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Hi Rural Folks Across Canada!
This is our 18th 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.
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Trauma Workshop Date Announced:
October 13 4-5:30 PM EST
Register to join us from 4-5:30PM (Toronto Time) on October 13, 2022 for a workshop on Trauma, Grief and Recovery.
Led 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.
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Proposal GCE 06 Summary: Thoughts from Zoom Workshop
Submitted by Eric Skillings
Re: GS 128 and GCE 06 Thursday April 28, 2022 @ 4 pm EDT
25 participants from Victoria Island in British Columbia to Newfoundland. Opened and closed with “One More Step Along the World, I Go”.
Clarification:
- GS 128 was the original document and has been withdrawn and replaced by GCE 06.
- The General Council Executive after Canada Wide consultation with Designated Lay Leaders (DLM), Congregational Designated Ministry (CDM) and Licensed Lay Worship Leaders (LLWL) has introduced GCE 06 as a Resource Document for General Council 44 Commissioners.
- It seems to have split and arranged the issues as per topic:
- Better Supporting Rural and Smaller Communities of Faith
- Lay-led Communities of Faith
- Licensed Lay Worship Leaders
- Congregational Designated Ministry
- Pastoral Charge Supervisors
- Technology
- Designated Lay Ministry
- For Current Designated Ministers
- For Future Designated Ministers
To read the rest of our notes and a summary of the discussion, please click here.
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Thoughts on Supporting Rural Communities of Faith (GCE06)
Submitted by Catherine Christie
What thoughts have you, UCRMN members, on support for Rural congregations? Here are some of mine.
1. In the former Cypress Hills Presbytery (the southwest corner of Saskatchewan) very few of the United Church congregations have resident ministers. These communities of faith continue to have Sunday worship services, through the offices of a group known as Worship Circle, a group comprised of retired ministers, both Ordained and Designated Lay Ministers, and a number of Licensed Lay Worship Leaders. As congregations lost their ministers, grieving their departures (one by death) and the congregations' inabilities to call another minister, Elaine, an early LLWL, promised them she would do everything in her ability to make sure they had 'a warm body in the pulpit each week'. Elaine now has coordinated the Worship Circle since 2010, drawing up a schedule for 6 months at a time, juggling six pastoral charges and 7 worship leaders. This comprises an area which has worship leaders often driving 150 km. from north to south or 50 to 75 km. from east to west each Sunday. We have strict rules about travel in the winter (do not set out if the temperature is - 30 degrees Celsius temperature or wind chill, or call and tell the leader not to come if that temperature is at the receiving community; the preacher may not come, but can email sermon so the congregation can use it if their service goes on).
As I read GCE06, and think about General Council thinking of ways to support rural congregations such as these ones, I think how each one of these worship leaders are considered equal in ministry gifts and commitment to God's church, and so reimbursed, and I celebrate them. I also celebrate this sense of call to share in worship where 2 or 3 are gathered in Jesus name.
Email your thoughts to info@ucrmn.ca.
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Temporary Mileage Rate Change for Ministry Personnel
Submitted by Catherine Christie
General Council Executive approved the following proposal at its recent meeting:
“Considering the recent spike in gasoline prices and the prediction that they may remain at these levels for some time, it is proposed that the Executive of the General Council temporarily, to September 30, 2022, increase the current minimum reimbursement rate to 75% of the CRA 2022 “reasonable allowance rate . . . for the first 5,000 kilometers driven”, or $0.46 per kilometer, and authorize the General Secretary to extend this temporary increase to December 31, 2022 if fuel prices remain high.”
Friends of UCRMN, have you thoughts about this proposal? Please share them.
The Coordinator for our Southwest area Saskatchewan Worship Circle circulated the following to participating congregations: “We recommend that you pay .50/km to the ones traveling to your congregations to provide worship. Several years ago CAA recommended .50/km to cover the real cost of travel in Saskatchewan. They raised it to .55 and it may go higher. General Council only raised it to .46 on a temporary basis and that is not satisfactory. We do not feel that our worship leaders should be subsidizing the pastoral charges by receiving less than real cost of travel in Saskatchewan.”
When I think of twice a month setting out to lead worship services, and maybe driving 150 km. or 75 km. to do it, I think of the wear and tear to my car, besides the cost of the tank of gas. And when I think of rural colleagues driving from end to end of their Saskatchewan pastoral charges (90 - 100 km. or more) over mainly gravel roads, 46 cents does not begin to cover their costs. This might be a way the United Church can support rural communities of faith.
Please get in touch at info@ucrmn.ca with your thoughts.
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Saying What's In Your Heart
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)
(Apologies are never easy. It takes time to unload the baggage. That’s what I learned when I was helping our community to neighbour with folks from the Piikani Nation. The story happened at the turn of the New Century.) It was the way our local Chief spat out the term “missionary” when he addressed our Annual NAPI Friendship Association meeting that upset me. I sought advice from Elisa, my friend and advisor. After carefully questioning me, and agreeing that both Natives and non-natives needed to “clean up” their attitude and their language, she suggested I go to the Chief, ask for a meeting and then tell him “I have it in my heart (to say what needs to be said)”. I stopped by his office … and then later tried to phone to get an appointment … I received no contact … but by this time I had practised several versions of what I might say.
To read the rest of this article please click here.
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Public Health Agency of Canada Release on Rural Communities and Vaccine Boosters
The Public Health Agency of Canada has asked UCRMN and other similar rural community organizations to pass along ways rural communities can support residents in accessing information about COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
How can you help?
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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!
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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