Hi Rural Folks Across Canada!
This is our second eNewsletter, which shares more information of rural ministry initiatives across Canada, mostly in the United Church of Canada. Welcome to our new subscribers - you have more than doubled our mailing list. Thank you!

Past eNewsletters are archived at www.UCRMN.ca

Have a rural story you would like to share? You are welcome to submit your story editor@UCRMN.net . Please try to keep articles 300 to 500 words. 

Catherine Christie, Eric Skillings, Donna Mann, Felicia Urbanski and Shelley Roberts

Welcome to our First Online Conference!

It is in the form of a 2 hour "Zoom" Workshop, entitled
"Coming Together While Apart: Being Church During COVID19".
We are trusting it will be a time of sharing opportunities and challenges,
while being supported by each other.
We have asked Dr. Marvin Anderson to help lead us into the future with hope and resolve.

Please register at www.UCRMN.ca

Date: Wednesday September 23rd at 11 am EDT (Toronto Time)
Place: by Zoom (you will receive the link by September 22nd.)

Register now at www.UCRMN.ca

                   Work With Us
                                                       
                                                  We are looking for an Animator. 

The "Animator" will work from home:

• maintaining the UCRMN website,
• managing Registrations for Online Workshops,
• hosting the Zoom during the Workshops,
• editing and publishing the Newsletter,
• and other Administrative jobs as the Network grows.

                If this position interests you, please see Job Description online at www.UCRMN.ca

                         Rural Route Delivery

“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” James 1:5 NRSV 

     It is certain that with the coming of Covid 19, isolation and loneliness can be experienced by many persons, who otherwise had active worship and social interactions. Yet, this experience has been common to many isolated rural ministers and rural inhabitants prior to the present pandemic. I can easily recall my first placement, where I was at the end of the line for dial-up internet service on my first desktop computer. I was overcome with awe at receiving my first email. It was magical. Over the next decades it has become apparent that communication is key to rural churches. Note that the prefix, “com” is to be found in both “communication” and “community”. The Latin, “com” is similar to “cum” which means, “together” or “with”. The Bible reminds us of this connection with the word “Emmanuel”, “God with us”. Thus, communication is truly the key ingredient to human social relationships. The Bible has its “oral tradition" of communication, as well as its “written” communication. Letters abound in the New Testament with Paul’s being most plentiful; however, the Bible ends with a grand “letter” of John in “Revelation”. All these letters were meant for circulation, and the Roman road system and seas free from piracy enabled the spread of the “good news”. So, imagine, how exciting it must have been to receive your first letter from Paul! 

     The means of communication continues to change.  On July 24, 1924, in St. John’s Newfoundland, Rev. Dr. Joseph Joyce started a radio station to broadcast religious services. It continues today with volunteer help and community support. It’s impact is well known, as the signal reached many remote areas on the island.  You can read more about its impact at: http://www.vowr.org/

Actually, it was a Canadian inventor, Reginald Fessenden, who made the first broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906, where ships off the American Atlantic coast heard him sing, read scripture, and play his violin instead of just the dots and dashes of Morse Code. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i76dCrHzaJM

     Today we have even more communication options available to us, and Covid 19, as well as many other rural pressures, have forced many rural congregations to examine new and old methods.

Facebook Live, Zoom, and YouTube, are now available. Newer innovations enabled by persons like Rev. Randy Boyd and George Bott, to have made multi-site community worship and learning possible. It is common knowledge that many rural faith communities have budget and internet restrictions. Thus, here are a few inexpensive and basic hints that have helped me in the past. 

1. Try audio only. Video requires a much more powerful internet connection, so try audio only. Facebook offers this option, and it can be useful for poor connectivity problems. If you want to attempt an oldtime radio style you might invest in “Mixlr”. It is a radio simulator that allows for 3 hours per day of broadcasting over the internet for about $100.00 per year. The link can be added to your church's website or Facebook page. I have used this for years.  In the horrible winter of 2015 on PEI, I was able to broadcast the worship service alone in the church’s sanctuary, as I was able to walk from the manse through 3 feet of snow on both occasions. All that was necessary was the laptop, a microphone, and my trusty concertina that I learned to play in out-port Newfoundland. It is still used today as a backup for “Facebook Live”.

