Embracing the Spirit: Planting Seeds That Welcome Community, In Case of Emergency Webinars, and more! 🌱

Planting Seeds That Welcome Community     St. Charles United Church in Headingly, MB, is all about planting seeds—especially seeds that will make our churches and communities more welcoming for everyone! The Rev. Cathy Maxwell, minister at St. Charles United, and Headingly community member Catherine Livingstone, recently spoke with EDGE’s Bronwyn Corlett about a unique project going on at St. Charles United designed to build churches and wider communities that are more inclusive of people with dementia and their families.  Livingstone is a community member in Headingly, and part of St. Charles United’s congregation. Her experience in the dementia field doing Psychosocial/Home Support and Advocacy made her the perfect Project Coordinator for One Small Seed, a dementia awareness/education initiative for which St. Charles United had received an Embracing the Spirit grant to build. Initially, the community of faith planned to host an in-person, one-day learning symposium about dementia. They changed the plan in favour of creating seven pre-recorded educational webinars about dementia that they’d offer on a website, free of charge, so that as many people as possible could have access to the information for as long as they wanted.  They named the new ministry “One Small Seed” to reflect how they saw the idea, and for how they hoped people would choose to access the information.  “People interested in learning about dementia don’t need to plant a whole field at once,” Livingstone explains, describing her hope that people take away “one small seed” of information from each video without feeling overwhelmed. She feels that the presentation of the videos reinforces this learning goal, as people can watch them in a way that lets them learn best:  In any order  Alone or with other people  All at one time, or just little bits of a video  Maxwell adds that the website and videos started from a “seed of an idea of just flourished.” She and the team would like to take their education program nationwide, sharing it with other denominations and faith groups. Partnerships with The Alzheimer’s Society of Canada and Just Like Family Home Care moved them toward that goal, and the “phenomenal” response from both the community of faith and the community at large makes them want to reach out more.  However, getting the word about the initiative has been, and remains, one of their biggest challenges. Livingstone talks about how videos were carefully created to be conversational in tone, including voices with lived experience, but how they also call on experts from around the country and internationally.  “The information is there for people who want to explore the intersection between faith and spirituality and dementia,” she says. She and Maxwell are committed to determining how to best make people aware of it.  How can communities of faith create similar initiatives? Livingston draws on advice from St. Andrew’s, a church in Scotland involved with the project: Just do it! Don’t overthink it.  “Be messy…roll with it as it goes.” Livingstone says.  “Be open to change and to opening the idea as you need to,” Maxwell adds.   The videos are all free with no login required to access them. Visit the One Small Seed website to view them, and watch the full EDGEy conversation on EDGE’s YouTube channel.   [Image credit: canva] Buying United Orientation Webinar     Earlier in June, EDGE was thrilled to host an information webinar about the relaunched Buying United group purchasing program, with special guest David Rourke of Round Table Procurement Services (RTPS).  Created a few years ago, Buying United negotiates deals with suppliers that let communities of faith get the best value on goods and services that they need. By embracing the collective buying power of The United Church of Canada communities of faith, Buying United has been able to offer deals on:  Video licenses Computers Office supplies This list is far from complete, and RTPS is working to take it to the next level.  RTPS has spent the last 20 years offering procurement services to faith-based organizations, charities, and nonprofits, including the YMCA, the Ontario Nonprofit Network, and the Ontario Nonprofit Housing Association. Well-versed in negotiating supplier deals that offer the most “bang for your buck,” RTPS is building on Buying United’s historical success in three major ways:   Adding categories of deals to the list currently available, including ones related to elevators/lifts, personal protective equipment, and towels/linens.  Improving deals by negotiating with suppliers to leverage the group purchasing power of our network. To take advantage of these supplier deals, RTPS offers the membership access to resources including videos detailing best purchasing practices, specific details on supplier deals available through Buying United as well as an option to call RTPS procurement specialists directly for free advice on how to address various procurement scenarios.  Administering a new Buying United website for the membership with a login process for everyone’s protection. To register, provide your name, email, regional council (if applicable) and community of faith (to become part of the network, not for tracking) and use access code “united”. Explore deal categories, preferred suppliers and their deals, and a resource library with templates for contracts! Vistit the Buying United website. But what does all this mean for The United Church of Canada’s communities of faith, really? A lot, potentially.   