A strange thing is happening in my house this year, an unexpected thing—it is starting to feel a lot like Christmas! I didn't think that was going to happen this year. I was sure that since this was my first Christmas without my husband Neil I would want to go to my bed on December 1st and wake up on January 1st. But instead, we started watching Neil's favourite Hallmark Christmas movies as soon as the W Network started airing them. The girls cleaned and decorated the house for Christmas on...
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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 gift...
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...
'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 WOW 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....
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 Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council we will be taking time to look at proposals which have come to WOWRC 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://wowrcucc.ca/general-council-45/ We would like to give the members of the Regional Council time to review any proposal that is...
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)....
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...