2. Try Audacity. It is a free software program that allows you to record in mp3 format and upload it to your website, or distribute it manually on a memory stick or CD.

3. Try Podcasts. You can use recording software to make interesting programs and round table discussions. The discussions can include people virtually through video conferencing or by phone. An example is “Rural Pastor Talk” based in Pennsylvania  https://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/  They discuss many rural ministry problems that will carry over from their evangelical context to our own.

4. Try Jitsi Meet. Presently, our local “seniors” book club uses this option during Covid 19. This is a video conferencing option like Zoom; however, it is free, open sourced, secure, and unlimited in the number of participants. Be sure that you use the “browser edition” of Jitsi Meet, not the downloaded version which is a commercial edition. When you open the site, click to join. Then send people the link through an email that can also be password protected. My present church has used this option, as there is no program to download to make it function; therefore, nothing remains on your computer. There is a smartphone version, but it does require that you download the app. 

          In summary, don’t let unrealistic expectations of an urban “laser light show” worship overwhelm you. Remember that Jesus preached from the bow of a boat. John Wesley rode a horse to preach out in a open field. Paul wrote letters to be read in assemblies of faith. We, likewise, have modern Wesleyan options. (Did I forget to mention VLPFM , very low power FM transmitters, which have been used recently in “pop-up” drive-in movie gatherings that I am investigating?) So, keep praying for the wisdom needed to continue worshipping God, who has granted us a creation that allows us to maintain community by many means, but especially by being empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“Let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill,” Proverbs 1:5 NRSV

Article by Rev. W. Martin Dawson (retired) PEI

                   Loss of Farm Legacy

An Ontario hog producer tells his story of mental anguish and how one phone call helped him come back from the brink

Just before Stewart Skinner planned to kill himself, he made a phone call. It saved his life. 

The Ontario hog farmer was in severe mental anguish as he faced the spectre of losing a farm that had been in his family for six generations. He saw only one way to stop the pain.

“I am so incredibly fortunate to have had a little voice in my head, the day I was ready to do it, say, ‘do one more reach out for help,’ ” Skinner said. “I called my parents and I said, ‘you need to get to this barn right now.’ 

“When that barn door opened and my mother rushed in and did nothing but hug me, I realized that it wouldn’t matter if I lost everything, if we lost everything that they’d built. My parents were going to love me unconditionally.”  The realization brought a glimmer of light to a dark situation, Skinner said.

The high level of stress among farmers has been well documented in recent years, leading, among other things, to the formation of the Do More Agriculture Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting farmers’ mental health. Skinner now serves on the board of directors.

His fear and shame over potentially losing the family farm are emotions shared by other once-suicidal farmers who have been helped by Cynthia Beck, a Saskatchewan rancher and research assistant with Suicide Intervention Response.  Loss of the farm legacy is a major trigger, said Beck.   “The number one thing that everyone (considering suicide) has in common is they’ve reached a level of hopelessness and helplessness. The most difficult thing for a farmer to deal with is; if they feel like they’re not helping their family anymore or they feel like they’re not helping the farm anymore. Because let’s face it, most of us are on generational farms. It was our parents who started this farm and their parents before them.”

Beck said it’s common to hear others say that people who commit suicide are selfish. She disagrees. “Its always based on not being able to help the people that they love, or honour the farm that they’re now on.”  That was the case for Skinner. Tough times in the hog industry came just after he had initiated an expansion of the family operation in Ontario’s Perth County. The idea of destroying the family farm legacy was excruciating.

“When I was ready to kill myself, it was not coming from a place of anything other than all I wanted was the pain to stop. I could not sleep at night. I could not escape the little voices in my head. It was hell. I had run out of ideas to try to make that stop, and the only thing I could think of was, ‘if I was dead, I would stop feeling this pain.’ ”

There are good ways and bad ways to approach a person who is obviously struggling. A simple query of ‘how are you’ is likely to elicit the automatic “I’m fine” response. So ask a second time, suggested Beck. “How are you really?” is an example.

“Then when they start talking, be quiet and listen. Don’t try to solve their problems because it doesn’t matter what you say or do, you are not the person who can solve their problems.   “Listening to them is the number one beneficial thing that you can do for somebody, providing them with a non-judgemental platform.”  Attempts to offer suggestions or “fix things” can discourage the person from talking or seeking future help, Beck said.

