The Canadian Council of Churches is a broad and inclusive ecumenical body, now representing 26 member churches including Anglican; Eastern and Roman Catholic; Evangelical; Free Church; Eastern and Oriental Orthodox; and Historic Protestant traditions. Together these member churches represent 13,500 worshiping communities and comprise 85% of the Christians in Canada. The Canadian Council of Churches was founded in 1944.

Members & Friends of the Council

Member Churches

There are now 26 member churches in the Canadian Council of Churches:

Affiliates

Location, Governance, and Structure

Location and Staff

The Council, with headquarters in Toronto, is governed and supported by its members through a semi-annual Governing Board. The current General Secretary of the council is Pastor Peter Noteboom. Officers and staff of the council are drawn from the diversity of traditions represented by the member churches.

Governance

All member churches have representation in the Council's Governing Board, which meets semi-annually to identify needs and direct the affairs of the council. The Governing Board discerns, coordinates, and communicates the common mission of the churches, long-range planning, and policy formation. It has oversight over all the bodies and activities of the council, as well as the relationship between or among commissions, reference groups, working groups, committees, and Project Ploughshares, the peace research institute of the council. Between meetings of the Governing Board, the Executive Committee of the Council oversees the life of the Council offices between meetings of the Governing Board and helps ensure its decisions and policies are implemented.

Structure

The ecumenical work of the council is carried out across its various bodies: Although each body the council has a distinctive focus and lens, they aim to bring their unique voices to bear on priorities of shared concern (also known as Operating Guidelines) that are collectively identified at the start of each triennium. The Operating Guidelines for the 2021-24 Triennium are:

Past Work and Contributions of the Council

Through the ecumenical movement, which arose in Canada in the twentieth century, The Canadian Council of Churches seeks unity for the divided church and seeks to remind Christians that they share Christ's mission for reconciliation, peace, dignity, and justice for the whole community. Some of the work done by the Council and the Member Churches working together includes:

International participation

The Canadian Council of Churches is registered with the United Nations and participates in world conferences and commissions on such issues as funding for development, refugee settlement and human rights. The council is also a participant in the annual World Religious Leaders Summit, in parallel with the G8/G20 political summits each year. In 2010, the council also provided leadership for this event, when the international summit was hosted by Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba.