The National Worship Conference takes place every two years, jointly sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). The Conference was initially a Lutheran Conference but has been shared since the ELCIC and Anglican Church of Canada entered a fully reciprocal relationship called “full communion” in 2001.
At each conference, each church names a recipient of the Companion of the Worship Arts Award in recognition of significant contribution to the worship life of the church at the local and national level.
Past National Worship Conferences:
2020 Ottawa, ON – Postponed to 2021 and transferred online due to Covid-19 pandemic
2018 Victoria, BC: “Responding to Disaster: Prayer, Song, Presence” Keynote speaker: The Rev. Lizette Larson-Miller. About the panel of first responders.
2016 Kitchener-Waterloo, ON: “Formation and Reformation: Worship, Justice, and God’s Mission”. Keynote speakers: Rev. Dr. Stephen Larson (liturgy and ecumenism) and the Very Rev. Bruce Jenneker (Canon Liturgist for the Diocese of Saldanha Bay in South Africa). Companion of the Worship Arts Award recipients: The Rev. Dr. Paul Gibson and the Reverend André Lavergne. News release here.
2014 Edmonton, AB: “Weaving Strands: Liturgy for Living” Keynote speakers: the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers (Church Divinity School of the Pacific) and Dr. David Cherwien (organist, composer and conductor, Minneapolis, MN). Companion of the Worship Arts awarded to: The Rev. Canon Dr. Graham Cotter and Dr. Joy Berg. Visit the conference Facebook page here.
2012 Winnipeg, MB: “Beyond the Fortress” Keynote speakers: Doug Cowling (musician, author, liturgist), and the Rev. Dr. Craig Van Gelder (Luther Seminary)
2010 Vancouver, BC: “Taking Care of the Neighbourhood”
2008 Montreal, QC: “Order and Chaos” Keynote speakers: The Rev. Dr. Gordon Lathrop, liturgical theologian, and the Rev. Karen Ward, a leader in the emerging church movement. View news release and conference blog.
2006 Regina, SK: “Making All Things New” Keynote speakers: The Rev. John Bell (Iona, Scotland) and the Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett (Vancouver School of Theology). Lutheran Companion of the Worship Arts: Ms. Debbie Lou Ludolph.
2004 Toronto, ON. First joint conference, “Breaking Bread, Breaking Boundaries”. View schedule here.