Say you sign up for Buying United, not even sure whether you’ll use it, because you’re happy buying supplies for your community of faith from the places you get them now. Six months later, your church council asks you to, as much as possible, start buying supplies from one provider, in as few trips as possible. They are concerned that multiple supply runs every month all over town waste resources (time, fuel) and create too large a carbon footprint.   You’re not sure how to proceed. Environmental and ethical concerns are a challenge for buying from an outlet like Amazon. And some of the things that you’ve heard about big box stores like Walmart make you feel reluctant to shop there as well.   You remember that the Buying United procurement expert from RTPS had said that they might be able to help with issues like this, so you decide to give them a call. The associate reminds you that their goal is to try to find procurement solutions that provide the best value possible for member organizations. Even if it’s not the lowest sticker price solution, it’s one that will be ethical and eco-friendly, at a low overall total cost.   The Buying United associate at RTPS informs you about a deal that has been negotiated with Staples for Buying United membership. The Staples Program not only offers deep discounts on top of bulk pricing for office supplies that you buy on a regular basis (printer ink, paper, envelopes, file folders, crayons and pencil crayons for Sunday School) but also for health and safety items that regularly appear on the shopping list (dish soap, hand soap, toilet paper, paper towels, bathroom and kitchen cleaners). The associates advises that the potential savings make it well worth the time to create a Staples account via the Staples account rep designated for United Church organizations, especially when you consider how much you can save to keep your community of faith equipped with vital supplies, let alone on a new computer to replace your administrative assistant’s failing one.   You are stunned when the associate tells you their advice is free. Larger projects such as running a Request for Proposals (RFP) process or developing your own set of Purchasing Policies, will carry a cost. But RTPS believes that the procurement process for faith-based organizations, charities, and non-profits is unique, and their goal is to help where they can.  “I look forward to the day where I can do this for free,” Rourke says.  David Rourke discussed some procurement trends during the webinar, and offered general advice for communities of faith:  Transportation isn’t one of the costs that are driving up prices currently, so beware of companies that introduce fuel surcharges.  Costs for renovations and new buildings should be stabilizing in a year or two, so hold off on these projects if possible.  Postpone major purchases whenever possible, as supply chains continue to recover.  RTPS can help you be creative about purchasing and find alternatives. They can also help you negotiate contracts and be sure that you’re getting the best value from suppliers.   In case you missed it, the recording of Buying United Orientation Webinar is now available on YouTube. Watch the newsletter and social media for additional information sessions about RTPS and Buying United in the fall and sign up for the Buying United website to explore deals in office and administration, program supplies, property management, and technology and telecomm. Email UCC.purchasing@rtps.ca or edge@united-church.ca for more information!  [Image credit: Buying United] New Edge Signposts on CHURCHx! The EDGE team knows that sometimes people don’t find what they’re looking for when they access our Signposts and come to our Cohorts: concrete answers and actionable advice about how to help communities of faith in danger of closing and disbanding. That’s why we created In Case of Emergency, a two-part Signpost that acts as a sort of Emergency Kit for communities of faith facing those prospects:  In Case of Emergency is for communities of faith feeling like they’ve run out of options and need immediate guidance on next steps. Part One talks about steps that communities of faith can take to assess whether that perception is true, or whether a process of renewal and refreshment can get them headed again in the direction that they’d like to go. Part Two talks about next steps for communities of faith who, after going through Part One, determine that a renewal and refreshment process is not going to help and decide to go ahead with closing and disbanding.  These Signposts aren’t easy to get through. They require communities of faith to dig deep, ask tough questions, and consider ideas that they may not want to consider. However, they can help communities of faith grounded and viewing matters as objectively as possible as they navigate the emotionally laden terrain around a potential (or actual) decision to close.   EDGE is offering the In Case of Emergency Signposts to anyone that feels they can make use of them. Complete these asynchronous Signposts on your own time and keep access to them for as long as you need it.  Register for In Case of Emergency: When Communities of Faith Can’t Stay Open, Part One    Register for In Case of Emergency: When Communities of Faith Can’t Stay Open, Part Two  [Image credits: CHURCHx] Embracing the Spirit supports 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! We're happy to consult with communities of faith about the supports available to help them develop their new ideas. 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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