Laura will begin her ministry on Monday, February 2nd, 2026. She brings a deep commitment to faith formation, collaborative leadership, and nurturing spiritual growth across diverse communities. Laura is excited to work alongside the councils, congregations, and leaders of these regions as they continue to support meaningful faith development for First Third Ministry.

Please join us in warmly welcoming Laura to the region and this important ministry. We look forward to the gifts, energy, and vision she will bring to this role!

More about Laura:

Laura Black joins the team with a lifelong connection to the United Church of Canada and a deep call to faith formation and community leadership. Rooted in curiosity, placemaking, and nature‑based practices, she is passionate about co‑creating spaces where the brilliance of God’s children can shine.

For more than a decade, young people have been at the heart of Laura’s ministry. She has supported emerging leaders through Christian education, intergenerational programming, camp and creative arts ministries, Youth Forum, and her consulting work with The Hub community network. Nationally, she served as a Commissioner and Table Leader at the 40th General Council. Her experience also spans human rights, conflict management, leadership and interfaith initiatives with domestic and international students as both faculty and staff in post-secondary education.

Relationships ground Laura’s ministry. She is rooted in a large close-knit family, and is married and raising a wise, deeply feeling child. Often you can find them playing games, paddling the Nith River, or on a basketball court. She has accompanied survivors of gendered violence, supported people living with mental illness, and worked to amplify Indigenous knowledge in efforts to decolonize systems. She holds a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning specializing in Inclusive Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Development, with studies in child development, family systems, world religions, marginalized populations, emerging technologies, coaching and mentoring.

A national award‑winning organizer and collaborator, Laura is also a published author in the Journal of Transformative Learning. She has led teams in applying Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB), accessible customer service practices, and collaborative agreements. She has coordinated wide-ranging justice‑focused initiatives such as a Food Security Collective and Human Trafficking Symposium. She strives for deep listening, strategic thinking, and collective action while helping communities find shared purpose and turn meaningful ideas into real impact.

Laura looks forward to joining the teams of Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, and Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils as the First Third Ministry, Faith Formation Minister. She’s excited to learn from each and every one of you in your unique context while contributing her gifts to shared spiritual growth and formation.

Faith in action: the 2025 federal election and the United Church

This resource includes links to workshops and resources, and will be updated and re-posted weekly until the election.

As faith communities, and registered charities, we don’t promote or critique only one party. We address all of them, we focus on their social policies, and we expect accountability of all of them. Below are some suggested principles and resources to help people of faith engage the federal election process.

We are called to speak up for what we believe in, not only what we oppose.

We are called to name our values, including what our faith calls us to. We live in a polarized and often anxious world and country, and it’s easy to focus on what we oppose. Try to ask others, especially those you disagree with, to name their values and their hopes.

Respond rather than react, working with communal and individual spiritual and faith resources.

Encourage people to engage the whole process, and vote.

Watch out for dis/misinformation. We are all vulnerable to it, because it’s tailored to spark an instant emotional reaction and to reinforce what we already believe. Always check your sources, and think before you post or share. Ask others for their sources if big, polarizing, or unlikely claims or situations are being presented as real.

Be aware that targeted and vulnerable communities are often the target of dis/misinformation, and be aware of the spiritual and emotional impact of this targeting.

Put another way by our Mennonite family members:

“I commit to loving my neighbours in the following ways:
• Listen with curiosity and compassion
• Speak with authenticity and integrity
• Act for the good of my community, here at home and around the world”

Upcoming Workshops (click on the date for the link to information and registration)

Tuesday April 8, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Federal Election Forum. Craig Norris, Host of the Morning Edition on CBC will moderate. Although everyone is very welcome, we are asking people to register to keep track of numbers. In person (Waterloo, ON) and online. If you register, a link for the online streaming will be sent to you. Click here for the registration link

April 24th Egale- Vote with Pride:

April 24th Canadian Interfaith conversation – Engaged Citizenship The role of Faith Communities during an election

Some key resources (click on each for the link to information)

Groups bringing justice concerns to the election process

United Church home page for election resources (scroll down to the bottom for resources- note that these will change as they’re being constantly updated.)

KAIROS Canada election resources on key issues and engaging your candidates well.  (The United Church is a founding and active member of this ecumenical justice coalition.) Their resources include: Indigenous Rights; Ecological Justice; Gender Justice; Migrant Justice; Jubilee 2025

Citizens for Public Justice election resources and travelling/ online meetings (CPJ is a long-standing Christian social justice coalition.)

