ENews September 2022

Thank You Connor !

A few years ago, Joyce Sasse prepared the following reflection:

I’ve recently taken the opportunity to visit the churches I served, all of which were small communities in large districts. All of them have closed or are closing because of changing rural demographics.
• But I’m very aware the remnant of people who remain want to maintain vital spiritual lives.
• In many ways they feel abandoned by the church and may not be aware of the work being done to try to carry on spiritual nurture in rural areas.
•   It was indicated that my “Spiritual Vignettes Columns” were appreciated through the 15 years I wrote for the Western Producer (newspaper). Since the paper no longer prints the columns, I offer them to local weekly papers and continue to print them as a blog.
• My encouragement to readers is to say God hasn’t forgotten you … and neither has the church. It’s just that we have to envision new ways of supporting each other….

I received a recent communication from Australia / New Zealand announcing their upcoming Trans-Tasman Conference in June 2016. It carried the following information: “Life, Death and Resurrection – the rural church and the whole community” is the theme for our Conference.
The brochure tells us: “(We) believe that we are called to raise our rural voices for the good of all. Rural Churches are often seen as being small and invisible, and even as dying in a time when some denominations are committed to the urban and large. But we know that our journeys have value and theological significance. Jesus spoke of seeds needing to fall into the ground and die before new life could grow. He asks us: ‘What part of you is willing to die? What are you willing to let go, so that new life can come?’”
The brochure states “God, it’s good to be alive. That’s what death teaches us!”

Hope comes when we understand the significance of Life, Death and Resurrection and what that means for our rural ministry.
• By the grace of God, the future calls us forward
•  “Our strength is in knowing we exist for the community, and the community values our existence.” Robyn McPhail, New Zealand

Conclusion: Village Values for the Global World
Not only do I believe rural church ministry is a SPECIALIZED MINISTRY, but as we better understand the way rural spiritual values have enabled us to survive and move forward in the face of incredible challenges and changes,  I believe we have valuable insights we can share with our Global Society ... Our ongoing theme: VILLAGE VALUES FOR A GLOBAL SOCIETY!

(Reflection found in Joyce’s online book, Gleanings From a Prairie Pastor)
Submitted by Catherine Christie

Rural Routes Through the Holy:

Thrive Where You Are

There was such warm energy in our days together, lots of buzz and conversation, lots of questions set free. Dr. Marvin Lee Anderson led us through several presentations that encouraged us to value our stories, to honour and express our emotions, to lament and en-joy (Julian of Norwich), to listen deeply, to take seriously our own yearning for encounter with God, our own giftedness as people, as rural people, for ministry. The questions we discussed in the Rural Café table groups came from the midst of us. We discussed them with great animation. Marvin’s rich words and playful presence freed our imaginations and oh how we loved those café discussions. Our own wisdom on being rural people and rural church rose up through our small group conversations and we nourished one another.

We fed on Tasters too, brief presentations of less than an hour each given by a variety of people on a variety of things so good that now that we’re home, we may want to cook them up in our own communities. Spiritual Memoir, Table Church, Coffee in the Church Woods, Food Forests at Port Elgin Regional School, the Spiritual Practice of Working with Wood, Healing Pathway, Quilts of Valour, Feed My Sheep, Music in Seniors’ Residences, each of the offerings, each given by someone who loves it well.

Through a Ritual of Lament, of emptying out in order to receive, we wrung out what we were heavy with to allow the buoyancy of our lives to return.

We began and ended our time together with worship, opening the Scripture through Godly Play, exploring the questions of the times we feel “in between" and what the gifts of those times might be. In the mornings, Kerry led us in body prayer to Peter Mayer’s song, Breathe in, Breathe Out, making our bodies as supple and receptive as our minds and hearts to receive the gifts of these days. We had great food catered by the folks of Baie Verte, Port Elgin, Tidnish Bridge Pastoral Charge. Imagine Strawberry Shortcake and Rhubarb Crisp in the same day! In the evening we enjoyed the musical gifts of Keila Glydon and Jolee Patkai from PEI and also The Carter Girls: Marlise and Maisie from NB.

In the meantime, the fragments from this nourishing and humble banquet will sustain us. Some of the fragments are generative questions:

We are also left with morsels of assurance:

Here together we fed on the richness of one another’s stories and were strengthened to go out in Love, carrying the fragments.

Hosted and reviewed by Rev. Dr. Catherine Smith.

Covid 19’s arrival has created a wealth of change to many rural congregations. Look how much has happened over the past years with our use of Facebook Live, YouTube, Zoom, and multi-point worship hubs for our worship services. Well, I thought that a brief history lesson might be appropriate. Indeed, this article could be an example of “online learning”. However, the truth is that we have been through this technological revolution before.

