NEWS AND UPDATES FROM BERMUDA-NOVA SCOTIA REGIONAL COUNCIL
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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. To view upcoming events at the the Centre for Christian Studies please click here. Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council Committee Volunteer form.
Condolences – Rev. David Laughlin MacLean
Our sympathy is extended to the family of Rev. David Laughlin MacLean who passed away on Thursday, January 30, 2025. A copy of the obituary can be viewed here.
Proposals Deadline
Dear Committee/Division/Teams and members of Regional Council: As the 2025, 45th General Council meetings get closer, we need to remind everyone that the deadline for proposals to get before the General Council is April 1st, 2025. If there were proposals that came before the region at our spring meeting in 2024, please note that they have been forwarded to the General Council. If you wish to have other proposals considered, the deadline for submission to the Region is February 26th, 2025. Individuals, communities of faith, networks, and clusters of the United Church may submit a proposal to their respective Regional Council for consideration. The Regional Councils will then take ownership of the proposal, with full ability to make revisions and changes, and either forward it to General Council with agreement or disagreement (providing rationale why the Regional Council is sending a proposal with which it disagrees) or by taking no action at this time.
In order to give the Regional Council Executive time to consider proposals, please ensure that all proposals are received by February 26th, 2024. The proposals will come to the March Executive meetings for your respective region. Proposal guidelines and templates for General Council are attached, and can also be found here: https://generalcouncil.ca/councils/gc45, click on business and then proposals.
Bermuda Nova Scotia Ministry and Personnel Committee workshop
M&P 101
An introductory workshop for lay members of Ministry and Personnel Committees will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bridgewater United Church, 87 Hillcrest St, Bridgewater, NS, B4V 1T2. Lunch will be provided. The workshop will be facilitated by Regional Minister David Hewitt.
Topics will include:
• Purpose and function of M&P Committee
• Confidentiality and Accountability
• Record keeping
• Annual Reviews
• Conflict
• Leaves
• Resources
• Q&A
Please register to assist in planning and meal preparation. The deadline for registration is Monday, February 10: CLICK HERE to register.
Please direct questions to Regional Minister David Hewitt dhewitt@united-church.ca
Lenten Devotional
New Lenten Devotional
What we sing together has the power to change us.
What music do you hope will be sung in churches generations from now? What music helps you become the follower of Christ you hope to be?
This Lenten devotional explores how the power of music can deepen our connection to God and form us as disciples of Christ. For many, music is a ubiquitous presence in our lives that affects us, sometimes despite us. The music we resonate with speaks to who we are, what we believe, and what we aspire to as people. Because of this, music is a powerful faith formation tool.
A study guide for in-person or online groups is included.
Please contact Leona at llaundry@united-chruch.ca or 709-399-0834 to order your copy.
New Opportunity for advanced study at AST
Atlantic School of Theology announces a cohort in Systematic and Historical Theology for 2025-26 within the Master of Arts (Theology and Religion) program.
This cohort will be a small group of student-scholars pursuing a degree focused in the area of Systematic or Historical Theology. The cohort will be led by Professor Rob Fennell.
Purpose and activities
The cohort will meet biweekly in a required seminar (September 2025 through April 2026) to form a community of encouragement and support, and to focus on your academic goals. You will join with other MA students focused on Systematic or Historical Theology to share peer support, explore your interests, discuss an article together, prepare for thesis writing, share in social events, learn from established scholars, receive mentorship, and more.
Funding
Seven generous scholarships are available (up to $10,000 for domestic students, and up to $25,000 for international students). Preference will be given to MA applicants with a prior degree in theology who intend to write a thesis. Campus-based students will also be given priority, but those studying at a distance are welcome to apply.
Four positions as research or teaching assistants (valued at $1,000 for one term of part-time work) are also available.
Applications
To apply for the MA cohort in Systematic and Historical Theology, apply to AST’s MA program. In your letter of intent, include your desire to join the cohort. Be sure to indicate that your studies and thesis will focus on Systematic or Historical Theology, and describe briefly your area of interest.
Deadline
Apply by March 1, 2025 to be considered for funding.
