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Hi Rural Folks Across Canada!
This is our 17th monthly eNews, which shares more information of rural ministry initiatives across Canada, mostly in the United Church of Canada.
Welcome to our new subscribers.
Past eNewsletters are archived at www.UCRMN.ca
Have a rural story you would like to share? You are welcome to submit your story to Connor at editor@UCRMN.ca. Please try to keep articles 300 to 500 words.
You may notice that articles in this edition of the ENews are a little shorter than usual. That's on purpose! In an effort to keep things shorter and to the point, we will now be sharing snippets of articles and stories in our newsletter but hosting the full versions on our website at ucrmn.ca. Please let us know what you think of the change by emailing info@ucrmn.ca.
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Zoom Conversation about GS-128 & GCE06:
Proposals on Supporting Rural and Smaller Communities of Faith and Designated Lay Ministry
Register to join on Thursday, April 28, 4-5p.m. (Toronto time). This event is free for all to attend.
Is GS-128 now GCE06? Yes it is!
After Zoom Consultations with Designated Lay Ministers (DLM), and Licensed Lay Worship Leaders (LLWL) across Canada, the Executive of the General Council of the United Church of Canada drafted a “clarification” (my words) document on “Ministry Leadership to meet the needs of the Church in the 2020’s”. The document addresses many of the needs of Rural Churches across Canada in the United Church of Canada (UCC). To compare the two documents: Click here for GS-128 or Click here for GCE06.
The Executive of the General Council proposes to the 44th General Council:
A. Better Supporting Rural and Smaller Communities of Faith (includes 5 subheadings).
- Lay-led Communities of Faith.
- Licensed Lay Worship Leaders (LLWL).
- Congregational Designated Ministry (CDM).
- Pastoral Charge Supervisors.
- Technology.
B. Designated Lay Ministry (includes 2 subheadings).
- For Current Designated Lay Ministers.
- For Future Designated Lay Ministers.
You are welcome to join us on Zoom on Thursday April 28th at 4 pm EDT (Toronto Time) to share your thoughts on GCE 06 and whether you like what you see. Please click here to register.
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UCRMN is now a Registered Charity
The United Church Rural Ministry Network is now a Canadian Registered Charity. Donations are eligible for a Charitable Tax receipt.
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Starting A Podcast For Your Church
Submitted by Martin Dawson (Retired Minister in Cornwall, PEI)
As many of the people connected to UCRMN know, I am an enthusiast of old-time radio programs, which makes me very interested in the use for audio for church purposes. Recently, I have been working with a rural minister in the recording and editing of a “Lenten Journey” series of podcasts for folks to listen to while going out for an outdoor walk. Last year, I recorded a Lenten study on the use of proverbs based on the wise sayings of the Biblical “Book of Proverbs” and other wisdom literature. Indeed, last month I supervised the recording and editing of my old-time radio style adaptation of Jane Austen’s, “Northanger Abbey” novel for the Jane Austen Society of North America’s Nova Scotia and New Brunswick regions. Last year, a similar recording of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was done with the seniors of my community here on PEI. Thus, I have leaned a lot from trial and error……lots of error! Still, the process and the final results are very rewarding for the participants, as a community-builder exercise, and to the listeners, as entertainment and education. So, I will endeavour to pass some of that knowledge to you that could be helpful.
To read the full article, please click here.
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Rural Routes Through the Holy: Thrive Where You Are Gathering
Submitted by Catherine Smith
From June 16 – 18, 2022 the second Rural Routes Through the Holy gathering will be held at Camp Ta Wa Si, Johnston Point, NB.
We’d like to invite you to a space of nurture for those in rural congregations and for the communities in which they live. Rural Routes is a gathering with time for both structured and informal conversations, worship, Education, Play, Prayer, and table fellowship. We’d like to share our stories and to hear yours; what is working well and what you lament or long for, what brings you joy and who is your neighbour. We’d like to imagine together ways in which members of small rural congregation might remain grounded in and able to share the Gospel despite sometimes challenging circumstances.
Our registration fee is $35 and lunches, dinners and snacks are included. We’ve been able to keep our registration low thanks to a grant through the EDGE Network of the United Church as well as financial support from Region 14, Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters. You can register at https://hemofthelight.com/ruralroutes. You can also e-mail us at ruralroutesatlantic@gmail.com or phone 506-536-0216 for more information. Proof of vaccination is required.
To read more about this gathering or to register, please click here.
