Innovation at Grace United Church  Grace United Church in Lloydminster, Alberta, uses its core value of innovation to help community members feel safe, loved, and comforted.
Lana Lane, Family and Youth worker at Grace United Church, has seen food’s power to nourish both bodies and souls. GUC’s Soup for the Soul program serves, in a month, (depending on available ingredients) eight types of homemade soup. The soup, frozen in 1 L plastic containers, is part of GUS’s food hamper program, which provides food to homeless individuals, low-income individuals and families, and other marginalised groups in the community. The soup containers have an encouraging Bible verse on them, to provide recipients hope with their comforting meal and a reminder that GUC is there to support them.
Soup for the Soul is in its third year of operation. Lana is grateful for donations from individuals and community groups that help keep the program running, especially for those of The Olive Tree (a local food rescue agency) and of the volunteer teams that prepare the soup each week. Lana sees in these teams the power of food to connect people: husbands and wives, friends, colleagues, people who have left the church and come back just to volunteer, all there because they enjoy each other’s company and love serving others.
“The program brings joy and comfort on many levels,” Lana tells EDGE’s Zoe Chaytors.
GUC will use what it’s learned about food as it puts its next initiative in place. Soup for Sundays will be a family-oriented, Sunday School session, held once a month. Young families don’t have to worry about childcare and can gather over food afterward to connect with each other. It’s GUC’s way of meeting the spiritual needs of families in a space where they can feel safe, loved, and in community.
GUC already has lots going on! “Sometimes ‘innovative’ is just listening.” Lana says.
Listen to Lana Lane’s EDGEy Conversation with Zoe Chaytors.
[Image credit: ErikaFerencz48 on Pixabay.com] |
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Dreams and Reconciliation with Wendy Whitehall and Dreamwork Canada  Dreamwork Canada will be offering several workshops over Zoom in the coming months. Dreamwork Canada is an ecumenical group that believes dreams are one of the ways God speaks to us. They present workshops that offer an approach to understanding our dreams within a Christian context using the concepts of Carl Jung. In each workshop there is an opportunity to explore participants’ own dreams as well as working with the dreams of others in a group context.
Dreamwork Canada wants to show you that there is a lot to learn from Indigenous communities’ understanding of dreams. Their January workshop was led by a Mik’kmaq leader.
In May’s workshop, Dreams and Reconciliation - Hope for the Future of Us All, Dakota Leader Wendy Whitecloud will speak to us. Wendy has a legal and teaching background in Indigenous law and other areas of Canadian Law. Reconciliation has been a goal for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada for the past decade or so. Much has been accomplished yet more is needed as both peoples work towards reconciliation for a better future for all of us. Dreams and Reconciliation - Hope for the Future of Us All
May 10, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. EDT.
Register here.
You can learn more about Dreamwork Canada here.[Image credit: Bill Hunyh on Unsplash.com] |
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Online Learning with EDGE and ChurchX  For those wanting to explore the world of online learning, EDGE and The United Church of Canada have partnered to put EDGE’s Signposts Series up on the ChurchX E-Learning for Faith and Mission online learning management system, and the first course is up!
The Signpost Series was developed by EDGE and other partners to assist communities of faith and other organizations that feel they’re at a crisis point to:- Assess where they are
- Form a plan for change and gather a good team with which to travel
- Identify their resources and figure out how they’ll meet any requirements that they currently can’t
- Share their story with others
- Map out a Communication Plan and a Theory of Change
The Sustainability Cohort is the sixth of the eight Signposts but can be done out of sequence or as a standalone course. Designed to be done completely on your own time, the Sustainability Cohort uses readings, videos, discussion forums and reflective questions to teach technical skills and help us think differently and critically about how communities of faith are working in relationship with their neighbourhoods. Being relevant in our communities means becoming a backbone organization in our neighborhoods as they become vibrant, so sustainability is crucial if we’re to keep doing our work.
Check out the Sustainability Cohort Signpost on ChurchX and watch for more Signposts to be posted soon![Image credit: Alexandra_Koch on Pixabay.com] |
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Other Learning Opportunities  Mark your calendars for these opportunities to connect with others and learn new skills! All times in Eastern.- Idea Day: May 2, 1:00 p.m EDT An opportunity to hear about innovative ideas from others and to present your idea and get feedback on it. Register, and find out more.
- Curiosity Cohort: Mondays at 1:00 p.m. EDT, starting May 6 Curiosity is the mindset change that we, as people of faith, are craving to begin to reimagine what church can be outside of Sunday morning. It is the mindset shift that allows us to ask and keep asking questions, assists us in letting go of needing “the” answers and to relinquish control, teaches us to follow the Spirit and to keep listening and discerning, and enables us to take leaps of faith and be courageous in experimenting. This five week course is for innovative leaders, curious communities of faith, and those willing to explore what might be possible. Register, and find out more.
- Leading Adaptively: Starting May 26 This three session Zoom course helps you discover new ways to lead adaptively with skills you already have. You will encounter the core theory of adaptive leadership in a vibrant new way and come away with useable practices to reinvigorate your day-to-day leadership journey. The course covers the six core competencies of leadership (competencies you already have!); how to understand and change the culture of your congregation; and how conflict is a leadership resource you can steward wisely. Instructor Clara King has spent 15 years studying adaptive leadership, and nine years as a Priest leading adaptive change in the Anglican Diocese of Calgary and beyond. Register, and find out more.
Email edge@united-church.ca with any questions.[Image credit: Nick Morrison on Unsplash.com] |
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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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