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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 |
| Items of Interest in this ENews: May Zoom Workshop - Hands On; How to save your Computer June Zoom - LLWL Check In Part 4 Article on ARWRC - “LLWL Day Away” and resources Tech Corner - “Printer Headaches” IRCA 24 Hour Global Prayer Zoom - Link for Resources Country Preacher’s Notes - “Summer Church Camps” Rural Routes Through the Holy Reflection - “Many of the Family Matter” Resources for “Celebrating 100 Years” Rural Ministry Town Halls Theological Banquet Lunch & Learn
ChurchX - Free Workshops Regional Meetings and UCRMN
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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. |
| | “Zoom” Workshop in May 2025
Date: Thursday May 15, 2025 - 1 pm (EST)
Theme: “Hands On - How to Save Your Computer”
This will be a no cost workshop by Zoom!
————————————————————————————————— This workshop is for churches and folks that do not want to throw away their computer this fall when Windows 11 is no longer supported. Martin and Peter - who understand most thing “Tech”, and especially about using open source software. This workshop could save your rural church a lot of money - legally. Sign up below now!
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“Licensed Lay Worship Leaders Check in”
In March, we held “Check in” number 3. Again, we asked, “Do you want another session?”. The overwhelming response is “Yes”. Many suggested that their Region is connecting with their LLWLs, but it is valuable to meet and share with other LLWL’s across Canada.
For those who were registered for any of the previous workshops - you will be sent the information for Part 4.——————————————————————-
“LLWL” “Zoom” Workshop - Part 4Thursday June 19, 2025 - 1 pm (ET)
Subject: “LLWL Check in - Part 4”
Please pass along this opportunity to your fellow LLWL’s. Bring your questions and concerns.
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| | | Antler River Watershed Region “LLWL Day Away”
The excitement of Licensed Lay Worship Leaders (LLWL) getting together to network, learn and socialize is growing across Canada, in all Regions. The last Saturday in May was “A Day Away” for LLWLs in the Antler River Watershed Region (ARWRC). Twenty LLWL were present to talk and learn from several of their Ministry colleagues…
Rev. Dr. Brad Morrison shared a “hands on” process on "How to Prepare a Funeral Service”. We know that many funerals are now led by LLWL. Thanks to Brad and his volunteer Rick, they have graciously given permission for this presentation to be recorded and shared here: https://youtu.be/Brad
Next was Rev. Greg Simpson who shared how to use storytelling. Many LLWL are great storytellers, but may be afraid to use their skill. Not a problem for Greg. Here is Greg’s Presentation, with a bit of a surprise at the end, where we had to tell a story as a small group: https://youtu.be/Greg
Reverend Eric Skillings shared “Rural Culture, Rural Churches and Rural Communities”. Many LLWLs lead worship in Rural and smaller churches. His presentation is shared here: https://youtu.be/Eric
We trust you will find this interesting and informative. Many of the ARWRC LLWLs are part of the UCRMN “LLWL Check-in” and shared how wonderful it was to share with other LLWLs across Canada. It helps to know “you are not alone”.
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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. |
| | “Printer Headaches” For years, I have listened weekly to a call-in radio show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting called, “Everyday Tech”, and over the years they have had callers to the “live” show asking questions about problems with printers. Thanks to my use of Linux Mint, I have avoided most problems. Indeed, one of the hosts, who runs his own repair business, lamented constantly that he absolutely dislikes trying to answer printer questions. Yes, “Why does my printer not work?” is a common question. It could be outdated drivers or wifi connection, etc. but it has only become worse with the latest Windows 10 and 11 updates for HP printers that include their “Dynamic Security” software that is automatically downloaded to your computer. Here is a brief explanation of what Dynamic Security means: Dynamic Security: HP uses a system called "dynamic security" to identify legitimate HP ink cartridges. This system often involves chips within the cartridges that log printing data and prevent the printer from operating with refilled or counterfeit cartridges. HP claims this is to protect its intellectual property, ensure a good customer experience, and prevent counterfeiting, but it has been criticized as a way to force consumers to buy their ink. HP has faced class-action lawsuits and other legal action related to its use of dynamic security.
