How good and pleasant it is
When brothers dwell in unity;
It is like the precious oil upon the head
Running down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron.
(psalm [132] 133:1-2)

One of the most significant developments in the 20th century in the experience of Christian churches has been the rise of an ecumenical movement, in which churches seek reconciliation, reunion and restoration of oneness; the hope is to reverse centuries of history marked by separation and withdrawal of churches from one another, a sad history of confronting, competing, and criticizing each other in a bitter rivalry that descended to name-calling, insult and even to internecine warfare. The ecumenical movement sought to change the goals and methods for churches to relate with each other, to seek an appropriate form of unity which would enable both an immediate common Christian work and an eschatological hope for the restoration of the broken unity of Christian believers, "that they may all be one" (John 17:21).

But this search for ecumenism carried with it a profound dilemma. From the outset, the defining goal of ecumenical discussions was the creation of more unified churches. From the formal founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948, many leaders of the movement used the phrase "full structural unity" to define its aim. Idealists even dreamed of restoring full world communion. Yet, paradoxically, this hope emerged at just the same time as profound challenges in 20th century culture shook traditional foundations and assumptions, including the core tenets of religion itself. In this situation, churches were prompted to re-evaluate and re-enunciate their own special traditions, their roots of certitude in the faith. In this way, key differences in tradition between churches were sharpened just at the time the Christian movement entered into a serious effort to achieve ecumenical unity. "Full structural unity" came to be seen as remote wishful thinking or even as a detrimental threat to tradition. This was fully acknowledged by the World Council in the Toronto Statement of 1950, which stated explicitly that ecumenism was not a search for a "super-church". The ecumenical atmosphere remained at best cautious - the Roman Catholic Church has never joined the WCC as a full member - and at worst, argumentative and even antagonistic.

"Forum"

The Canadian Council of Churches was born in 1944 in the climax of World War Two. The Council stemmed from hope and the desire for reunion and churches to work together. About 15 years ago, Council members recognized the fundamental ecumenical dilemma: churches seeking the way to be together must at the same time find a way to preserve the integrity, the Witness to Truth (John 17:17-23), which each member church holds dear and essential. Through the 60-year history of the CCC the Council's greatest success has been to find a solution to this dilemma.

For more than 10 years now, the CCC has identified itself in terms of "Forum" both as a defining theology of the reality of Churches meeting together and also as an operating procedure. Forum acknowledges the validity of the theological principle of the Truthfulness of Deep Tradition. Member churches - and their representatives on governing bodies - are expected to bring to the ecumenical table the fullest possible witness to the truth of the Gospel as their Tradition understands it (2John 8-9). As a working procedure all participants in any ecumenical action speak and make commitments only with the authentic voice of their own church. Explicitly or implicitly, action-decisions of the CCC carry the full approval of the magisterial authoritative office within each member church. Hence, "the voice of the CCC" - the voice of our common Christianity -- is heard in actions which receive 100% consensus. (Actions that do not find 100% consensus might be facilitated as "joint actions of some member churches" if they do not violate fundamental doctrines of one of the member churches). The results of this understanding and definition of ecumenism by the CCC have been absolutely historic, a major success in the 20th century search for an ecumenical reality and for a mode of operation in an ecumenical council. All -- including the Roman Catholic Church and many independent Reformed Churches in addition to the customary "ecumenical" churches from the Protestant and Orthodox traditions -- recognize this definition of ecumenism to be honest, true to present historic circumstances, faithful for every member church, and yet still workable and effective. The result is a major contribution to the history of Christianity in the 20th century, and our work is just at its beginning!

In 2004, The Canadian Council of Churches celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding.

FOUNDING:

Today a dynamic, tightly focused body with 19 churches as members, the Council began in 1944 with tremendous enthusiasm as 10 Christian churches sought to work together to fulfill their call to mission, service, religious education and evangelism. Together their professed adherents represented more than 45 per cent of the Canadian population. At that time two of three Canadians were in a church on any Sunday--60 per cent of Protestants and 80 per cent of Roman Catholics. The Council was a particularly Canadian vision. There had been proposals to join with the National Council of Churches in the United States in a North American council, but Canadian churches felt there were reasons for a distinctly Canadian organization.