Mennonite Central Committee: Every Action Counts

Specific justice concerns: choose what you are called to prioritise!

Climate justice

Faith and the Common Good- Interfaith advocacy group

For the Love of Creation- Interfaith Advocacy

Nature Canada- Election 2025 Platform

Guaranteed Livable Income

United Church of Canada – Guaranteed Livable Income

Basic Income Canada Network

Healthcare

Canadian Public Healthcare Association election focus issues
Recorded Webinar: Federal Election 2025: Protecting Medicare in Canada (March 28, 48 min)

Housing

Housing Canada: A Sovereign Plan to Protect Canadians and Build a Resilient Housing System. This resource includes an overview, and links to “Take action and email federal leaders,” and to  “Download the full plan”

National Right to Housing Network- Questions for your federal candidates

Indigenous rights

KAIROS Canada election resources

2SLGBTQIA+ rights

Human rights of gender-diverse/ 2SLGBTQIA people (Momentum Canada)

Palestine and Israel justice and peace
Vote Palestine: A coalition that includes Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and secular groups

Ontario Election 2025:

More than Tariffs A panel discussion

Sunday Feb 23, 3:00-4:15 PM EST on Zoom

Information to help you faithfully discern your vote and continue advocacy after the Feb 27^th election.

Brief presentations by five panel members on selected topics.

Panelists will respond to questions from the audience.

Advance registration required:

https://united-church.zoom.us/meeting/register/Pfy-0rDhQt-l-V5KqspFkw

For more information contact:

Thérèse Samuel tsamuel@united-church.ca and John Egger jegger@united-church.ca

Moderator:

Rev. Éric Hébert-Daly serves as the Executive Minister to ECO and EOO Regional Councils in Eastern Ontario. He was ordained in 2020. He served for 5 years as Responsible, Ministries in French, for 9 years as the National Executive Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Éric spent 17 years working in federal political circles and 7 years as a registered lobbyist. He also brings a hope-filled passion for the church.

Panel Members

Charles Barrett is a retired economist, who was actively involved in policy dialogue in North America, and the Asia-Pacific region in international economic relations, human resources development and capacity building. He has broad research experience and has written extensively on Canadian and international policy issues. He is a member of Riverside United Church, Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council.

The Rev. Dr. Jessica Hetherington is an ecotheologian and ordained minister in the United Church of Canada. Working at the intersection of ecology and theology for 20 years, she inspires people of faith to transform their actions in response to the climate crisis. She currently serves as commissioner on climate justice with the World Council of Churches and the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Sign up for her weekly newsletter: Faith. Climate Crisis. Action. (https://jessicahetherington.substack.com/).

Bryan Smith is a long-term member of the Oxford Coalition for Social Justice, an organization committed to work and advocacy on a wide range of social and environmental issues locally in the County of Oxford and across the planet. It stands in for the Ontario Health Coalition and stands up for public health. Bryan is a retired teacher, and is active in providing school lunches and community dinners, and promoting local foods, the avoidance of waste, community events, and public health.

Rev. Jeffrey Dale (they/he) is the Minister at College Street United Church in downtown Toronto. Jeffrey is a harm reduction advocate and community educator, working with harm reduction advocacy groups throughout the Province of Ontario to educate communities of faith and the wider society regarding the needs of people who use drugs.

Rev. Susan Eagle is the minister at Grace United Church in Barrie. She chairs both the Ecological and Social Justice Commission for Shining Waters Regional Council, and the Steering Committee of the provincial interfaith coalition, ISARC, which does policy analysis and advocacy for income security, homelessness and employment rights. She has worked with newcomer and low-income individuals and sole-support families as a community outreach worker, and served on London City Council for 13 years.

This workshop is presented by the Social Justice Network of Ontario Regional Councils (SJNORC) with representation from Eastern Ontario Outaouais, East Central Ontario, Shining Waters, Canadian Shield, Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, Western Ontario Waterways and Prairie to Pine Regional Councils of The United Church of Canada.

Engage, Pray, Vote.

Is your church or ministry doing something new or exciting to grow your faith, reach out to the community, or seek justice for people or creation?

Don’t just be quiet about it! Let us know, so we can share the good news with others in the regional council.

Click to fill in the form: Story Sharing of Faith Formation, Justice and Outreach Activities – https://forms.office.com/r/cb4c1PR8Q3

God is doing so much in and through our churches. Let us celebrate and encourage one another by sharing stories of Christ’s church at work and at play.

