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| | | The United Church Rural Ministry Network is for all rural and small town folks - lay and ministry.
Please sign up at UCRMN.ca |
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| Items of Interest in this ENews: November Zoom Workshop - Rural Culture, Rural Spirituality Workshop in Fergus - “Left Behind vs. Leaving Behind” Stories and “Prayers for the Forest Fires” Tech Corner - “Moving On Can also Be Moving Back” Rural Chaplain’s Association - Fall Focus Event International Rural Churches Association - “IRCA 2026” Canadian Thanksgiving Reflection and Prayer Rural Routes Through the Holy - Update Rural Ministry Town Halls - This Wednesday October 8 @ 2 pm In Person Workshop in Wallaceburg ON “Then Let Us Sing”. 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. |
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November “Zoom” Workshop:
Facilitated by Shawn Sanford Beck. Date:Thursday November 20, 2025 at 1 pm ETTopic: “Rural Culture, Rural Spirituality”Here are some of Shawn’s thoughts…
Thoughts on Rural Culture and Rural Spirituality Here is an quote from Joyce Sasse’s book Gleanings From a Prairie Pastor which can be obtained as a free download via CiRCLe-M ( https://www.circle-m.ca/gleanings-from-a-prairie-pastor---by-joyce-sasse ): "There was an obvious difference between the way grassroots people thought about the work of the Church, as compared with how seminary-trained people approached pastoral work. With insights gained from the Saddlebag experience, and an intensive look at rural ministry over the years since, I’ve found we need to start by affirming that RURAL IS A CULTURE! " Come spend an hour ruminating on Joyce's observations about rural culture, rural spirituality, and the particular gifts which rural communities offer the wider church... With Shawn Sanford Beck GreenSpirit Chaplain, Saskatoon, Treaty Six Territory, Living Skies Regional Council. |
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One Day Workshop"Left Behind vs. Leaving Behind: The Gift of Generational Wisdom” |
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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 You need to register (link is an email - add your name) to ensure lunch and setting up groups and the room. ————————————————————— 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 |
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| | | 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
Please keep those affected by forest fires in your prayers - all across Canada and the world.
Follow up Story from Saskatchewan:
COMMUNITY IS WHAT COMMUNITY DOES: It was early June when the world for many people in the northern Saskatchewan stopped and changed. Over 10,000 people were told to evacuate from their forest fires threatened communities and homes. Some had time for more packing, some escaped with not much more than fear and hope in their hearts. Some had to leave behind their pets, often considered members of the family. They were told to go to many places, Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford. Many came to Kindersley. They needed help in many forms and the community responded. Because that is what a community, in a rural context, does… (Click for the rest of the story) By Rev. Piotr (Peter) Strzelecki - Kindersley SK
If you have a personal story that you would like to share - please send it to us at editor@ucrmn.ca.
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| 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. |
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| | “Moving On Can Also Be Moving Back” It is now October, and if you have been following the recent “tech” articles in the UCRMN newsletters, you are aware of the planned obsolescence of Microsoft’s Windows10 operating system in favour of their Windows 11. Moreover, you will be aware of the many problems involved in this transition. Let it be sufficient to know that we have done a workshop Zoom session on how to move to a Linux-based operating system for your computer should it now be unable to perform this update due to inadequate hardware. Yes, this transition to Linux is free, so review the newsletters from the start of 2025. However, I am going to regress in technology in this article to the time of Paul, and the technology that would have been used 2000 years ago... Martin Dawson, retired minister living in Cornwall PEI
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Who are Rural Chaplains? Rural Chaplains are lay and clergy persons who have responded to the call to live in, work with and advocate for town and rural persons, families, churches and communities. Rural Chaplains serve as a voice for justice and an instrument of hope and healing for those who experience pain and economic hardships. The annual gathering provides both lay and clergy persons a supportive setting for sharing insights and perspectives on the state of rural communities, institutions, environmental/ economic challenges and religious/ family life concerns.
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| Rural Chaplains AssociationCanadian Focus Event on “Collaborations in Rural Churches & Communities”October 15 - 18, 2025 in Chatham-Kent Ontario
Zoom is available for interested folks |
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| 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.” We are in the midst of approving “Expressions of Interest” for next summer’s event.
All participants are required to fill out an Expression of Interest as participant numbers are capped because of available space. We are anticipating that we can offer Zoom sessions. |
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This week is Thanksgiving Weekend. It is also the Jewish celebration of Sukkot, a weeklong celebration (Oct. 6 - Oct. 13, 2025) of the fall harvest, called the "Festival of Ingathering".
Gates of Prayer, The New Union Prayer Book, says: “In ancient times, when the fruits of the field are gathered in, our people made pilgrimage to Jerusalem to give thanks for life and its blessings. We too have come as pilgrims to our sanctuary, to rejoice in the goodness of life.”
Thanksgiving Prayer:
O God, make us more conscious of Your gifts to us, and help us to see that no work truly prospers until it brings blessings to others. May our observance of this festival teach us not to withhold from others a share in the bounty that is ours, nor to dispossess them of what they have gleaned by their own efforts. Help us, Lord, so to live that when we have gathered our final harvest, many shall rise up and call us blessed. submitted by Rev. Catherine Christie
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| 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. 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) |
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| The next Zoom meets this Wednesday (October 8) @ 2 pm.Please share this group with others that you think might appreciate it! Upcoming Meetings: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 |
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| | In Person Workshopin Antler River Watershed Region“Then Let Us Sing” |
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Calling all LLWLs, musicians and people who love to sing! Saturday, November 8 @ 10 am, Marque Smith, music director of Grace United in Sarnia, will lead us in an in-person workshop (zoom doesn't work with music) to learn some of the songs in our hew hymnal. |
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“Then Let Us Sing!" We will be meeting in Wallaceburg. Be sure to bring a copy of the book. If the postal strike has impacted you please let me know as soon as possible so we can get some extras. We have a carpool set up coming from London if that makes it easier for you. Please email lillian@jrowe.ca for address and to answer any questions you may have. We will be having a light pot-luck lunch following our singing. Be sure to get a copy of the new book https://ucrdstore.ca/products/then-let-us-sing |
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| 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.
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| | Regional Meetings and UCRMN: |
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| | 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. |
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| | 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
_________________________________________________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 |
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