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Postcard Project
Submitted by Catherine Smith
The first card, Rural Hope, was sent in December. Rural Fear followed second and then, Rural Stories. There are three more to come but you’ll need to wait to see what’s on them. As each one comes out, we post it (front and back) on our Facebook page so you can participate in the questions even if you don’t receive a physical card. Budget guided our decision to send a limited number of cards based on a formula of size of congregation and proximity to the Rural Routes Through the Holy gathering.
On the address side of the card, you’ll find a few words and a few questions that a congregation might think about. We encourage recipients to hold onto all the postcards at least until the summer. You can share them in your bulletin, pin them on your bulletin board or find some other way to share them. We’d love to hear about it. In the summer, there will be a resource created that allows you to gather these cards and questions and going deeper into them through conversation, music, and practices, use them as a faith formation/Christian education resource. This resource will be available for purchase at the Rural Routes Through the Holy gathering or at https://www.hemofthelight/resourcesforourgatheredlife
Please click here to read more.
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Easter Postlude
By Joyce Sasse
Submitted by Catherine Christie
Editors note: this is an Easter memory from Joyce Sasse, reproduced from her ebook, Gleanings from a Prairie Pastor (available for downloading from Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry, www.circle-m.ca)
One Easter Sunday I spoke about how Beethoven, at the darkest point in his life, wrote the magnificent music that concludes with the “Ode to Joy”.
In preparation for that service I arranged for the local pet-shop owner to loan us a few birds in cages.
She agreed but wondered how much singing the birds would do in a new setting. “I’ll send a pair of lovebirds,” she said. “They chortle to each other … And we can try a canary. No guarantees!”
The Sanctuary buzzed with Easter excitement as I arrived. Of course the children noticed. Their eyes sparkled as they approached the cages.
The lovebirds chirped to each other. But the canary looked ready to take flight … helpless in the midst of the space and the cacophony of sound. Her only protection - the bars of her cage.
Through the first part of the Service, timid to the core, she shrunk into herself.
Then, as she heard the sound of the piano and organ during the Offertory, the music connected with something in her.
She tried a few notes of the scale… Slowly the song started to flow … with more power … more beauty … as I spoke … as we prayed … and particularly as the choir sang their “Ode to Joy”!
What more fitting parable can we find – for us and for our community of faith-filled members.
Each of us have God-given gifts that make us special. And as we share of our gifts, the joy and satisfaction we receive back fills our hearts to over-flowing.
Even the darkest night is pregnant with messages of hope as we listen for the voices of the dawn. Hallelujah! We are not alone! With the dawn, we realize the Son of God has been “let loose in the world”. Hallelu!
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FALL WORKSHOP PLANNING
As UCRMN begins to plan for our Fall workshop series, we are wondering what YOU ware interested in? Please email editor@ucrmn.ca with suggestions. Have an idea, and the ability and expertise to run a workshop? Even better!
One of our Fall workshops will be on Trauma, Grief, and Recovery by Rev. Michele Rowe, who has completed training in traumatology and Grief Recovery and has been working with Diane Strickland in the area of Trauma-informed Ministry practice. As churches move into the next seasons, learning to safely have conversations about the experiences of the past two years are needed. How might we rebuild or build anew relationships that may have been ruptured during COVID? Trauma-informed ministry explores some of the ways we might have reacted during the pandemic and how churches can meet the need for safety and reconnection.
You can register now to save your place. Date to be announced.
Stay tuned for more, and pitch your own idea to editor@ucrmn.ca.
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Want to do your own Online Workshop?
** You supply the topic and the leadership
** UCRMN will supply the logistics, such as; advertising in our monthly ENews, Registration, Zoom platform and all the administration needed for a successful workshop.
Email Connor at office@UCRMN.ca to talk about possibilities.
Why a cost for the workshops?
UCRMN has been granted $5,000 from United Church of Canada Foundation to set up the Network. One of the goals is to make UCRMN self sufficient. The token costs will help with accountability. We are not expecting the $10 cost to cover actual expenses.
We are open to any ideas how we can make UCRMN self sufficient: Please Email info@UCRMN.ca with suggestions.
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So Long For Now!
We hope you enjoyed this "work in process".
Any suggestions are most welcomed. Email editor@UCRMN.ca
Please forward this email to your Rural Ministry Colleagues and encourage them to subscribe from our webpage at www.UCRMN.ca
Who is UCRMN?
We are a Volunteer Charitable Network that is collecting and posting Rural Ministries initiatives in the United Church - across Canada - in one place;
www.UCRMN.ca
If you have an interest in finding out more, or to volunteer as a Board Member or in some other way, please email us at info@UCRMN.ca
Blessings on your ministry!
Catherine, Eric, Donna, Felicia and Shelley
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