Of course, the first revolution was the invention of the printing press in the 1400s, but I shan’t go back that far in history; instead, I shall merely send you back about 100 years ago, namely the early 1900s.  After World War I, the “new thing” was radio. The war had forced many advancements in technology, and by the 1920s even the country’s economically poor could fashion a functioning radio from some wire, a “Quaker Oats” container, an earphone, and a crystal that would pick up local broadcasts. By the late 1920s and even during the Great Depression of the 1930s, people spent a sizeable amount of their income on new radio sets. It provided free entertainment and news, but especially for the isolated rural population, it offered Sunday worship services from far-away with churches that had mass choirs and powerful pipe organs. I found two churches that had their own broadcast licences, namely, Centennial Methodist Church, Victoria B.C. in 1923 and Wesley Methodist Church, St. Johns N.L. in 1924, which became United Churches in 1925. Thus, religion became extremely popular on the radio, as many church services were broadcast by local private commercial broadcasters.

   Over time, controversies became apparent. Some Protestant broadcasters spoke against Roman Catholics, Some Catholics spoke against Protestants, and many disliked the use of radio by the ‘Bible Students Association” (Jehovah's Witness). Broadcasts from the United States were also problematic with the controversial social and political talks of Charles Coughlin from WJR radio in Detroit that could be received in Canada. By 1938, government regulations had calmed the radical tone and civility returned. The situation remained the same until the demise of A.M. radio with the introduction of F.M. and later the use of the Internet. Some exclusively religious radio stations still exist like “Harvesters.fm”; however, it may come as a surprise to you that religious radio is alive still, but it has now moved to “shortwave radio”.

   Shortwave radio was also popular in the 1930s and 1940s, as you could listen to broadcasts from around the world with a good antenna. During World War 2, broadcast of the war’s news from the BBC in London England were very popular. Canada’s CBC had a shortwave station too, but it has recently closed in Sackville N.B. in order to move exclusively to the Internet. The abandoning of the shortwave broadcasters has opened up the frequencies to be purchased by religious groups. Mostly these groups offer broadcast time to very conservative religious groups inexpensively, and you can easily listen into much apocalyptic preaching, especially now with the pandemic and the war in the Ukraine. Yes, it is much like the old “Wild West” out there. Shortwave also has numerous “numbers stations” that broadcast encrypted messages for country’s spies. The signals cannot be traced, as all you need is an inexpensive shortwave radio and an encoded daily numbers pad. This situation has been going on since World War 2 and the later Cold War.

   Still, radio has done considerable “good” in the world. “Farm Radio International”, a Canadian charity,  supports broadcasters in rural Africa with information that helps provide food security and public health. Because radios are inexpensive, and the infrastructure needed is also less expensive than the Internet connection and a computer, radio is still the most effective communication tool on the planet. Indeed, “Lifeline Energy” distributes free radios to remote areas, to assist in education, women’s rights, and health. During Hurricane Dorian here on PEI, I appreciated the radio, as cell service, Internet, and electricity were all blacked out for days.

   So what can we learn from history? Well, having alternatives available is a good lesson. Remember the old proverb about not putting all your eggs in one basket? I think that many rural churches did in fact follow this advice. Bulletins and newsletters were printed and distributed to shut-ins and others. Phone trees were used to call people to check in on how they were doing. Technological training took place to help people use the new streaming software for computers and smartphones. Out-of-doors services were scheduled that used low power F.M. transmitters, so that people could sit in their cars in the parking lot and listen to the service. As well, even postcards and letters were sent out using traditional mail services. Yes, rural churches are to be congratulated for their inventiveness and resiliency  Now, just remember  not to forget what we did, how we did it, and most importantly, why we did it, because, sure enough, we can always count on another challenge in the future.

Responsibilities and Skills:

You do not need to be an UCRMN Board Member to volunteer - although you will report to the Board on our monthly Zoom meetings.

If you have an interest in any of the above positions, and do not yet have the skills (yet feel you can learn them) - we will help train you for the program and the position.

We will draft Volunteer Job Descriptions for each position.

Country Preacher’s Notes

Trauma Workshop Date Announced:
October 13, 4 - 5:30 PM EDT
Cost is $15

Country Preacher’s Notes

Trauma Workshop Date Announced: October 13, 4 - 5:30 PM EDT Cost is $15

Trauma Workshop Date Announced:
October 13, 4 - 5:30 PM EDT
Cost is $15