Members of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada met for the second time in a joint special convocation for worship, plenaries, Bible study and fellowship from June 27-July 2 in Calgary, Alberta.
The Rt. Rev. William Franklin, assisting bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, New York, attended the convocation for a day and a half on behalf of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, whose travel is currently limited due to recent health issues. During the convocation on June 30, Franklin gave a speech to celebrate the signing of what is known as the Memorandum of Mutual Recognition.
The memorandum is a written commitment among four churches, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, or ELCA, to acknowledge and learn from their histories of racism while taking tangible steps to dismantle it systematically.