For information contact Thérèse Samuel Tsamuel@united-church.ca

Flourishing:

Spend a day with the Moderator, engaging in reflection and energizing activities towards dream-oriented actions for our churches and communities.

Saturday, February 22, 2025, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm (local time).

9:00am -9:30am Registration and coffee/tea

9:30am – Welcome and Introductions

In person

Avondale United Church, 194 Avondale Ave., Stratford, ON N5A 6N4

All around the world – from universities to the United Nations, from corporations to community organizations – people are talking about flourishing. Rooted in belonging, flourishing means living with purpose and joy, and bringing bold collaborative solutions to our world’s challenges.

The Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, wants to bring that conversation to The United Church of Canada. She invites us to connect to one another in hope, with a deep conviction by a belief that, despite all the challenges of church life in this day and age, we can move from despair to transformation – from languishing to flourishing.

Is your church flourishing?

(Perhaps that’s the wrong question.)

Is your church contributing to the flourishing of your community?

How might we truly be a flourishing church in the world? How might we live in deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice, linked from coast to coast to coast in ministry that transforms us and the world around us?

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: Flourishing Workshop

Regional Councils of ARW, HF and WOW in partnership with The Hub and Trinity UC Kitchener-
Thursday November 28^th, 2024, 6:30-8:30 (all participants are asked to arrive at 6:40).

Background: Post-pandemic, 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 Elders 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:

8 Youth (teens to twenty-somethings) and 8 Elders (45+) from WOW, HF and ARW Regional Councils and facilitators 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 Elders listen.
  • Places will be switched, and the Elders will invite one another to share while the Youth listen.
  • For some questions, the order might be reversed, with Elders sharing first
• After two rounds of sharing in separate groups, Youth and Elders 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/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=qLUYz3gmEUCTEhXw9xV1dPBWSFWIXSNPila5mgKiAchUM0NLV0kyWUtVM1JXUEcyOUw4QlVaRlVDUS4u

Application deadline November 18, 2024

For more information contact

Thérèse Samuel tsamuel@united-church.ca

Kathy Douglas kdouglas@united-church.ca

Adam Cresswell – hubleadership@gmail.com

Aimee Belanger at youthevents@hubcommunity.ca

It has come to our attention that across-Canada anti-2S-LGBTQIA+ protest marches are to be held on Friday, September 20, 2024. The organization responsible, Hands Off Our Kids (https://handsoffourkids.ca/) states their mission is to:“safeguard children from gender ideology teachings, sexual indoctrination, exposure to explicit sexual content, ensuring that parental consent remains paramount.” They also aim to “protect our children from thought control and will ensure their religious freedoms are protected.”

Their rhetoric has been strongly anti-2S-LGBTQIA+ and especially anti-Trans in the past. This group has worked to exert influence in school boards in Ontario and beyond, spreading harmful misinformation and opposing SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) education in schools, again with misinformation. For information about SOGI click HERE.

These marches are planned across Canada on September 20, including the following locations across our tri-regional councils:

WOW:  Owen Sound, Meaford, Hanover, Orangeville and Kitchener

HF: Mississauga (2 locations), Oakville, Milton, Hamilton

ARW : London, Windsor

More details and updates can be found on their website: https://handsoffourkids.ca/resources/

A constantly updated list of in-person presence and counter-protests is available here. The private Facebook group 1 Million Voices for Inclusion, which also hosts community-specific chats and planning, is an excellent resource for ideas and support.

Christ calls us to be a peace-seeking, truth-speaking,
love-focused presence in the face of these movements.

How can you be active?

Faith-Filled Responses

• Send letters of encouragement to school staff and to any student group or individuals who need support;
• deliver homemade real church cookies to those groups/individuals;
• use your church signage and lawn to send PIE messaging;
• write letters to the editor;
• learn about SOGI and what it really is, as opposed to the myths spread about it;
• support school board candidates and members who are supportive of 2SLGBTQIA+ human rights.
• Offer support to transgender, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse people who are being targeted by this movement.

Faith-Focussed responses:

• Pray
• Re-read all the radical bible verses about God’s all- encompassing love.
• And be PIE— public, intentional, and explicit—about the fact that you’re people of faith supporting 2S-LGBTQIA+ people (using your best judgement about when and how, of course).

When we show up in a positive way, it is noticed!

When discussing with your congregation:

• Know that it is possible that well-meaning people in your congregation may be supporting these movements. Leading with language of “hate” in this instance can alienate the well-meaning people that you wish to connect with.
• While the “Hands Off Our Kids” and related movements are understood as hate movements, and that is an accurate description of the impact of these movements, not everyone who shows up in support of these marches is doing so out of hate.
• Name and honour how this harms people in 2S-LGBTQIA+ communities without conveying an assumption that this harm was intended. Intentions and impacts are often very different, but a well-meaning intention does not erase hurtful and harmful impacts.
• Offer grounded information to counteract harmful mis-information.

If you are making plans or have concerns, please contact me, Thérèse Samuel, Minister Right Relations and Social Justice, and my colleague John Egger, Minister, Social Justice.

Thanks to Northern Spirit Regional Council and clergy from Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council for sharing information that helped in the creation of parts of this resource.

Looking for continuing education that will grow your understanding of ministry from Indigenous perspectives? Join the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre ministry training students in a learning circle.

October-21-25-2024-5-day-registration-form-Wisdom-and-Psalms

October-28-31-2024-4-day-registration-form-Prophets-and-Prophecy

For more information visit:  sandysaulteaux.ca/events.

You can also contact your regional council  Minister for Right Relations and Social Justice, Thérèse Samuel tsamuel@united-church.ca

The United Church of Canada is beginning to collate information on these incidents, to map out patterns and also to encourage reporting, create awareness, and support advocacy initiatives.

Unfortunately many congregations and other ministries have already experienced anti-2SLGBTQIA+ pushback. The regional council has created a reporting form for such incidents. Should you experience any incidents, please fill out the form and help us work together to address the pushback against 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and wellness here:

And may you have a happy and safe summer.

Thérèse Samuel

Minister, Right Relations and Social Justice

Antler River Watershed, Western Ontario Waterways, Horseshoe Falls

TSamuel@united-church.ca

Photo Credit Hannah Voggenhuber via Unsplash

Feedback on a draft apology to members of the 2S and LGBTQIA+ communities by The United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada’s Apology Task Group invites feedback on a draft apology to members of the 2S and LGBTQIA+ communities harmed by The United Church of Canada. This is a part of the United Church’s commitment to continued learning, reconciliation and action. A volunteer apology task group was appointed in November 2023, to draft an intentional living apology that moves beyond a statement to explicit action. Recognizing the need for apologies to be lived into with action, the apology task group has developed this statement in response to the findings of Iridesce: The Living Apology Project and the 2011 National LGBT Consultation, for which feedback is welcome. Further engagement with communities of faith is planned in town hall meetings commencing later this Fall.

The draft and feedback survey can be found here.

At the 42nd General Council, the church approved support for a national process of a Living Apology installation project for dialogue, story-telling, education, and reconciliation with persons who identify as sexual or gender diverse including but not limited to Two-Spirited, Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer persons. The Iridesce: The Living Apology Project launched in 2017 and was a collaboration between the General Council Office (GCO) and Affirm United/S’affirmer Ensemble (AU/SE).

Over three years, the project gathered stories from across the United Church and submitted its final report to the General Secretary in July 2020. Upon review of the report, it was recommended that the General Council Office (GCO) form a working group to recommend follow-up actions to the General Council Executive. The working group concluded and submitted formal recommendations for follow-up on the Iridesce Project in January 2023. Among the recommendations was the crafting and offering an apology to 2S and LGBTQIA+ communities.

The apology task group members are Rev. Tricia Gerhard , Rev. Michiko Bown-Kai, Christine Dolson, Rev. Aaron Miechkota and Frederick Monteith. Further inquiries can be directed to Rev. Tricia Gerhard at minister@westworth.ca or through the GCO liaison to the task group, Jane Thirikwa at jthirikwa@united-church.ca.

We are Hiring!

We’re trying something new. We’re introducing an Ask An Expert series in partnership with the General Council Office. You ask the questions, and we’ll provide the expertise.

Who are the experts? Well, it depends on the topic and staff availability.

Maybe you want to know more about the insurance partnership between the GCO and Communities of Faith. Or what you do when the local newspaper calls (or when you want to get a good story out). Or what the new government relations officer does. Or what the cost-of-living-adjustment is.

It’s kind of like a Pick-Your-Own-Adventure book. Here’s how it works:

1. You send us your questions here: https://forms.office.com/r/q7UM9spU9z

2. We find the expert who can answer them.

3. We all tune in on Wednesday September 18th, 7-8 p.m. by Zoom here: https://united-church.zoom.us/j/89972136949

4. As many questions will be answered as can be within the allotted time. Unanswered questions will carry over to the next session, or we’ll answer them on our Regional Council Facebook group.

