Churches, Denominations and Religions: Embracing the Spirit: Living with Post-Despair Hope, Innovation Events, and more!

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Embracing the Spirit: Living with Post-Despair Hope, Innovation Events, 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.

65 Percent of Canadians are Dissatisfied with the System

COVID-19 has changed the world. How do we keep that change happening?

The United Church of Canada has a long legacy of social justice. We have been having these conversations and we have done something about the inequities we see.

With the latest Abacus Study on how Canadians are viewing COVID-19 and the world today, it is seeming like now is the time where the majority of Canada is seeing the same challenges. The study quotes that “65% of Canadians believe the pandemic has highlighted problems with how the economy and social policies are run in Canada.”

What does this mean in our communities of faith? What does this mean in our neighbourhoods? What does this mean in our country? What could this mean in the world?

Want to start a meaningful conversation in your neighbourhood? There are different ways that communities of faith are experimenting on this across the country from speaker series, community round tables, and network building.

Contact us on how to get started and be part of the larger conversation, and read more on the Abacus Study on how Canadians are thinking in 2020.

[Photo by Crissy Jarvis on Unsplash]

Live Streaming Everything

Earlier this month, we gathered to chat about live streaming and all of the aspects of it from copyright, to sound, to connection. We reviewed our options and shared best practices with communities of faith across the country:

Basic (<$1500)
Intermediate (starts at $2400)
Advanced Option (interactive and connected with Rural Connect)

Watch the conversation.

[Photo by Samantha Borges on Unsplash]

Innovative Events

The fall is full of opportunities to connect and learn!

Official Launch - United Property Resource Corporation – September 21 at 1 p.m. EDT

Meet the CEO, be inspired by projects already underway, and learn about what UPRC is doing now and moving towards over the next decade.

Sustainability Cohort – RSVP to carla@edge-ucc.ca

The Sustainability Cohort is peer support for communities of faith and social enterprises that wish to think about their overall sustainability. We cover the following six topics every other week from September 22 until December 1. All are welcome! There is no charge.

Sept 22 @ 1 p.m. – Introduction and Strategic Planning
Oct 6 @ 1 p.m. – Grant Writing
Oct 20 @ 1 p.m. – Revenue Streams
Nov 3 @ 1 p.m. – Partnerships
Nov 17 @ 1 p.m. – Communications
Dec 1 @ 1 p.m. – People and Planet

All of these events will be recorded and posted on EDGE’s YouTube Channel as well as featured in future newsletters. Find more events as they are posted on the EDGE Calendar.

Living with Post-Despair Hope

“What kind of a species are we?”
“What kind of a culture do we live in?”
“What kind of futures are implicit based on the cultures we live in?”

In the 1960s there was a sense of hope and excitement. But today there is a different reality.

Rather than fleeing from or hiding from these realities, how do we live into this?

Ruben Nelson with Foresight Canada provides a new lens and way of thinking about the world and the future.

[Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash]

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.