First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council
Weekly Announcements
May 12, 2020
First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council Page Emergency Response Link
United Church Bookstore & Gifts
First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council is now on Facebook!
UCC Regions East YouTube Chanel
Weekly Prayer from Rev. Bruce Rideout, St. George’s Pastoral Charge
Creating God, God of all living, God of all dying, hear our prayers today. On this special week of the year, and of our church year, we pray for our families, in all their complex and wondrous forms, for families of our origin and for those of our choosing, and especially for the worldwide family of your creation. We give thanks for those who have given us birth, for those who have nurtured us, and for those whose lives were invested in our care. Your love for us has been steadfast and sure, and lived out in those who have cultivated our abilities, enriched our minds, strengthened our bodies, and challenged our spirits. We mourn those times when our families have not provided for us and for our children the safety, well-being, and love we needed. We recognize and confess those times when we have failed to be agents of your reconciling and renewing love and ask your forgiveness, as well as the forgiveness of those whose trust we have violated. We give thanks for the leaders of the world’s nations as they strive to find compassionate ways to support those hurting while still keeping governments functioning in this time of sickness and uncertainty. Guide them and us as we find new ways to reach out to each other as we live with a new normal. We celebrate the ever-present possibilities for your Church to be a Family of Blessing for all your beloved children. We pray that as Church, as your body in this world, we might always be attentive to the ways in which we can be a community that is ever more inclusive, ever more nurturing, ever more stimulating, ever more relevant, and ever more healing for all your children. May we recommit ourselves daily to your Gospel call to serve those in needs in our world as if they were our very own sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, and to advocate for them and their well-being in the halls of power as well as in our own sanctuaries. Teach us again how to hear the needs of those around us and help us to learn how to reach out and be available with them while we cannot yet be present with each other. Gracious God, we give thanks to you who bring both rain and sun, you who heal this troubled world, the sick and those who turn to you in faith; you who grant new live to all of us. In the name of the one who came to us, loved us as his own, and gave to us new life, we pray. Amen.
Reopening of Churches
As we begin to reopen churches into what is our new normal as a church and society, please see the guidelines from the General Council and Regional Council staff. These guidelines are a tool to help you as a Community of Faith to develop a plan for reopening. Following government and health authorities regulations as well as using the church’s guidelines, we hope that you are able to put together a plan that works in your context; keeping in mind your demographic and the types of ministry you provide. It is a good practice to have your plan written and shared with all members of your Community of Faith. It is also important if questioned by the government or health authorities, you are able to show your plan and how you have been following the plan in an attempt to mitigate risks.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to be in contact with Rev. Heather Sandford, Regional Minister or Rev. Faith March-MacCuish, Executive Minister.
Reopening Churches during COVID-19
Conversations with Clergy/Communities of Faith
Conversation with Clergy will take place on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 1 pm
Conversation with Communities of Faith will take place on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 11 am
All zoom instructions will be sent before each meeting
10% Wage Subsidy
Please check For updated information and help with the 10% wage subsidy, please refer to this link: GCO authorized contact for Payroll Services, Second Opportunity, May 15, 2020
Completing the Annual Declaration of Criminal Charges
From April 1 to June 30, ministry personnel (including candidates in Supervised Ministry Education appointments or other appointments), will be able to submit their Annual Declaration on Criminal Charges form on ChurchHub. This form needs to be filled out no later than June 30, 2020 to remain compliant, including being eligible for calls or appointments and for licences for sacraments and marriages. To fill out the Annual Declaration, log in to ChurchHub and “My Ministry Page.” Look to the right for the “My Professional Requirements” box and then select the “Annual Declaration 2020” link. If you completed your Annual Declaration anytime from January-March 2020, then you actually were completing your 2019 Annual Declaration. Therefore, you will need to log into ChurchHub and complete your Annual Declaration for 2020. If you have any issues or questions, please contact the Office of Vocation Minister, Andrew Richardson, at ARichardson@united-church.ca.
Appointments – First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council
For Appointments ending June 30, 2020, please do not wait until the last minute to submit your request for renewal to the Region for approval. General Council is now requiring new Appointments and Calls to be processed through ChurchHub, so it will be wise to set some time aside to become oriented to this new approach. Ministry Personnel seeking to be appointed or to have their Appointment renewed will need to verify their eligibility through their personal account on ChurchHub. For more information, please contact Regional Minister Heather Sandford. For assistance with ChurchHub; please contact Deb Kigar.
First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council Webpage Emergency Response Link
Stay updated with Emergency Response Updates on COVID-19 on the First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council webpage.
Refugee Sponsorship Training Program
Guidance from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for Private Sponsors Regarding COVID-19 and Links to Multi-Language IRCC Resources.
IRCC have produced documents intended to assist sponsors in understanding how cases in process are affected by COVID-19 and, for refugees already in Canada, how sponsors can continue to fulfill their sponsorship role while also addressing the unique settlement needs of sponsored refugees during this difficult time. In addition, IRCC has translated some existing COVID-19 resources into various languages, including information on the financial assistance programs available to newcomers, temporary residents and refugees (if they meet the eligibility requirements for each program):
English: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/financial-assistance.html
French: https://www.canada.ca/fr/immigration-refugies-citoyennete/services/coronavirus-covid19/aide-financiere.html
Updated information on how COVID-19 is affecting refugee sponsorship to Canada and other immigration programs can be found on IRCC’s website at the links below:
English: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19.html
French: https://www.canada.ca/fr/immigration-refugies-citoyennete/services/coronavirus-covid19.html
Refugee Sponsorship Trainng Program COVID-19 Updates
Announcements
If you have news to share relating to First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council, please share it with us and we will include it in our weekly announcements.
Send any information to: info4rc16@united-church.ca.
