Minute for Mission: Pentecost Sunday/Pentecost Offering

Minute for Mission: Pentecost Sunday/Pentecost Offering: Take a minute to look back on your life. Who all have you lived with? In the earliest parts of our lives, we might live with parents or gr...

Minute for Mission:1001 New Worshiping Communities

Minute for Mission:1001 New Worshiping Communities: In 2012, the General Assembly made a bold commitment — to create an environment within the denomination that would lead to the flourishin...

Hopeful Church - Finding meaning in times of crisis

Hopeful Church - Finding meaning in times of crisis: Throughout the coronavirus pandemic I’ve been thinking a lot about Victor Frankl. It’s like he’s the answer to everything pastors especiall...

Pray, Praise and Worship: Resources for such a time as this

Resources for such a time as this: PC(USA) provides prayer, hymn for churches during a time of racial injustice by Gail Strange | Presbyterian News Service The Rev. Dr...

Where is God in a pandemic?

Where is God in a pandemic?: The short answer: God is amidst us in the suffering by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service The Rev. Dr. Richard Boyce LOU...

Pentecost 2020: A Kairos Moment

COVID-19 has greatly affected and altered our lives and institutions. We suddenly found ourselves unprepared for the future. Even coping with the present is difficult for us. We face the daily threat of getting infected with the virus. Thousands still die of the virus every day. The financial losses of individuals, businesses, and the global economy are staggering.

In the face of these realities, the words of Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:15-16 ring true. Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk - not as unwise people but as wise - making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

The word for "time," that Paul used here, is kairos. It refers to a critical moment, an opportune time, a window of opportunity that could lead to a defining moment like in 1 Timothy 2: 5 -6 that says; For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

The incarnation of Jesus was an opportune time, a kairos moment, that resulted in the offering of the perfect sacrifice for the sins of humanity.

This Pentecost Sunday, I call on all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the millions of evangelicals all over the world, to view this pandemic as a kairos moment. It is an opportune time for us to share the love and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the rest of the world.

Look beyond the threats of COVID-19. Open your eyes to the opportunities this crisis brings. Make the most of your time to connect with, pray for, encourage, and serve the people around you.

As the Holy Spirit empowered the early believers to be witnesses for Jesus on that first Pentecost, as we celebrate Pentecost today, let us seek a fresh empowerment of the Holy Spirit. He could turn this pandemic to be a defining moment for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this 21st century, in our work of advancing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Let us seize this kairos moment!

Bishop Efraim Tendero
Secretary General / CEO
World Evangelical Alliance

Note from Nora: Noticing the blessings at hand

May 29, 2020 “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” These words from Psalm 104 may challenge us in these anxious and uncertain times.  And yet, why not? There is lots to lament in the restricted lives we are leading. There are things we won’t be able to do this summer. Kids will miss on the experiences of overnight camps and canoe trips. Plans for family trips have been set aside. We haven’t even been to a restaurant for weeks and weeks. And these are the concerns of the fortunate ones of us who are healthy, who have not lost dear ones to COVID-19, and who don’t take our lives in our hands by risk of exposure in our daily work. These are the concerns of those of us who have homes to sequester in. Lots to lament, and lamenting certainly has its place. There is plenty of lament in the psalms, but it comes alongside these expressions of gratefulness and praise. Lamenting by itself doesn’t do much to lift our spirits. There are two things that I love about this line from the psalm. One is that it calls us to the positive. The other is that it turns our attention to God… reminds us that there is a presence greater than ourselves that we can turn to. And there are many positives in these times. Beginning, in a world where we are unable to look to distant places or events for our fun, with being forced to notice the blessings right at hand. A family meal can feel special when no one is rushing off. Neighbours have more time to stop and chat – from a distance of course. I know I am not the only one improving my bread making skills, and so far I have spent three Sunday evenings baking delicious treats with a Zoom group from church. Even though most of us complained when it snowed in Toronto in the middle of May, the magnolias, the crab apples, and now the lilacs have been so lovely this spring. I am not sure if they are truly more lovely than usual, or if they just seem that way because it is such a relief to see the beauty of the season unfolding in a time when so much feels different. Either way, (why analyze it?), they bring joy. Yesterday my neighbour called to tell me that there was a fawn in her flower garden right at the front of the house. Of course I went right over, and there was a tiny creature, maybe just a day or two old, a sweet, tender symbol of the renewal of life. It brought to mind for me the line from a beloved hymn that tells us that God sees even a little sparrow that falls. (The fawn was there all day, but later when I went over in the dark to check, it was gone. Its mother, who had left it in that safe place all day, had come back and led it somewhere else for the night.)     We had another simple joy in our family yesterday when my niece shared her son’s excitement at losing his first tooth! Yes, I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Or at least I will do my best!   Blessings,   Nora Nora Sanders is General Secretary of The United Church of Canada.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Foundation Board experiences life along the El Paso-Mexico border