Questions?
Contact Dr. Rob Fennell at rob.fennell@astheology.ns.ca
Welcoming Applications for an Intentional Interim Minister
United Protestant Church of Sydney River, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia is seeking applications for an Intentional Interim Minister following the retirement of its Minister who served this Community of Faith for almost 20 years.
This Community of Faith was established in 1951, bringing together several protestant denominations in the growing community of Sydney River on the western side of the city of Sydney, The current church building was opened in 1956. The large multi-level building includes a beautiful sanctuary, gymnasium, meeting rooms, commercial kitchen and support spaces. There is great potential for growth of church and community programs!
If this position is of any interest to you we would love to hear from you. We would welcome an opportunity to tell you more about our Community of Faith, the richness of this community, and the potential for a rewarding ministry. Our church profile, position description, and goals for the Interim period are posted on the ChurchHub. Enquiries and applications can be directed to lmacpherson3003@yahoo.ca
Living Faith Story Workshop – Online!
What is a Living Faith Story?
Why does our church need one?
How can it do everything from define and enliven our mission
to help us find a new minister?
How can we make one that’s uniquely our own and that we’ll actually use?
If your community of faith has been asking these questions recently, you are invited to gather a group together and join us for the next Living Faith Stories workshop, which will be held online via Zoom, over two evenings, on February 26th and 27th, 2025, from 7-8:30pm.
Click here to register.
For more information, contact Daniel MacDonald,
Chair of Faith Stories and Community Covenant Committee,
at centralminister@bellaliant.com
Greetings Growth Seekers from Growth Animator Sharon
How are you celebrating the activities, interests and commitments of people that happen outside of church? How can you take your support to them? Intentionally invite each other to activities and events that happen outside regular worship! Have you thought about having people from your congregation go out and be part of the audience, cheering on the young athletes from your community of faith? Perhaps supporting musicians in recitals and concerts? How about projects that are happening like school performances, science fairs? Special scouting or 4H events? Imagine if people across generations were celebrating and supporting each other by attending events and activities.
How could your congregation support school, after school, evening or weekend events that intentionally invite people from your community of faith to these places and spaces?
Would this be a way to support children and youth not active in your community of faith? What if a group of people regularly showed up supporting the proud grandparent, the family and the young person, if you know someone’s grandchild is doing a dance recital, a sports activity, or other event?
How might you support what students in post-secondary are doing?
How might you support the activities and interests of adults of all ages?
Can you include invitations in your PowerPoints for events people have going on outside the community of faith? Add them in a special calendar? Create invitation notices? Perhaps you can colour code the invitations to activities in categories such as one colour for sports, another for music, another for arts, another for education, that sort of thing, whatever fits for your community of faith’s context. Can you engage in intentional prayer for these people and activities? Can you plan to take the family out for a celebratory treat after? Can you take photos to share with the community of faith? Can you create space in newsletters to share news of people’s activities? Let’s get growth animated together. Call Sharon at 506-306-0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca as together, we keep being bold, deep and daring!
ASTE Gathering at Tatamagouche May 12th – May 15th
COMING HOME TO EARTH Embracing Kinship, Creation and Community with Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill & Rev. Hannah K. Sotak
Daily we see evidence of planetary distress — out-of-control fires, devastating storms, flooding and drought, rising seas, warming temperatures, and ecosystem collapse. In the face of climate catastrophe, how do we make meaning, and how shall we think about a faithful response?
During this ASTE 2025 gathering, with Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill and Rev. Hannah Sotak as our guides, we’ll consider the sacred invitation to embrace kinship, Creation, and community — to encounter all life with reverence, to reclaim our place within natural and social ecosystems, and to pursue the unique roles that faith leaders and spiritual communities can play.
Information will soon be available on our website.
Reading from You Are Loved Book in Memory of Alison Etter
You Are Loved — the children’s book in Alison’s memory — was launched on Tuesday, December 17, at the Cape Breton University Beaton Institute. Illustrator Tammy Krasniqi and Tom Urbaniak will be doing a reading at the Spryfield Library on Saturday, February 8, at 1:30 p.m. from our You Are Loved book in memory of Alison.