The Council was born during the Second World War when people worldwide longed to find ways of cooperating. This period saw the drafting of the charter of the United Nations and the founding of the World Council of Churches, in the planning stages from 1938 until its inaugural assembly in 1948. Canadian churches had already been cooperating through bodies related to social service, religious education, evangelism and overseas mission.

MEMBERSHIP:

At the first meeting of the council, the general secretary was asked to invite Orthodox Churches to join. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church had accepted by the time of the second meeting in 1945. By 1977 the Council embraced 12 member churches, three of them Orthodox. The 19 member churches today represent Anglican, Protestant, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. Staff is drawn from all traditions. In the ecumenical spirit, unity does not mean uniformity. It means learning from one another.

DEFINITION:

The Council takes its definition from Article II of the Constitution:
"The Canadian Council of Churches is a community of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also other churches which affirm the same faith but which do not make doctrinal confessions."

1940s:

The Council was asked to consider the treatment accorded to Japanese Canadians and decided to send "the strongest deputation possible" to the Prime Minister to argue against the government's move to induce Canadian citizens of "Japanese race" to return or emigrate to Japan. Some other issues of the day: chaplaincy to prisoners of war, a $10,000 grant for the restoration of the Canadian Vimy Memorial Church, venereal disease, marriage laws and a mobilization of the world resources of the church for righteous peace.

1950s:

In the 1950s and into the 1960s, the Council was organized with full departments of ecumenical affairs, evangelism, social relations, overseas mission and Christian education as well as many committees.

In 1957 the Council through its Faith and Order Commission participated in a conference in Ohio on The Nature of Unity We Seek. The meeting was organized by the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches in the United States and The Canadian Council of Churches. Several study groups met beforehand in Vancouver, Saskatoon and Toronto. 42 Canadians attended, including youth and consultants.

The Council's Department of Christian education published a booklet titled "one Lord" summing up the doctrines and history of the 10 member churches.

The Department of Social Relations endorsed the appeal of the Chinese Canadian Association to remove the second-class citizenship status affecting Canadian citizens of Asian ancestry. The department also worked on issues such as the rise in gambling, low-cost and low-rental housing, the simplification of funerals, penal reform and mental hospital chaplaincy.

By 1958 General Secretary W. J. Gallagher was able to report "phenomenal" growth and development in the Council's first 14 years. In the preceding two years alone, some 30 inter-church conferences and training sessions had taken place.

In 1958, however, the Council's Department of Evangelism reported that two years of concerted efforts on the part of member churches had failed to produce a breakthrough in reaching the unchurched. " . . .The most serious obstacle is the half-awakened, indifferently trained and lethargic members of our congregations and parishes. . . The need today, as always, is for convinced and well-instructed Christians who know how to make their witness wherever they are set in daily life and work."

1960s:

The Council was at work on projects for the Canadian Centenary. The general secretary joined a committee to plan the Christian Pavilion at Expo 67.

Criticisms arose, from The United Church of Canada among others, suggesting the Council was not only too compartmentalized but was duplicating the work of the churches. By the mid-60s, the Council was busy examining its purpose, reorganizing itself and writing a new Constitution.

Within a few years, instead of coordinating or reflecting the departmental activities of the churches, the Council started to consider its work the nature and nurture of ecumenical encounter and action.

1970s:

Meantime, a dramatic increase arose in ecumenical activity elsewhere, leading to the formation of ecumenical social justice coalitions. The Council worked with such coalitions as Project North, to help address the challenges of native land claims and Northern development, and with the Movement for Christian Feminism. In 1974 The Canadian Council of Churches with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops co-founded the Church Council on Justice and Corrections.

This was also the decade in which the Mennonites and the Society of Friends took the initiative to begin Project Ploughshares. It was founded and continues to be supported by The Canadian Council of Churches. In 2004, Dr. Ernie Regehr, Executive Director of Project Ploughshares, was named to the Order of Canada.

In 1977 a task force called together 50 persons representing Christians across Canada to consider how to do theology ecumenically in Canada. They decided that the Faith and Order Commission should facilitate and coordinate the discussion of theology and plan a biennial or annual conference.

In the 1970s, the Council reduced its commissions from four to three (World Concerns, Canadian Affairs and Faith and Order).

The Commission on Canadian Affairs was to identify issues requiring ecumenical leadership and to work directly on those issues with member churches, related organizations and secular groups. Among the issues: social services, French-English relations, continued abolition of the death penalty, civil liberties and labor.

In one small piece of its work, the Commission on World Concerns distributed material responding to widespread critical response to the World Council of Churches' grants to liberation movements in Africa.

1980s:

By the beginning of the '80s, the notion of "mission" had changed. Promotion of intercultural respect, interfaith dialogue and international justice were seen as vital expressions of mission. World mission was no longer seen as carrying the Gospel from one place that knows it to another which does not. Instead, world mission was seen as the world church in its diversity, with global ecumenical partnership.

In 1985 the Council lobbied governments on the issues of acid rain, peace and disarmament and the Canadian Security Intelligence Act and participated in African relief programs.

At the 1989 meeting the name of the Commission on Faith and Order was changed to the Commission on Faith and Witness, broadening its mandate to include mission and interfaith relations.

1990s:

In 1991 The Canadian Council of Churches adopted a new constitution, which gave it a governing board, and formalized a new structure of three commissions: Faith and Witness, Justice and Peace and Ecumenical Education and Communication.

At the 50th anniversary in 1994, The Rev. Douglas DuCharame, Associate Secretary for Justice and Peace, said "The changing face of Christianity in Canada has been reflected in changes in the Council, from dire financial cutbacks to shifts in influence of mainline Protestantism."

"Catholic (associate) membership has meant taking the predominantly French-speaking church in Quebec much more seriously," he wrote, while Orthodox churches have brought "new and sometimes surprising gifts to ecumenical life and worship."

FORUM:

By 1995 the Council was working on naming what it considered important and what it should be doing. Within a year, the Council had revised itself in a way that proved to be a pioneering effort in ecumenism.

At the November 1996 board meeting an agreement was reached on how the Council was to function as a forum. This agreement was adopted for a two-year trial. The thrust according to acting general secretary The Rev. Robert Mills was that:

• Each member church has equal voice in discussing issues;
• The Council acts as coordinator of churches wishing to work together, enabling them to act together or to delegate the Council to act on their behalf.
• Member churches should take control of the agenda, with requests being referred to a committee, commission or board to which representatives are appointed by member churches; and
• Any resulting action is thus endorsed by the participating member churches. Other member churches may opt in to such action or remain apart.

To function properly, the forum statement noted, all representatives are expected to be able to speak for their churches.

The forum model, Mills said, "recognizes our diversity and provides a method by which we can work together, acknowledging our unity as Christians yet remaining faithful to the respective traditions.

"It allows the widening of the ecumenical circle and has the potential for providing renewed commitment to ecumenism."

The circle did indeed widen.

In 1996 The Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada (since renamed the Christian Reformed Church in North America- Canada) became a member.

ROMAN CATHOLICS:

An application for membership by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops was approved in May 1997. The Conference had held associate membership since 1985. In 1993 the Vatican issued a directory encouraging participation in ecumenism.

Membership in The Canadian Council of Churches is important, said the Conference's ecumenical director Sister Donna Geernaert, because it signals the commitment of the Roman Catholic Church to ecumenism. About 43 per cent of the Canadian population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, according to the 2001 census, and more than half of them are francophones.

In 1997 Ms. Janet Somerville became the first Roman Catholic and the first lay person to serve as General Secretary of the Council. In 2004 for this work and other admirable contributions to the life of the country, she was named to the Order of Canada.

For the first time, the Council represented the majority of Canada's Christians. Some Canadian churches belong instead to the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and five churches belong to both. Cooperative work goes on between the two bodies.

BILINGUALISM:

The Forum agreement also stated an intention for the Council to become functionally bilingual. As of 2004, the majority of staff is not only bilingual, but multilingual. Council documents are frequently available in both official languages.

21st Century:

By the time of the 2001 census, only 20 per cent of the Canadian population attended worship services on a weekly basis, compared to the two out of three back in 1944. The Council's member churches, however, represented 85 per cent of Christian Canadians who professed adherence to a church, compared with the 45 per cent of Canadians its members represented in 1944. That's because The Canadian Council of Churches today is the broadest-based ecumenical body in Canada, embracing many different Christian traditions. Roman Catholics alone represent 43 per cent of Canadians.

