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.
Annual Meeting Registration Deadline Friday, May 17
Annual Meeting registration deadline is Friday, May 17. Thank you to those who have already registered for the upcoming FSLDW annual meeting taking place May 31 – June 2, 2024 at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). For those who have not yet registered for the Annual Meeting, please do so before the deadline. Note that when your registration has successfully gone through you will receive a confirmation email, if you have not received a confirmation email then your registration was not successfully completed. You have to register yourself individually, the annual meeting registration is separate to the Official Members to Regional Council form.
If you are unable to attend the meeting please fill out the regrets form.
All material for the meeting, including the information for the webinars is available on the Regional Council Annual Meeting webpage. It is highly recommended that members of the Region attend the preparatory webinars on May 16 and 21, these webinars will allow time for questions for clarification and help us to be prepared for the AGM. If you are unable to make the webinar on the allotted day, they will be recorded and posted on the annual meeting website page the following day for viewing. If you have questions after viewing you may direct them to the presenters.
If for any reason you are unable to attend the meeting following your registration please ensure to contact Jenn Whittemore (jwhittemore@united-church.ca) to cancel your accommodations and meals no later than May 27, 2024 or UPEI will be unable to provide a refund.
Annual Meeting Webinars Reminder
Just a reminder that Webinar 1: Orientation, Proposals and Commissioners will be held tomorrow, May 16, 2024 from 7:00 pm-8:30 pm, and Webinar 2: Committee Reports, Budget 2025 and 2023 Audited Statements will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 from 7:00 pm-8:30 pm. If you have registered for the annual meeting, you would have received a memo with the Zoom link. If you have not received the memo, please email the Regional office. For those who are unable to attend, the recording of the webinar will be posted by noon the following day.
Nominations are Open for President-Elect – Deadline Friday May 17, 2024
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council 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 the Region. 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.
The election will take place at the Annual meeting. In order to post bios of the nominees and allow for printing of meeting materials, please submit nominations by May 17, 2024 at midnight. Nominations can also come from the floor of the meeting at which time nominations will close at the close of the Friday night session. Nominations are open to all members of the Regional Council, 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. If you have any questions, please contact Nominations Chair, Rose-Hannah Gaskin.
Young Clergy Retreat Postponed
Unfortunately, due to low registration, we are unable to move forward with the Young Clergy Retreat that was planned for May 23-24. The planning team has decided to postpone the event to October 17-18 (Thursday and Friday).
For those who have already registered and are available for these new dates, no further action is required. If you have registered and will not be available for the new dates, please reach out to rev.bowley@outlook.com.
We apologize for the inconvenience that this may cause. Watch these announcements in late August/early September for more information.
Retirement Open House – The Rev. Ivan Gregan
Join Us for a Retirement Celebration to honour the Rev. Ivan Gregan
36 Years of Faithful Service to the Congregation of Port Wallis United Church!
Open House – Saturday, May 25th from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Port Wallis United Church, 263 Waverley Rd, Dartmouth NS
902-435-3644
The Other Side of the Wall Book Study
People around the world have seen and heard the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac’s Christmas Sermon “Under the Rubble”.
Now the Just Peace Working Group are inviting you to hear more from this extraordinary theologian.
Tuesday evenings in June, at 7:00pm Atlantic, join us while we study Munther’s book “The Other Side of the Wall”. The book can be purchased from Amazon or you can order it through your local bookstore.
You can register for the book study by emailing PLEMoncton@gmail.com or by clicking on this link.
Donations for UPEI Food Bank Gratefully Accepted
Registrants at the up-coming FSLDW Regional Council meeting are invited to bring along a non-perishable food item or grocery gift card for the UPEI Food Bank. Donations may be dropped off at the time of registration Thursday, May 30th, or at the Business Table on Friday, May 31st. Students are among the most in need of a little extra help in these times of inflation in food prices. Please note that this is a completely voluntary gesture.
Beautiful to Behold: Broken Open Church – Rural Routes Through the Holy
Rural Routes Through the Holy will gather this year from June 13 – 15th at Orchard Valley United Church in New Minas around the theme Beautiful to Behold: Broken Open Church. This is an area very familiar to our speaker, Rev. Dr. Catherine Smith, who has spent years studying the vitality to be found in vulnerability, remaining open, permeable to God and to one another.
We’ll listen and talk, worship and rest, learn, eat and sing together. We’ll hear from those who are excited by a ministry they’re involved in and we’ll have the chance to choose from workshops on Writing Spiritual Memoir (Janice MacLean), Collaborative Ministry (David Hewitt) and explore the legacy of the Acadian experience (Marvin Anderson, Karen Archibald Waugh, David Roger Gagnon, Ivan Gregan, & Betty Jean Curry). You can see the schedule here.