Farm Management Canada, a national organization formed to help farmers with business matters, has just completed a survey to gauge mental health in the sector and its relationship to farm business management.  The Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms Report shows three out of every four farmers indicate they are moderately or highly stressed due to three main factors: unpredictability of the sector; workload and time constraints; and financial pressures.

FMC executive director Heather Watson said the study showed that highly stressed farmers spend more time crunching numbers and assessing different potential outcomes. They also spend more time than usual working, “and that can be detrimental not only to themselves but also to their families and some of their interpersonal relationships.

“We also found that young farmers tend to resort to less effective coping mechanisms when stressed. This could be a measure of inexperience or the lack of support they have around them,” said Watson.

The study indicated that business planning can help alleviate some of the stress that reduces mental health. Watson said such planning is not about predicting the future but instead considering different scenarios and how the business can react to them.  “Risk management seems to be a language that resonates with farmers within the context of business planning as well as the peace of mind that can support mental health,” Watson said.

What is mental health?

Cynthia Beck provided this list from her work with Suicide Intervention Response:

• the ability to meet daily responsibilities
• the ability to make decisions and plan ahead
• balanced thinking and emotions
• healthy ways of coping
• satisfaction or enjoyment with life
• Signs of decreased mental health include:
• changes in appearance
• loss of interest in usual activities
• changes in eating or sleeping habits
• difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• changes in mood, super down or super happy
• withdrawing from people and activities

What helps?

• adequate sleep
• eating regularly
• staying hydrated
• tending to your own business without comparing to others
• listening to your gut
• talking to a trusted person
• that trusted friend could be the rural pastor - you. Look for the signs and offer support and care. Hopefully these suggestions are helpful.

This article was taken from the Western Producer (June 11), written by Barb Glen. 
Used with Permission. Submitted by Catherine Christie.

            The United-in-Worship Project Supporting Communities of Faith with Current Worship Resources

by George Bott, LLWL - St. John’s United Church, Marathon, ON

The second of three major projects evolving out of St. John’s United Church, Marathon, ON, named the United-in-Worship Project, serves to support the needs of Communities of Faith currently without Paid Accountable Ministry personnel (PAM) or other trained worship leadership. Each week, by Thursday evening, the Project posts, on its website, worship resources for the current week. 

Any United Church of Canada Community of Faith is welcome to register at the website (https://www.united-in-worship.ca/) for an annual fee currently set at the cost of one Pulpit Supply - $216.00. Subscribers then have access to the resources produced each week including all of the archives from previous years. The current Year A resources include forty-two worship services and Year C resources number one hundred ten worship services.

Weekly resources include: A Worship Leader’s Order of Service, a digital presentation of the Order of Service (PowerPoint ^TM), the text of an original sermon – printable format and, a video of the sermon. Subscribers are encouraged to download the items and to rearrange the elements of the service to reflect the local Community of Faith’s style of worship. 

Through the generous funding support of the United Church of Canada Foundation Grants managed by the Edge Network, sufficient funding was acquired to grow the project and to make it self-sustaining. The United-in-Worship Project, now under the umbrella of the Canadian Shield Region of the United Church of Canada’s Support to Communities of Faith Commission and St. John’s United Church, Marathon, features worship resources from approximately 15 United Church Worship Leaders from across Canada – writers willing to support Communities of Faith that are currently without trained worship leadership.

From its roots of a regular monthly visit to each Communities of Faith in the Crossing Boundaries Cluster by a trained worship leader from St. John’s UC, to a website of resources with a United Church of Canada ethos, The United-in-Worship Project is constantly working to find ways to assist small Communities of Faith to continue to worship actively each week.

Submitted by George R. Bott, LLWL, Box 376, Marathon, ON P0T 2E0  (807) 228-1274  george.bott@gmail.com

                 Rural Routes through the Holy:
                 Recognize, Replenish, Rejoice

“Small is also bountiful.” - Dr. Marvin Anderson

PLEASE NOTE:  This is the original report written after our 2019 gathering by Reverend Doctor Catherine Smith, with an update at the end.

