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United Church of Canada Moderator Mardi Tindal's Easter Message

So Many Choices, So Few Choices: An Urban Look at Empire and Food

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Engaging workshop on where food comes from, who controls food access, who is hungry, and how we can respond. From the United Church of Canada - Online PowerPoint Presentation on authorSTREAM.

Church Leader's Green Initiative Heads East to Ottawa

United Church of Canada Moderator Mardi Tindal
photo credit: United Church of Canada

TORONTO, March 28, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - When Mardi Tindal was elected Moderator of The United Church of Canada in August 2009, she knew that managing her carbon footprint would be difficult during a three-year term where she would be expected to travel extensively. So she challenged the church to help her reduce the impact of that travel by taking actions that offset the carbon emissions that would accumulate as a result of fulfilling her role as Moderator.

But she also wanted to do more, so she pledged to limit her travel by air, and to do as much travel as possible using "green-friendly" transportation. She kept that promise last fall by scheduling her regional visits to northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta as a month-long journey—travelling much of the time by train.

Now Tindal's Spirit Express train journey is heading east—travelling between Toronto and Ottawa, with stops along the way in Cobourg, Belleville, Kingston, and Smiths Falls.

During this leg of her journey, Tindal will host three town hall meetings focused on environmental concerns and the care of creation in Cobourg, Smiths Falls, and Ottawa. Later in May, she will travel by train to Halifax to visit the church's Maritime Conference, and in October 2011, she'll board the train once again connecting her visits to Hamilton and London Conferences.

Tindal sees the town hall meetings as opportunities for soulful conversations about how we can find ways to live abundantly within the natural limits of God's creation.

"We need to be able to celebrate people's stories of hope—their green achievements—as well as hear their stories of suffering and concern about climate and ocean change," says Tindal.

People interested in tracking the Moderator's travels on the Spirit Express can do so by visiting www.wondercafe.ca/spiritexpress.

Church Leader Says Stephen Harper Fails Test of Leadership

TORONTO Ontario, December 14, 2010 United Church of Canada Release: - The news last week that Canada was ranked the fourth worst of 57 countries evaluated for their climate change performance is a shameful ranking for a country that could do so much better, says the Moderator of The United Church of Canada.

In a commentary published in today’s Ottawa Citizen, Moderator Mardi Tindal calls on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to exercise accountable leadership on climate change.

Tindal describes accountable leadership as accountability to truth, accountability to democracy, and accountability to our children.

“When the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) was defeated in the Senate after being supported by the House of Commons, Prime Minister Harper called the bill ‘irresponsible’ and argued that its targets would throw ‘possibly millions of people out of work.’ This was a failure of leadership on at least three counts,” comments Tindal.

She argues that, while ultimately in a democracy all of us are called to exercise leadership, a prime minister has a unique position of leadership, and there are some actions that only government can take.

“Now is the time for the prime minister to introduce urgently needed legislation to replace the Climate Change Accountability Act,” says Tindal.

The full text of Tindal’s commentary, “PM fails the tests of accountability on climate change,”appears in the December 14, 2010, issue of the Ottawa Citizen.

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church Celebrates its 100th Anniversary

TORONTO, October 13, 2010 /Canada NewsWire/ - Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, one of the leading congregations of the United Church of Canada, will celebrate the centennial anniversary of its historic founding with special worship services on Sunday, October 24 at 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

The 10:30 service will include a message from Dr. Stirling honouring the occasion, a special choral presentation composed by Andrew Ager and written by Janet Mason. The music will be augmented by guest musicians and conducted by Julia Sankey. There will also be displays of artifacts and historical memorabilia reflecting our church's past and an unveiling and dedication of the new centenary plaque.

The 7:00 p.m. service will include a special liturgy reflecting the language and style of the earliest services at TEMC as well as modern expressions of our faith. Our special guest preacher is Dr. Michael Quicke from Chicago. Dr. Quicke was appointed C.W. Koller Professor of Preaching and Communication at Northern Seminary, Lombard in 2000 and continues to serve in that position to this day. Dr. Peter Holmes, senior minister of Yorkminster Park Baptist church will participate in the service, along with their choir and organist, William Maddox and members of their congregation will join our own.

Norfolk United Church ‘miffed’ after thieves make off with antique hitching post

Guelph Mercury October 08, 2010
Drew Halfnight, Mercury staff

GUELPH — Members of Norfolk United Church are upset after someone entered their place of worship and made off with a weighty lawn ornament.

The antique horse-head hitching post had been temporarily shifted to inside the church before it disappeared on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Church administrator Sharon Huska said it was made entirely of cast iron and weighed at least 75 kilograms.

“It was so heavy,” she said, adding it took two muscle-bound contractors to haul it inside the church in the first place.

“You’d have to have a couple of people. You’d need a vehicle. I think this was planned out,” she said of the theft.

