|  | October 2023 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 | 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. | | Regional Meetings and UCRMN: | Our Regions are planning their fall programming and budget. 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.Please invite people interested in rural ministry to check out us at UCRMN.ca. | |  | Collaborative Ministry Resources Page:
We are learning you need to know the “Why”, before the “How”. The “Why” is based on you, as a unique Church Community. The “How” will be different for each “Why”. For tools to help you figure out the ”Why” and then later the “How” - the Antler River Regional Council has a Toolkit # 9.
See ARWRCUCC.ca - there is a Step by step process available. - your Region may have something similar. Talk to your “Congregational Resource Person”
UCRMN has quite a selection of helpful Collaborative Ministry resources on our website. Check out our Collaborative Ministry Resource Page at UCRMN.ca. If you have a Collaborative Ministry story to share, please send us your story to Editor@ucrmn.ca. .
Check out the 4 part United Church Workshop called Collaborative for Sustainable Communities (already started). You can register for this United Church’s workshop at ChurchX
| | Next “Zoom” Workshop
Thursday November 16, 2023 - 1 pm (EST)
“Pastoral Care to the Rural Church” | Important to the Rural Church culture is Pastoral Care/Visitation. Parishioners stay in contact with each other. They are quick to share with their minister when someone needs an immediate visit or when they are in hospital.
What to do when you are a Rural Congregation without a minister? How might the lay folks set up a Pastoral Care/Visitation team? What can you do? What are the expectations - or what should the expectations be? Can you hire a Pastoral Care Visitor? Who is eligible to do Pastoral Care/Visitation?
If you are in this situation - join us for this Zoom Round Table, where together we share wisdom, experience and best practices in Pastoral Care/Visitation.
Reverend Kathy Douglas from the Antler River Watershed Regional Staff has led similar Zoom-Round Table gatherings on Pastoral Care/Visitation. Kathy will share her experiences and facilitate your questions about “Pastoral Care/Visitation to the Rural Church.”
There is no cost for this workshop. | | |  | Under It All
Conversations on Lament, Hope, Fear, Neighbours, Stories & Joy is now available in the Hem Of The Light Shop . Born from The Postcard Project the series holds a leader’s guide and take-home pages containing reflection, stories, scripture, practices, and questions to support your group’s conversation about the themes above, particularly, but not exclusively, as they relate to rural contexts. Gather a group and deepen your sense of connection as you read and wonder and share. What might it mean for our faith communities to look at them through these lenses? What might it mean for us?
There will also be an online discussion group using the materials, beginning on Thursdays at 3 pm EST October 12th. We’ll meet for six weeks. Each week, I’ll send you the material that supports our conversation several days ahead. You can sign up directly here or email me at ruralroutesatlantic@gmail.com There is no charge for these online gatherings but you can purchase the whole series here to use with a group in your own local context.
Catherine Smith - Facilitator
| |  | 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. | | Doing Multi-point Worship On The Cheap It is not my purpose to replace the standard multi-point system of worship presently available to communities of faith through the United Church, but it is my belief that a less costly version might be of use for communities of faith that lack a local area hub, or have limited financial resources, and few technical volunteers. It certainly would not meet the degree of professionalism of the standard hub/satellite system presently in use. Yet, it could work for small communities of faith that just occasionally wish to have a joint service together, but distance is a problem. Therefore, an easy and less expensive solution was going through my mind, and I have been experimenting with a possible open source solution, namely “Jitsi Meet”, a free video conferencing service of which I have written an earlier article. (See “the rest of the story”).
Martin Dawson, retired minister living in Cornwall PEI
| | | |  | Halloween & All Saint’s Day
(By Joyce Sasse - October 18th, 2020 - shared by Catherine Christie). (found on CIRCLe M website www.circle-m.ca) “Fueled by horror-fantasy and commercialism, Halloween is a religious occasion gone a-muck.”
From 7th century Europe, “All Saints Day” has been acknowledged by many Christians as a time to acknowledge the powerful spiritual bond shared between those in heaven (the Saints) and the living.
In Canada and the USA “Halloween” was recognized as a happening that occurred on the evening before “All Saints Day” (November 1). It was the occasion when children could make fun of so-called evil spirits. The young ones dressed in ridiculous costumes and went trick-and-treating. They shouted “give some treats or I will cause trouble to your property”. Fifty years ago youngsters overturned outdoor toilets, threw raw eggs or tomatoes against windows, and pulled trash on to the streets.
