Save the Date
Antler River Watershed Fall Regional Council Meeting:
Fishbowl – Cross Generational Discussion
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
Welcome John Egger!
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!
Want to know more about John? Check out his People in Partnership Profile. Or this episode of the It’s Your Call podcast. Or on his Blog here.
Queer Conversations
GET INVOLVED IN THIS AFFIRMING OPPORTUNITY
Meet Hopelyn Butler (she/her):
Hi everyone! My name is Hopelyn Butler and I use she/her pronouns. I’m a psychology student at Western University and a proud member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Last summer I started Queer Conversations in partnership with The United Church of Canada and I can’t wait to share it with you! Let’s have some queer conversations!
Click the link below to answer the questionnaire and add your voice to the project. 👇👇👇
Queer Conversations Questionnaire:
Watch this short video to hear Hopelyn talk about the project:
