by Michele | Aug 10, 2023 | Climate Change, Community, Events, Global Community, Learning Opportunity, Resources, Social Justice, The United Church of Canada
Photo by Milada Vigerova via Unsplash
Support/Reflection/Prayer Gathering
Make connection with others who are experiencing climate grief
and/or struggling to discern way forward
….while using theological reflection and spiritual practice to ground and support this ‘Hard and Holy work’.
Dates/Times and Locations
Join us, as explore climate grief, acknowledging experiences, making connections with others, and as companions journeying forward.
We will include theological reflection and spiritual practice to ground and support this
‘hard and holy’ work.
Mount Elgin United Church (324105 Mt Elgin Rd, Mount Elgin, ON N0J 1N0)
Wednesday, September 27 @6:30-8:30 POSTPONED
Fairmont United Church, London (29 Tweedsmuir Ave, London, ON N5W 1K6)
Monday, October 23 @6:00-8:00
To register and for details:
Contact – Kathy Douglas, (she/her) Faith Formation Minister
Note: Registration is required as we will be serving food.
519-441-0656
kdouglas@united-church.ca
If your community of faith would like to host such a gathering, please contact Kdouglas@united-church.ca
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Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils
by Michele | Jul 25, 2023 | Affirming, Anti-Racism, Children & Youth, Community, Events, Global Community, Learning Opportunities, LGBTQIA+ and Two-Spirit people, News, Regional Council, Social Justice, The United Church of Canada
Youth and Non-Youth Fishbowl Gathering
Regional Councils of ARW, HF and WOW in partnership with The Hub and Trinity UC Kitchener-
Tuesday Sept 26, 2023, evening
Background: Post-COVID, Youth leaders struggle to put together groups. A message often heard from youth in the church is that what’s being offered doesn’t work for them. Being an intercultural church includes finding ways to bridge communication between different age groups/generations.
Goal– To offer a forum that brings together youth and non-youth in the church– a forum that allows the two groups to hear one another and be heard by one another, and to consider what might be the Spirit’s invitation to the church for youth ministry at this time.
FISHBOWL PROCESS:
Eight Youth (teens to twenty-somethings) and eight Non-Youth (40s-90+) from WOW, HF and ARW Regional Councils will gather via Zoom.
- Discussion questions will invite each to share and listen to experiences of their own youth faith formation, and hopes and challenges for youth ministry then and now.
- On each question, using the Zoom spotlight feature to focus on one group of eight:
- Youth will invite one another to share, while the Non-Youth listen.
- Places will be switched, and the Non-Youth will invite one another to share while the Youth listen.
- For some questions, the order might be reversed, with Non-Youth sharing first
- After several rounds of sharing in separate groups, Youth and Non-Youth will have an opportunity to reflect together as one group.
Each group will be invited to reflect on what they have heard and consider possible next steps.
Participants will be given questions for reflection and feedback, to be submitted in writing following the session.
This is a cross-cultural listening event, and a pilot project. This session will not focus on problem solving or planning. The focus of this event is to listen and learn about one another as a first step of re-visioning youth ministry in ARW, HF and WOW in this post-pandemic time.
An HONORARIUM of $105 is available for participants who are not otherwise paid for their time in this discussion.
To apply, complete the Application Form :
https://forms.office.com/r/3qf3JJtxt6
Application deadline Sept 12, 2023
For more information contact:
Thérèse Samuel tsamuel@united-church.ca
Kathy Douglas kdouglas@united-church.ca
Adam Cresswell – hubleadership@gmail.com
Bethany Herlihey- bethanyherlihey@gmail.com
by Michele | Jul 17, 2023 | Climate Change, Community, Learning Opportunities, Regional Council, Resources, Social Justice
Photo: Alina Grubnyak via UnSplash
Thanks to the clusters and networks that shared contact information at the Antler River Watershed spring meeting. If you’re part of a cluster and network that is open to others, please let us know details!
ARW Social and Ecological Justice Network
Contact: Carey Wagner
Essex County Lay and Ministry Personnel Meetings
3rd Tuesday of every other month at 7:00 p.m.
Glenwood United Church
Contact: Cathy Collins-Barker
Essex County Ministers
Monthly lunch meeting
Contact: Cathy Collins-Barker
by Michele | Jun 5, 2023 | Affirming, Anti-Racism, Camps & Retreats, Children & Youth, Climate Change, Community, Funds & Grants, Global Community, Indigenous Justice, Mission & Service, News, Regional Council, Resources, Right Relations, Social Justice, The United Church of Canada
Photo by Unseen via Unsplash
Now accepting applications:
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
by Michele | May 17, 2023 | Affirming, Anti-Racism, Camps & Retreats, Children & Youth, Climate Change, Community, Events, Global Community, Indigenous Justice, LGBTQIA+ and Two-Spirit people, News, Regional Council, Right Relations, Social Justice, Staff, The United Church of Canada
Welcome New Regional Council Staff – John Egger!
Partner Program Director at Five Oaks / Minister, Social Justice
Five Oaks Executive Director, Michael Shewburg, approached the regional councils to ask if we might be interested in a joint position combining the half-time role of the Partner Program Director at Five Oaks with the half-time role of Minister, Social Justice in the regional councils. We crafted a Ministry Sharing Agreement and submitted two position descriptions for our joint search. Human Resources raised concerns; these two do not seem to fit together. By this time, Michael was on sabbatical and Acting Executive Director, Pegi Ridout, and Executive Minister, Cheryl-Ann Stadelbauer-Sampa, met. We agreed that what each of us wanted was a person who could invite others into a deeper experience of faith that would lead them to live differently in the world. In John Egger, newly appointed to this joint position, we believe we have found someone who can do that!
John was raised in Calgary. He has a Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto. His dissertation was on Paul’s use of the Hagar/Sarah motif in his letter to the Galatians and how it has been spun in the history of interpretation. This was a kind of case study into how biblical texts have been (i.e., can be) misread in the history of the church and the dangers thereof.
John has served numerous United Church congregations in Calgary and Toronto in a variety of youth, educational and intergenerational ministries, including intercultural experience with Centennial Japanese United Church (now Bayview) in Toronto and Taiwanese United Church of Toronto, as well as ecumenical experience working with the Anglican Church (Christ Church Calgary) and the Presbyterian Church in Canada (Varsity Acres in Calgary). These experiences gave him an appreciation for the possibilities for intercultural and transformative ministry within congregations, especially through engaged intergenerational education.
John has just concluded his home assignment duties following his return to Canada after serving four years as a Mission Co-Worker with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. We look forward to welcoming John among us as together we learn to share a staff person between the regional councils and Five Oaks. John has kindly agreed to start on May 26th so that he can attend the regional council meetings for Western Ontario Waterways, Horseshoe Falls and the tri-Executive meeting to receive the Evaluation Report. He will arrive in time for a meeting of the program committee of Five Oaks along with Five Oaks Annual Meeting! He’ll definitely be caught up in a flurry of events for the first few weeks!
We’re looking forward to working with John!
