![The United Church of Canada | Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council [logo]](https://ucceast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BNS-Logo-300px.png "BNS-Logo-300px"){kind=logo}
NEWS AND UPDATES FROM BERMUDA-NOVA SCOTIA REGIONAL COUNCIL
Submission Request for Weekly Announcements
www.ucceast.ca
Staff Directory
It’s Your Call – Podcast
News from the Pews 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.
Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council Committee Volunteer form.
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. Introductory webinars have been held with ministry personnel, and the same opportunity is now offered to lay leaders – governing body Chairs, Secretaries and Treasurers, M&P Chairs, and other lay people who offer leadership in their congregations.
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 lead webinars in six different time slots offered between March 9 and 12. Lay leaders 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.
Covenanting Service
Bermuda-Nova Scotia Region Pastoral Relations Committee has approved the Appointment of Meggin Hare, retired, with the Salt Springs, Scotsburn-Lyon’s Brook Pastoral Charge, full time, from November 3, 2025 to October 31, 2028.
A Covenanting Service for Rev. Hare will take place on Sunday, March 8th, at 2 p.m. at the Scotsburn United Church. Our Guest Speaker is the Rev. Donna Tourneur. A reception will follow, and all are cordially invited to attend!
Job Posting – Growth and Stewardship Animator UCC East
With the recent retirement of Rev. Roger Janes, UCC East is now in search of an individual to fill the role of Growth and Stewardship Animator UCC East.
This position is deployed into UCC East serving the communities of faith of either First Dawn Eastern Edge or Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters.
The full job posting and application link can be found here; interested individuals have until March 16, 2026 to apply.
BNS Youth @ Region is looking for facilitators and more!
Are you an awesome leader who would love to share your faith with a fabulous group of church youth? The Bermuda-Nova Scotia Youth @ Region Planning team are seeking interested leaders to serve as facilitators, music team members, and chaplains for this year’s program. Youth @ Region will be a 4-day event, May 28th to 31st at Acadia University, Wolfville, creating a fun and safe space for youth grades 6 to 12. A training event will also take place in late-April/early May.
Further details about the roles and responsibilities can be found here.
Applications for the leadership team are now available! Applicants must be 19 years of age or older and must have at least one gap year between being a participant and a facilitator. Deadline for registration is March 6th, 2026. Application can be found here.
Youth applications will be available in March, stay tuned for further details!
You Are Invited: Ministry Leadership in Such a Time as This with Karen Oliveto
Ministry Leadership in Such a Time as This
Thursday March 12th from 9:30AM to 3:30PM (Atlantic) (storm date Friday, March 13)
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council Office
12 Wright Street, Sackville, NB E4L 4P8
In-person ($25) and Online via Zoom (no cost)
In the rise Christian Nationalism and increased polarization in our communities, how do we live with the current angst on the continent and world? What leadership is prompted in “Such a Time as This?”
Our guest reflector will be Bishop Karen Oliveto – a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church and former pastor of Glide Church in San Francisco who now lives in Pugwash, NS. Last summer Karen was guest evangelist at Berwick Camp.
Karen will lead us in reflecting on questions such as: What is our role as ministry personnel in these times? How do we live into the prophetic and pastoral aspects of ministry? Who are our ministry partners as we act as agents of God’s love in the public square? How do we live and proclaim the hope and amazement of Easter in a Good Friday world?
Please click here to read the details of the entire announcement, including link for registration.
Training for transitional ministry (Interim Ministry)
Is your church experiencing change and transition? Would you like to acquire more skill in leading through transition? Would you like to be equipped and credentialled to lead others through transition? Bermuda Nova Scotia Region is offering grants in support of Interim Ministry training. Please read more here.
