NEWS AND UPDATES FROM REGIONAL COUNCIL 15 (RC15)
Please send announcements to trose@united-church.ca
www.ucceast.ca
Staff Directory
Emergency Response Memo’s Regional Council 15 (RC15)
Making Hope Visible – Podcast
To view upcoming programs at the Tatamagouche Centre please click here.
To view upcoming events at the Atlantic School of Theology please click here.
Regional Council 15 (RC15) Committee Volunteer form.
General Council Commissioners
The 44th General Council of The United Church of Canada will meet in July 2022, entirely online, for the first time in the history of the United Church. We encourage you to prayerfully consider serving as a General Council commissioner, which provides you a unique opportunity to be part of the wider church and have an impact on the future of The United Church of Canada. General Council Commissioners are voting members of the General Council meeting, and serve as commissioners for 3 years. More information about the role of a commissioner can be found here.
The Region 15 Regional Council will be electing the remaining six (6) commissioners and their alternates at our 2021 annual regional meeting.
After the 2020 election, 6 positions remain to be filled, plus alternates. To ensure balance and diversity, the 6 commissioners to be elected include:
- One ministry personnel and 5 alternates: in seeking to create a balanced and diverse group, we strongly encourage nominations from those who identify as male or non-binary
- 1 Youth Pilgrim, whose nomination will be determined following General Council procedures
- 1 youth or young adult, under the age of 30, and 1 youth alternate
- 3 additional representatives and 3 alternates, which may include Moderator nominees, lay representatives or ministry personnel.
- 1 additional alternate for lay representative
Nominations will close on May 6, 2021 at 11:59pm. There will be no nominations received from the floor. All nominees must be either elected lay representatives of a community of faith within the bounds of Region 15, or ministry personnel within the bounds of Region 15. Each nomination needs to moved and seconded by someone other than the Nominee (no self nominations, please), and the mover and seconder must be a member of a community of faith within the bounds of Region 15. These nominations do not need to be passed through a governing body of a community of faith.
If you are interested in serving as a Commissioner to the 44th General Council, please fill out the form here. If you have, any questions, please be in touch with the Nominations committee chair, Rev. Alicia Cox, aliciadawncox@msn.com
Communities of Faith Annual Reports
Thanks for the Annual Reports received so far, just a reminder for those still to do so that they can be emailed when available (electronic files are preferred) to your Regional Council using the following email:
Regional Council 15: info4RC15@united-church.ca
If you are unable to submit by email please mail one copy of your report to:
Regional Council 15
21 Wright Street
Sackville, NB E4L 4P8
Spring Book Study: Rachel Held Evans’ Inspired
The Region 15 Faith Formation and Leadership Development Committee will be leading an online book study at 10am on Wednesdays, April 21st – May 12th. Our title is Rachel Held Evans’ Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again, selected for its youthful voice, accessible approach to the interpretation of scripture, and imaginative retellings of well-known stories. Participants are asked to obtain their own copy in advance, but no reading is required for the first session. Lay people and ministry personnel across the Regions are invited to join us, please register by April 13th for what is sure to be a lively and inspiring group: https://ucceast.ca/61453-rc15-inspired-book-club/
Regions East Support for Soul of the Preacher
Our three Eastern Regions have joined together to offer a 25% discount to all participants in The Soul of the Preacher Zoom program beginning April 15. Use this coupon code to claim a 25% discount for this program. Soul25 Spaces are limited and filling for this Continuing Education opportunity! You can find the program description here: https://prayerbench.ca/product/soul-of-the-preacher-zoom/
Property Inventory Update – March 2021
The RC15 property inventory list has been updated as of March 23, 2021, this inventory lists property (buildings, cemeteries, lands) currently registered to your pastoral charge. Any forms and amendments received up to March 23, 2021 are included. Pastoral charges who do not hold property will not appear on the list. Please take a moment to review and ensure your pastoral charge details are correct, you can review by A-Z property name or by postal code using the link below and submit a form if there are any additions or amendments.
Rural Routes Atlantic
The United Church Rural Ministry Network (UCRMN) is a grassroots initiative for Rural Ministry in the United Church. The goal is to connect the many Rural Ministry Initiatives across Canada by sharing the successes, the opportunities and the culture of Rural Ministry.
UCRMN provides workshops, the most recent two, How Covid is Preparing Us for Newness. and Technology for Rural Churches.
Even in these heavy days new life is growing and we can nurture it together. This is a time when we have much to offer one another from our rural places. I would love to invite people to visit this website and sign up for the newsletter. I would be especially glad to have people from the Atlantic regions visit our Atlantic tab, click on Resources and then Atlantic. There will be further podcasts posted there around the delights and concerns of rural faith communities and connections to resources developed for and growing out of the Atlantic Rural experience. Table Church is one such resource. Once the pandemic ebbs away, we will plan another in person Rural Routes gathering.. We would love to hear from those in Regions 14,15 and 16 with feedback, stories or suggestions. You can contact the Rural Routes Cohort through Catherine Smith at ruralroutesatlantic@gmail.com
