Currents – December 2021

The Regional Council met on November 13th where it dealt with 11 proposals, the 2022 draft Budget, and nominations.  David Leyton-Brown was acknowledged and appreciated for his work as President as his term came to an end, and Betty Lou McNabb was installed as the new President of Shining Waters. 

To view a recording of the meeting, CLICK HERE. The resources and meeting material are still available at that link as well. 

Executive Minister, Peter Hartmans will be on sabbatical from December 13, 2021 until March 21, 2022. Peter’s sabbatical focus will consider the opportunities and challenges of our new denominational structure. During Peter’s sabbatical, Jody Maltby will be serving as Acting Executive Minister for both the Canadian Shield Regional Council and  Shining Waters Regional Council.

This new Commission meets monthly and has now had two meetings.  They are working on priorities and resources, and having conversation around what they will mean by intercultural, and how they name their cultural identities in Canada.

The Commission has created a new property policy which outlines the responsibilities of the Regional Council Executive and the Communities of Faith Commission with respect to property matters involving a community of faith.  This new policy combines all aspects of property that were previously in a number of different policies, into one document. It can be found on our website HERE.

A reminder that from December 15, 2021 to January 4, 2022, the members of the commission will be participating in Christmas celebrations and will not be available to consider any requests for approval including governance models, amalgamations, closures, collaboration agreements or property transactions.

At the 2021 Regional Council meeting, the Social and Ecological Justice Commission was approved to be a permanent commission within Shining Waters Regional Council.  As such, the commission is in the process of seeking out new members (please contact nominations if you are interested), and working on engaging ministry personnel and communities of faith in social and ecological justice concerns. An event is being planned for early in 2022, please check your emails in the coming months for more information, dates, and times.

Naloxone Training and Conversations – At the November Regional Council meeting, the Shining Waters Regional Council considered a proposal for the decriminalization of illicit substances for personal use and harm reduction. Within the proposal was the encouragement for the General Council to engage communities of faith across the country to host naloxone, a live saving medication that may reverse an overdose. Jeffrey Dale, Minister of Justice and Faith Formation is available to meet with communities of faith to discuss how they may become sites for naloxone hosting. Please contact Jeffrey (jdale@united-church.ca) for more information. 

The Pastoral Relations Commission has begun the work of implementing recommendations from the Pastoral Relations Equity Report. As an example, the commission recently passed a policy which will equip our pastoral relations liaisons with racial justice training so they are better equipped to advise and guide search teams.  The Commission continues to engage and seek to put into action the Equity Research Project findings.

The commission has elected a new chairperson: Rev. Donna Bowman-Woodall. Donna has served on the commission in many capacities and we are grateful for her willingness to lead this important work. Past chairperson Rev. Andy Comar was thanked at the last commission meeting for his many years of service. He will continue as a member of the commission.

The Licensed Lay Worship Leaders Committee also has a new chairperson, Lisa Pfau. Lisa is a layperson (Bloor St. United) and has been serving on the committee for several years. We thank our past chairperson, Rev. Patricia James, who will continue as a member of the committee

The youth and children’s ministry network is working to create an evening in January for churches to engage in authentic connection and conversation with youth and children. This evening will be hosted in conjunction with other regional councils, please check your email in early 2022 for more details.

Creating Conversations – This video series features a variety of topics that youth and young adults are keenly interested in exploring further. These short videos have been created so that communities of faith may utilize them in their engagement with youth and young adult ministry. Link: Creating Conversations – Shining Waters (shiningwatersregionalcouncil.ca)

For further inquires please contact:
Jeffrey Dale, Minister for Justice and Faith Formation, Shining Waters Regional Council – Email: jdale@united-church.ca
Kathy Douglas, Minister for Faith Formation, Antler River Watershed, Western Ontario Waterways and Horseshoe Falls Regional Councils  – Email: kdouglas@united-church.ca

To participate in the video content creation we invite you to contact: creatingconversationsucc@gmail.com

As we end 2021 and begin 2022, we give thanks for the long committed Ministry of  Rev. Karen Hilfman Millson. Karen has served both at the congregational, presbytery and now the regional level of the United Church. We celebrate her many years of ministry, her experience, and her contributions to the church. Karen will retire on December 31, 2021. We wish Karen God’s blessing as she starts a new chapter in her life!

Music Ministry  A 3-part webinar series Mondays in 2022 @ 6:45 – 8:00 pm from the Faith Formation staff of Shining Waters, Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls and Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils.

NEW gift ideas for 2021-2022 are now available.  Once again, you have the opportunity to “help change the world” with your generosity, and through specific Mission & Service Partners! A sampling of available gifts is included in the paper Gifts with Vision catalogue. Your gift giving choices are even bigger when you visit the Gifts with Vision website to find the complete list of this year’s gift options!

Your gifts transform and save lives, inspire meaning and purpose and build a better world.  We want to highlight some gifts for you:

During the Advent and Christmas gift giving seasons, I invite you to give some Gifts with Vision, to help change the world, in Jesus’ name.

We continue with the last of the short quotes from our staff; this month more of the program staff, and the General Council staff serving in Shining Waters. See our staff directory here.