Dear Friends, As we gather to celebrate the joyous season of Christmas, I want to extend my warmest greetings and blessings to each member of the Antler River Watershed Region. As we travel through the Advent Season, we reflect on the profound gifts of Hope, Peace Joy and Love that the birth of Jesus Christ brought into our world. Those gifts often feel lost with the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and it is easy to feel disconnected—from our loved ones, our communities, and even...
News
Clarity on 100th anniversary package sent to communities of faith Nov 20, 2024 | News, UCC Centenary In October, many communities of faith or pastoral charges received communication from Brian Arthur Brown, chair of Friends of the United Church Foundation and author of two recent books that were widely distributed to communities of faith, Keys to the Kindom and The Untied Church. The letter speaks about inviting specified Communities of Faith to come together and participate in events for...
Free Resource for an Advent Small Group Study We are offering every Community of Faith a gift this Advent season! By means of a regional subscription you can access an Advent Small Group Study created by: The Prayer Bench entitled Advent Longing We hope this will be a gift for busy ministers and lay leaders in this Advent season who want a faith formation opportunity for their community of faith. This Advent Small Group Study invites participants to nurture longing as a powerful spiritual...
Regional Councils of ARW, HF and WOW in partnership with The Hub and Trinity UC Kitchener- Thursday November 28th, 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...
Antler River Watershed Regional Council A Time of Renewal: Rebuild, Reconnect, Revitalize Welcomes you to the 2024 Fall Gathering! Online via Zoom Friday October 25th: Time 6:30pm – 8:30pm Saturday October 26th: Time 9:00am – 2:00pm The Celebration of Ministry will be In-person and Livestreamed on YouTube Antler River Watershed Regional Council Fall Online Meeting Information [button link="https://regionalcouncil789.formstack.com/forms/arwrc_meeting_registration_fall_2024" type="big"...
'The Basics': Ministry & Personnel Committee Workshops Online by Zoom, Upcoming dates: October 3rd, December 5th, February 6th, April 3rd 2-4pm with Micol Cottrell, Minister, Pastoral Relations Ordered ministers and designated lay ministers while in paid accountable ministry positions are office holders within The United Church of Canada. While there may be elements similar to employment, the essential nature of the relationship is a covenant. ~ Statement on Ministry in The United Church...
Ask An Expert - Answer Session: ❓❓❓ Join us on Wednesday evening for a special one hour Zoom event. Wednesday, September 18th, 2024 from 7-8pm We've been asked some great questions over the summer, come and hear the answers! 👂👂👂 Some of the experts include Mark Laird, Executive Minister, Brenna Baker, Community of Faith Stewarship Support and hosted by Rev. Michelle Owens. All welcome to attend on Zoom at this link...
Greetings Siblings in Christ, 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...
Dear ARW Regional Council, We are thrilled to announce that Max Watkinson (they/them) has joined our team at Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls and Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council. They bring a wealth of experience and skills to our organization and will be serving as our new Executive Assistant to the regions. Max will provide administrative support to the Executive Minister and resources and provides lead administrative support to the three executives and regional councils....
Please note that Lynne Allin, Congregational Support Minister for Antler River Watershed and Horseshoe Falls will be on sabbatical starting September 1 and returning November 26, 2024. During this time Lynne’s email will be monitored by Ann Harbridge. John Neff, Congregational Support Minister for Western Ontario Waterways and Mark Laird, Executive Minister, along with commission chairs Greg Simpson (ARW) and Adrianne Robertson (HF) will also be available to assist communities of faith...
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...
This summer we have become aware of a “payroll scam” targeting ministry personnel and other staff members of churches. How the Payroll Scam works: Scammers review websites of churches and learn the positions of each staff member to understand the staff structure in an attempt to steal staff’s salary. After they get to know who the staff members are and what their role is within the church, they target a particular staff member(s) and create an email address that is very similar to the person’s...
As Pride season continues, hate incidents, assault, hostility and pushback in communities across the nation are on the rise, and some of these incidents go unreported and/or undocumented. 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...
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...
Did your Minister leave and run off with the sign in credentials to your church’s Facebook account? Did the volunteer on your communications team finish their term and didn’t give you access to your YouTube or Canva accounts? Is one of your staff members on leave and not accessible to retrieve passwords to your MailChimp or X accounts? Need to set up a meeting but don’t have the password to the Zoom account and your Church Administrator left abruptly. You could be left out in the cold and...
All invited to celebrate the retirement of ARW, HF, WOW Regional Councils Executive Assistant, Susan Duliban on Friday September 6th from 1 to 3pm at the Regional Council Office 1552 Hwy 6, Waterdown, ON L8N 2Z7 or via Zoom at this link: https://united-church.zoom.us/j/81252105843
GC45 is quickly approaching, and with it the deadlines for Regional Councils to submit proposals. At the fall meeting of Antler River Watershed Regional Council we will be taking time to look at proposals which have come to ARWRC to be considered to be passed along to GC45. More information about what a proposal looks like can be found on our website here: https://arwrcucc.ca/general-council-45/ We would like to give the members of the Regional Council time to review any proposal that is to...
We are Hiring! Job Posting: Executive Assistant For Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils Click here for Job Description: https://united-church.ca/opportunities/executive-assistant Job Number: 24-28 Opening/Closing Date: July 15, 2024 to August 5, 2024 Description The Antler River Watershed, Western Ontario Waterways and Horseshoe Falls Regional Councils are seeking an Executive Assistant on a permanent full-time basis (35 hours per week)....
