NEWS AND UPDATES FROM FUNDY ST. LAWRENCE DAWNING WATERS (FSLDW)
Submission Request for Weekly Announcements
www.ucceast.ca
Staff Directory
It’s Your Call – Podcast
Spark Newsletter
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.
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters (FSLDW) Committee Interest form.
Condolences: Reverend Alexander F. “Sandy” MacLean
Our condolences are extended to the family of Rev. Alexander “Sandy” MacLean who passed away on February 3, 2026. The obituary can be viewed here. The service will be live streamed, the link for viewing is in the obituary.
Covenanting Service
All are warmly invited to a service celebrating the covenant between the Rev. Timothy Wisnicki, Montague Pastoral Charge, and FSLDW Region. The service will take place at Hillcrest United Church on Sunday, February 15 at 2:00 pm. A reception hosted by the Hillcrest UCW and Sturgeon Ladies Aid will follow. The Rev. T. Kevin Dingwell will represent the Region and the Rev. Melaney Matheson will be the guest preacher. Hillcrest United Church is located at 50 Wood Islands Road, Montague, PEI. The sanctuary is wheelchair-accessible from the back parking lot.
Introduction of Toward 2035 (T2035)
The introduction of the T2035 conversation and Strategic initiative occurred at each of the Regional Council Annual Meetings in 2025.
As we begin this work, we invite all of our members and boards to view the video introduction of the Toward 2035 from our Moderator, The Right Rev. Dr. Kimberley Heath to engage in the T2035 conversation.
Our Regional Council Minsters will begin the process of engagement in February with our ministry personnel through a webinar. There will be six time slots offered between February 17 and February 19, and Ministry personnel can register for the one that suits their schedule. Please see the form, with the times and dates here. Please join our Regional Ministers for a presentation and discussion about T2035.
SAVE THE DATE – SWNB Regional Cluster Meeting
Regional Council Representatives as well as Active and Retired Clergy from the SW Zone of the Region are asked to mark your calendars and save the date for initial SW Regional Cluster Gathering in your area.
Southwest Cluster – Saint John – March 17, 2026
Additional details will follow shortly with regard to location, times and agenda.
We hope to see as many of you there as possible!
Online Annual Meeting
The Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council (FSLDW) will hold its business meeting online Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6. A draft agenda for this meeting can be found on the Annual Meeting webpage.
There will be information webinars held on Monday, June 1, and Wednesday, June 3, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Please mark your calendars as we are hoping to have all members attend.
The registration form will open mid-March. There will be an announcement when registration is open. If you are unable to attend, please ensure you fill out the regrets form.
As information for the online business meeting becomes available it will be posted on the annual meeting webpage.
Elected Members to Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council
Please click here for a memo from Faith March-MacCuish, Executive Minister, with information regarding elected members to the Regional Council.
Nominations are open for President-Elect
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council is seeking nominations for President-Elect. This position is for a total of three years: one year as President-Elect, one year as President, and the last year as 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 the Region in this way offers many unique and exciting opportunities to engage in its work and life. More information on the role of President-Elect, President, and Past-President can be found here.
As this election will take place through the Annual meeting held online, no nominations will be accepted from the floor, due to the nature of the online voting process. All nominations must be received by May 1, 2026 at midnight. Nominations are open to all members of the Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council, including ministry personnel and lay representatives. To submit your nomination, please fill out the form here.
Each nomination must include the names of two people who will move the nomination. These people must be members of Regional Council. The nomination does not need to come from the governing body of your local community of faith, it just needs to be two people from the Region who support the nomination.
If you have any questions, please contact Nominations Chair, Tracy Friars.
Forms Related to Retirees and Jubilarians
Please click here for a memo from Faith March-MacCuish, Executive Minister, with information regarding forms related to Retirees and Jubilarians.
Collective 2026
Plan for summer NOW! Collective (formerly Rendez-Vous) is a national event for youth, young adults, and leaders grade 9 and up. This year, it’s happening August 12-15, 2026 at Brock University in St. Catharine’s Ontario. Here in the Maritimes, we are looking at a bus for transportation, so watch for more information about that soon.
Collective is an opportunity to gather from across the church, along with the Presbyterian Church in Canada, to grow in faith, build community and reflect on shared experiences. For more information, check out the website or email Catherine Stuart.