From June 26^th – 28^th, 2019, hopes were realized for a gathering of those touched by or touching rural ministry within Regions 14 (Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters) and 15.  This was thanks to an Embracing the Spirit Grant through EDGE, the hard work of those in the Bayfield-Little Shemogue Pastoral Charge with which I am in ministry, and the wise, respectful, and lively leadership of Dr. Marvin Anderson.  We learned a lot and laughed a lot.  We took risks, among them wringing out the heaviness of our hearts in a ritual of lament.  Some spoke who said they’d never be able to speak, and some became still in those profound moments when it might have felt easier to keep talking.  

Individually, in the early morning or in pauses between meals and conversations, we visited the still space upstairs in the sanctuary where various prayer stations waited for us.  We worshiped and told stories; we were filled with good food; we listened to Maritime music, and some of us danced - which seemed the natural expression of the energy released by our coming together.  This is an energy present in so many rural places, an energy and a wisdom which for so long has been de-valued that it is often unrecognized even by those who themselves live in rural places and worship in rural churches.  

In these two days together, we began to excavate and affirm and celebrate, to recognize, replenish, and rejoice in the way those on rural routes move through the Holy and the way the holy moves through us.  Of course, one gathering does not undo the years of Christendom indoctrination through which the church judges itself, often unconsciously, as effective or worthwhile by how closely it mirrors the Western cultural model of success or greatness.  Unbinding from that takes long slow work, time which many rural congregations in their present ways of being don’t have.  But this was a window opened.  The Spirit blew through.  Something is coming of it. Something for those in places of rural ministry and perhaps something for the denomination.  

“My biggest learning”, one person wrote, “is that if you want to know what rural ministry is about, ask those who live in it.”  How striking. It hadn’t occurred to some in these places that they were the experts on the context in which they lived.  And yes, that staying the same is not the aim; that when deeply listened to, they could drop some of their defenses.  That they could, participate in the World Café process; that they had things to share; that they are not alone.  They are a variety of communities and denominations coming together, growing the circle where old hurts are shared and healing possibilities emerge.

It was not the intention of this gathering to end with a five-point plan for rural ministry.  It was the intent to begin to open up together to ways in which “they might remain grounded in and able to share the Gospel”.  It was to reduce the sense of isolation, to hear from one another what is working well and what is lamented or longed for.  It was to build confidence, hope, and to open imagination.  Finally, it was to create a cohort to shape what was generated in the gathering in ways respectful of and responsive to rural realities. 

The cohort has been formed.  As initiator of the original gathering my hope is that we will:

• Organize a second gathering next year.
• Create a network of communication that includes ministry personnel and lay leadership in rural congregations in regions 14 & 15 for the sharing of resources.
• Consider alternative ways in which the needs of rural congregations, for worship, spiritual/faith formation, pastoral care and the work of justice and compassion might be met.  (This is a large subject which I address in my original application to EDGE and which I continue to reflect on and write about.)  We often think in terms of re-aligning or clustering pastoral charges but we might change lenses and think in terms of how we understand ministry.  We can envision ministry positions in ways “that would allow a group of people to call on resources to nourish the roots of the Gospel in their community even if there is no longer a ‘church’ in the conventional sense”. 

Other ideas will emerge within the cohort, but I name the above three as central, consistent with the original grant application.  Together we experienced worship, education, community-building, spiritual formation, laughter, trust, and a sense of ‘look who we are’ and ‘look what we can do’.  I am so glad to have been part of this and I look forward to what continued travels through the holy on rural routes may bring.

                         2020 UPDATE

The cohort Rural Routes through the Holy (Rural Routes for short), applied for and was awarded an Innovation Grant to assist in preparing for the 2020 Rural Routes through the Holy event.  It was to be held this past June at Camp Ta-Wa-Si in Port Elgin NB, but because of COVID-19 we have postponed our gathering until 2021.  In the meantime, our survey went “live” in June of this year and we have some responses to help us plan for the 2021 event.  We would like more, so we will be making it available again in the fall of 2020.  Rural Routes looks forward to staying connected with the UCRMN.  May God’s blessings be on all our efforts to support rural ministries in Canada.

Submitted by Kerry Howarth

   Two Rural United Churches Becoming One: Ballinafad and Erin

                                       by the Minister of both congregations, Rev. Felicia Urbanski

Who knew this would happen?

Years go by, and as a pastor, I try “planting seeds” in people’s minds and hearts. Seeds of embracing radical change. Seeds that might be the start of something new and different, and yet of something that seems to be more and more necessary as everything around us changes dramatically.

