The Lambeth Conference of 1920 issued “An Appeal to All Christian People”, with a view to a greater visible expression of our oneness in Christ. In the Lambeth Quadrilateral four areas of agreement are recognized as basic to the visible unity of the Church: (1) The Holy Scriptures (2) The Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed (3) The Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Communion (4) The Historic Episcopate.
The Third World Conference on Faith and order held at Lund in August, 1952 asserted in the Lund Principle that Churches should “act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately”.
The following are guidelines for ecumenical co-operation in the Diocese of Huron:
1. We encourage good stewardship in the use of church buildings and, in some cases, joint use. We believe that no major building programme should be undertaken without a survey of available facilities in the community and, where advisable and possible, consultation with other churches in the community.
2. We encourage co-operative and co-ordinated work in such areas as youth work, marriage preparation, the annual Ten Days for World Development Programme and social services. We encourage a growing team relationship with other ministers in the community with respect to such aspects of parish life as hospital visiting, planning and stewardship. The use of secretarial and janitorial services can be on a combined basis.
3. We encourage non-sacramental joint services of worship to be held on special occasions in the community, such as Week of Prayer of Christian Unity, Anniversaries, Remembrance Day, Cemetery Day, Harvest or other Thanksgiving Services. Permission from the Bishop of the Diocese is not required for these non-sacramental services.
4. Anglicans must be provided with the opportunity for sacramental and Eucharistic worship by an Anglican priest (or deacon authorized to administer the reserved sacrament) on a regular basis in our parishes.
5. Services of intercommunion are restricted to occasions when Christian people are gathered together for dialogue and prayer for unity as authorized by the Bishop.
See also: Holy Communion: Who may receive (5-1)
October, 1979
(ParVisits) Revised January 28, 1997
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