Link to the event description is here. It’s sort of a Valentine’s event. (Alison passed away on Valentine’s Day.)
As part of the event, there will also be a conversation, and Tom Urabniak will be making a further donation to the Rev. Alison Etter Memorial Fund at AST.
All of the royalties from the book will go to the Rev. Alison Etter Memorial Fund at AST to support alumni with in-community projects or continuing education that carry on Alison’s spirit, work, and values.Everyone is welcome.
Wednesday, 2 p.m. Feb 19, 2025 Affirm Webinar Dementia and Spiritual Care: A Challenge that Affects Us All
Dementia and Spiritual Care: A Challenge That Affects Us All
With the leadership of Angela King together we will explore how dementia is more than diagnosis; it profoundly impacts those living with the condition, as well as their families, friends, and caregivers. By recognizing the far-reaching effects of dementia, we can cultivate compassion, bolster support systems, and raise awareness within our communities. Together, we can create an environment of awareness and assistance for all affected. In today’s presentation, Angela has been asked to address three typical scenarios where a diagnosis of dementia is at play and how dementia awareness, knowledge, skill, and empathy make the experience better for everyone involved.
About Angela
Angela King is a certified Spiritual Care Practitioner specializing in dementia care and education. She has worked in long-term and acute care settings across Canada during her career in spiritual care, and currently works at a hospital specializing in Geriatric Medicine in Saint John, NB. Angela is a certified Positive Approach to Care® Independent Trainer, Consultant, and Advanced Consultant, deeply invested in helping individuals experiencing brain change or living with dementia and their care partners protect the integrity of their relationships from the early stages until the end of life.
To register please click here.
Cluster Conversations: An Invitation to Church Administrative Staff
Attention! All UCC Administrative Staff, Church Office Staff, Church Secretaries, or Office Administrative Staff! You are invited to a gathering on THURSDAY, MARCH 6 at Bedford United Church,1200 Bedford Hwy Halifax, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. This event is open to paid & volunteer staff – as long as you have a position description, you are welcome!
The purpose of the meeting will be:
• 1. To get acquainted,
• 2. To share good news stories & common concerns.
• 3. To consider the benefits of setting up an ongoing Office Admin Cluster.
PLEASE NOTE: If you’re interested in this but can’t attend on March 6th and/or if you’d be interested in meeting online via Zoom, please let Robyn know. Don’t hesitate to send along suggestions for conversation or any questions. To register (its free!) contact: Robyn Brown-Hewitt, BNS Cluster Animator, at RBrown-Hewitt@united-church.ca.
Atlantic School of Theology Credit Course: Pilgrimage and Retreat Leadership
If you would like to participate in Rural Routes Through the Holy and receive a university-level course credit, you can do so by registering for a course at Atlantic School of Theology, entitled, “Pilgrimage and Retreat Leadership.” For more information, contact Prof. Rob Fennell at rob.fennell@astheology.ns.ca.
RURAL ROUTES THROUGH THE HOLY 2025: Life, Land, and Leadership: Loving With Your Feet
We’re so glad to have Rob Fennell and Shawna Lucas as our main theme presenters.
Our experience and honouring of the sacred can’t be contained within walls. Sometimes it calls for a journey. It can be a rural route through the holy, a route we take in with our senses and feel in our bodies, a route that shapes us in community with the storied land beneath our feet and those storied people, past and present, with whom we journey. It can begin right outside our door. Come listen to insights and stories from Camino Nova Scotia’s eleven years of facilitating local pilgrimage and imagine together what pilgrimage could look like on the land you call home.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN (look for the early bird discount) here.
We’ll have those things Rural Routes participants have come to know and love: tasters (brief presentations), body prayer, worship, table talk, good food, a place for silence and various prayer practices, a Maker’s Market and book exchange. This year we also have post-event package that you can purchase if in person attendance isn’t possible for you.
We love our new website. We hope you’ll sign up there to receive news of this gathering and other resources and rural initiatives we’re seeding and connecting. For questions contact Catherine at ruralroutesatlantic@gmail.com
