Phone: 1-833-236-0280 | Mailing Address: PO Box 100, Carlisle, Ontario L0R 1H0 | arwrc@united-church.ca
Free Resource for Summer Sabbath for You!

Free Resource for Summer Sabbath for You!

by | Apr 30, 2026 | Learning Opportunity, News, Regional Council
A Gift for You from the Regional Council

Free Resource
for Summer Sabbath:

The Inventions of Summer
The poet, Mary Oliver, declares “there is no end to the inventions of summer”.

As we anticipate the gifts of summer, your Regional Council is pleased to provide you with a free resource.

Inventions of Summer

A simple, creative, theologically rich companion for a Summer Sabbath
or Worship Series for your Community of Faith
This four-week, ready-to-use Summer Sabbath booklet and worship series invites us to enrich our summer through simple reflections on sunflowers, string beans, mosquitoes, and fireflies.

Designed for Flexible Use

  • Print and share with congregants to keep community if your church takes a summer break.
  • Use and adapt as a creative Summer Worship series with ready-made reflections and prayers for Communities of Faith.
  • Easy-to-use four week worship resource for Communities of Faith without ministry leadership or when leaders are on holiday or study leave.
  • Use as personal or family summer spiritual practice on vacation, at the cottage, or for stay-at-home vacations.
  • Enjoy in Small Group gatherings on decks, beaches or gardens.

What You Receive

  • Print-ready PDF booklet (8 double-sided pages)
  • Editable Word file to personalize the booklet for your community of faith or to share with friends (includes space for your personalized welcome/greeting to your congregants)
  • Permission to print and share freely within your community
  • Additional Worship Planning Notes with prayers, blessings, music suggestions, and ideas for preparing your worship space.
  • A short introductory video and theme photo for use in bulletins or on social media.

The Four Themes
1. Sunflowers – Pronouncing a Blessing
Receiving the day and affirming Goodness.
2. String Beans – Taking Up the Offerings
Thanksgiving and returning blessing to Earth.
3. Mosquitoes – Praying Through Hard Times
Honest prayer when life irritates or wounds.
4. Fireflies – Praying for Others
A practice of carrying others in Love.

This resource is made available to you through a Regional Group License
with Prayer Bench at www.prayerbench.ca
Register for The Inventions of Summer Here!
Watch Video Here
Registration Now Open for the ARW/HF Bi-Regional Council Spring Meeting 2026

Registration Now Open for the ARW/HF Bi-Regional Council Spring Meeting 2026

by | Apr 28, 2026 | Community, Learning Opportunities, News, Regional Council, The United Church of Canada

Register Now
for the

Bi-Regional

Antler River Watershed and

Horseshoe Falls Regional Councils

SPRING MEETING 2026

Theme: Connections
Click Here to Register Now for the ARW/HFRC Spring Meeting

Hybrid: Online and In-Person

Dates:

Friday, June 26, Saturday, June 27 and Sunday June 28, 2026

Times:

Friday June 26th, 2026: 1:30pm-5:30pm Hybrid and 7pm-8:30pm Workshops TBD

Saturday June 27th, 2026: 9:00am – 5:30pm Hybrid and 7pm-8:30pm

Sunday June 28th, 2026: 9:00am – 12:30pm Hybrid
Celebration of Ministry:

Lamplighter Inn – Saturday June 27th at 2:30pm In-Person and Livestreamed to YouTube

Registration Details:

In-Person at the:

  • Lamplighter Inn591 Wellington Rd,
    London, ON N6C 4R3 (Google Map)
  • Make your own reservation now at:
    +1 (519) 681 7151
  • Ask to speak to the front desk at the Lamplighter Inn ONLY and ask for “The United Church of Canada block of rooms” reservation.

Registration Fees:

  • Online only attendance registration fee is $30 per device for the weekend. This is a subsidized fee covering speaker costs and tech requirements by the Regional Councils.
  • In-person registration fee is $150 per person. Accommodation at Lamplighter Inn or alternate accommodations are to be arranged on your own and in addition to the registration fee. Meals, speaker costs, tech requirements are all subsidized by the Regional Councils. Registration for in-person attendance closes on Tuesday, May 26th.

Children/Youth:

  • Childcare/programming options offered are at no cost to you and will be dependent on minimum numbers. Please express your interest below. We will follow up by May 30 to confirm what is available and provide more information.

Meeting Target Dates:

Registration Opens: Tuesday, April 28th, 2026

In-person attendance Registration closes: Tuesday, May 26th, 2026

Complete Workbook and Zoom Link: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026

Note: Meeting Information will be posted on the website as it becomes available ARWRC HERE or HFRC HERE

Meeting Dates:

Dates:

Friday, June 26, Saturday, June 27 and Sunday June 28, 2026

Times:

Friday June 26th, 2026: 1:30pm-5:30pm Hybrid and 7pm-8:30pm Workshops TBD

Saturday June 27th, 2026: 9:00am – 5:30pm Hybrid and 7pm-8:30pm

Sunday June 28th, 2026: 9:00am – 12:30pm Hybrid

Celebration of Ministry:

Lamplighter Inn – Saturday June 27th at 2:30pm In-Person and Livestreamed to YouTube

Post Meeting Feedback Survey – Monday June 29th, 2026 th via email

PLEASE NOTE: Major road construction planned for June in London, Ontario:

The Days Inn is closer to the Lamplighter than the Ramada and Hampton Inns on Exeter Road. Guests staying at either the Ramada or Hampton Inn should allow extra travel time. The exact delay is uncertain at this point, as construction has already begun and will change by the end of June, when most of the work will be concentrated near the Lamplighter Inn. Travel time from the Ramada Inn and Hampton Inn is estimated to be approximately 25 minutes during that period in June.

