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Graphic promoting National Housing Day, highlighting issues of homelessness and affordability, featuring logos of the Anglican Church of Canada and the ELCIC.

Anglicans, Lutherans called to lift up National Housing Day: November 22

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Published on 
November 6, 2014

On November 22, Lutherans and Anglicans are called to lift up National Housing Day 2014, learn more about the issues contributing to poverty, homelessness and substandard housing, and advocate for changes.

Inadequate housing and homelessness impacts a growing number of Canadians. An estimated 400,000 people are without access to a healthy place to live. These numbers continue to increase despite economic growth and prosperity here in our country.

“Our churches have a faithful record of working with and for people who are homeless or who struggle to find affordable housing,” says ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson. “But still home ownership and even affordable rental options are out of reach for many. We are called to support the agencies and programs that address these issues, as well as explore and advocate for new approaches to address poverty and homelessness.”

At the 2013 Joint Assembly, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Church in Canada unanimously endorsed a shared commitment to learning, action, advocacy and prayer concerning homelessness and affordable housing.

“Every day and night thousands of children, women and men are fed and housed by the churches in partnership with social agencies.  This is holy work,” says Anglican Archbishop Fred Hiltz.  “We press on with the call for a comprehensive national housing strategy reflecting the 2012 commitment of all members of Parliament ‘to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to adequate housing’ for all people living in Canada.”

Several resources have been prepared by the ELCIC and ACC to assist churches and their members in lifting up National Housing Day on November 22. They include:

If you are in the Toronto area, consider participating in the Come & See Pilgrimage where you can visit local churches committed to working alongside those who experience inadequate housing.

Download, print, and share information sheets in colour and black and white.

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.