NEWS AND UPDATES FROM FUNDY ST. LAWRENCE DAWNING WATERS (FSLDW)
Submission Request for Weekly Announcements
www.ucceast.ca
Staff Directory
Emergency Response Memos for Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters (FSLDW)
It’s Your Call – Podcast
Spark 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.
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters (FSLDW) Committee Interest form.
Condolences – David Lloyd Jacobs
Condolences are extended to Rev. Helene Burns and family, whose father, David Lloyd Jacobs, passed away on November 29, 2023. The obituary can be viewed here.
Condolences – Alan Geoffrey Little
Condolences are extended to Rev. Kevin Little (BNS) and family, whose father Alan Geoffrey Little, passed away on November 29, 2023. The obituary can be viewed here.
Annual Meeting 2024
The 2024 Annual Meeting will be held at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Charlottetown, PE, on May 31-June 2 (the meeting will open on Friday at 8:45am). Check-in will open Thursday, May 30, starting at 6pm for those travelling on Thursday. We will also have a gathering space available Thursday evening from 6-10pm for those who wish to catch-up.
Youth@Region (Y@R) will also be taking place the same weekend at UPEI with the program starting Friday morning. There will be something planned for those youth who arrive Thursday evening. If you have questions about Y@R please contact Catherine Stuart. More information about Y@R will come out early in the new year.
When you complete your online registration please note that UPEI will be calling you to obtain your payment information to help with the congestion during check-in.
We will be providing a service for congregations to use the Sunday of Annual Meeting. This will be sent to congregations in early April.
More details to come early in the new year on the Annual Meeting web page.
President’s Advent Message
Please click here to read an Advent message from Elizabeth Stevenson, President of Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council.
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, and each Wednesday after, up to and including December 20th, at 8:00 p.m. AT, all are welcome.
For registration please click on link.
Hello from FSLDW President Elizabeth
On the road again…
On December 3rd I had the delight to visit Central United Church, New Bandon Pastoral Charge, Clifton, NB. Rev. Susan White and the choir led worship while I offered a reflection and gratitude, on your behalf, for this vibrant ministry in the Acadian Peninsula.
Please click here to read the full Hello from FSLDW President Elizabeth.
Association of United Church Clergy
Your Association of United Church Clergy exists to help clergy thrive in ministry. We have some wonderful plans for 2024! To find our more and be added to the mailing list please email info@yoursanctuary.ca and include your na
Candlelight Vigil for Peace & Climate Justice
This is the 2nd week of Advent, the week Christians reflect on peace, essential for both life and climate justice. As people of faith, we pray individually and together for peace and climate justice.
Join KAIROS Halifax for a Candlelight Vigil for Peace & Climate Justice (COP 28)
Dec. 11, 2023, 7 pm ADT by Zoom click HERE to join
Hosted by:
KAIROS Halifax
KAIROS member churches:
The Anglican Church of Canada
Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace
Christian Reformed Church in North America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Mennonite Central Committee of Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
The United Church of Canada
Praying with the DEN Community, Diocesan Environment Network (DEN)
For more information contact DEN at: endionspei@gmail.com
Follow Sarah at COP28!
Sarah Gingles, a Young Adult in Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters, is part of The United Church’s virtual delegation to COP28 in Dubai. She’s given an interview with CBC in New Brunswick, so take a listen here! Also, follow what she and other delegates are up to on The United Church’s website under Climate Change.
Greetings Growth Seekers from Growth Animator Sharon
In this season of Advent, how are you holding on to hope? It is a season of sensing the now and the not yet. We are reminded in the words of Isaiah 43, the message that God is up to something. What is God up to with you? Perceive it. Look for it. Anticipate it. This week I am meeting with the Organization Development and Strategy Unit (ODS) bringing together about 40 people, including for the first time our growth team. Being deep, bold and daring starts with each of us and invites us to work together. Pray for all of our 2,516 communities of faith. In some activities we placed ourselves out according to when we started working in a church. In another, when we started working for the national church, and some are in the “not yet” as they anticipate their new positions beginning in January. Practice radical hospitality and be intentional to include everyone. What sorts of questions might you ask others to learn about each other as you chat and share fellowship? Be blessed in this time of Advent-uring and feeling God’s presence filling us all with hope. 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.
Job Opportunity – Executive Director, Tatamagouche Centre
Tatamagouche Centre is seeking an Executive Director; For full details of the position, please click here. The closing date for applications is December 20, 2023.
Stewardship Update – December 2023
Please click here to read the Stewardship update.
Book a time to talk about stewardship
Are you thinking about year-end or wanting to make a stewardship plan for 2024? Would you like to talk about legacy giving to your congregation, but don’t know where to start? Do you have questions about growing giving to Mission & Service?
Roger Janes is your stewardship support person and is available to share resources, answer questions, or brainstorm with. Don’t know where to start? Book a phone or zoom conversation with Roger today using this link.
A Green Enthusiast in my Church
The Eco-Justice Working Group of the Bermuda Nova Scotia and Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Water Regions wants to support local churches. Do you know someone in your pastoral charge who is enthusiastic about the environment and concerned about how to have a green future? We want to connect with them for mutual sharing and communication, as well as funding and advocacy opportunities. We have information and resources we would like your church’s ‘Green Enthusiast’ to know about. Please send us their name and email address, along with your church’s name and location. This could be the beginning of something amazing ! Send their info to SMunikwa@united-church.ca Thank You. Your Maritime region’s Eco-Justice Working Group of the Justice, Mission and Outreach Committee
CCS Friday online discussion about engaging youth in climate justice – December 8, 2023
CCS Fridays are free online conversations to help us respond faithfully to emerging issues in local contexts. These workshops are open to anyone who might be interested. There will be a presentation that will be recorded for future viewing, plus opportunities to engage with the ideas in small groups.
Please click here to read more about this and for the registration link.
Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel
10 Dec – Guest speaker during worship at Central UC, Moncton, NB. See poster here.
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.
Ministry of Supervision
The Certificate in Ministry of Supervision provides participants with the information and skills to mentor individuals preparing for ministry by equipping them for supervision including pastoral practices, leadership, reflection, feedback and spiritual guidance. It is designed for clergy and lay individuals who are interested in supporting students and communities for supervised ministry education (SME), internships and field education. PREREQUISITES: A minimum of five years of post-ordination or commissioning, experience in congregational ministry leadership OR equivalent lay leadership
Mark your Calendar Now!
The course will take place as a once a week intensive with three-hour synchronous class time on zoom each week. Here is the schedule — click the links to see the start times in each of Canada’s time zones:
Jan 11, 12:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Jan 18, 12:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Jan 25, 12:00 – 3:00pm ET
Feb 1, 12:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Feb 8, 12:00 – 3:00 pm ET
You can register at United in Learning or by clicking here.
For more information please contact Andrew Richardson.
Communities of Faith 2022 Annual Reports
A reminder that there are some outstanding 2022 Annual Reports. If available, please email to Regional Council office using the following email: info4RC14@united-church.ca
If you are unable to submit by email, please mail one copy of your report to:
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters
21 Wright Street
Sackville NB E4L 4P8
If you have already submitted your Annual Report, there is no need to resend.
Grief Radio – A Podcast About Grief
Grief Radio – A Podcast About Grief is a soon-to-be-launched podcast offering Support/Education/Links for training & research and upcoming events. It is being launched by Rev. Ian Smith, a retired, ordained United Church of Canada clergy person residing in Ontario and Dr. Vivianne LaRiviere, residing in Nova Scotia. To read the full details, please click here.
