Subject: The Arusha Call to Discipleship (World Council of Churches) 

Moved By: Canon Marilyn Malton
Seconded By: Ms. Dale Drozda

Be it resolved that this General Synod:  

1. Affirm the Arusha Call to Discipleship which emerged from the World Council of Churches’ Conference on World Mission and Evangelism sponsored by the WCC Commission on Witness and Evangelism (March 2018);
2. Encourage programmatic bodies within the General Synod to integrate the Arusha Call to Discipleship into the guiding principles of baptismal living for the shaping of national ministries; and
3. Commend the Arusha Call to Discipleship to dioceses for study and inclusion in their considerations of evangelism, witness and discipleship.

Source: Faith, Worship, and Ministry Coordinating Committee 

Submitted By: Faith, Worship, and Ministry Coordinating Committee        

Does this motion contain within it any financial implications?      Yes     No

If yes, has the General Synod Expenditures Committee considered the implications?   Yes    No

EXPLANATORY NOTE/BACKGROUND  

The Arusha Call to Discipleship emerged from the World Council of Churches’ Conference on World Mission and Evangelism “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship” which met in Arusha, Tanzania in March of 2018. In September 2018, the Arusha Call to Discipleship was taken up by a joint meeting of the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee (LECC, USA) and the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission (JALC, Canada). This gathering referred the Arusha call to Discipleship to the four presiding bishops for their public endorsement.

Why affirm the Arusha Call to Discipleship? 

The Arusha Call to Discipleship …

• assists the Anglican Church of Canada to see itself in, and to affirm the work of, the World Council of Churches and of partner churches in Canada and around the globe;
• has been commended to the leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada, The Episcopal Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada by the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission (JALC, Canada) and Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee (LECC, USA) for their public endorsement;
• honours our full communion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada;
• supports a post-colonial view of First Peoples and a significant rethinking of the relationship between First Peoples and settlers;
• provides a robust, challenging, and faithful call consonant with the baptismal identity and values and with the missional aspirations of the Anglican Church of Canada.

PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTION (G)

In the normal course, an ordinary motion must be passed by a majority of the members of General Synod present and voting together. Six members of General Synod may, prior to the question being put, require a vote by Orders, with a majority of each Order being necessary to pass. 

If a question passes on a Vote by Orders, any six members (two from each of three different dioceses) may immediately before the next item of business require a vote to be taken by dioceses. A motion passes if a majority (or a tie) of dioceses vote in favour. 

Source: Sections 4 and 5 of the Declaration of Principles and sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Rules of Order and Procedure.