September 2025 UCRMN ENews

The United Church Rural Ministry Network is for all rural and small town folks - lay and ministry.

Please sign up at UCRMN.ca

Items of Interest in this ENews:

• Zoom Workshops - Update

• Thank You to Rev. Bronwyn Corlett

• Workshop in Fergus - “Left Behind vs. Leaving Behind”

• Stories and “Prayers for the Forest Fires”

• Tech Corner - “Why is Linux Not on my Computer?”

• Rural Chaplain’s Association - Fall Focus Event

• International Rural Churches Association - “IRCA 2026”

• Reflection - General Council 45

• Reflection - “Four ReasonsWhy My Rural Church is Growing”

• Rural Routes Through the Holy - Updates

• Rural Ministry Town Halls - This Wednesday

• ChurchX - Free Workshops

• Regional Meetings and UCRMN

• Link of the “Report to the Regions”

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Past eNewsletters are archived at www.UCRMN.ca

If you have a rural story you would like to share, please submit your story to editor@UCRMN.ca. We welcome articles 300 to 500 words.

One Day Workshop

"Left Behind vs. Leaving Behind: The Gift of Generational Wisdom”

October 29, 2025,
from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm (Lunch included)
Melville United Church, Fergus, ON

This workshop is by donation on the day of the workshop.

Let's honour our faith stories, share collective church wisdom, and engage in the practice of Rural Cafe, as we celebrate Rev. Donna Mann's new book.
"Faithful Choices in Church & Mission”

Other speakers include:

Pastor Roxanne Bale, DLM

Marvin Lee Anderson, Ph.D

Please Register Here

You need to register (link is an email - add your name)

to ensure lunch and setting up groups and the room.

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Information about this upcoming Workshop (by Marvin Anderson)

“Left Behind vs. Leaving Behind: The Gift of Generation Wisdom”

First and foremost, this in-person workshop celebrates the recent publication of Rev. Donna Mann’s new book, Faithful Choices in Church & Mission. Donna’s book was just shortlisted for the national ‘Write Canada Awards’ by The Word Guild, which receives hundreds of applications from across Canada. Donna wrote Faithful Choices to honour all those voices and faithful stories, especially among lay congregants, that are seldom heard.

The Rest of Marvin’s Insert

Prayers for the “Forest Fires”

Thank you to Rev. Catherine Christie for the two prayers focused on Forest Fires. You can see these prayers at June Enews

On a personal note: Annette and I were visiting our son’s family, just north of Moncton, New Brunswick on the weekend of August 9. About 10 km from Mike’s house, a forest fire started and burned out of control for 3 days (Irishtown Fire). Evacuation orders were in place. Fortunately, the wind was blowing the other way, and the fire was under control by Tuesday, and out completely a day or so later. New Brunswick has had about 5 active fires on any given day. This summer has been so dry. Story contributed by Rev. Eric Skillings

Please keep those affected by forest fires in your prayers - all across Canada and the world.

Another Story from Nova Scotia: Anthony Orlando, a layperson and congregational leader who attends the United Church in the small town of Bridgetown, in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.

"The fire is having a huge impact on our community. It looks like the fires will continue maybe even into December! No rain in the forecast for the seventh week in a row! We don't see the smoke much anymore as the fire has moved on. Sometimes we are affected by the smoke and that is most unpleasant, Now that school is about to begin, air quality is an issue in our schools as their air circulation system relies on air coming in from the outside! The population of our local community has jumped as we now host many firefighters. They are brave souls with a very hard, dirty and dangerous job. They are our new heroes!" Submitted by Rev. Catherine Christie

If you have a personal story that you would like to share - please send it to us at editor@ucrmn.ca.

Martin Dawson (PEI) and Peter Chynoweh (AB) are retired United Church Ministers who “love” working with “Open Source Software” and used computers. They help the UCRMN Executive stay online.
The Biggest expense for most churches is updating their computers, and just as expensive, Software.

In this column, Martin and Peter will give you stories, suggestions and links including YouTube, that show you how to DIY, at a fraction of the cost. All this information is stored at UCRMN.ca on the Tech Resource Page.

“Why is Linux Not On My Computer?”