It's also one of the few national ecumenical bodies in the world to include such a range of Christian churches. 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.

In a forum where all voices hold equal weight, the Council brings member churches into encounter with one another, promoting understanding among them and with other Christian churches. It also provides a safe place for immigrant churches to learn about Canada and to put down roots.

The Council undertakes and promotes theological study and reflection among Christian traditions. As well, the Council studies, speaks about and acts on conditions involving moral and spiritual principles including the war on terror and societal issues such as the future of health care. The Council communicates results of reflections to Canadian society and governments.

FINANCIAL CHALLENGES:

The first budget of The Canadian Council of Churches was just under $20,000. After the first year, the first general secretary noted that the Council needed more staff than just one person.

In 1964 the Department of Christian Education reported that despite urgent appeals in 1960 and 1962 there had been no additions to staff.

On the 50th anniversary of the Council a review of the work of Faith and Witness showed a commitment on the part of churches to engage in theological reflection in support of the search for Christian unity. But problems persisted: lack of staffing and inadequate representation from across the country, directly related to lack of finances.

In 1996, as donations from member denominations continued to decline, reflecting the decline in their own revenues, The Canadian Council of Churches was once again trimming staff, from three associate secretaries to two and then into two three-fifths time associate secretaries. The administrator and business manager positions merged into one full-time position. Spending otherwise would have made The Canadian Council of Churches insolvent by 1998.

In a June 2003 article in The Catholic Register, Michael Swan summed up the situation: "In Canada the unfinished business of 2,000 years of Christian history, and the most important challenge to Christianity in the 21st century is a job we give to an organization which . . . has two full-time and two part-time employees . . . . The average Jiffy Lube has a bigger budget and more staff."

THE COMMISSION ON FAITH AND WITNESS:

The purpose of the commission is to provide a forum for members to articulate the Christian faith they hold in common, to seek greater mutual understanding and to witness, identify and explore theological questions of mutual concern.

Having surveyed the ethical positions of its member churches, The Commission on Faith and Witness detected a remarkable degree of convergence on the topics of euthanasia and assisted suicide. A statement on the issues was released at Christmas, 1996. Another of its publications is a pamphlet entitled "Religious Ceremonies Involving More than One Faith Tradition."

The Faith and Witness Commission also includes a group that writes and distributes resources for the Canadian celebration of the worldwide Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

An increasing respect for each other's worship and liturgical practices has developed among members. At Council meetings they may, for example, sing Mennonite hymns-Mennonites hold observer status at the Council-take part in a Bible reflection by a Roman Catholic bishop and pray in one of the Orthodox traditions. Shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which the Council opposed, the Commission on Faith and Witness organized, and leaders of all its members participated in a large public service of prayer, music and light in defiance of darkness in Toronto.

THE COMMISSION ON JUSTICE AND PEACE:

Although member churches embrace many theological positions and hold different views on such issues as abortion, same-sex marriage and the role of women in the church, they have come together frequently over the years to present a common front on many social issues.

The Commission on Justice and Peace is the arm of the Council specializing in theological reflection, study and action on such issues. On some issues, such as biotechnology, the two commissions work together.

In the 1990s child poverty was an issue of great concern. Therefore, in the 1990s the commission aided by ecumenical coalitions sponsored Justice and Peace Forums, one focusing on poverty in Canada. Out of that came two Church leaders' letters to the prime minister on child poverty in Canada.

A month after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001, leaders of 13 members of The Canadian Council of Churches called for the U.S., Britain and Canada to demilitarize the battle against terrorism. They argued that the military campaign would lead to widespread damage on an already mutilated Afghanistan without the successful apprehension of the accused.

Does government listen to these ecumenical initiatives in peace and social justice?

From September 2002 to March 2003 the leaders of member churches through the Council sent three letters to the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien asking him to find alternate ways to solve the situation in Iraq without military invasion.

With its partners Project Ploughshares and KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, the Council organized a petition in January 2003 seeking alternatives to war in Iraq. It was signed by more than 44,000 Canadians.

The Canadian government decided not to send Canadian troops to Iraq, while maintaining Canadian troops in the fight against terrorism and the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Jean Chrétien subsequently commented that he certainly knew where the churches stood on this issue.