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Foundation Board experiences life along the El Paso-Mexico border: One member is touched by the wind May 29, 2020 Members of the Board of Trustees and staff of the Presbyterian Foundation spent a day...

WCRC eNews: May 2020: Calls for the Economy of Life, Pandemic Resources, More

eNews: May 2020   Conference calls for "economy of life" The “Economy of Life in a Time of Pandemic” online conference focused on the socio-economic-ecological impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and how it offers the world an opportunity to rethink and reshape financial and economic systems to prioritize the health and well-being of communities and the planet. Chris Ferguson, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, stressed that the current global scenario calls us “to show up and carry forward the core visions and core themes of the New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA), and that these have to necessarily be transformational.” “We need to raise the questions about debt and taxation. Our next steps, including our short-term steps, cannot be less than radical,” Ferguson said. Read more: Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Deutsch, English, Español, Français, Korean Read the conference's final statement (English).

New coronavirus webpage has resources, news, and more from members. Member church news is posted every Friday on the WCRC blog. Reconciliation takes shape through action in Argentina: English, Español. Facebook Twitter Website Email Pastoral Letter from General Secretary: Deutsch, English, Español, Français.  Adopt an "economy of life" urge global religious groups.

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Embracing the Spirit: Emptying Cupboards and Making Art, Innovation Events, and more!

