Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, has commended to the church the Arusha Call to Discipleship from the World Council of Churches. In this invitation, Eaton joined with Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; Fred Hiltz, primate, Anglican Church of Canada; and Susan C. Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC).
In their joint message, the church leaders state: “Together with all 319 members of the World Council of Churches, our churches have received the Arusha Call, the report from a gathering in Tanzania in March 2018 which examined the current practice and understanding of Christian mission.”
“This Call helpfully comes to us at a decisive moment, as our four churches commit anew to engage together the challenges and opportunities of faithful mission in our fast-changing contexts. We are mindful especially of seeking racial justice, of honouring the Quad-Centennial (1619-2019) of the forced trans-Atlantic transportation of enslaved African persons to this continent; of challenging theologies which have endorsed dispossession of Indigenous Peoples; and of strengthening our support for the displaced and dispossessed seeking new beginnings in our midst.
“We welcome this witness from Christians around the world. The Call is a document of realism and of joy, of honest assessment and of hope for transformation, of trust in the way of Christ and in the power of the Spirit.”
Read the full invitation from the four church leaders.
Read the Arusha Call to Discipleship.
