The Body of Christ is made of many parts, and people experience their understanding of God in many different ways. On this blog, we'll consider the beliefs and activities of congregations, denominations and different religions.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
E-ssentials: Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from The United Church of Canada's General Council Office! We pray for God's abundant blessings as we enter 2024, seeking to live into our calling to be a church and people of deep spirituality, bold discipleship, and daring justice.
God of immeasurable grace, Bless us with spirituality as deep as the ocean Call us to a discipleship as bold as the saints’. Compel us to a justice as daring as the Redeemer’s love, In the name of our Impossible Hope, Christ Jesus. Amen
Moderator Carmen Lansdowne: Act Now on the Middle East Humanitarian Crisis
Your advocacy for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war is critically important. Moderator Carmen Lansdowne reminds us that the more constituents write to their elected representatives, the bigger the impact. A letter from the Moderator or the General Secretary is only one letter. Using our online advocacy tool, you can send your own individual emails calling on officials in the Government of Canada to continue to press for a ceasefire in the conflict in Middle East.
Visit our Pray, Donate, and Advocate page to share your voice on this current crisis:
ADVOCATE by sending a letter to your MP, using our new advocacy tool.
DONATE to our Mission and Service partners who are currently responding to those impacted by the conflict in West Bank and East Jerusalem.
During Lent, join us on Tuesdays from February 20 to March 26, 2024, to expand your love for God, deepen your connection to Creation, and strengthen your hope for God’s dream realized.
The new Lenten devotional Act/Fast: Spiritual Practices for a Climate in Crisis invites us to deepen our love for Creation and take action or fast for a climate in crisis. It also includes a study guide to help you dive deeper as individuals or within a group.
Global Refugee Forum: LGBTQI+ and Allied Civil Society Statement
The United Church of Canada was one of 75+ civil society organizations at the recent Global Refugee Forum to call on states to create more dedicated pathways and programs to help LGBTQI+ people who are at risk of persecution, including humanitarian and development funding and resettlement pathways.
With over 110 million displaced people in the world, we are collectively experiencing a global refugee crisis of unprecedented scale. At-risk LGBTQI+ individuals are uniquely vulnerable due to state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia, and often face systemic barriers to accessing safety within the existing global refugee and asylum system.
Your Mission and Service Stories: Learning the Gospel at Camp
Church camp has been an important part of the faith journey for Dave Jagger, the United Church's Community of Faith Stewardship Lead.
He writes: "I attended youth camp as a teen with my girlfriend (who would later become my spouse), counselled for a couple of summers, and our kids started as soon as they could and went for many years. It was as a counsellor that I learned many of the important practical skills that impacted my years of congregational ministry.
"United Church camps are one of the longest lived and most successful training grounds for leaders, and for sharing gospel living, that the church has.
"I am happy to know that Mission and Service is part of helping them continue."
Find out more about how your Mission and Service donations support life-changing experiences through United Church camps.
[Photo: Cave Springs Camp]
Worship Resources
See our Worship Resources for upcoming Sundays and special celebrations.
No comments:
Post a Comment