Invisible Illnesses Awareness, My Journey with Crohn’s Webinar – March 25, 2026 7:00PM (ATL)
Invisible illnesses are conditions whose symptoms and challenges are not immediately apparent to others or not visibly obvious. Like any other disease or affliction, they affect the daily lives of those diagnosed with them and many seek empathy from those in their lives to understand and support them. Examples include autoimmune diseases, neurodiverse conditions, chronic pain, long Covid, and various others. Many who have such conditions experience stigma that may involve judgment, invalidation, and pressure to ‘prove’ their illnesses. To help shed light on experiences such as these, Rev. Ian Harrison is offering a webinar/information session sharing his own life with Crohn’s disease over the past decade, serving as a case study which represents a wider community of those with IBD, a population that has grown steadily in recent years, yet remains unknown or obscure to many. Please click here to register. **Please note, the previous announcements had the incorrect date – the webinar is being held March 25.
Growth Ideas 101: Share It Forward
Please click here to read the Growth Ideas from Sharon Ballantyne, Growth Animator, for March 4, 2026.
Share your ideas with your growth animator at 506-306-0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca.
Grief Matters Session this Saturday – Hillside United!
The Pastoral Care Team of Hillside United Church invites you to join us for a session entitled: Let’s talk about grief!
Grief is an experience each of us will journey through when we lose someone or something that holds value to our life. Across Nova Scotia people are benefiting from conversations about grief. Come learn more about grief- what it is and what it isn’t and how we can support each other and ourselves.
Our speaker is Mary Ellen Macdonald Co-founder of GRIEF MATTERS.
Please join us on March 7, 2026 at 1:30 pm in the Hall of Hillside United Church 12 Flamingo Drive, Halifax
To register email office@hillsideunited.org or call 902-443-2947
Do You Know Who Your Neighbours Are?
Many Communities of Faith look around their sanctuary on a Sunday morning and assume that their neighbours are represented by the people present. The reality may be surprising. This webinar offers a way to discover who your neighbours are and how to start connecting with them. The Faith Formation and Leadership Development Committee of the Bermuda-Nova Scotia Region is pleased to present this webinar. This series is hosted by Sharon Buttrey the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Strategist for the United Church of Canada and Sharon Ballantyne The Growth Animator for the Atlantic Canadian regions of the United Church. This session will be held March 18th, it will start at 7pm (AST) and run for an hour with time at the end for questions and discussion. Registration is now open, click here: there is no registration fee for the series.
Upon registration you will receive an automated email. A few days later you will receive a welcome email from the committee with the zoom link for the sessions. You will also receive a reminder email before the session.
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.
Please click here to see more information, including expectations and term, as well as nomination form.
Stewardship
Bequest and Estate Giving Course.
This course is free until June 10, 2026 and you can register as an individual or a team on ChurchX. It is free to open an account on this church site. churchx.ca
Did you know?
One -third of United Church people would consider including the church in their Estate plans if they were asked.
Guess what is coming in May? Get ready.
Annual Meeting
The Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council (BNS) annual meeting will be held in-person at Acadia University on May 28-31, 2026. A draft agenda for this meeting can be found on the Annual Meeting webpage. There will be information webinars held prior to the meeting. These dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
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 in-person gathering becomes available it will be posted on the annual meeting webpage.
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.
Elected Members to Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council
Please click here for a memo from Faith March-MacCuish, Executive Minister, with information regarding elected members to the Regional Council.
Annual Pastoral Charge Information Form 2026
We are asking each pastoral charge to complete and submit the Annual Pastoral Charge Information Form as soon as possible after your 2026 annual meeting, noting the deadline is April 1st . This updates the Region with the names and contact information of your current leadership and regional council representatives (elected members). As a reminder, if we do not have the information for your elected members, they will not be able to vote at the Regional Annual Meeting. If you have any issues with completing the form, please contact Shari Kaster, 506-306-0496.
Voices United looking for a home
We at Trinity United in Upper Onslow, NS, currently have a surplus of Voices United Hymnals that might be of more use to you than to us. If you are interested in obtaining these books, please contact us at trinityunitedob@gmail.com or (902) 895-4188, to arrange for pick up.