5. Tough questions are okay. We’ll do our best to answer them, and if we can’t on the spot, we’ll follow up with the right information.

So, pick your adventure. Will it be insurance? Or grants? Climate justice? Governance? Media relations? Government relations? Global partnerships? Or something else?

You pick. Ask your question here: https://forms.office.com/r/q7UM9spU9z.  Join us on Wednesday September 18th at 7 p.m. to get an answer in real time. Don’t have a question right now? Listeners welcome!

This session will be facilitated by: Michelle Owens

Mission Support Grants 2025

The remit vote must be made by the pastoral charge governing body (Board or Council) and cannot be delegated to the congregation. The Board/Council members should vote according to their own discernment. That being said, it is great for the congregation to share their thoughts before the Board/Council votes on it.

Your Pastoral Charge vote must be sent to General Council by March 31, 2024.

For links to the remit information and for educational materials go to

https://hfrcucc.ca/remit-1-establishing-an-autonomous-national-indigenous-organization/

https://wowrcucc.ca/remit-1-establishing-an-autonomous-national-indigenous-organization/

https://arwrcucc.ca/remit-1-establishing-an-autonomous-national-indigenous-organization/

For more information contact:

Minister, Right Relations and Social Justice: Thérèse Samuel tsamuel@united-church.ca

Minister, Social Justice: John Egger jegger@united-church.ca

Details we know so far:

Time will be designated for each individual Regional Council to meet separately. Each Regional Council will be electing their GC45 Commissioners, President Elect and slate of Executive/Commission members.

Friday May 24: 2 PM start & Friday evening The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne will speak

Saturday, May 25: All day. Includes Celebration of Ministries Service in the afternoon

Sunday, May 26: 9 AM to Noon: Includes Honouring of Retirees, Jubilands, In Memoriam, Community of Faith Life Cycle Changes

It has come to our attention that material considered a hate crime in Canada is reaching some of our congregations this week. We are saddened to note that this is coming during a time when we are preparing to celebrate the arrival of the Christ in our midst.

The hate mail received this week has included a letter with disturbing messages and a USB key. It has come from the United States and may have a Customs declaration that it is a “gift.” If you receive mail that you suspect to be this or other hate correspondence, here is what we recommend you do:

• Do not insert the USB key into any of your devices. Curiosity could put your computer and your security at risk.
• Be aware that the letters that we are aware of contained disturbing messages targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. You may choose not to open it.
• Report it
  • to your local police, and
  • also use the Canada Border Services Agency online form to report it if it has come from outside of Canada: https://bwl-lsf.cbsa-asfc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca/tip-sub-en.html

If the mail meets the description provided above, you can report it as suspicious without opening it and include this newsletter to back up your concerns.

For security reasons, never put any USB key from an unknown or hostile source in your computer, as it could contain viruses or other malicious software that could steal your personal information, could cause harm to your computer and could also spread malware to your contacts. If you received a USB key, please report it to the police and surrender it to them. If you have already put such a USB key into your computer, please remove it immediately and take steps to check for malware before using your computer further.

Also, please be mindful of how distressing opening this mail may have been for the staff member or volunteer who did so.  It will distress many and be experienced as a personal attack by any who identify with or are family and friends of the targeted population.

If you receive the above noted package or any other hate mail, please reach out to your Regional Council Social Justice staff- Thérèse Samuel tsamuel@united-church.ca and John Egger jegger@united-church.ca, even if only to notify us. Knowing what is happening helps us know how to best support you and the other congregations in our regional councils. And if you would also like any particular information or assistance, please let us know.

Sadly, this kind of hate correspondence profiles why our regional councils have chosen to become Affirming, and it is a reminder of why our Christian presence is so very vital in our communities, our nation and the world. If your congregation is not Affirming and you are interested in exploring the process, here is a link to information: https://affirmunited.ause.ca/affirming-ministry-requirements/, and contact Thérèse tsamuel@united-church.ca or John E jegger@united-church.ca if you have any questions.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to your regional council staff who are here to support you.

The Regional Council offices will be closed during the Christmas break.  Emails will be answered after our return in the New Year.  If you have opened the USB, we recommend contacting your computer care/service provider immediately to seek their advice.

May God bless you and your congregations as you celebrate the arrival of the Christ child, who comes to overturn injustice and to bring true and lasting peace. May the miracle of Christ’s presence fill you with comfort and warmth as you face all the joys and challenges that this season may bring your way.

Yours in Christ,

Thérèse Samuel,

Minister, Right Relations and Social Justice