E-ssentials: New Benefits Centre Website, Engage Love & Justice Gathering, A Conversation with Susan Lukey, and more.

Check Out the New Benefits Centre Website! The United Church of Canada Benefits Centre is happy to announce the launch of their new website—uccbenefits.ca. There is detailed information about the Pension Plan, Group Benefits, and an extensive Document Library. Be sure to check out the FAQ for answers to the most frequent questions the Benefits Centre receives. Check back frequently for the latest newsroom posts covering a wide range of topics—mental health, wellness, and diversity to name a few!—and the latest pension and benefits changes. If you have any questions for the Pension or Benefits teams, you can submit them directly from the Contact Us page. Don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list to be informed about upcoming pension and benefits news!   ENGAGE with Love & Justice Gathering Starting tomorrow, November 3, the Church in Mission Unit of the General Council Office invites you to celebrate and learn with them about the many love and justice ministries of our church. Join us to worship, build community, and learn together. Tickets are free, and we invite a donation to the COVID-19 Global Response. We look forward to celebrating and recognize all that we do together as The United Church of Canada. Register here, and visit the EDGE website for more information.   Called to Be the Church 2022 As part of the stewardship life of your community of faith, the United Church’s annual giving program, Called to Be the Church, provides all the resources you need to hold a successful annual giving program. Check out the new Do It Yourself webpage or Do It with Us webpage for help and support. Downloads include a Worship Sampler featuring a new Epiphany worship resource called Discover Your Gifts—Share Your Gifts: Five Sundays in Epiphany. The complete giving program kit is now available on paper from the United Church Bookstore.   Advent Unwrapped 2021 The season of Advent is almost upon us, and Advent Unwrapped is here to support you with at-home activities, worship resources, blog posts, and lots more! Keep up to date with all the latest news and content by checking out the Facebook page or subscribing to the newsletter.   Your Generosity Matters: A Step toward Peace Every step we take to support families like Leila’s brings us a step closer to peace. Thank you for your support. [Photo credit: DSPR]   United Church Bookstore: Facebook Live with Author Susan Lukey! Join the United Church Bookstore and the Rev. Susan Lukey (author of Adventures in Faith & Family) on Monday, November 15, for a special online conversation! You can sign up in advance via Zoom, or simply tune in to the United Church Facebook page, where it'll be livestreamed.    Worship Resources  See our Worship Resources for upcoming Sundays and special celebrations. November 7 - Twenty-fourth After Pentecost November 11 - Remembrance Day 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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TCR Breaking News: AME Clergywoman elected President of American Psychological Association

TCR Breaking News: AME Clergywoman elected President of American Psychological Association On November 1, Dr. Thema Bryant was elected as the President-Elect of the American Psychological Association. Her term will begin in 2022. Dr. Thema Bryant completed her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Duke University and her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical Center’s Victims of Violence Program. Upon graduating, she became the Coordinator of the Princeton University SHARE Program, which provides intervention and prevention programming to combat sexual assault, sexual harassment, and harassment based on sexual orientation. She is currently a tenured professor of psychology in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University, where she directs the Culture and Trauma Research Laboratory. Her clinical and research interests center on interpersonal trauma and the societal trauma of oppression. She is a past president of the Society for the Psychology of Women and a past APA representative to the United Nations. Currently she serves as the elected Vice President and Racial Equity Officer for her neighborhood council in Los Angeles. Dr. Thema also served on the APA Committee on International Relations in Psychology and the Committee on Women in Psychology. The American Psychological Association honored her for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest in 2013. The Institute of Violence, Abuse and Trauma honored her with their media award for the film Psychology of Human Trafficking in 2016 and the Institute honored her with the Donald Fridley Memorial Award for excellence in mentoring in the field of trauma in 2018. The California Psychological Association honored her for Distinguished Scientific Achievement in Psychology in 2015. She is the editor of the APA text Multicultural Feminist Therapy: Heling Adolescent Girls of Color to Thrive. She is one of the foundational scholars on the topic of the trauma of racism and in 2020, she gave an invited keynote address on the topic at APA. In 2020, the International Division of APA honored her for her International Contributions to the Study of Gender and Women for her work in Africa and the Diaspora. Dr. Thema has raised public awareness regarding mental health by extending the reach of psychology beyond the academy and private therapy office through community programming and media engagement, including but not limited to Headline News, National Public Radio, and CNN. Having earned a master’s of divinity, Dr. Thema is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She directs the mental health ministry at First AME Church in South Los Angeles. Dr. Thema also utilizes sacred dance and spoken word in therapy, community forums, and faith communities. A member of the Association of Black Psychologists, she incorporates culturally-based interventions in her teaching, research, and practice. Dr. Thema is the host of the Homecoming Podcast, a mental health podcast to facilitate your journey home to your authentic self. Dr. Thema is the daughter of retired Bishop John and Episcopal Supervisor, Rev. Cecilia Williams Bryant. She is the mother of two children, Ife and Ayo.   For more information about her work, visit https://drthema.com/.   Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch our TCR  Dialogues series!