Huska said she and her fellow churchgoers are feeling “a little miffed” and “kind of violated,” especially considering the culprit or culprits stole it from within a House of God.

“Who does this? How could they come and take something from the church?” she said. “The church welcomes people. It’s kind of like an abuse of that when you turn around and take something.”

The hitching post, which looks like a black chess knight mounted on a pillar, had stood sentry at the Norfolk Street entrance for 25 years, Huska said. “It welcomes people into the church. It’s a piece of history.”

Before that, it stood in front of a 100-year-old manse on Liverpool Street where, Huska suspected, anyone paying a visit to the church minister could hitch his steed to a ring through its mouth.

The post was to be displayed prominently in a landscape redesign the church commissioned in preparation for its 175th anniversary next year.

After it was moved to a landing inside the church last month to accommodate the landscaping, several people noticed and praised it, Huska said.

Like most churches, Norfolk United is unlocked for large stretches at a time.

Church officials called police, who filled out a report over the phone.

Huska said she expected the post was gone forever, unless “the police find it dragged off some place and they bring it back.”

Anyone who sees a black antique horsehead hitching post — Huska said only a few original hitching posts remain in Guelph — is asked to call Norfolk United at 519-822-6165.

... read full story at the Guelph Mercury

Staff Changes at the General Council Office

United Church of Canada -General News and Announcements
September 22, 2010

Significant staff changes were announced on September 21, 2010, at the General Council Office as part of a comprehensive plan to build a faithful and sustainable future for The United Church of Canada.

A number of positions are being refocused or eliminated as a result of decisions the Executive of the General Council made at its May 2010 meeting. These steps are being taken to redirect work, reorganize the work of the General Council Office, and address budget constraints. These organizational changes were implemented after prayerful consideration of how best to live into the directions of the Executive and support the work of the United Church in a rapidly changing world.

As part of these changes, 16 valued colleagues have left or will be leaving the General Council Office. We thank them for their faithful service and hold them in our prayers in these days of change. We acknowledge the loss felt by General Council Office staff as they say goodbye to friends and colleagues.

The work of a number of other staff members will change to better support the directions the Executive has set for the General Council Office.

These staff transitions are part of a wide-ranging plan the Executive approved in May to ensure the United Church remains relevant and faithful in a changing context. This plan, which was developed after broad consultation throughout the church, also directed reductions in grants to mission support, global partners, theological schools, and education centres. At the same time, the Executive approved several new initiatives to encourage and revitalize ministries and simplify church processes. These initiatives include the Network for Ministry Development, which will provide services and support for congregational transformation and ministry development, and the New Ministries Fund, directed toward new and innovative ministries.

Today’s changes fulfill the staff reductions related to 2011–13 budget requirements authorized by the Executive in May 2010. As we continue to live into the Executive’s decision and plan for revisioning the future, further staff changes and reassignments may evolve.

The General Council Office supports the ministry and mission of congregations, presbyteries, mission units, and Conferences, and is the national expression of The United Church of Canada, working ecumenically and in global partnership. It is funded by voluntary givings to the Mission and Service Fund.

The Executive of the General Council acts on behalf of the General Council between General Council meetings, and generally meets twice a year. The Executive is composed of 50 voting members elected from across the country. Members are lay or ministry personnel, and represent all 13 Conferences, francophone, ethnic, and Aboriginal constituencies, and various national committees.

Signing on to Save the Soul of Canadian Democracy

TORONTO, September 17, 2010 /Canada NewsWire/ - With Parliamentarians set to return to the House of Commons on Monday, the Moderator of The United Church of Canada, Mardi Tindal, is encouraging United Church members to follow her lead and sign the Raise Your Voices Declaration.

Tindal explains the declaration calls on the Canadian government:

...to respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression
...to act in accordance with Canada's democratic traditions and values
...to be transparent

Tindal signed the declaration as a Canadian faith leader, along with representatives of many other human rights, women's, labour, environment, student, and development organizations. The declaration was publicly launched on June 17 and can be found online at www.voices-voix.ca.

"I added my signature to this declaration because I believe that the quality and health of democratic life in Canada is under serious threat," says Tindal.

She adds, "Too often voices that are critical of government policies are finding themselves marginalized."

She cites in particular the example of the 2009 funding cuts to KAIROS, a faith-based ecumenical organization that for decades has served as an advocate for social justice.

Tindal says she is also very concerned that Canada's international standing as a leader in human rights is suffering as a result of government policies related to such issues as the global protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights and the continuing violations of Omar Khadr's human rights.

She hopes that as the House of Commons begins its work next week the Raise Your Voices Declaration will ring loud and clear on Parliament Hill.

"It is time for all Parliamentarians, regardless of their political affiliation, to listen to the voices of Canadians who are asking them to govern in a manner that reflects this country's rich history of respect for democracy, free speech, and human rights," comments Tindal.

