| 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. |
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Drive-In Church
While many communities of faith were going to online worship, Dalhousie-New Mills Pastoral Charge in New Brunswick did a different kind of pivot. If you can’t go into the building, why not have the worship in the parking lot?
Hearing about communities of faith in Texas that had moved their worship to parking lot services, Diaconal Minister Kent Gibbons thought that that was something they could try out, too. Here are some of the things that they did differently:
- The worship was shortened, taking from best practices that others were using in their online worship services. Typically, there are fewer hymns and a service is around 35 minutes.
- Music was difficult at first and took a while to figure out, but they have a CD of More Voices which has made accompaniment easier!
- Arranging cars was one of the best learnings. The cars needed to park parallel to the speaker (the opposite of what a drive in movie would do) and spacing was done using pool noodles for measurement.
- For pastoral care, the phone tree was quickly set up. It isn’t just the minister that connects with everyone; the phone tree is used to connect with each other.
With this experiment being a success, Dalhousie-New Mills Pastoral Charge is considering what’s next and how else they might reach out to more people in the area in new ways.
[Photo by DesignClass on Unsplash] |
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Pivoting: Boarding Homes Ministry
When Boarding Homes Ministry suspended home visits on March 13, anxiety, grief, and uncertainty filled the air around me, lingering like bad perfume. Mid-April, I realized: our second program, our Mental Health Inclusion workshop, didn’t have to stop. There is an Internet. We had to adapt.
When it comes to teaching, I’m old-fashioned. I’m a psychotherapist and a chaplain, and for me it’s all about being embodied spirits in a room together, experimenting and interacting. Education is a dynamic experience, not a knowledge dump. Mental health was a sensitive and important topic, computers just wouldn’t do.
But adaptation is one of humanity’s finest abilities. After our first Zoom workshop, I was exhilarated. We are still communities of caring, even when we meet online. The participants had tender, searching hearts filled with optimism and generosity. We explored how to do empathy well, how boundaries are a form of care, how to stay open and strong as we minister to each other. Discussion was vibrant, and people lit into the case study. There was that expansive feeling in the air… like being in the same room.
I know the Spirit’s presence when I breathe it. This was it. We can adapt.
- By Kate McGee, Executive Director of Boarding Homes Ministry. Learn more about their programs. |
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Innovation Events
EDGE-y Conversations
The last few weeks our storytellers have been:
Every Monday at 1 p.m. EDT there are EDGE conversations. Check out the upcoming schedule.
A Room Of Your Own Book Club Plus+
A Room of Your Own Book Club Plus+ is a North American interactive book club for teen girls (12/13-18 years of age) and anyone who identifies as a teen girl, of all races and ethnic backgrounds. The club allows them to express their curiosity, ambitions, hopes, and frustrations. It's a forum to share their feelings and opinions with their peers and with their favourite authors. This new generation book club runs monthly for 60 minutes. The chief objectives are to have fun, give teen girls what they need (and not what adults think they want!), to focus on their mental health and wellness all in a “Grrrl” positive space. Learn more and be part of this livestreaming book club!
The Eco-Commoning Project
- June 18 - More social enterprise and social innovation stories from across the country! Stories from Quebec, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to be featured.
- 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 both of these gatherings.
[Photo by Ameen Fahmy on Unsplash] |
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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. |
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