important to be left exclusively to official ecumenical agencies and projects. Founded in 1957, the Academy meets annually in September. Its conferences are professional and scholarly in substance and informal in style. The membership of the Academy includes ecumenically active clergy and laity as well as professors and students. It is an "Academy" by virtue of its members' shared concern for the theological reflection and scholarship that must accompany the movement toward mutual religious understanding and the unity of the Christian churches."
• Order of St. Lazarus / L'Ordre de Saint-Lazare
  The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is a Christian organization with a history that reaches back to the Crusades, where they were established as an order of knights dedicated to the care of lepers. Today, the Order is a philanthropic organization dedicated to the care and assistance of the poor and the sick. The Order has a particular interest in the ecumenical movement, and its Canadian members have provided significant support for bursaries at a number of Canadian theological colleges. They also generously support other ecumenical agencies.
• Prairie Centre for Ecumenism (formerly the Saskatoon Centre for Ecumenism)
  see the Ecumenical Agencies (Canadian Prairies) page
• Presbyterian Church in Canada, Committee on Ecumenical Relations
• Project Ploughshares
  Project Ploughshares promotes disarmament and demilitarization, the peaceful resolution of political conflict, and the pursuit of security based on equity, justice, and a sustainable environment. Public understanding and support for these goals are encouraged through research, education, and the development of constructive policy alternatives that advance the following objectives in Canada and internationally: reduce reliance on military force; abolish nuclear weapons; control the weapons trade; build peace and prevent war.
• SCM Canada
• United Church of Canada
  • Chris Ferguson:  Executive Minister, Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations:
• The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
  • Ecumenical Officer for Canada, Rev. M. Diane Fisher:
• Western Diocesan and Eparchial Coordinators of Ecumenism (WDECE)
  An association of ecumenical officers from the Roman Catholic dioceses and Ukrainian Catholic eparchies in Western Canada. This association is authorized by the Western Catholic Conference, the conference of Western Canadian Catholic bishops. The WDECE meets annually, normally in October, and focuses on practical implementation of the ecumenical directory and the study of various ecumenical agreements and dialogues.
• Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC)
  "WICC is a national Christian women's council encouraging women to grow in ecumenism, to share their spirituality and prayer, to engage in dialogue about women's concerns, to respond to national and international issues affecting women, and to take action together for justice. The Council has membership (appointed and elected) from eleven church bodies. The Council sponsors in Canada the World Day of Prayer on the first Friday of March each year, and the Fellowship of the Least Coin prayer movement. The ongoing work which came out of the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988-1998) is part of the work of WICC."