Forced suspension of World Vision leaves thousands of lives in jeopardy in Somalia

TORONTO, August 16, 2010 /Canada NewsWire/ - Last week's suspension of World Vision programs in south central Somalia will mean almost certain starvation for thousands of children, the aid agency said today.

More than 3,400 children were receiving vital nutritional feeding from the organization before it was forced to suspend its operations last week by militant group Al-Shabaab.

World Vision says that last week alone, they had 51 severely malnourished children admitted to their stabilization centres and they are now concerned about the fate of these children.

A quarter of a million women and newborn children are also facing an uncertain future with the closure of nine mother and child healthcare centres and 162 health posts across the affected regions, leaving them with no access to vital, primary healthcare.

Hundreds of patients (227) were being treated for TB in another program and World Vision says interrupting their treatment at this critical time in their recovery puts them at high risk of the disease gathering strength, in a drug-resistant form.

Suspension of livelihood programs will further exacerbate the vulnerability of more than one million people who were dependent on ongoing World Vision projects for their economic survival.

Ongoing conflict in Somalia has heavily restricted humanitarian space for aid agencies over the past few years, and this latest closure is a further blow to those already suffering the most.

World Vision says that there is no unilateral solution to the problems in Somalia and lasting development and peace building will only be viable if leadership for them comes from indigenous and acceptable Somali process.

"In a country where one out of every seven children dies before their fifth birthday, and one mother in every hundred dies during pregnancy or childbirth, the situation is a big blow to the vulnerable. Given the humanitarian cost of our programs being suspended, we want to get back in and to work as soon as possible"

"All those involved in this conflict must observe international humanitarian law, and ensure protection and care for the vulnerable. The children of Somalia deserve nothing less than a peaceful environment" - Chris Smoot, Program Director, World Vision Somalia

Facts:

- World Vision has been working in Somalia since 1992.
- World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome extreme poverty and injustice, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or gender.

Rising Spirit United Church

United and Connected

Guelph, Ontario - March 29, 2010 (Rising Spirit) -The United Church in Guelph is leveraging social networking and online conversation to connect in new ways with people of the city. With the launch of the website, www.risingspirit.ca, they are actively pursuing the 21st century ministry.

Heading up the Ministry is Guelph resident Rev. John Lawson, a 25 year veteran of the United Church.

"We know that the one-size-fits-all model of church doesn't work anymore,” Rev. Lawson stated. “Yet, how do people who have spiritual longings for something new connect and find each other? We hope this online network will help them connect and find new spiritual expressions and find a spiritual home."

The website lays out a vision of church gatherings in small groups with outdoors walks, conversations in pubs and cafés as well as online.

"The goal is having people gather out where people live their lives and make spiritual connections and have lives transformed by God", Rev. Lawson concluded.

You can check them out online at www.risingspirit.ca or call 519-836-0682

Contact: Rev. John Lawson, lead minister

Telephone: 519-836-0682

Email address – revjohnlawson@gmail.com
http://www.risingspirit.ca

Study predicts United Church decline will continue

from Canadian Christianity.com
By Lloyd Mackey

THE United Church of Canada (UCC) could become a shadow of its former -- or even present -- self, when it turns 100, according to an analysis of trends recently produced by a soon-to-retire minister of a North Vancouver church.


David Ewart of Capilano United Church, a long-established neighbourhood congregation, did the analysis recently as part of a continuing interest in the way churches and denominations grow, develop or decline.

Ewart applied projection analysis to try to see where national denominational statistics might be if trends of the last 10 or 15 years continued until 2025. That would be the year that marks a century since the United Church was formed out of a merger of the Methodists, the Congregationalists and a substantial proportion of Canadian Presbyterians.

While Ewart told CC.com the project took quite a bit of time, it was made relatively simple because his software adapted well to the electronic data he received the statistics from Tom Broadhurst, the UCC data chief.

Noted Ewart: "Rates of participation by Canadians in the UCC -- as shown by membership, baptisms, weddings and funerals --have all shown steady decline since at least the mid-1960s. [The exception was] a temporary increase from 1980-1990, as the Baby Boom generation returned with their children."

"

... read more story at Canadian Christianity.com

For Lent, Some of the Faithful Are Fasting From Carbon

GOOD Blog > Mother Nature Network on February 18, 2010

Repentance, reflection and self-sacrifice are observed in the days of Christian Lent. These 40 days symbolize the time that Jesus spent in the desert and “resisted Satan's temptations,” as described in the Bible. And while some people give up chocolate, wine, French fries or gossip web sites, the Hartford Courant reports that others are using Lent to give back to the environment.

The Rev. Jane White-Hassler is a priest at Grace Episcopal Church in Newington, Conn. For her, a green Lent could mean "thinking about the environment and doing things to save it for yourself and those who come after us.” White-Hassler’s church has been undergoing eco-friendly renovations and is even considering solar panels.

But the Rev. White-Hassler is not the first religious ... read more story at Good.is