In 2004, The Canadian Council of Churches co-convened a consultation on globalization called Just Trade Agreements? to examine the negative results of the North American Free Trade Agreement and to launch an action plan promoting "just trade" in the hemisphere.

BIOTECHNOLOGY:

On some issues such as biotechnology the two commissions work together. The Biotechnology Reference Group was set up in 1999 as a clearinghouse for the gathering and exchange of information on biotechnology issues.

The Canadian Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada received intervener status in the Supreme Court's "oncomouse" case. They made a case that life itself cannot be patented. On December 5, 2002 the Supreme Court of Canada announced its decision that a genetically modified mouse, developed in the early 1980s at Harvard University, cannot be patented in Canada. The Canadian Council of Churches has published a booklet, Life: Patent Pending on the questions of bio-patenting.

The Canadian Council of Churches sponsored consultations in different regions of the country to help churches develop resources in bioethics. The Council also took part in an ecumenical forum on food security, agricultural biotechnology and the crises in farming. In addition, the Council is in conversation on the issue of xenotransplantation, the transplantation of live animal cells, tissues and organs into humans.

INTERFAITH ACTIVITIES:

The Interfaith Relations Committee serves as a meeting place for members of churches that are involved in interfaith relations.

The Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation was set up in 1977 to gather representatives of The Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and member churches of The Canadian Council of Churches. When areas of common concern are identified, members are encouraged to take issues back to their constituencies with the hope that new avenues for cooperation might develop.

The Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation has discussed media coverage of religious issues, expressions of anti-Judaism in Christian preaching, liturgy, theology and Biblical studies, human rights concerns related to religious holidays and education; anti-Semitism and racism in Canada, legal concerns about lack of action on Nazi war criminals in Canada, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

In December 2003, leaders of nine churches that are members of The Canadian Council of Churches issued an open letter warning of a renewed wave of anti-Semitism in Canada. Acknowledging with sadness, regret and shame historic persecution of the Jews, too often inflicted by Christians, the leaders invited churches and people everywhere to respond whenever Jews come under attack in Canada or their sacred places are desecrated here. The leaders committed themselves to confronting anti-Semitism on every front and trying to eliminate it.

The Council is also represented on the National Christian Muslim Liaison Committee. It brings together representatives of the Council of the Muslim Community of Canada, other Muslim communities and individuals with representatives of The Canadian Council of Churches and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Among the objectives is the promotion of a better understanding of and respect for the authentic faith, world view and religious rituals of Christianity and Islam.

PROJECT PLOUGHSHARES:

The Council is a founder and sponsor of Project Ploughshares, Canada's leading peace organization. It was Ploughshares, with its partners the Council and KAIROS, the ecumenical justice initiative, that forwarded to the Prime Minister's office during the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the United States and Britain a petition that eventually totaled more than 40,000 names seeking alternatives to war against Iraq.

CHURCH COUNCIL ON JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS:

In 1974, The Canadian Council of Churches and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops set up The Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation as a national, bilingual, ecumenical organization. It aims to promote reconciliation and healing for victims of crime, offenders and the community by encouraging and supporting churches in the areas of crime prevention and prevention of family violence.

CHURCHES' FORUM ON GLOBAL MINISTRIES:

This forum, which dates to 1922, is under the aegis of The Canadian Council of Churches. Through this agency Canadian churches reflect and work together on global mission issues, and are challenged to prophetic global witness through programs of education, training and dialogue. It offers programs for people involved in cross-cultural global mission and ministry, produces a semi-annual newsletter and sponsors an annual conference for theological students with The Canadian Theological Students' Association.

ARMED FORCES CHAPLAINCY:

The Council also has a long and close relationship with the Canadian Armed Forces and its ecumenical chaplaincy, providing material to help them work with stress-related trauma, mixed marriages and questions about life and death.

UNITED NATIONS:

The Canadian Council of Churches has accreditation standing at the UN as a non-governmental organization and participates in world conferences and commissions on such issues as human rights, refugee settlement and funding for development.

