Churches, Denominations and Religions: Embracing the Spirit: Ways to Tell Your Story, Mental Health First Aid Kits, and more!

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Embracing the Spirit: Ways to Tell Your Story, Mental Health First Aid Kits, and more!

For information about THe United Church of Canada’s response and policies regarding COVID19, please visit the church's website for official updates.

Tell Your Story!

Your story is your own and no one else knows it better than you. But when we share our stories with the world we all gain a little more understanding of each other. Take the time to tell yours. And believe us, we want to hear it! This whole newsletter was designed to share your stories with more people. We have a craving to connect with each other and storytelling is a great way to forge those connections.

Simple ways to share your story:

Blog: you can go into as much or as little detail as you want
EDGE-y Conversations: feel more comfortable sharing your story orally? EDGE hosts weekly conversations where we invite a new guest to share their story over zoom for 5-15 minutes. Previous conversations can be found here.
Social media: a quick and easy way to share your story and connect with others all around the world
Newsletter: do you have an abundance of stories to tell? Schedule them to go out at regular intervals to your followers

Do you have a story you want to share with us? Find EDGE on Twitter (@edge_ucc) and Facebook and get in touch today!

[Photo by Reuben Juarez on Unsplash]

SPARK in Stittsville

The SPARK initiative has been so exciting, and has created so many small faith communities in Stittsville. We have always said that church is not the building, but it has been very interesting to continue with our community SPARKs with no building at all. It truly has enabled us to make even more partnerships outside the building, and of course using more tech opportunities. Both our SPARK coordinators and animators have been kept on staff during the summer and have been very busy.

One SPARK leads to another, and then another... Stittsville United Church and the folks of Stittsville are connecting in new and meaningful ways:

The forest church SPARK community is growing and we have a lovely piece of property with trails and even a little outdoor chapel for our community.
In July we created some walking communities in Stittsville with Stittsville United Church’s ‘Walk With Me’ program. We purchased 250 pedometers and marketed a walking program for people of all ages. They tracked their steps and set them to the SPARK coordinator. We offered talks on Facebook live about the pilgrimages and travels of biblical character such as Jesus, Paul, Moses, and Sarah and Abraham. We provided maps, millage, references etc… Each week was a different journey. People got very involved online, and would tune in to Facebook live on Sunday mornings to hear how far we had traveled as a collective, as it related to the biblical journeys. We received excellent feedback, and will offer another walking/pilgrimage program in the fall.
We also started a Storytime with our SPARK animator on weekdays; live streaming, stories, crafts etc., for kids in the area and beyond.
Folks in Stittsville then asked if we could offer something for older kids in the evening for bedtime reading, so we are now live streaming from 8 – 9 p.m. reading chapters from the Land of Stories series. People in town are really finding her reading and words of encouragement very helpful.
Daily prayers at noon and evening have also reached many, and new (socially distanced) groups are forming.

We are excited about the fall challenge. Stittsville United Church’s pandemic team are not planning to have people in the building for many more months. I do believe that having SPARK initiatives at the church for the past two years created so many connections with the wider Stittsville community; we were ready to go online with new initiatives, and people in town were looking for them. It is good to hear from the community, asking and engaging with Stittsville United Church SPARKs online.

- Article provided by Ruth Richardson, Stittsville United Church

[Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash]

Mental Health First Aid Kits

Tina Chan won our Social Innovation Challenge in Kitchener, ON last fall, with the development of her social enterprise PASS Incorporated (Panic, Anxiety, & Stress Support) because she noticed a lack of mental health resources at her local university. While in-person help had long wait times, helplines appeared to focus primarily on suicide intervention. These resources left a significant portion of the student-body uncomfortable reaching out for help due to the ongoing stigma surrounding mental health concerns. She asked herself, “where is the first aid kit for mental health?” When she couldn’t find one, she created it herself. Thus the PASS kit was born!

This kit is a self-care tool designed to help individuals manage daily stressors and stimulate the need for more significant mental health discussions. In each kit, you will find the following:

a set of flashcards with easy to follow mental health advice (such as breathing techniques)
earplugs to reduce uncomfortable noise
a stress ball to help relax muscles
a sleeping mask to shield your eyes from disturbing lights
a pack of gum to help redirect your focus.

Since winning the Social Innovation Challenge, Tina has continued to update their flashcards by including a set specifically about dealing with eco-grief. These cards provide quick and accessible tips to address common questions such as: “Feel helpless due to climate change?” “Grieving the loss of the future?” and “Always feel responsible for educating others?”

Watch the whole story to learn more about PASS inc.

Join a future EDGE-y Conversation and other events that are on the EDGE Calendar!

[Photo via mypasskit.com]

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.