NEWS AND UPDATES FROM REGIONAL COUNCIL 15 (RC15)
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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.
Nominations Close Tomorrow, May 6, for 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
Nominations are Open for President-Elect
Regional Council 15 is seeking nominations for President-Elect. The President serves for a total of 3 years: as President-Elect, President, and Past-President. The President-Elect will serve as a member of the Regional Executive, leading our Region in its work and ministry, within the bounds of Nova Scotia and Bermuda. Serving as President of the Region offers many unique and exciting opportunities to engage in the work and life of the Region. More information on the role of President can be found here.
As this election will take place through the Annual meeting held online, and due to the nature of the online voting process, no nominations will be accepted from the floor. All nominations must be received by May 13, 2021 at midnight. Nominations are open to all members of Regional Council 15, including ministry personnel and lay representatives. To submit your nomination, please fill out the form here. The nomination form must include the name of the mover and seconder of the nomination. The Nominee, the mover and seconder must be members of Regional Council.
Official Members to Regional Council
An email was sent Tuesday to Pastoral Charges who had not submitted their Elected Members forms online with a deadline of today (May 5, 2021) to complete – many thanks to those who responded. For those still to submit, if you have not had your annual meeting and your members will remain the same as last year please let us know by filling in the form using this link https://ucceast.ca/61189-2021-elected-members-to-regional-council-15/. If your Pastoral Charge does not have an elected member then please also complete the form and put vacant for the member details.
A staff person will be calling after the deadline to get any information not yet submitted but needed to ensure we have our full membership list. As you might understand this is adding a significant amount of work to our staff. Contact trose@united-chruch.ca if you have questions.
Annual Meeting Webinars – Save the Date
Save the dates for the pre-meeting webinars, view the dates here. The webinar Zoom information will be sent out soon to all those who have registered for the meetings.
Region 15 Pastoral Relations News – April 2021
- Approved the Request for Change in Pastoral Relations from Anne Hoganson of St. Paul’s United Church, Spryfield, effective July 1, 2021.
- Approved the Renewal of Appointment for Bob Biggar with Donkin, Morien, Birch Grove Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022.
- Approved the Short-term Supply Appointment of Gary MacDougall with Brunswick Street North River, 20 hours/week, May 1 to July 31, 2021.
- Approved the Appointment of Katie Logan, Candidate with Orchard Valley Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.
- Approved the Call of Heather Manuel to the collaborative ministry of Eastern Guysborough Pastoral Charge and Mulgrave Pastoral Charge, full time, effective June 1, 2021.
- Approved that the Interim Ministry Appointment of Heather Wright with United Heritage Church end on June 30, 2021.
- Approved the Interim Ministry Appointment of Heather Wright with United Heritage Church, full time, October 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023.
- Approved the short-term Supply position for Cole Harbour Woodside Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, beginning September 1, 2021, and authorize Search to begin.
- Approved the Profile and Position Description for North Highlands Pastoral Charge, and authorized Search for full-time ministry personnel to begin.
- Approved the short-term Supply Appointment of Dale Skinner with Woodlawn United Church, 20 hours/week, May 1-31, 2021.
Pastoral Relations Liaison Training
“Pastoral Relations” is the term used in the United Church for the relationship of churches and ministry personnel with each other, and the process of movement of ministry personnel in and out of ministry positions. General Council implemented a revised process at the beginning of 2019 that established the role of Region Liaison that supports this work in the local community of faith. In Region 15 we currently have 25 people who have been trained as Liaison and who are active in a variety of settings. However, there is a need for more. If you would like to offer to serve as Liaison, and to receive training for this role, please contact Regional Minister David Hewitt at dhewitt@united-church.ca.
Seeking Narrative Lectionary Users
The Region 15 Faith Formation and Leadership Development Committee would like to offer an opportunity to explore the Narrative Lectionary together. For those who are unfamiliar with the NL, it’s a 4-year cycle of scripture readings which focuses on telling the major stories of our faith in narrative order, beginning each fall with units from the Hebrew Bible.
Because there’s a growing number of UCC congregations using the NL, we hope to share more information about this lectionary, brainstorm ideas for its use, and identify resources available for those using it. In order to do this, we need your help: If you’re currently using the NL, would you be willing to share your knowledge and experience with us? Can you help us to facilitate a wider conversation for those interested in learning more? If so, please contact Rev. Sharon Lohnes at revsharonbeacon@eastlink.ca We cannot offer this workshop without your help, so please carefully consider this request. With thanks from your FFLD Committee.
