Embracing the Spirit: Driving Change at the United Church Bookstore, A Refugee Housing Project, and more! 🌱

Driving Change at the United Church Bookstore - UCRDstore.ca   Change isn’t just happening at the grassroots level; there is creative thinking across the country. The United Church Bookstore (UCRDstore.ca) carries and sells a large volume of books and church resources. When the pandemic hit, hymn books sales stopped, and they were able to make some dramatic changes. They took a look at their name first: United Church Resource Distribution. Thinking about resources differently has seen them take a bold new direction, a great example being the content that's been developed by the GO Project. This is a conversation about driving change and the use of data with the United Church Bookstore Manager, Rebecka Hornburg. Watch what they are up to. Follow them on Instagram and shop their website.   The bookstore is currently clearing out their inventory and making room for fresh titles. This means huge markdowns on a wide range of titles, so take advantage and shop while quantities last! Some titles are down to just $0.99, like Curating Church and We Have This Vision: Exploring United Church Identity In The 21st Century. Don’t forget to use the code SALEONSALE at checkout for free shipping within Canada on orders over $80. Shop UCRDstore.ca for incredible deals on progressive Christian resources. Centre for Christian Studies - Who is At the Planning Table?     Michelle Owens, the Principal of the Centre for Christian Studies, recently spoke about the centre's new learnings on providing educational opportunities for ministers in the process of admission into The United Church of Canada. CCS specializes in training diaconal ministers and deacons, with roots going back to the 1890s. In this admissions and orientation process there are many individuals who come from overseas, as well as from across Canada. This is a site of activity and thought in the church, where they are confronted with gatekeeping, racism, and colonism. Whose table is this? Who is doing the gatekeeping? Who is doing the planning? This last question around planning has been delved into. Who is invited to the educational activities and who is going to plan them, and how do we plan them? At CCS they are changing how this is planned across the entire admissions process. Watch what is being learnt. [Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash] Change the World Focus Group:  Matthew House's Need for Refugee Housing     Every month we ask individuals across the country what they think about ideas that have come across our desk and to help out organizations across The United Church of Canada network. This month we thought we’d give you a flavour of what this is like! Matthew House approached us with their challenge... “Matthew House Toronto houses refugee youth for up to two years. They live with house parents, are connected to our settlement workers and we pair them with a volunteer mentor. We run a small-homes model, with our largest home housing 10-12 refugees and our smallest housing 6. We currently operate four homes, but will lose one of the homes (a church manse) at the end of the year. We not only want to find a new home but also expand our model to include more of these units. We are part of a national group of refugee homes that are located in Ottawa, Vancouver, Windsor, Hamilton, Fort Erie etc. who are also experiencing space challenges and seeking a solution we can all afford. We are also working with IMBY and Open Homes Hamilton to place our residents in affordable housing after they leave Matthew House. Open Homes is a project that places refugees in the spare rooms of homeowners and provides support for the arrangement on both sides. The refugees typically pay OW wrap-rates for rent and the homeowners commit to some social supports, like a regular meal or day trip etc. IMBY is working to find homeowners who would be open to having a laneway suite erected on their property in which we could place refugees; again, with low income rents. We are interested in being part of a group that would support a refugee-run co-op to create long-term sustainable and affordable housing. You can find out more about us at matthewhouse.ca, but if you want to meet our residents, we have some videos where they're sharing their favourite foods.” What ideas do you have for Matthew House? What should they do? Who should they partner with? Fill out the survey here. If you want to be part of the Change the World Focus Group, please email us at embracingthespirit@united-church.ca. [Photo by Lea Böhm 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.  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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