The Days Inn, being closer, will still be affected by the same construction. Under normal traffic conditions, travel time is about 15 minutes, increasing to approximately 20–25 minutes during construction. On Fridays, traffic along Wellington Road is typically heavier, so additional travel time should be expected.
Click Here to Register Now for the ARW/HFRC Spring Meeting
Thank You Volunteers!

Thank You Volunteers!

by | Apr 20, 2026 | Community, News, Regional Council, The United Church of Canada, Volunteer

Volunteer Appreciation Week
April 19-25
To all our incredible volunteers,

During Volunteer Appreciation Week, we take a moment to recognize and celebrate the time, energy, and care you give so generously to our Regional Council community.

Whether you are serving as a regional representative, contributing your voice and leadership as a commission member, guiding our work as part of the executive, or creating welcoming and meaningful experiences by coordinating hospitality at our in-person gatherings—each role matters deeply. Your efforts, often behind the scenes, are what make our shared work not only possible, but impactful and inspiring.

You bring dedication, thoughtfulness, and a genuine commitment to serving others. Because of you, our council is stronger, more connected, and better able to fulfill its purpose.

Thank you for showing up, for stepping forward, and for continuing to build a community rooted in collaboration and care. Your contributions do not go unnoticed, and they are truly appreciated.

With gratitude,
Rev. Mark Laird
Executive Minister
Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils of The United Church of Canada
Towards 2035 Townhall Meetings

Towards 2035 Townhall Meetings

by | Mar 18, 2026 | Community, Events, Learning Opportunity, News, Regional Council, The United Church of Canada, Towards 2035

blue background in white text townhall meeting red accents for registration

Towards 2035 Townhall Meeting

You may have seen the presentation at the Regional Councils fall meeting…you may have heard about it from a colleague or fellow congregation member…you may have seen the General Council resources for Communities of Faith…you may be asking yourself “What does this all mean?”

Please join me (Executive Minister Mark) for a time of conversation, and answering questions of what does Towards 2035 mean in your local context, and what resources are needed for us to be this group of:

resilient, inspired, diverse contextual communities of disciples

seeking to continue the story of Jesus

by embodying Christ’s presence in the world!

These sessions are open to clergy, lay reps, chairs of boards/council’s congregation members. Please register for a time at fits your schedule:

Wed April 29th 7-8:30pm

Wed May 6th 7-8:30 pm

Tues May 12th 1:30-3pm

Blessings,
Rev. Mark Laird
Executive Minister, Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils of The United Church of Canada
mlaird@united-church.ca

Register here now: https://forms.office.com/r/ZjvMB4TVKL

Time to Report!

by | Feb 3, 2026 | News, Regional Council, The United Church of Canada

Community of Faith Documents due for 2025 

It is that time of year to work on your Community of Faith’s Annual Report and to complete the Community of Faith Self-Assessment Checklist as well as your updated Community of Faith Profile.

Annual Report 

Your Annual Report should be uploaded to your Community of Faith’s account on ChurchHub. If you are unsure how to do this, please see this helpful how-to article here.

You will also need to update the officer roles including your Regional Lay Representative for your Community of Faith’s ChurchHub account. Here is a handy video from the UCC on how to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHsoNoQh8jo.  There is also further information on the regional websites; ARW, HFRC and WOW.

Please email a copy of your annual report to your respective Congregational Support Minister at; HFCSM@united-church.ca, ARWCSM@united-church.ca, WOWCSM@united-church.ca.

Your report will be reviewed by members of your Regional Congregational Support Commission.

What To Include in Your Annual Report? 

The following is a list of things required by The United Church of Canada’s 2026 Manual that need to be included in your Annual Report;

  1. Minutes for the previous year’s Annual Meeting
  1. Financials including Treasurer’s report, year-end statements, proposed budget
  1. A letter of review of the Financials from an independent person
  1. A list of the legal names of the Trustees
  1. Membership stats including new members, marriages, baptisms, deaths
  1. Contact page including names and contact info for the Officers (governing body Chair, Secretary and Treasurer), chairs of committees

Self-Assessments for Community of Faith: 

Self-Assessment for Communities of Faith can be found on Toolkit #11. Self-Assessments are helpful to highlight areas that may need to be addressed.

Community of Faith Profiles: 

Your Community of Faith Profile should also be reviewed and updated annually.  Information on Community of Faith Profiles can be found on Toolkit #2 on your regional website.

Information for all of the above is found here:

ARW Toolkits; HF Toolkits; WOW Toolkits

Spring Regional Meetings: 

The Horseshoe Falls and Antler River Joint Regional Meeting will be held at the Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre, London, ON from June 26-28, 2026.

WOW’s Regional Meeting will be held on May 22-23, 2026 at the Unifor Family Education Centre, Port Elgin, ON.

Additional information will follow about each regional meeting. Please watch your regional newsletters.  Subscribe to your regional newsletter  ARW, HF, WOW.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. ARW: Karlene Kimber, HF: Beverly Tyhurst and WOW: John Neff.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this important annual task for your Community of Faith!  

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