APPENDIX I

GENERAL SECRETARIES OF THE CANADIAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (INCLUDING INTERIMS):

The Rev. Dr. W. J. Gallagher 1944-1964, The United Church of Canada
The Rev. Dr. Wilfred Butcher 1964-1967, The Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Rev. R. M. Bennett (acting) 1967-68
The Rev. T. E. Floyd Honey 1968-1975, The United Church of Canada
The Rev. Donald Anderson 1976-1988, Anglican Church of Canada
Edith Shore (acting) 1988, Anglican Church of Canada
The Rev. Stuart Brown 1988-1993, Anglican Church of Canada
The Rev. Clarke Raymond (acting), 1993-1994, Anglican Church of Canada
The Rev. David Oliver 1994-1995, Anglican Church of Canada
The Rev. Bob Mills 1996-97, The United Church of Canada
Ms. Janet Somerville 1997-2002, Roman Catholic
The Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton 2002-, The United Church of Canada

APPENDIX II

PRESIDENTS OF THE CCC:

1944 The Right Rev. L. W. B. Broughall, The Church of England in Canada
The Most Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, Primate of all Canada, The Church of England in Canada
1945 The Most Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, The Church of England in Canada
1946-1947 The Rev. G. P. Gilmour, BCOQ, Baptist, Baptist Federation of Canada
1948-1949 The Rev. John W. Woodside, The United Church of Canada
1950-1951 The Rev. William Barclay, The Presbyterian Church in Canada
1952 The Rev. E. Emerson Hallman, Baptist, Baptist Federation of Canada
1954 The Most Rev. W. F. Barfoot, The Church of England in Canada
1956 The Rev. Emlyn Davies, BCOQ Baptist, Baptist Federation of Canada
1958 The Very Rev. George Dorey, The United Church of Canada
1960 The Rev. Prof. David W. Hay, The Presbyterian Church in Canada
1962 Commissioner Wycliffe Booth, The Salvation Army
1964 The Most Rev. Howard H. Clark, Anglican Church of Canada
1966 The Rev. Reginald S. Dunn, BCOQ Baptist, Baptist Federation of Canada
1969 The Rt. Rev. Arthur B. B. Moore, The United Church of Canada
1972 The Rev. Norman S. Berner, Lutheran Church in America Canada Section
1976 The Very Rev., The Honourable Dr. Lois M. Wilson, The United Church of Canada
1979 Dr. Heather Johnston, The Presbyterian Church in Canada
1982 The Rev. Russell D. Legge, The United Church of Canada
1985 The Most Rev. E. W. Scott Primate, Anglican Church of Canada
1988 The Rev. Donald W. Sjoberg, Lutheran Church in America Canada Section
1991 The Very Rev. Dr. Bruce Mcleod, The United Church of Canada
1994 Dr. Alexandra Johnston, The Presbyterian Church in Canada
1997 The Most Rev. Barry Curtis, Anglican Church of Canada
2000 The Most Rev. Bishop André Vallée, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
2003 Professor Richard Schneider, Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America

APPENDIX III

ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE CANADIAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES:

The Church of England in Canada
The United Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces
The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec
The Western Baptist Union
The Churches of Christ (Disciples)
The Evangelical Church
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
The United Church of Canada
The Salvation Army
The Society of Friends

AFFILIATED MEMBERS:

The National Council Y.M.C.A.
The National Council W.Y.C.A.
The Student Christian Movement of Canada

The National Council Y.M.C.A. has not yet reached a decision, but appointed a representative to attend this meeting.*

PROCEEDINGS THAT LED TO THE FIRST MEETING OF THE COUNCIL:

On November 11, 1942 an informal meeting of officers of the Canadian churches met in the office of The Rev. Dr. W. J. Gallagher, 3 Willcocks St., Toronto, to consider some aspects of the cooperative work of the Canadian churches and their relation to a North American Council of Churches, which was being proposed. They agreed it was time to organize The Canadian Council of Churches and put their request to the executive of the World Council of Churches Canadian Committee. Five members of that group, five more of the Christian Social Council of Canada and five more from the Religious Education Council plus five representatives of the missionary interests of the Canadian Churches were invited to meet to organize The Canadian Council of Churches.

A service of Ecumenical Worship took place at Yorkminster Baptist Church (now called: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church), located at 1585 Yonge St., Toronto (2 blocks north of St. Clair Ave.) - September 26, 1944 at 8:00 p.m., followed by three days of meetings. The first president of The Canadian Council of Churches was The Most Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, Archbishop of Toronto and Primate of All Canada, The Church of England in Canada.

*NOTE___The National Council Y.M.C.A. has since decided to become an affiliated member.