NEWS AND UPDATES FROM BERMUDA-NOVA SCOTIA REGIONAL COUNCIL
Submission Request for Weekly Announcements
www.ucceast.ca
Staff Directory
It’s Your Call – Podcast
News from the Pews Newsletter
To view upcoming programs at the Tatamagouche Centre please click here.
To view upcoming events at the Atlantic School of Theology please click here.
To view Continuing Education opportunities at the Atlantic School of Theology please click here.
Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council Committee Volunteer form.
Condolences – Margaret Ellen Goodfellow
Condolences are extended to Rev. Michael Goodfellow (FSLDW), whose mother Margaret Ellen Goodfellow passed away on October 13, 2023. The obituary can be accessed via this site.
Stewardship Update – November 2023
Please click here to read the Stewardship update.
Greetings Growth Seekers from Growth Animator Sharon
My name is Sharon Ballantyne. I am so excited to greet you as growth animator for Atlantic Canada and Bermuda, serving UCC East. I was ordained in 2006 and have served congregations in southern Ontario and in Halifax. I am keen to hear your stories, your concerns and your joys, to learn what is on your hearts. Over these early months, we are gathering information to learn more about ministries throughout Canada. I want to hear what Atlantic Canada and Bermuda are up to. I am here to listen and to learn. Two of us, part of the six-member growth animator team began on November 1, and the remaining four will begin January 1. My hope is to be a resource and support, coming alongside ministries. Working with regional ministers and our executive minister, the growth department looks forward to working with you. I will pilot regular announcements, and look forward to your thoughts and feedback. You can reach me by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca or by phone 705 875-8837. Let’s grow together with deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice.
CCS Friday on “Coping with Loneliness and Isolation”
Do you ever feel isolated in your ministry or leadership?
Well, ironically, you are not alone! Join in on Friday, November 10, 2023 at noon Central Time for an online discussion of coping strategies for feelings of loneliness and isolation. Please click here to read more about this and for the registration link.
Affirm Zoom Webinar Nov 15, 2 pm Theme: Welcoming gender diversity: A discussion on gender identity in our communities of faith
Guest Capt Rev Beatrice Gale has been a United Church minister for 16 years. She joined the Canadian Army early 2017 and is the first openly transgender chaplain in the Canadian military. For registration please click on link.
Peace Is Possible: A Human Rights Pacifist Lawyer Speaks Nov 15 @ 8pm
As we witness the horrific violence unfolding in Palestine and Israel, it is difficult to hope for peace. Jonathan Kuttab, a pacifist Palestinian human rights lawyer, envisions a way beyond the violence.
Canadian Friends of Sabeel(CFOS) is pleased that Jonathon will present the annual James Graff Memorial Lecture November 15, 7:00 pm EST. Online tickets here.
Jonathan was the head of the Legal Committee negotiating the Cairo Agreement of 1994 between Israel and the PLO. He is a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and co-founder of Nonviolence International. He serves on the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and is President of the Board of Holy Land Trust. Jonathon practices law in the US, Palestine and Israel.
CFOS promotes the vision of Sabeel Jerusalem, an ecumenical liberation theology movement founded by Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, joining Friends of Sabeel chapters around the world. As a nonprofit organization in Canada, we amplify the voice of Palestinians by advocating in churches, communities, and governments for justice, peace, and liberation in Palestine.
Admission Matching Committee Open House
Are you from a church without a minister? Are you a member of a search team and looking for your next ministry personnel? Are you a pastoral relations liaison? Are you interested in knowing more about the admission process and more importantly the matching pilot project this online open house is for you? If so, you are invited to an online Open House with the Admission Matching Task Group. This hour long gathering will happen through Zoom on Sunday November 19th at 4 pm EST.
The Admission Matching Committee’s work is part of a pilot project to bridge the gap between Ministers who are available and excited to work in The United Church of Canada and Communities of Faith who need a minister. This Open House will include an introduction to the Admission Matching pilot program, stories from people with experience of Admission ministry, an overview of the Admission process, answers to frequently asked questions about admission ministers, and some time for any questions you might have. It will be particularly useful to people from congregations without a minister, pastoral relations liaisons, and advocates for equity, diversity, and inclusion within The United Church of Canada.
To register for this free program, please send your name, location, email, and reason for registering to Beverly at btyhurst@united-church.ca.
Solidarity Circles: A peer network of clergy, faith leaders and organizers interested in the solidarity economy.
Are you passionate about building a more equitable and sustainable future?
Please click here to read about this program. If after reading about it, you still have questions, please be in touch with Andrew Richardson (Vocation Minister Atlantic Regions) if you have any questions: ARichardson@united-church.ca.
Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel
[This is a correction/update to last week’s announcement for the Lunch and Learn]
12 Nov – Guest speaker during worship and Lunch & Learn at St. James, UC, Dartmouth. See poster here.
19 Nov – Guest speaker during worship and Lunch and Learn at St. Andrew’s United Halifax. See poster here.
10 Dec – Guest speaker during worship at Central UC, Moncton, NB.
17 Dec – Guest speaker during and after worship at St Luke’s UC, St. Margaret’s Bay, NS
Bill Chambré is a member of St Andrews’s United Church in Halifax. He recently returned to Canada after a 3-month stint as a volunteer in Israel/Palestine doing human rights monitoring through www.eappi.org (Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel). For the past 20 years, EAPPI has had a continuous presence of Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs), operating on 3-month rotations. EAs have come from 25 different countries, with Canadian EAs being funded by the United Church of Canada and the Presbyterian Church of Canada.
In 2022, Bill was in the South Hebron Hills where he was primarily dealing with land rights issues as settlements expand and Palestinians are pushed off their land. This year, he returned and spent most of his time in Jerusalem where the issues being monitored included evictions, home demolitions, checkpoints and generally offering a protective presence for the Palestinian population under occupation.
Join us during Advent
You are invited to join the Justice, Mission and Outreach Committee as we gather to light the Advent Candles each week during Advent. There will be time to reflect, pray, and join our hearts each week for just peace in Palestine and Israel. We will meet via zoom starting Wed, November 29th at 8:00 p.m. AT, all are welcome.
For registration please click on link.
Music Director Opportunity
St George & St Andrew United Church, Annapolis Royal, NS, is seeking a part-time Music Director/Organist/Choir Director. Duties include playing at regular Sunday services, for special services as required, and conducting a weekly rehearsal of forthcoming choral anthems and other music.
We have a two-manual baroque-style (with Swell) tracker-action instrument by Orgues Létourneau (Opus 28, 1991) and a Yamaha digital grand piano (CLP-695GP). The church boasts a strong music programme, with choral anthems as a regular part of every service, and many other musical events take place in our sanctuary due to its excellent acoustics.
For further information and details please email: andrea.boulding@gmail.com.
Buying United
Buying United embraces the collective buying power of The United Church of Canada’s communities of faith across the country. Our new relationship with Round Table Procurement Services (RTPS) is helping us find great deals for regular purchases; they have just created a new account for UCCers at Staples that should be much more responsive than the previous one. They can also help congregations improve their purchasing habits, for example, they’ll go through a church’s purchasing records to help them save money in the coming year.
To learn more about about this program, click here and join the webinar being hosted by Round Table on Supplier Partnerships and Values Based Purchasing Wednesday, November 29, 2-3 pm. To register through CHURCHx.ca click here.