Children had fun carving jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins, “bobbing-for-apples” and asking for candy from houses in the neighbourhood.
Over the last few decades “zombies” have also become a feature of Halloween. Zombies are “fictional un-dead corporal revenants” created through the re-animation of a corpse (this coming out of Haitian folklore). In the 20th century the monster-film industry has promoted what they call “zombie apocalypse” activities… This has been the excuse some people need to dress as if they were living corpses. Commercial interests have developed this genre to the extreme.
While jack-o-lanterns and ghost-like images may be somewhat acceptable for that one night before All Saints Day (Nov. 1), the extremes and the “decorations” we witness today are in extremely poor taste.
All Saints Day is a most appropriate time when the Faithful can give God expressions of gratitude for the lives and deaths of those who have gone before us.
(Written by Joyce Sasse) | | Recent News from GC about DLM’s:
Following is the opening of the letter sent to DLM’s about the DLM Proposal to GC Annual Meeting in October. If you are a DLM and did not receive a copy of this letter emailed at the end of September, please contact your “Office of Vocation” Personnel. Dear Colleagues in Ministry, (from Rev. Michael Blair)
I am writing to update you on the decision of the General Council Executive on the proposals related to designated lay ministry. The Executive passed the proposal (GS57 Leadership for the 2020s – DLM Recommendations) and has directed that the proposal be sent to General Council for discussion and decision-making, at the annual general meeting on October 21, 2023.
Note: The above link sends you to Microsoft Share and neither of my accounts would allow me to see the document - please ask your Office of Vocation to send you a copy, if the link does not work for you | |  |
Affirming Leaders Day 2023
Join Affirming Connections for a day of community, connection, and education on emerging issues in 2SLGBTQIA+ and faith intersections!
Details:
Saturday, November 4, 2023 9:00 am - 4:30 pm MT In person at Knox United Church, downtown Calgary
We will also be livestreaming the conference to registered online attendees only, and we will record the panel in order to have it available for registered attendees to re-watch for one week after the conference has ended.
Tickets available through Eventbrite. (Use the promo code UCRMN for $5 off your ticket!) | |
Pastoral Visits (# 2 Encouragement) Caring and Praying with Others! We sing about being the “Family of God”. Being in touch with each member is clergy’s greatest opportunity to be an extension of God’s love. Like Aunt Minnie or Uncle Herb, we do not wait to be notified that care is needed. Knowing our church membership is enough to connect and visit. Seeing someone at the post office or grocery store is a wonderful opportunity to be friendly, but sitting in someone’s home, drinking a cup of coffee, and having opportunity to compliment the Peanut Butter cookies fresh from the oven, in some cases before you end the visit with prayer is holy ground. Then, it is a great time to pass their name onto the visiting team so consistent care is continued. We talk about being the Body of Christ in our congregations and then we ask ourselves ‘what would Jesus do with lonely, hurting or in-crisis people.’ Could we be kind, comforting and present to those in need? What an opportunity. Can you think of any situation more precious than hearing a senior talking about his or her recent visit from their minister. It is golden and yes, ministers do visit. Having the opportunity to sit in a parishioner’s home and listen to their stories is special. I’ve heard people say, “What would we talk about?” This makes me smile. Don’t worry, pastors, you might not get a word in likewise. People have a storeroom of topics just waiting for an interesting person to listen. If Covid and Flu make it difficult for a home visit, phone calls, emails, digital greeting cards and veranda-visits might work. My personal way of approaching a visit would be to ask the church secretary to make the appointments for the week. That way if the person didn’t want a visit at that time, it would be easier for them to tell the secretary. And then I’d try to figure out how to make myself available at another time to that person. It’s a special blessing to be on the minister’s list for a visit. By Reverend Donna Mann (Retired) - Ontario | | ChurchX “What do you want to learn this month?”
Upcoming Events: 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism Live Events
New dynamic speakers are scheduled to offer new live events this year (starts October 10), as part of the for the 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism. See 2023 events on ChurchX!
| Sarah Levis has send out an email to share the online workshops on ChurchX.
Click on ChurchX to see what is available. | | So Long For Now!
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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 | | | | |
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