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 Information
The full pdf of the Reports to Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council has been posted to the annual meeting webpage. Please note the draft agenda has been updated.
If you were unable to attend the Information Webinars the recordings of each can be found on the annual meeting webpage.
A reminder if you are unable to attend the meeting we ask that you fill out the Regrets Form.
Annual Meeting Sunday Worship Service, June 2
If you are in need of worship suggestions for Sunday, June 2, there will be a bulletin and other materials posted to the annual meeting website under the “Sunday Worship Service” header by the end of this week.
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
Roxburgh at Atlantic School of Theology in June
Alan Roxburgh, author, teacher, and pastor, is the guest speaker at the upcoming Aitken Lectures, which take place as follows:
Aitken Lectures 2024
June 11 & 12, 2024 at 7 pm
AST St. Columba Chapel, 634 Francklyn Street, Halifax, NS
Two Lectures
· June 11, 7:00 pm
“What Happened? Making Sense of the Unraveling after the Lockdown”
· June 12, 7:00 pm
“What do we do? Being God’s People in a Place we’ve never been before.”
Make plans to join us for this free 2-part in-person event brought to you by AST Continuing Education and Pine Hill Divinity Hall. Attendees are asked to register.
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.
Indigenous Land Justice
June 12th: Community Land Trusts – Sharing of Knowledge.
6 – 8 pm Atlantic time.
Our second in our Land Legacy series will feature Indigenous speakers from across Turtle Island that are working to reclaim, rematriate land and create healing spaces for Indigenous people. Whether it is creating safe housing in downtown Vancouver, community gardens in Ontario or learning and healing Indigenous centres in Calgary, Toronto and Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. Some are negotiating with municipalities, cities and some with faith organizations such as the United Church to return land. It is a beautiful movement of land justice and true self-determination being created by grassroots Indigenous non-profits. All welcome to attend!
To register, click here.
New Book – It Works For Us-Best Practices in Partially-Funded Ministry
Is your congregation shrinking? Is the church building showing its age? Are you struggling to fill committee slots? Are you unable to offer quality programming? Can you no longer fund a full-time minister? Are you feeling tired, depressed, or frustrated with the state of your church?
Many committed Christians despair about the future of their churches. But, while It Works for Us: Exploring Best Practices in Partially Funded Ministry acknowledges the current challenges most churches face, it drives toward potential solutions and uncovers how churches might thrive with fewer resources. Discover how other churches have explored best practices for establishing long-term health and vibrant ministry, and test their innovative practices. Experiment with identified vitality components to discover how you too can determine the strength and potential in your congregation. Respond to issues with creative, practical, and positive action. Find your good future.
Grounded in clear empirical data, gleaned from a nation-wide survey and from mainline Canadian denominations, It Works for Us analyses the trends in current ministry, explores aspects of congregational morale, encourages courageous, uncomfortable, and tender conversations, and offers hope for the future of the Christian church in Canada. It is a natural follow-up to the author’s previous study, It’s Real Ministry: How Part-time and Bi-vocational Clergy are Challenging and Empowering the Church and is a valuable tool for today’s clergy, lay persons, and congregations.
Ross Bartlett, Author
Rev. Dr. I. Ross Bartlett has broad experience in congregational ministry and is intimately knowledgeable with church structure and institutional shifts. He has a deep commitment to the well-being of congregations and the clergy, and he believes they can thrive if they determine their strengths and work with their potential. He is a veteran congregational minister and educator and is involved in church life at different leadership and educational levels. He has an active practice as a coach for clergy and consultant for congregations. His work is rooted in the theological and social commitments of mainline Canadian churches, and he has taught and spoken on these areas across Canada.
Dr. Bartlett is an accomplished writer, having published several books. Most recently, he has published It’s Real Ministry: How Part-time and Bi-vocational Clergy are Challenging and Empowering the Church. Other publications include Gathered for Preaching: A Source Book for Lay Leaders and Clergy, On Holy Ground: You and Your Faith Story, and Speaking Church: A New Vision for the Sub/urban Congregation. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Dr. Bartlett is a husband, father, and grandfather. He resides in a suburb of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
To place your order please contact Leona at llaundry@united-church.ca. Deadline to order is May 31, 2024.
Hello from FSLDW President Elizabeth Stevenson
This week is filled with getting ready for the Regional Annual Meeting, May 31 – June 2 with the theme: Dare to Dream Faith in Action.
Please click here to read the full Hello from FSLDW President Elizabeth.
Greetings Growth Seekers from Growth Animator Sharon
How can work and worship be one? Do meetings make your heart sing or strike a sour note? Does your current governance model fit who you are today and use your resources well? Dr. Shawn Jolemore (a “pracademic”) has been offering a continuing education series this spring through the Atlantic School of Theology. The title is one we can all ask ourselves and apply to the life and work of our communities of faith. Where Are We Going? How Are We Going to Get There?” My experience suggest there is not a cookie cutter answer, no magic formula, or list that offers a tidy response. We all have our own unique contexts. Being productive in our meetings, creating actionable plans in order to not just do the talk, energizes us all, becomes functional activity and affirming that we at least tried a thing instead of just talked about a thing. We are constantly evolving, growing and changing, which means we are constantly revisiting a next step, actionable items that prepare us, like good succession planning, to take the next right step for us. Reflect on meetings we are part of, and what it is to have “Conversations that matter. “”Let’s think about meeting productivity:
• How many focused clearly on strategic issues:
o A destination or outcome (Where are we going?) AND/OR
o A pathway (How will we get there?)
• How would you characterize the level of trust among participants?
• Did your meetings end with clear next steps?
• Did you feel the meeting was “guided” well?
Rate your overall experience on scale of 1 (not very productive or focused) to 5 (very productive
or focused). What did you learn about your meetings?
(Adapted from: Morrison et al. (2019) Strategic Doing: Ten skills for agile leadership) Make sure you add some play and some fun into your meetings. Invite the Spirit to dance among you, reenergizing and equipping you, building capacity, to follow where God leads. 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
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.
