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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.
Condolences: Reverend Linda Thomas
Our condolences are extended to the family of Rev. Linda Thomas who passed away on April 9, 2026. The obituary can be viewed here.
Condolences: Shirley Mae Frances Affleck
Our condolences are extended to the family of Shirley Mae Frances Affleck who passed away on June 1, 2026. The obituary can be viewed here.
Annual Meeting Evaluation Form – Closes Monday
We would ask everyone who attended the Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Council annual meeting to take a few minutes to fill out the online evaluation form by June 15.
Executive Minutes
The minutes of the BNS Regional Council Executive meetings held March 19, 2026 and April 30, 2026 were approved at the May 31, 2026 Executive meeting and are now available on the BNS website.
2027 Mission and Service Grant Application
The 2027 Mission and Service Grant application is now available here. The deadline for completed application and supporting documentation is Friday, September 18, 2026 and can be forwarded to: jwhittemore@united-church.ca or mailed to the Regional Office.
Bermuda-Nova Scotia Regional Pastoral Relations News – June 2026
- Approved the Supply Appointment of John den Hollander, Wesleyan Church, with Clyde Carleton Pastoral Charge, 12 hours/week, June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027. Rev. den Hollander will take one of the United Church Admission courses at AST in the coming year.
- Approved the Supply Appointment of Helene Burns, retired, with Sambro Jollimore Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, May 10 to August 2, 2026.
- Approved the Supply Appointment of Sim Rushton, retired, with the collaborative ministry of Pugwash Pastoral Charge and Oxford Thomson Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, June 1 to August 31, 2026.
- Approved the Provisional Appointment of Wayne Jarvis, DLM ordinand, with the collaborative ministry of Northumberland Pastoral Charge and Baie Vert Port Elgin Tidnish Bridge Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, August 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027.
- Approved the Appointment of Bob Biggar, retired, with Donkin Morien Birch Grove Pastoral Charge, 20 hours/week, August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027.
- Approved the Appointment of Peter Anthony, retired, with Port Mouton Pastoral Charge, 12 hours/week, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
- Approved the Appointment of Peter Anthony, retired, with Brooklyn Pastoral charge, 5 hours/week, June 22, 2026 to June 22, 2027.
- Approved the Interim Ministry Appointment of Tom Woods with Knox United Church, Lower Sackville, full time, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
- Approved the Request for Change in Pastoral Relations of Max Martin of Orchard Valley United Church, effective July 3, 2026.
- Approved the Request for Change in Pastoral Relations of Don Sellsted of Orchard Valley United Church, effective July 31, 2026.
- Approved the position description for Supply minister for Halifax (working name) United Church, effective September 1, 2026, and authorized Search. David Hewitt, Liaison.
- Approved the Profile and position description for Annapolis Granville Pastoral Charge, and authorized Search for ¾ time ministry personnel. Brenda McKay, Liaison.
- Next meeting: Wednesday, August 5, 2026. For more information, please contact Regional Minister David Hewitt, dhewitt@united-church.ca.
Affirming Ministry Worship Celebration
Pictou United Church is proud to announce that it has officially become an Affirm Ministry through Affirm United publicly declaring its commitment to being a safe, inclusive, and welcoming community of faith, and to affirm and cherish all persons in their wholeness.
To mark this milestone, and to celebrate Pride Month Pictou United Church is planning a celebration!
Sunday, June 14th- 10:30am
47 James St Pictou
Please plan to stay for a light luncheon following our worship.
Growth Ideas 101: Celebrate milestones and memories
Please click here to read the Growth Ideas from Sharon Ballantyne, Growth Animator, for June 10, 2026.
Share your ideas with your growth animator at 506-306-0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca.
You’re Invited: Young Adult Night – June 18
Young Adult Night: Pizza & Bonfire 🔥🍕
June 18 | 6:00 PM
Bedford United Church is hosting our next Young Adult Night, and young adults (18–30-ish) from across the Bermuda-Nova Scotia Region are invited to join us as this growing ministry continues to take shape.
We’ll gather for pizza, a bonfire, connection, and laughter. It’s a relaxed and welcoming evening—no pressure, just a chance to spend time together, meet new people, and build community.
We’ll also take some time to dream and plan for the summer and the year ahead. Whether you’ve been involved before or are joining us for the first time, your ideas, hopes, and input are welcome.
Come as you are. Bring a friend!
RSVP here.
We’d love to see you there!