We’ll also be joined virtually for our theme by those outside the Maritimes, thanks in large part to a grant provided by the United Church Rural Ministry Network.
Registration closes June 3rd so now is the time. We’re looking forward to welcoming you.
Hello from President Elizabeth Stevenson
This week I celebrate the ministry of the UCW in sharing with you a brief report from Susan LeMaistre, your in-coming Region President, on the recent UCW Regions gathering in Antigonish.
Please click here to read the full Hello from FSLDW President Elizabeth.
Greetings Growth Seekers from Growth Animator Sharon
What have been your God moments this week? Share your gratitude! Do you have space in your weekly worship, small group gatherings, special activities to check in and share with one another when and how you experienced something special in your week? In worship these might be called “celebrations,” “God Moments,” “Glimmers” or other name that invites a sharing of something meaningful during the week, a sharing of something reflecting why faith matters. In the expression of a happy moment, a revelatory incident, a gratitude, we all are drawn closer in relationship. Find ways to share them in your worship, at teams and committee meetings and among those you meet outside your building. How about sharing through “an appreciation station” by creating a give and take table? These might include new or gently used items you don’t need but others might appreciate, recent magazines, favourite recipes, a favourite scripture verse written out, activities and hobbies that can be offered. I know some churches make their own greeting cards and make them available, or prayer squares. Perhaps you love to bake and want to share. As a gardener, perhaps you have extra flowers or produce to brighten someone’s day. One entrepreneur who hosts a stall at the local farmer’s market made up a whole bunch of invitations, providing information about times and locations of the farmer’s market he is part of and invited the taker to bring along the card and receive some free produce. Items can be organized in baskets or bins. Let me know the ideas your community of faith is thinking about, or already trying. 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
Stewardship Update – May 2024
Please click here to read the latest Stewardship update.
Send us your stuff!
SEND US YOUR STUFF!
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters’ Faith Formation and Education Committee is creating a library of Worship Resources to be available on our website. Some of you have expressed your willingness to share your worship services and sermons, especially for use by lay people who find themselves called upon to lead worship. These people have found it frustrating to access United Church of Canada resources which do not require subscriptions, especially during “Ordinary” time.
We certainly welcome your submissions for special services, special dates, special days, but would really appreciate materials for regular Sundays that don’t get that much attention. These do not have to be a complete package. Send an order of worship with or without a sermon. Send just a sermon or two.
Worship services should be clearly marked with a liturgical date (Pentecost 3B, for example) or their special day, like Earth Sunday 2024. Sermons could have the same designation but it would also be helpful to have noted the scripture that is the subject, such as Matthew 22:1-14.
Once we have some to share, they will be available to everybody in the Resources section of the FSLDW website.
Send sermons and worship services to: fsldwffe@gmail.com
Thank you for your participation.
It’s Time to Support the PEI Basic Income Project
You could help Coalition Canadian in your capacity as a faith group leader. Last November we published the PEI Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) report. This report has changed the landscape for guaranteed basic income advocacy. It has addressed key issues on how to implement a GBI. This has led to many serious conversations with senior policy people and politicians. It has led, for example, to a window opening between a federal and a (PEI) provincial Minister for an early stage ‘working group’ to be established to discuss data, administrative, and tax issues. This is huge step for GBI. Policy Options/IRPP has published an article about the work.
In a few weeks we will be sending a letter to a small number of MPs who will be involved in the election platform planning process for each Federal political party, asking them to put the PEI GBI demonstration project on their party’s platform. Your support is important. It will indicate to the MPs the breadth of support from people and organizations who understand how a GBI could affect the lives of people.
Please read and sign the letter. If you can, please share with your colleagues in the faith community.
Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvgQbs_WEYhjV9Nr60UKzsZfVhK03hv997bdp3YszgmZLPhQ/viewform
Bridges to Hope: Connecting Spirituality and Imagination
ASTE 2024 invites you to a time of deepening spirituality. Daily we experience spiritual angst and despair arising from; climate collapse, wars, illness, personal and/or global discord. Presenters from Celtic and Indigenous perspectives will explore the potential of our innate ability for imagination and spirituality to lead us out of despair and into hope. This is an opportunity to explore the topic Bridges of Hope: Connecting Spirituality and Imagination in depth in a safe and supportive environment under the guidance of The Rev. Dr. Teresa Burnett-Cole, The Rev. J Ivan Gregan and the ASTE2024 community.
Have questions, have answers, join us – Tatamagouche Centre, June 17-20, 2024; ASTE2024