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The Christian Recorder is the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the oldest continuously produced publication by persons of African descent.   Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., Chair of the General Board Commission on Publications Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, President/Publisher of the AME Sunday School Union Mr. John Thomas III, Editor of The Christian Recorder Copyright ©  2021 The Christian Recorder, All rights reserved.

Living Lutheran Weekly Email Digest

LL Stories November 2, 2021 Pandemic wisdom from Luther You have been cooped up in this place for far too long, and it’s starting to show. Rough stubble has started to grow where before you kept your skin smooth and freshly shorn. You’ve abandoned … continue Erős vár a mi Istenünk Some of my earliest memories of church are infused with song: “Amazing Grace,” “A Mighty Fortress,” “Lamb of God.” Bright melodies and full, rich chords—the sound of my mom playing the … continue Sharing peace near and far Hands waving through screens, two fingers in a peace sign, elbow bumps and the nodding of heads are ways we’ve passed the peace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like so much else in our lives, we … continue

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WCRC eNews: October 2021: Reformation Day, General Secretary Search, Focus: Palestine

eNews: October 2021 Reformation Day Worship The WCRC has invited its members to use a common order of worship and/or watch an online worship service to mark Reformation Day on 31 October. The order of worship—“Being Reformed in a Time of COVID-19 and Beyond”—is available to download in English, French, German, and Spanish while the worship service is also available to stream on demand. Read more: Deutsch, English, Español, Français New resource focuses on Palestine “Today is a time of thankfulness for moving one step forward as we affirm our commitment and support to our Palestinian brothers and sisters who continue to face injustice and suffering. We celebrate together launching a valued resource, Focus: Palestine, as we invite our churches to hear the stories of the Palestinians and revisit theologies that have been employed to legitimate the oppression of the Palestinian people. Today we recommit our walk together for a prophetic voice,” said Najla Kassab, WCRC president. Focus: Palestine is a comprehensive resource that lifts up Palestinian voices while placing the situation into theological, historical, and political contexts. It is the direct result of actions taken by the 2017 General Council, taken after hearing the cries of Palestinian Christians for justice and solidarity. Read more.

Nominations and applications for WCRC general secretary are invited to be submitted by 15 January 2022: Deutsch, English, Español, Français Facebook Twitter Website Email A life-affirming degrowth is possible, economists and theologians find. Read more.

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WCC NEWS: WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs will meet to prepare for the 11th WCC Assembly

The WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) will meet on 2-6 November in Johannesburg and online, reviewing its work between the two WCC assemblies and preparing for the upcoming WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. Members of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs during the meeting in Brisbane, Australia, February 2020. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 28 October 2021 The 58th meeting of the WCC-CCIA will take place on the 75th anniversary of its establishment in 1946, and in the year before the WCC's 11th Assembly to be held on 31 August-8 September 2022. Due to the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, CCIA's 58th meeting will take place in a hybrid form: partly physical in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by the South African Council of Churches - and partly virtual. Under the leadership of CCIA moderator Rev. Frank Chikane, the commission will review the work done under the auspices of the commission since the 10th WCC Assembly in Busan in 2013, and prepare for the renewal of the commission following the Karlsruhe assembly. During the CCIA meeting, on 2 November, the webinar marking the 75th anniversary of the commission will take place. The webinar will be a conversation between former and current CCIA moderators and former and current CCIA women commissioners, and everyone is invited to follow it online. The CCIA advises the WCC on critical situations in the world and on opportunities to support initiatives for peacemaking and justice. The commission helps the WCC identify challenges to the churches and guide them in shaping a coherent ecumenical response. Learn more about the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs Webinar livestream "75 years of Ecumenical Prophetic Witness: Conversation with Past and Present CCIA Moderators" See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland