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Hi Rural Folks Across Canada!
This is our 16th monthly eNews, which shares more information of rural ministry initiatives across Canada, mostly in the United Church of Canada.
Welcome to our new subscribers.
Past eNewsletters are archived at www.UCRMN.ca
Have a rural story you would like to share? You are welcome to submit your story to Connor at editor@UCRMN.ca. Please try to keep articles 300 to 500 words.
You may notice that articles in this edition of the ENews are a little shorter than usual. That's on purpose! In an effort to keep things shorter and to the point, we will now be sharing snippets of articles and stories in our newsletter but hosting the full versions on our website at ucrmn.ca. Please let us know what you think of the change by emailing info@ucrmn.ca.
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Connecting with Regions across Canada
Submitted by Eric Skillings
Rural ministry used to have a specific desk at GCO, but no longer does. In the changing structure the United Church Rural Ministry Network was developed to connect rural communities of faith and ministers, and share stories, encouragement and ideas with each other.
UCRMN wants to make intentional connections with each Regional Council, so that we are featured on their Clusters and Networks page as a helpful Network for the support of rural communities from coast to coast. Please make sure your Regional Council knows about UCRMN by sending this newsletter to them.
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Feb 24th Check-In Call Topic 1:
Denominational Abandonment of Rural Communities
Submitted by Catherine Christie
Members had been invited to join a discussion with other rural folk of what was on their heart. Six people joined the call; 2 were from Saskatchewan, 2 were from Ontario and 2 were from Prince Edward Island. Six others had registered, but did not show up, and we had heard from several others across the country who were not able to join.
Talking, feelings of abandonment by the General Council were expressed; this body often doesn’t seem to understand our context. General Council delegates are presently looking at Proposal GS 128, “Ministry Leadership to Meet the Needs of the Church in the 2020’s” (see Feb. 2022 newsletter). The last two items addressed in this proposal are Better Supporting Rural and Smaller Communities of Faith and Designated Lay Ministry. These items are concerning us; we have something to add to this conversation, through our GC delegates. As Rural Church ministers and lay folk, we know the situation first hand. We love and care for our small rural communities.
How can UCRMN reach out more widely to rural communities and become a relevant, supportive network? Because of lack of resident members in communities, it is important to reach and support lay leaders who keep faith communities going, but miss many connections offered.
Have you any thoughts on Abandonment? Proposal GS 128? Increasing UCRMN membership? Send your thoughts to editor@ucrmn.ca
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Feb 24th Check-In Topic 2: New Ways of Gathering
Submitted by Catherine Christie,
As we talked on Feb. 24, a very positive story was told of new ways of gathering and having the church manifest its place in the community. (Hopefully this story will be told in a coming newsletter). The congregation had applied for funding to carry out new initiatives. Grants are given through Embracing the Spirit or the United Church of Canada Foundation. Contact Carla Leon (carla@edge-ucc.ca) for some excellent help and encouragement as to how to make an application.
Read Connie’s story in this newsletter of a congregation thinking of making an application to help fund an initiative.
Have you any experiences of funding assistance you would like to share.
Any ideas of new ways of being a community presence?
Share your stories with editor@ucrmn.ca
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Feb 24th Check-In Call Topic 3
Submitted by Catherine Christie,
As we gathered on the 24th, the first folk started talking about the top issue on our minds, the convoys, blockades, arrests taking place in Ottawa. (Just to remind you, this was the afternoon before we all woke up to hear Ukraine had been invaded). We spoke of those who had gone in good faith with legitimate questions, and the divisions taking place in communities and between denominations over these issues. We talked about addressing the issues straight on in worship, or not. (One participant, intensely aware of Corinthian divisions arising in that community through the month’s lectionary Epistle readings, observed, “How could I help but address the convoys”).
This discussion led to talking of social media, as one of the culprits that exacerbates the divisions. It was noted that we all love the no cost and immediate aspects of email, Facebook, and other platforms, but noted that they have no incentive to ensure responsibility to truth. In fact, negativity appears to be more profitable. We looked at the differences with snail mail's service, and the protection of privacy along with the differences between social media compared to newspaper's and radio's need to check facts before creating articles, due to the threat of legal action for libel. Social media platforms have an exemption presently. Moreover, everything we say is scrutinized by market forces, whose desire is to provide what we might want to purchase (we all know ads geared to our conversations, and video platforms that are geared to pull us deeper and deeper into ideas in which we have expressed interest). It was pointed out that there are alternatives to proprietary software. Free and open source programs are available, but our corporate culture has made finding these alternatives difficult. An example is to try to buy an open-source laptop at your local computer box store. It is almost impossible to find a Linux home computer in North America; however, they are available in Europe, India, and Africa. (read more about this in Newsletter #3, fall 2020)
Is there anything in this article you would like to comment on? Anything about the convoys? Social Media? Open-Source Equipment?
