E-ssentials Special Edition: The Moderator’s Flourishing Project

Flourishing: Bold Ideas, Daring Connections - June 22, 2023 View this email in your browser

Harvard University is talking about it. The Vatican is talking about it. UNESCO is talking about it. And also, the Moderator, The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, is talking about it: Flourishing.  Living a good, fulfilling life, a life with a sense of purpose. The Moderator is on a three-year journey to connect with the nation on big questions. With the goal of enhancing “flourishing” in church, among our leadership, and within the broader community, she is encouraging dialogue on this question of flourishing, and how it could influence our future. To flourish, we need to dream in ways that inspire tangible actions so individuals and communities across the nation and the world can flourish. We need solutions to particular challenges, and also invitations to collaborate so we can address them. We need bold ideas. To flourish, we need a strong social fabric. We need to be rooted in a sense of place, a sense of belonging. We need structures that work for everyone, a strong local economy and community. We need daring connections. Flourishing Project Details The Moderator's Flourishing project has three major components: 1. The Mod’s Book Squad, a national book club (including four Centennial events in 2024-25); 2. Regional tours, which have four main components: Theological symposia in partnership with local theological schools. Public workshop for the business and corporate community, sponsored by Kindred Works and others. Public dialogue between the Moderator and a high-profile speaker on the theme of human flourishing, open to the general public.  Congregational workshop for churches in the region. 3. A Leadership School to invigorate church leadership for the 21st century. [Image credit: Courtesy of Carmen Lansdowne] The Mod’s Book Squad Brew a cup of tea or pour a glass of your favourite drink and snuggle in with a good book. Oh, and you can discuss the book with at least two friends—The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Moderator of The United Church of Canada, and her guest—in one of Canada’s biggest book clubs. Starting Sept. 21, 2023, and ending in June 2025, these (mostly) monthly book club sessions will feature fiction, non-fiction and poetry written by (mostly) Canadian authors. Through a lens of flourishing, the books explore: Dreaming, utopias and dystopias  The environment and resource extraction Urban/rural difference of experience Reconciliation Poverty The theology of The United Church of Canada The first three books and guests are: Sept. 21, 2023—The Marrow Thieves by Cheri Dimaline (Guest: The Rev. Dr. John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary) Oct. 19, 2023—Doughnut Economics: How to Think like a 21st Century Economist by Kate Raworth (Guest: John C. Havens, Sustainability Practice Lead, IEEE Standards Association) Nov. 30, 2023—The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians Don’t Want to Know About Each Other by Raja G. Khouri & Jeffrey J. Wilkinson (Guest: Raja Khouri) Watch for details on how to register for the book club. [Image credit: Canva/Carmen Lansdowne] The Mod on the Road Kicking off the 12-city tour of public and congregational workshops and lectures are these events: Week of Sept. 25, 2023—WINNIPEG (Prairie to Pine) with Shawn Loney, social enterprise entrepreneur, and former candidate for mayor of Winnipeg Week of Nov. 6, 2023—KINGSTON (Eastern Ontario Outaouais and East Central Ontario) with Andrew Winston, co-author of Net Positive with Paul Polman; this book is on the book club list. Watch for dates and details for regional events in 2024 and 2025. [Image credit: Courtesy of Carmen Lansdowne] Invoragating Church Leadership Leadership School: Intensive training for a set of leaders in change management, stakeholder engagement, finances and fundraising, etc. over a two-year period to invigorate church leadership for the 21st century. Watch for applications and nominations forms, coming soon! [Image credits: Canva] Find Out More! Follow the Moderator on social media: Facebook: /ModeratorCarmenLansdowne Instagram: @carmen.lansdowne Twitter: @RevvieC Linkedin: /carmenlansdowne/ Email flourishing@united-church.ca (Remember, in order to follow along on social media you must have an activated social account!) [Image credit: Canva/Carmen Lansdowne] Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Our gifts for Mission & Service bring healing, justice, and hope to life. Donate today.

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