There is no doubt that certain aspects of rural life in Canada has changed already: the loss of family farms, the huge new housing developments that continue to take up fertile land, the “commuter culture” that grows as people drive daily into the urban centres to work, only to come home too exhausted to connect with the communities they actually live in.

Where is their time for finding spiritual sustenance? For growing in faith with a caring community of people who also need connection? For becoming “church in the world”?

At the same time, rural communities with once-thriving, over-crowded church buildings, are now frequented mostly by the faithful few – those who are caring and dedicated, but aging.
                  
When I came to serve Erin United Church in 2011, my half-time ministry gave me the opportunity to get to know several of these caring and dedicated people. I was intrigued by their straight-forward, no-nonsense approach to their Christian faith, their warm welcome of newcomers, and their fun attitude towards raising funds.

As well, I later came to also serve Ballinafad United Church in 2017. Their building is located only about a 10-15 minutes’ drive from Erin. Here, I was delighted with the congregation’s creativity and resourcefulness; their appreciation and grace.

Both congregations have so much in common! As well, many members know each other, and some are even related to each other. Their history intertwines in certain ways.

Since Ballinafad clearly indicated that their financial resources were dwindling, I wondered if they were willing to try exploring various options at shaping a new future together. As expected, they were hesitant to step out into uncharted territory. Their congregational vote a few years before I arrived indicated that they wanted to continue the way things were. And so we did.

                                                                                       
But then came the coronavirus.

By mid-March 2020, both congregations had to quickly make the decision to suspend meeting in their church buildings. This crisis was not only a global pandemic, but also profoundly affected individuals and families.

Sunday gatherings and worship via Zoom video conferencing proved to be amazingly successful in many ways, yet for some people living out in the country without ample bandwidth or updated phone service there were many challenges. Yet, people connected with each other. In those caring ways that had been part of their DNA for generations, these people reached out with their hearts.

However, even with the government wage subsidy program, the Ballinafad congregation found they were still struggling mightily. The difficult decision was made to hold a congregational vote to sell their building and to disband or to amalgamate with Erin United Church.

The vote to amalgamate won. As well, Erin United was completely unanimous in their decision to amalgamate with Ballinafad.

So now the work has begun, and yes, it’s a complicated process! Even some of our congregational leaders wondered, “WHAT have we gotten ourselves into? Did we make the wrong decision?”

I myself wondered how a deep longing I have had in my ministry for several years could have finally come about because of a microscopic virus. (No, it wasn’t my leadership genius!) While I was thrilled with the results of the congregational votes, the implementation is now upon us, and it all seems rather daunting. But in breaking things down, going step by step, there already is positive progress being made towards this most noble goal.

The Covenant Commission of our three Regional Councils (both of these congregations are a part of Western Ontario Waterways) has a document about “Beginning Well” for amalgamating congregations. They say, “Amalgamation is like a marriage – two congregations commit to becoming one, with promises exchanged, sharing of assets, setting new goals and learning how to blend their separate lives into a new shared existence. It is not a merger, or simply one congregation being blended into another. Instead it is the birth of a new congregation, a new identity, formed by joining two communities of faith together. While communities of faith may decide to amalgamate for many reasons, often one or both has discerned that they simply cannot continue to carry out their ministry alone. It is time to do something new.”

And so our story is not over. Ballinafad and Erin have not yet officially amalgamated, but are on the path towards it. We will keep the United Church Rural Ministry Network in the loop!

In the meantime, can you pray for us? That God will continue to guide and bless this process? There are of course our own egos and emotions, our own worries and doubts and concerns. Yet, we are in God’s hands. May it always be so.

Welcome to our First Online Conference!

It is in the form of a 2 hour "Zoom" Workshop, entitled
"Coming Together While Apart: Being Church During COVID19".
We are trusting it will be a time of sharing opportunities and challenges, while being supported by each other.
We have asked Dr. Marvin Anderson to help lead us into the future with hope and resolve.

Please register at www.UCRMN.ca

Date: Wednesday September 23rd at 11 am EDT (Toronto Time)
Place: by Zoom (you will receive the link by September 22nd.)

Register now at www.UCRMN.ca

P.S. We put this in twice on purpose - Sign up now - only 30 spots for this first one.