Embracing the Spirit: Engage Love & Justice Gathering, Interchurch Health Ministries, and more! ♥

Engage Love and Justice Gathering is almost here! Are you ready to celebrate? The online Love and Justice Gathering runs from November 3—7. Please join us on the Whova platform to connect with and learn from others, and to celebrate the work The United Church of Canada does to make the world a more loving place. Sessions at the Love & Justice Gathering include: Black Experiences in Canadian Churches from the Lens of Gen-Z with speakers from the Young Black Scholars program Worship with the Ukulele Church and a keynote address from the Right Reverend Dr. Richard Bott, Moderator of The United Church of Canada Creating a Culture that Fosters Innovation with Mount Forest United Church’s Sheryl Spencer To learn about the other sessions scheduled at the Love & Justice Gathering, and to register for this free event, please visit the EDGE website. InterChurch Health Ministries become Wholistic   InterChurch Health Ministries has always been on the move! From its start 25 years ago as a pilot project, to its rapid development just two years later to a national organization specializing in training parish nurses (with 69 partners on board) to its focus today on teaching wholistic (deliberately spelled with the “w”) care and wellness practices, it’s shown a remarkable commitment to ensuring the total wellbeing of people in communities of faith. For ICHM, health ministry in any community of faith needs to provide wholistic care to its members that leads to the spiritual wholeness that is integral to optimal health and wellbeing: assistance to connect with God and with other people and to see that this work complements treatments they receive through the medical care system. Wholistic practices—including meditation and contemplation—help people use the healing power of Jesus to deal with depression, anxiety, and pain, and move toward spiritual wholeness. InterChurch Health Ministries encourages us to expand our understanding of health and trust that letting God heal the soul is just as important as letting medicine heal the body. Watch the full story on YouTube or visit their exhibitor booth at the Engage Love & Justice Gathering. [Photo credit: Yoann Boyer from unsplash] Theory of Change Workshop Starting in November   “What impact are you having? How do you know?” “What difference does your program make? " People ask us these familiar questions, and we ask them of ourselves. Did you know that when we think strategically about our desired impact as we plan, implement, and evaluate our programs, we increase that impact? The Theory of Change workshop helps attendees break their program down into its component parts, differentiating between concepts like “what you do” and “what you achieve.” A Theory of Change provides a step-by-step plan for achieving your goal, telling the story of how you believe your program’s change will unfold. A Theory of Change can help you to align your stakeholders in support of your larger mission and help them understand their role in helping you make it a reality. By the end of this workshop, you’ll know the precise link between your programs’ activities and outcomes and be ready to use it for planning, participation, and evaluation. Please email facilitator Chris Rotolo at chrisrotolo@gmail.com with any questions, or register here. Restored Potential   Imagine going to school for years to become a professional in a given field, running afoul of the law in a way that had nothing to do with career or work, serving your time in jail, and finding out once you’re released that your career is over? Arthur has firsthand experience with employers’ reluctance to hire professionals who, despite paying their debt to society for crimes committed, will always carry the stigma attached to having a criminal background. But he was surprised to find out, as an ex-offender trying to rebuild his life, that agencies that traditionally support newly-released inmates, such as the John Howard Society, and the Elizabeth Frye Society, don’t have the resources to help professionals get back into their areas of work. When he started talking about what could be done to fill such a strange and prejudicial gap in restorative justice supports, people were on board with it, and Restoring Potential was born. The fledgling organization’s initial mandate to connect employers that would give ex-criminal professionals a chance with professionals with a criminal background soon expanded into helping ex-criminal professionals who needed work with opening small businesses. Restoring Potential created, with the support of others in the field, a microloan and business mentoring program to help the people it supports with their small business endeavors. The microloan was eventually expanded so that non-professional ex-offenders were eligible as well, as no one else currently provides that support for them. Arthur Brown is quick to credit the many people who have helped him get Restoring Potential to where it is, to talk about what’s surprised him and what he’s learned, and to describe his hopes for the future. His continuing commitment to developing Restoring Potential shows that amazing things can come out of the even not-so-easy parts of our stories, especially when we use them to positively affect the stories of others! Watch the whole story on YouTube. [Photo by Kyle Glenn 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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