Here is an update: As you can see, it was planned that the consumer was to be forced to pay for the extremely expensive HP brand ink. Well, I have an old HP printer that I have used since 2010, and with Linux Mint that printer still operates. Now, here is the problem with planned obsolescence, namely, as the printer ages the ink cartridges get rare and expensive. Presently a color/black cartridge set is $97! However, I have a small business in Cornwall, PEI that can refill empty HP cartridges. I was in to the store this week, and to refill those colour/black cartridges cost $35. This arrangement has gone on for years and my printer has worked fine. Still, a problem arose this time with the black cartridge. The chip has been inserted so many times that it failed; therefore, I was forced to buy a new black cartridge from HP for $44, when to refill one from my local business cost $12. My printer is working again now. Still have HP printer problem with ink? Here is a link: good luck! (Lesson learned: Stick with Open Source Software and local business) Martin Dawson, retired minister living in Cornwall PEI
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| Click on above banners to take you to resources pages of the 24 hour Prayer Zoom! |
| Other IRCA News:May 26 to 30, 2025 IRCA Oceania is meeting in Nadi Fiji, hosted by the Namoli Methodist Church.
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.
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“Underneath the Moonlight”
Words from Joyce Sasse's Gleanings from a Prairie Pastor, (pub. 2021) as she reflects on Rural networks. UCRMN has arisen from the networks here described, as well as the Alex Sim Symposium (1996 to 2016 in Ontario). (This EBook can be downloaded at the CIRCLe M website www.circle-m.ca)
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(Thoughts from Joyce about Summer Church Camps. Found in “Country Preacher’s Notebook - Wood Lake Books, 1990) April 27 was Camping Sunday. Joyce writes in introduction, “Being a Camp Director, though hard work, offers many rewards. The children, I hope, get their rewards discovering new things, adding to life’s experiences. Sometimes, however, the children find these rewards in ways we would never have suspected…” “Underneath the Moonlight” The Camp Board decided to hold a camp for six-year-olds. The kids were to come for “two sleeps”, to get a taste of what their older brothers and sisters enjoyed. Several of the boys were from my pastoral charge, all packed in one cabin, all ready for a good time. Just before the lights-out whistle, I decided to negotiate with the gang leader. “Mark,” I suggested, being as tactful as I could, “maybe you’d best get tucked in now. Tomorrow is going to be a big day, and I don’t want to see you so tired that you’re not going to be able to enjoy all the neat things we have planned.” “Yep!” Mark agreed, much to my amazement. “I’m going to go to sleep quick!” Then, before I could catch my breath, Mark completed his intention. “I’m goin’ to sleep quick. Then, when it gets dark, I’m goin’ out to pee by flashlight!” Of all the marvelous reasons why we laboured to maintain a campsite, find staff, train leaders, and develop programs, it had never occurred to any of us that the highlight for one little boy, equipped with a new flashlight, would be to do this one thing that he had never done before. Mom told him, when she gave him the light, that he’d better take it in case he needed to get up in the night… And he was anxious to see just what it was like to be able to ‘pee by flashlight’! Shared by Rev. Catherine Christie |
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| Rural Routes Through the Holy: 2025 The Rural Routes Through the Holy team is pretty excited about all we’ve planned for our 2025 gathering, June 12 – 14th, in Sackville NB. Registration ends May 29th. Rob Fennell and Shawna Lucas will present our theme: Loving With Your Feet . . . “Our experience and honouring of the sacred can’t be contained within walls. Sometimes it calls for a journey. It can be a rural route through the holy, a route we take in with our senses and feel in our bodies, a route that shapes us in community with the storied land beneath our feet and those storied people, past and present, with whom we journey. It can begin right outside our door. Come listen to insights and stories from Camino Nova Scotia’s eleven years of facilitating local pilgrimage and imagine together what pilgrimage could look like on the land you call home.”