Becoming an Affirming Community
Mark your calendars for March 4th at 7:00 for a web gathering to learn and discuss the process for becoming an officially recognized Affirming Ministry in the UCC. You can be one person who is interested, or a group from your congregation. Come join in the conversation.
Link details will be sent out later.
Growth Ideas 101: Calendaring Events
Please click here to read the Growth Ideas from Sharon Ballantyne, Growth Animator, for February 4, 2026.
Share your ideas with your growth animator at 506-306-0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca.
Sacraments Elder Training & Licensing
As previously announced, the Pastoral Relations Committee of the region is enacting procedures for the licensing of Sacrament Elders. A sacraments elder is a full member of a community of faith who has been licensed by the regional council to administer the sacraments within their community of faith, which is without a settled or appointed member of the order of ministry or designated lay minister. When a congregation is in need, it may identify and invite those who have gifts and interests for becoming a sacraments elder. A Sacrament Elder completes a specific training program to fulfill this role and is licensed annually.
Governing bodies and potential Sacraments Elders are encouraged to review the Sacraments Elder handbook. Those pastoral charges, which have discerned a need for a Sacraments Elder are invited to enter conversation with potential members, and with that person’s permission, by motion of the governing body, recommend their licensing as Sacraments Elder by completing this form. The form is a fillable Word document and once you click the link, you will need to download the form.
Completed forms should be emailed to lbruce@united-church.ca. Those recommended for licensing will be invited to a Sacraments Elder training event at the Regional Council office on Saturday March 28th, 2026, from 10:30AM to 3:30PM (lunch provided). The names of those who successfully complete the training will be assigned a mentor and presented to the Pastoral Relations Committee for licensing.
Neurodiversity Workshop – widening our welcome
This webinar was first presented in October 2022 by Shelley Pick. As we begin to understand the wide range of Neurodiversity in our gatherings, this may be a helpful session to review again.
If you have comments/ questions you can direct them to Pix.
Let’s keep the conversations going
Atlantic Candidacy Board – Seeking Elected Members – Deadline March 17, 2026
The Atlantic Candidacy Board is seeking two new elected members. The mandate for the board is:
- approving an individual for candidacy for ministry in the United Church;
- determining an individual’s readiness for accreditation for ordination, for commissioning, and for recognition as a designated lay minister; and
- overseeing the Candidacy Pathway process.
Expectations and Term:
- Online meetings: Varies by candidacy board. Usually monthly for one to one and half day (summer months excluded), totaling about 16 days per year of meetings or interviews. Scheduling is set according to the availability of members and candidates. At present, most meetings and interviews take place during daytime hours on weekdays.
- In-person meetings: Most boards meet in-person once per year. Travel is required.
- Expectations between meetings: Significant preparation time in reading candidate materials in advance of each meeting and sets of interviews.
- Additional appointment expectations: none
- Appointment term: May 2026 to August 2028 (46th General Council), with the possibility of reappointment for a second term.
Visit the opportunities page for more details and Use our online nominations form to nominate someone or express your own interest.
Deadline: Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Blessing of the Banned Books
Sunday, February 22nd
11:00 AM
Berwick Trinity United Church
(240 Commercial Street)
*A worship service in honour of Canada’s Freedom to Read Week
(February 22nd-28th 2026)
Please join us as we honour one of the most fundamental freedoms found in a democratic nation-the freedom to read. Through word, song, and the sharing of stories, we hope to uphold and raise awareness of narratives that are at risk of being banned or censored, so that we may better understand how to counteract these movements in our communities and beyond.
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
CHURCH LEADERS WEBINAR: Transform Your Church by Transforming Your Conversations
This particular workshop is being held through the Conversations Worth Having Institute – April 29 and May 1, 2026. This workshop for Spiritual Leaders is a webinar for clergy and lay.
Envision & practice conversations where people feel heard and new ideas emerge. An environment where communication fuels unity, belonging & purpose.
That’s the power of Conversations Worth Having.
And it’s not out of reach – it starts with learning a better way to engage in conversations.
To register, please click here and look for Training – CWH for Spiritual Leaders.
Rev. Todd McDonald, United Church Minister, recently retired from the position of Pastoral Relations Minister of Shining Waters Regional Council is among the facilitation team for this event.