Friends, we are living through challenging, unprecedented times, there's no doubt about it. We hope that you're all taking care of yourselves, and others, as you are able. For information about The United Church of Canada’s response and policies regarding COVID-19, please visit the United Church's dedicated webpage for official updates. Emptying Cupboards and Making Art Together (At a Distance) St. John's United Church in Marathon, ON, is on the north shore of Lake Superior. With a median age of 45, our town is a family town with a wonderfully high percentage of kids and babies. During this pandemic, our faith community has been asking itself how we can serve our neighbours from a distance, and the kids in our town are always top of mind. There have been lots of community efforts to arrange birthday parades and teddy bear scavenger hunts, but what could we do? What did we have to offer? Well, what we had to offer was a closet and cupboards filled with Sunday school remnants, craft materials and art supplies laying untouched. So, the idea was hatched to host an art contest for the kids in town, to provide a box of free art supplies by the church's front door for anyone, and to do some meaning-making too. Art is such a wonderful tool to explore our feelings; it can give language to those struggling to find words. So an elementary school teacher and our minister worked together to find some themes that could invite kids to reflect on hope and calm during a time of high anxiety. Our themes were “Hopes for Spring” for younger children, and “Where I Find Calm” for the older ones. Every child and teen who entered also had their name submitted for a draw to win a gift certificate to our local video store where they can rent movies to watch with their family (folks still do that in Marathon) or buy a game to play. We wanted a prize that would continue to encourage connection and conversation, as well as support a local business. We had eight entries which you can view on our digital art gallery and awarded five prizes. Maybe we didn’t get 30 or 40 entries, but the ones we did were so creative and thoughtful. About two thirds of the free supplies found a home, and we made connections with folks who are part of our town but not part of our faith community. It was a little idea we made happen in a week, but it was fashioned with a whole lot of love. And we couldn’t be happier with the results. - By Selina Mullin, Congregational Minister with St. John's United Church, Marathon [Photo credit: St John's United] Innovation Events   30 Hacks for Managing Change On June 3 at 3:00 p.m. EDT, Disciples of Christ and EDGE are partnering to deliver this ‘Church Hack’. Successfully managing a period of change takes art, intuition, skill, strong listening, effective communication, and spiritual discernment. When done correctly, change management can help a leader gain respect and loyalty. Done poorly, it can have adverse effects on the organization and its people. Managing change is often daunting to oversee, especially during challenging circumstances. Theory of Change Workshop: June 8 Create a more informed, responsive, and impactful ministry. This workshop will explore links between your ministry's activities and outcomes for the purpose of planning, participation, and evaluation. The resulting product will guide and focus your work, helping you increase intentionality and purpose. We believe this workshop will help you significantly improve your spiritual, social, ecological, and financial impact and better accomplish the change your ministry is trying to accomplish. RSVP to the facilitator if you'd like to join! The Eco-Commoning Project Session One, June 11 - Bill Phipps and Ted Reeve outline what Eco-Commoning is, its history, its challenges, and its future. Session Two, June 18 - More social enterprise and social innovation stories from across the country! Stories from Quebec, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan will be featured. Session Three, June 25 - Partnering! How do we start these conversations and build strong relationships? This is the first step in discovering what 'eco-commoning' can look like in your neighbourhood. Register for one or all three of these gatherings! [Photo by Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash] Creative Outreach? Look for Partners! Want more creative outreach ideas? Last week United in Learning featured three stories of creative outreach and three stories of partners that have ideas of how to work with communities of faith. The stories of the communities of faith were from: Vancouver Island, where storytelling time is something that provides community and comfort for many An urban community of faith in Montreal which has leaned into supporting some of the most vulnerable at this point in time A rural pastoral charge in Ontario that's unleashing gifts from throughout their community of faith and neighbourhood through technology and a recording studio in their home The stories of partners were inspiring as well! A food non-profit explained how their food box delivery program has jumped to 5,000 boxes a week There was discussion about how artists and musicians could be in partnership with communities of faith during this reopening We learned about the cooperative movement and its shared values with communities of faith, and the new ideas they're working on and inviting us into Each of them is showing resilience during this time by pivoting, re-imagining, and inventing new ways of being community and doing outreach. Watch the video. Embracing the Spirit is a learning network and innovation fund. It offers funding and support for innovation ideas hatched out of faith communities and communities in ministry. Some of the stories and best practices that are happening throughout The United Church of Canada are shared in this newsletter. If you have an idea that you want to launch, reach out and tell us about it! Proposal deadlines are quarterly, and due on the 15th of the month: January, April, July and October. Find out more.  Share Tweet Forward to a friend Sign up for the Embracing the Spirit newsletter! Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Donate to The United Church of Canada and help fund life changing work around the world!

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Presbyterian Peace Camp June 18-27

Presbyterian Peace Camp June 18-27: Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations May 2020 Actions & Options during Covid-19.... New...

UC National News - Pentecost 2020 - National Reconciliation Week and more

A message from Dr Deidre Palmer "Thank you to all of you who are responding to God’s call to be the Church in this challenging time." In This Together The Assembly Resourcing Unit has produced a National Reconciliation Week resource for 2020, which includes reflections from Dr Deidre Palmer and Interim National Chairperson of UAICC Pr Mark Kickett. Sunday Streaming  This week's worship is led by Rev Ian Ferguson of Brunswick Uniting Church in Melbourne. Follow live from 10am AEST on our Facebook page. A Journey for all Australians - Part 2 Walking together with Frontier Services' Board member Aunty Diane Torrens. President's Conference 2020 Dr Deidre Palmer's second conference as President will go ahead as planned in October this year. The focus is on every member ministry. The Conference will be open to remote attendees. More details in coming weeks.    JOIN US IN PRAYER FOR: Members of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress as we continue to mark National Reconciliation Week. Christians in Australia and around the world marking Pentecost. Our online worship leaders - and all who are responding to God’s call to be the Church in this challenging time.

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