We also have our usual banquet of tasters, little bite sized 30-minute presentations by people who love what they’re doing. Who knows what ideas you might take home with you. Worship, conversation, prayer practices, great food and a Maker’s Market (bring what you make to sell). You can learn all about RRTH, see the schedule, register for the gathering, and meet the team at Rural Routes Through the Holy . We hope you’ll explore the site and sign up to receive news of resources and reflections on rural faith life and the changing shape of faith community. Post-event Package This year we’re offering a post-event package for those who can’t attend in person. We hope that the materials in the package will be used to nurture reflection and learning in local community. The package will include video recordings of the theme presentations and the tasters, along with a reading list, foucs questions, and suggestions for how you might share the package in a group. To buy the package please fill out the registration form under Events at Rural Routes Through the Holy Want a taste of what we’re up to? You can listen to a story of Abraham from our 2023 worship here. If you have questions please email Catherine at ruralroutesatlantic@gmail.com Rev. Dr. Catherine Smith (RRTH) |
| Atlantic School of Theology Credit Course: Pilgrimage and Retreat Leadership If you would like to participate in Rural Routes and receive a university-level course credit, you can do so by registering for a course at Atlantic School of Theology, entitled, "Pilgrimage and Retreat Leadership." For more information, contact Prof. Rob Fennell at rob.fennell@astheology.ns.ca.
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“Many of the Family Matters” When a family comes to the table at a celebration, it is not unusual for someone to be missing. An opening comment from the host might include an acknowledgement of their absence and a welcome to those present before the blessing is offered. Our recently amalgamated congregation continues to recognize that numbers and faces change regularly. All are remembered. The church meets regularly as a family to celebrate, mourn and acknowledge. I saw this in action when the local seniors’ residence invited the public to attend an afternoon of Maundy Thursday readings. As I looked around the hall, I saw people from many denominations. The family had gathered. Although we might be present at an assembly as observers, we could have an opportunity to step out of our tradition and accept the invitation to join another one. The Presbyterians and United congregations might come together through the summer and might join their choirs then and at other times, creating a family circle where families were once in the same church. I saw a different setting of that on Good Friday when a small rural church joined a different denomination’s choir to worship. The same arrangement of Easter Sunday morning occurred when, after their Sunrise Service, another denomination joined our town choir and together they offered selections that could only be described as sacred. The family had gathered again. In June, the larger United Church of Canada family will come together to celebrate 100 years. The theme is “Building Community by Honouring the Past and Embracing the Future.” A continued blessing is offered to those in our memory and those who gather.
Rev. Donna Mann (Retired, living in Elora Ontario) |
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| Click on the above Banner to see The United Church of Canada’s Webpage on everything for the 100th Anniversary.You may wish to try the webpage at |
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| | Join Us For a Special SeriesTheological Banquetvia the Rural Ministry Town Halls
Theological Banquet, LeaderShift, and Growth Department: As a leader, you are engaging others in discerning next steps for the community of faith, setting direction for everything from the budget to the book study. There is an expectation that you are equipped to discern the direction “God is calling” your community to go. This is all the more challenging because of the various beliefs people hold about who God is, God’s activity in the world, and what the church is for. By offering a language and lens to explore the variety ways people of faith experience the activity and call of God among them, the Theological Banquet turns that diversity from potential conflict into deep appreciation for one another and for what the Spirit is making possible. Upcoming Sessions: Theological Banquet: Snapshot of Five Theologies - Wednesday, May 7, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET Theological Banquet: Appreciating Strength & Owning Our Shadows - Wednesday, May 14, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET Theological Banquet: Read to Lead, Reading Implicit Theologies and Leading with them - Wednesday, May 21, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET Theological Banquet: Debrief - Wednesday, May 28, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
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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: |
| | 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
_________________________________________________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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