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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.
Annual Meeting Registration is Open
Registration is open for the annual meeting. Please read the memo sent from the Executive Minister. Visit the annual meeting webpage regularly for the latest updates and information on the upcoming meeting. Reminder, if you require meals and/or accommodations, they must be registered for separately. To read the welcome letter from Acadia University, with meal/accommodations information, please click here.
Youth@Region 2026!
Calling all Youth, between grades 6-12!
Registration is now open for Youth@Region!
Y@R is a place of community and a place of faith where United Church youth, between grade 6 and grade 12, meet from across Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council. It will take place during the Annual Meeting for Bermuda-Nova Scotia, held at Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, from May 28-31, 2026. The theme for this year’s event is Church 101.
The group creates an inclusive, diverse and safe community for youth in the name of Christ. We provide a place for youth to explore their faith and to learn more about the United Church of Canada while sharing in music, worship and fun in a spirit-filled community.
We hope to see you there!
If you have any questions, please email Catherine Stuart. Deadline to register is May 1, 2026.
Nominations are Open for President-Elect
Bermuda-Nova Scotia 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.
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 1, 2026 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 members. 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 members of the Region who support the nomination.
If you have any questions, please contact the Regional Council Office.
Expressions of Interest – Supply Ministry 50% Musquodoboit Harbour PC
Musquodoboit Harbour Pastoral Charge is in search for Supply Ministry of 20 hours/wk while our current minister is on medical leave. This is a single point charge, located approximately 30 minutes east of Dartmouth, NS on the 107 Highway. For more information including a position description, please contact Mr. Jim Turner, Chair, Unified Board. Tel: 902-889-2403, Email.
Faithful Footprints Grant
The Faithful Footprints Grant supports United Church communities with funding for building retrofit projects that reduce carbon emissions, and strengthen the long-term sustainability of church buildings. The 2026 funding cycle is now open and accepting expressions of interest until April 30, 2026. Please click here for more information.
HRM Youth Cluster Gathering
🎉 HRM Youth Cluster Gathering – You’re Invited! 🎉
📅 When: Sunday, April 19 | 5:30–7:30 PM
📍 Where: Bethany United Church
Join us as we gather for supper, worship, games, and fun, and connect with other youth!
👉 Register here
📢 Spread the word – all youth and leaders are welcome!
Growth Ideas 101: Seed Your Need
Please click here to read the Growth Ideas from Sharon Ballantyne, Growth Animator, for April 15, 2026.
Share your ideas with your growth animator at 506-306-0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca.
Camping Sunday is April 26, and your service is already written!
Whether you celebrate Camping Sunday on April 26 or another time this spring, here is everything you need for a service that celebrates the incredible ministries happening at our camps, and how they impact the lives of children, youth and families in Nova Scotia. Attached are 1) a full intergenerational liturgical resource, and 2) a 20 minute sermon-film, which brings the mission that camps are living out right into your sanctuary! Please read the instructions for downloading the film. It cannot be streamed, but we have provided full instructions (with pictures!) to explain how to download the video directly to your church’s computer.
Transform Your Church by Transforming Your Conversations
Conversations Worth Having Workshop for Spiritual Leaders is a webinar for clergy and lay leaders (M&P members, Church Board leaders etc.) focused on building trust, improving meetings, and navigating difficult conversations with greater clarity and life-giving impact.
Dates: April 29 & May 1, 2026
Interested? For more information and to Register click here.
Facilitator: Todd McDonald (Rev. Dr.) is a former Pastoral Relations Minister in Shining Waters Regional Council. Todd’s work seeks to support the health, joy, and excellence of faith leaders – both clergy and lay leaders.
ADMINISTRY! Church Administrators’ Spring Conference May 4th, Truro
ALL United Church Church Administrators (Office Coordinators, Secretaries, etc.) are invited to a one-day conference at St. Andrew’s United Church in Truro, Monday, May 4, 9:30a.m. – 4:00p.m. There is NO registration fee! Registrar: Karen at officestandrews@eastlink.ca. See the attached brochure for ALL DETAILS and AGENDA.
Staff Change
As of the 15th of March, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Richardson has been appointed as the Director of Emerging Ministry Leadership and Co-Director of the Office of Vocation with the General Council Office. Temporary coverage for the Vocation Minister work is in the process of being arranged. The position of Office of Vocation Minister for the Atlantic Regions has been posted on the United Church web page with a closing date of April 16th.
What does the United Church’s “One Earth Community” mean?
Care for Creation Moment: One Earth Community
The United Church of Canada teaches that care for the Earth is not merely an environmental issue — it is a matter of faith. Creation is understood as a sacred gift from God, entrusted to humanity not for exploitation, but for loving stewardship. This conviction is powerfully expressed in the United Church’s 1992 statement, One Earth Community: Ethical Principles for Environment and Development.
The United Church invites us to live differently — to move from dominance to partnership, from consumption to compassion, and from isolation to global solidarity. It is a call to transformation rooted in faith, justice, and love for all Creation.
Read and be inspired by the Ethical Principles adopted in 1992 here.
Is It Time To Become An Apartheid-Free Community?
Do you Look at the Tragic Events in Israel/Palestine and Feel Both Angry and Helpless?
Our faith calls us “to seek justice and resist evil”.
But how can I and my faith community have an impact on what is happening now so far away – in the land where Jesus walked and taught?
Join us online for the webinar where we will explore:
Is what exists today in Israel and Palestine apartheid?
What can we learn from the struggle against apartheid in South Africa?
How can my faith community become an Apartheid-Free Community?
What would that mean?
If you have any issues filling out the registration form, you can contact info@unjppi.ca.
AN OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BE MISSED – Join Catherine Keller and Jason Starr for ASTE 2026 EARTH ON EDGE. Ecology & Possibility June 15th – June 18th Truro, NS
Why, join Catherine Keller, Jason Starr and Maritime clergy and laity for three days of a deep meaningful face to face examination of our joys and responsibilities as people of faith in this age of challenge?
Eight Creation seasons ago I needed help: how to take seriously our ecological emergency, without giving into despair or simply hoping for divine intervention. I found it in Catherine Keller’s Political Theology of the Earth, which led me to her Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming, Cloud of the Impossible, and then Facing Apocalypse. Climate, Democracy and Other Last Chances. I don’t know a theologian who speaks more directly and eloquently to the ecological, cultural and political realities of our time. I wish I had discovered her much earlier in my active ministry. I recommended her to the ASTE Board, believing she would help other worship leaders and spiritual seekers as she has helped me.
We are thrilled that this internationally sought-after theologian immediately accepted our invitation to ASTE 2026 (June 15-18). Don’t miss this unique opportunity!
Jane Doull
Secretary Board ASTE
For information click here
To Register Click here
Inquiry or 902-368-3207
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 was 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.
