In the summer of 2018, Diane Blanchard accepted the invitation to serve as Minister, Pastoral Relations, for Antler River Watershed, Western Ontario Waterways and Horseshoe Falls Regional Councils starting on January 1, 2019.
As if the structural change was not enough to manage, the church also chose that date to implement a new search and selection system called ChurchHub. Diane shepherded congregations through the ChurchHub process in the early days and still resources them now. She trained Liaisons, new regional council partners with communities of faith that are in search.
Diane also resourced Human Resources Commissions to learn their new role and become confident in their work. While doing all of that, she proved a valuable teammate and advisor to her regional council colleagues.
Some of the strengths Diane brings to this role are her international experiences, long service in pastoral relationships, extensive Presbytery work and skills and training in therapy. We are grateful for the commitment she made to launching our regional councils!!!!
Diane recently communicated her desire to retire as of August 30, 2022. We will celebrate her leadership closer to her leave-taking. Keep checking newsletters for information.
Searching for our next Minister, Pastoral Relations
We hope to offer a one-month overlap with Diane for the person entering this role. To be able to do that and to honour 90 days notice to a community of faith if needed, we need to have this person in place by April 30, 2022.
This is the link to the General Council page where the position will be posted very soon:
https://united-church.ca/opportunities
The deadline for submissions is March 30, 2022. Anyone submitting an application is asked to be available for the interview dates of April 6 and 7. Thank you.