JMOC: Indigenous Right Relations Webinar
The Justice, Mission and Outreach sub-committee working on Indigenous Right Relations is holding a webinar on Wednesday June 17th at 7pm. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about Indigenous rights and justice to join us. We will be sharing a bit about our group, the importance of Land Acknowledgements in worship and sharing the resources available for Sunday June 21st National Indigenous Peoples Day also known within the church as Indigenous Day of Prayer. Please click here to register for the webinar.
Nourishment and Stewardship
Nourishment and Stewardship is one example of how St. Luke’s United Church, Upper Tantallon made this connection.
Their new cookbook, St. Luke’s Favourite Recipes, A Collection from our Church Family shows stewardship. Contact their website: www.stlukesunited.ca
Getting Started in Stewardship Summer 2026 Free Webinar
June 18 and July 30, 2026 – Come on your own or come with a team and join United Church people from across the country to learn some stewardship first principles. At either 4 or 6:30ET., you can register on CHURCHx.
Bethany United Church Halifax
Bethany United Church, Halifax has posted their Living Faith story to ChurchHub in their search for a new minister. Please feel welcome to examine our story if, as ministry personnel with The United Church of Canada, you are looking for a new church home. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.
The ASTE Levy Lecture NAVIGATING HOPE AND DESPAIR: A NATURE WRITER’S JOURNEY with Harry Thurston Tuesday June 16th 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm St Andrew’s United Church 55 King St, Truro NS
Harry Thurston was born in 1950, at the very beginning of the Anthropocene, that era in which humans became a geological force shaping the planet’s biosphere. As a nature writer and poet, his challenge has been to navigate the rough moral and artistic terrain between despair and hope. He will trace that journey and the responsibility that comes with it through an examination and sharing of his work in both prose and poetry.
Born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Harry Thurston is the author of thirty books of poetry, natural history, and memoir. His first prose book, Tidal Life, A Natural History of the Bay of Fundy, revealed the life-giving powers of the Fundy tides and argued against damming them for electrical generation, and is now considered a classic in the natural history genre. His eco-memoir, A Place Between the Tides, A Naturalist’s Reflections on the Saltmarsh won the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award in the U.S., and The Atlantic Coast, A Natural History, received the Lane Anderson Award for the best science writing in Canada. His latest poetry collection, Ultramarine, was a finalist for the J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Prize and the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry. He lives in Tidnish Bridge, Cumberland County, and is a Mentor in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction program at University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Learn more about Harry at his web site.
Learn more about ASTE.
The Levy Lecture is an integral part of ASTE. The lecture is FREE and open to the public. In particular we are always glad to welcome ASTE alumni to the lecture.
Open House Celebration Honouring Rev. Emily Duggan
After thirteen years of faithful ministry, leadership, friendship, and service within the Louisbourg Pastoral Charge, Rev. Emily Duggan has accepted a new pastoral appointment and will soon begin the next chapter of her ministry journey. She and her family have been very active members of our church family, our communities, as well as active members of the United Church of Canada faith community at large. Through her involvement, whether in the role of a spiritual leader or as a community member, she has touched many people’s lives regardless of their religious affiliation or beliefs. Her departure will leave a void for many. Before she leaves, the congregations of the Louisbourg Pastoral Charge (MacMillan Memorial Church in Catalone and First United Church Louisbourg) invite friends, neighbours, colleagues, community partners, and members of congregations throughout the region to join us in expressing gratitude and sharing memories of her time among us at an Open House on June 27, 2026 from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Calvin Hall located at 3 Upper Warren Street in Louisbourg. Light refreshments will be served. This informal gathering will provide an opportunity to visit with Rev. Emily, offer good wishes, share stories, and celebrate the many ways her ministry has touched lives over the past thirteen years. For more information, please contact: Caroline 902-565-9183.
Invitation to share: Northern Indigenous Ministers Retreat
Across Northern Canada, Indigenous ministers walk closely with their communities through grief and loss. It is sacred work, but it can also be deeply isolating.
The Northern Indigenous Ministers Retreat offers something essential: time away to rest, share, and receive care among peers who understand the weight of this calling. Supported through Mission and Service, this gathering creates space for healing, connection, and renewal.
The United Church of Canada Foundation is inviting you and your community to take part in supporting this gathering. Please make a life-changing gift today in of support the Northern Indigenous Ministers Retreat.
Rev. John Pentland – Letter to the Editor
Rev. John Pentland has a Letter to the Editor in the Globe and Mail this week that reflects on concerns around the use of Christianity to support division, exclusion, and Christian nationalism, and calls us back to values rooted in the gospel: love of neighbour, compassion for those on the margins, and care for those who are hurting. His message raises questions about what faith looks like in practice and challenges us to consider how we live out values of inclusion, justice, and care for one another. To see the letter in the paper; click here.
