As summer arrives and our region fills with new faces, returning visitors and neighbours on the move, work with local places of worship to make worship opportunities easier to find and joyfully accessible. This season, create a shared, all-faith listing of worship times, locations and gatherings so that anyone seeking spiritual connection can discover a place of welcome. Whether someone is here for a weekend at the cottage, settling into a new home, exploring local attractions or simply passing through, help every person to know that there is belonging for them.
In your context, explore reaching out to tourism centres, community hubs, local calendars, libraries, events bulletin boards, real estate offices, campgrounds, bed and breakfasts and other welcoming attractions and events spaces to share your local listings. People can encounter these invitations in the places they already visit, learning more about opportunities to nurture their faith.
Throughout the summer, make faith communities more visible at local events, hosting information, hospitality and refreshment stations. How can your church offer water stations, rest spots or washroom access, offer their own special events from concerts and sing-a-longs, to community meals, old fashioned games on the lawn, lemonade garden gatherings or other opportunities? Communicate spiritual belonging is close at hand.
Explore what local initiatives fit your context. Please contact me, Sharon Ballantyne, growth animator, at 506-306-0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca You are also invited to a virtual 30-minute drop-in conversation each Wednesday morning, beginning at 9:45 a.m. Atlantic (10:15 a.m. Newfoundland and Labrador). Contact Sharon for the Zoom link.