Please send your thoughts to editor@ucrmn.ca
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Video Greetings: At Christmas, or Anytime
Submitted by Connie Sykes, from Frontier, SK
The pandemic has pushed us into trying things that we probably wouldn’t have considered before. Making more use of technology is one of those things that we hadn’t quite imagined could help us as a pastoral charge, until we found ourselves having to stay apart.
Only a week or so into ‘the lockdown’ I saw a video on one of the pages I follow, where members of a congregation sent their greetings to each other. Many were outside, or standing at their doors, and I think the occasion was for Palm Sunday.
When I had the chance over the next few weeks, I collected video clips when visiting people at their doors. Those clips stayed on the cell phone, until we reached November, and found ourselves still ‘locked down’ or isolated, or whatever variation we were doing at that time. It was clear, that we weren’t going to be having any Christmas gatherings, and we were missing each other. Texts and phone calls just don’t fill the gap when you can’t look in someone’s eyes.
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
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Canada participates in 24-hour prayer
Submitted by Catherine Christie
As reported in Feb. newsletter, on March 7 and 8 , the International Rural Churches Association (IRCA) held a global prayer event. Canada hosted 2 of the hours.
IRCA EAST
UCRMN member Catherine Smith from New Brunswick, instigator of Rural Routes through the Holy (check out https://hemofthelight.com/ruralroutes/ ) was first, beginning on screen at 6 p.m. her (Atlantic) time. She began with centring prayer, land acknowledgement, and some excellent Maritime music. The Tatamagouche (where the 2 Rivers meet) Centre operates an educational, community building ministry. We heard poet Shallon Joudrey, who asked, “what would happen if we all chose humility?” Catherine spoke of Rural Routes Through the Holy, a conference held in 2019, with sub-theme Recognize, Replenish, Rejoice. In preparation for it, planners saw the loss of hope in many small communities, and wanted people to feel replenishment, as they recognized God in their midst. Doing this required true lament to be expressed, to wring out the heaviness in their hearts. Having to take 2 years off because of the pandemic, this year Rural Routes Through the Holy 2022 – Thrive Where You Are! is being held June 16-18. Also look for The Postcard Project, which encourages story telling between congregations.
IRCA WEST
IRCA participants then jumped 4,500 km to a farm near Calgary, AB, where for Tim Wray, a Lutheran pastor and farmer, it was 4 p.m. as he began hosting. Tim is on the Board of Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry out of Saskatoon. He presented the video Faith and Farming, in which people see Tim doing his days’ activities on the farm as he discusses vocation, stewardship, biodiversity and below ground microbial life (available on circle-m.ca website under Initiative/Conversation Starters). A major part of our life today in Canada is reconciliation, (well understood by Australian and New Zealand participants of the hour) and Tim showed videos on Residential Schools, Orange Shirt Day, and the latest initiative of CiRCLe M, a relationship with Morley First Nations Community. Glenda Crawler spoke in her Stoney language, with her daughter Trudy translating, of her hopes and prayers, and the Indian Day of Prayer begun in Morley in 1971, which led to what we know today nationally as Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21), with the Sunday before known in the churches as Indigenous Day of Prayer.
The videos used by both these presenters will be available on the IRCA website, along with videos by presenters around the world.
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Want to do your own Online Workshop?
** You supply the topic and the leadership
** UCRMN will supply the logistics, such as; advertising in our monthly ENews, Registration, Zoom platform and all the administration needed for a successful workshop.
Email Connor at office@UCRMN.ca to talk about possibilities.
Why a cost for the workshops?
UCRMN has been granted $5,000 from United Church of Canada Foundation to set up the Network. One of the goals is to make UCRMN self sufficient. The token costs will help with accountability. We are not expecting the $10 cost to cover actual expenses.
We are open to any ideas how we can make UCRMN self sufficient: Please Email info@UCRMN.ca with suggestions.
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So Long For Now!
We hope you enjoyed this "work in process".
Any suggestions are most welcomed. Email editor@UCRMN.ca
Please forward this email to your Rural Ministry Colleagues and encourage them to subscribe from our webpage at www.UCRMN.ca
Who is UCRMN?
We are a Volunteer Network that is collecting and posting Rural Ministries initiatives in the United Church - across Canada - in one place;
www.UCRMN.ca
If you have an interest in finding out more, or to volunteer as a Board Member or in some other way, please email us at info@UCRMN.ca
Blessings on your ministry!
Catherine, Eric, Donna, Felicia and Shelley
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