By the time that the UCRMN September newsletter comes out, you will have about 6 weeks before many of your computers will become obsolete. It was for this reason that there was a Zoom webinar concerning this problem, and its possible solution that will help keep between 300 and 400 million computers from ending up in landfills worldwide. I hope that you will look at some of the back issues of the UCRMN newsletters to examine how you can install a Linux operating system on one of these seemingly out-dated computers, so that you can have it function for many years to come. (Check out Past ENews. See Peter’s story in the June ENEWS about the end of Windows 10

Presently, the open source operating system Ubuntu 24.04 will receive updates of security and efficiency until 2029, and you can update it again, free, after that year! (24.04 means it was released in 2024 in April. Thus, the support is 5 years to 2029.)

Now, you must be questioning why Linux is not readily available on your computer when we go to the store and purchase it originally…

Martin Dawson, retired minister living in Cornwall PEI

IRCA News:

The IRCA 2026, quadrennial conference is coming in Sibiu, Romania on July 20 to 26, 2026. The theme is “Roots, Faith and Identity; People and Community Living on the Land.” You are welcome to investigate flights and requirements for travel to Romania. The above link allows for your “Expression of Interest”.

All participants are required to fill out an Expression of Interest as participant numbers are capped because of available space.

Reflection on GC 45

from a Rural Commissioner from Nova Scotia

Being a commissioner to a United Church General Council is both a privilege and a huge responsibility. This was to be my second time as a commissioner and I should have known better because it is a huge amount of work! But then again, as I did volunteer and as I have had some experience, I guess I must have really wanted to do this! And I was some glad I did! General Councils are true and spirit filled events.

Work began months prior to the actual face to face meeting in Calgary. We attended zoom meetings and we were required to read reports and all of the proposals, all on line!

I think there were about 94 proposals. A good deal of them were dealt with in June via Zoom, as they were mostly procedural and therefore not too controversial. The remainder were discussed in Calgary. We had three opportunities to deal with proposals. After having read them, we then had an opportunity to ask clarifying questions. Next, we discussed them in smaller groups, recommending either to move them to court for a decision or not. Finally, we voted on the floor of the court in a plenary session.

These proposals dealt with a myriad of subjects. From indigenous issues, to youth concerns, to the genocide in Gaza and to Christian Nationalism. Often discussion was very animated and by times heated. But we persevered and tried to get the work done. However, we were not successful, only dealing with maybe a third of the proposals.

The Spirit was alive and moving throughout the court. We moved form fear to hope as we looked at the future of our church. Our denomination is not dying! No, it is evolving! We looked at Towards 2035, a plan to adapt our church to our new reality. That means involving youth in a meaningful way, moving beyond our buildings, fostering emerging congregations, supporting the formation of an indigenous church and finding our dreams and visions for this ever-changing church.

But that was not all we did. We offered a renewed, fresher apology to the 2S LGBTQ + community. We elected a new Moderator, the Reverend Doctor Kimberly Heath. We listened intently to our key note speaker, The Reverend Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister of The United Church of Christ.

Yes, the 12-hour days were intense, but the energy and devotion of the commissioners were remarkable. I departed from Calgary on Day 6 with renewed pride and confidence in our church. The United Church of Canada champions values and faith that are under attack not only in the United States but in our own country as well. The work we do is that which Jesus would have us do! General Council 45 showed this to me loudly and clearly!

Thank you to Anthony Orlando for his reflection

“Four Reasons Why My Rural Church

IS Growing”

This article was published on the United Church blog page on August 15, 2025

My name is Rev. Aurora Espenant and I have been the minister of St. Andrew’s United Church in Outlook, Saskatchewan since September 2022. Outlook is a small town of a little over 2,000 people about an hour south of Saskatoon, with strong agricultural roots. St. Andrew’s United Church is a flourishing community of faith, and I want to share our story of abundance with the hope of creating constructive and collaborative dialogue and connection. I feel that rural churches are not always given a strong platform in conversations about thriving churches, leaving many wondering where they fit. My goal is not to treat our story of flourishing like a checklist or a one-size-fits all recipe, but rather to get you thinking about your own sources of abundance. So here are four reasons why my rural church is growing:

The Rest of the Story

Story shared by Rev. Catherine Christie

Rural Routes Through the Holy: 2025

Hello from the Maritimes, everyone. I just want to share news of our most recent Rural Routes Through the Holy gathering. I may be just a wee bit prejudiced, but I loved it, and I did have support in that opinion from others who attended. Life, Land and Leadership: Loving With Our Feet was our theme and Rob Fennell and Shawna Lucas were our theme presenters. They so beautifully tied the theme of the gifts of pilgrimage and with rural life leaving our faith and imaginations kindled. We were encouraged to consider ways in which we can branch out of how we can give people outside our edges a gift without expectation of any return, that we can offer them some aspect of the Christian way. Pilgrimage is one possibility, gathering people of many interests and needs, environmentalists, local historians, writers, any number of people who may come together to walk and listen and be community.

We also heard from people in ministries of all kinds, affirming, environmental, interfaith, healing, labyrinth, green burial, children’s (Bible Woolies), and writing out Scripture by hand (yes, we got to try it out). We had time to discuss each of these in small groups and to imagine what might animate our local ministry. We also had time to visit the prayer room, to try a pilgrimage or a workshop on the spirituality of aging AND to enjoy good food together.

This year we put together a Package that contains video recordings of the complete theme presentations and most of the tasters along with any handouts that were distributed. We’ve added some guiding questions and ways you might share the materials with a group. We’ll hope to gather in early winter on Zoom through the kindness of UCRMN to see what’s nourishing you. Some of you have already purchased these packages and it’s not too late for those of you who may be looking for something to ground your discussions in the fall or winter. Payment details at https://ruralroutesthroughtheholy.ca under Events. For questions contact us at ruralroutesatlantic@gmail.com

Rev. Dr. Catherine Smith (RRTH)

Join Us for the Fall Zoom Meetings

of Rural Ministry Town Halls

The first Fall Zoom meets this Wednesday (Sept. 10) @ 2 pm.

Rural Ministry Town Halls Fall 2025-2026

Welcome back everyone! Meeting dates and times are posted for the upcoming year – please note that all meeting times are not the same! We look forward to continuing to gather with you, learn about your experiences, share ideas and build relationships.

Please share this group with others that you think might appreciate it!

Upcoming Meetings:

Wednesday, September 10, 2 pm ET – Check-In!

Join us and reconnect! What you are excited about? What are you anxious about? We tend to have some large group sharing, as well as small group discussion time. Please come and share your stories, thoughts, and ideas!

Wednesday, October 8, 2 pm ET – Toward 2035

Wednesday, November 12, 7:30 pm ET

Wednesday, December 10, 2 pm ET

Wednesday, January 14, 2 pm ET

Wednesday, February 11, 7:30 pm ET

Wednesday, March 11, 2 pm ET

Wednesday, April 15, 2 pm ET (Easter Monday is April 6)

Wednesday, May 13, 7:30 pm ET

Check out ChurchX for all kinds of Learning Events:

Many are free. Some are learn at your own pace.

There are plenty to choose from.

Regional Meetings and UCRMN:

A link for the UCRMN update for Regions

Most Regions have a Networking Fund that allows Networks such as the United Church Rural Ministry Network to apply for funding. We are asking for $300 from each Region. Thank you to those Regions who have supported UCRMN in 2024 (Antler River Waterways, Western Ontario Waterways, Horseshoe Falls, Prairie to Pine, Living Skies, Northern Spirit, Nakonhaka, Eastern Ontario Outaouais and East Central Ontario).

Please invite people interested in rural ministry to check out us at UCRMN.ca.

So Long For Now!
We hope you enjoyed this Edition of ENews.

Any suggestions are most welcomed.
Email editor@UCRMN.ca
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Please forward this email to your Rural Ministry Colleagues and encourage them to “sign up” from our webpage at www.UCRMN.ca
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Who is UCRMN?
We are a Volunteer Charitable Network that is collecting and posting Rural Ministries initiatives in the United Church - from across Canada - all in one place; www.UCRMN.ca
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If you have an interest in finding out more, or to volunteer,

please email us at office@UCRMN.ca
Blessings on your ministry!
Catherine, Eric, Donna, Shelley and Yvonne