Regional Council Christmas Hours
The regional offices will be closed from December 23, 2022 to January 2, 2023 inclusive. If there is an emergency over the Christmas break, please call toll free, 1-833-236-0281, ext. 3, and leave a message. This phone will be checked daily and urgent calls will be addressed.
Pastoral Relations Commission
The Pastoral Relations Commission met twice since the last Currents. Each year the Commission sets the Telephone/Communication minimum amount for all new calls and appointments. For 2023, the amount stays the same as 2022: $800 per year. Treasurers are reminded to adjust the comprehensive salaries for ministry personnel by 3.4% starting January 1, 2023. The Commission approved 12 calls or appointments within the regional council at their November and December meetings.
Social & Ecological Justice Commission
On November 21, 2022, the Social and Ecological Justice Commission held the first of a series of Zoom gatherings titled, Committed to Climate Action: How to Reach 80% Emissions Reduction by 2030. This information session was a shared discussion of realistic and practical steps, driven by expertise, that will enable us to meet this ambitious target, and remind ourselves of why these actions are absolutely necessary.
The gathering was recorded and is available on the Shining Waters website HERE. There are also resources available at the same link.
Communities of Faith Commission
A reminder that from December 15, 2022 to January 3, 2023, 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.
Governance documents
The 2023 dates that the commission will be reviewing governance documents are: February 8, April 12, September 13 and November 8. It would be appreciated to receive your request a week prior to the date. For those communities of faith revising or updating constitutions or governance models please include information on the difference from the previous version, the rationale behind the changes, what it is you are seeking to address, and why you saw the need to make the changes. Please email your documents to Rachael Howes at rhowes@united-church.ca.
Governance: Conversations with Community Leaders
There is a new governance resource on the Shining Waters website. This resource is a set of slides, divided in four sections: In a Nutshell; Questions for Conversation; Quotes for Reflection; Best Practices. This material is intended as a resource to engage community leaders in conversations about governance with the aim of making improvements. Use it as a part of a dedicated workshop on governance. Or individual slides can be used in the course of ongoing meetings as an opportunity to stop and reflect on your own situation. Find it HERE.
Hello, Goodbye
We say hello to new staff, Celio de Andrade Santos who will start January 1. Celio fills the new full-time administrative assistant position to be shared between the Canadian Shield Regional Council and Shining Waters Regional Council. Currently, Celio works as a marketing/administrative assistant for Green LaFleur. Some of his work focuses on developing social media strategies and producing monthly content.
We say goodbye with sadness to Susie Henderson at the end of December, who has served us faithfully for 12 years. We have deeply appreciated her ministry and wish her well for her new chapter in life. Susie served as Communities of Faith Minister for Equity and Innovation. She also served Toronto Conference for a number of years.
A Christmas Message from Moderator, Carmen Landsdowne
In her Christmas video message, Moderator Carmen Lansdowne reminds us that when so much seems uncertain and the news amplifies all the hard news stories, there is One who came to show us that all the ends of the earth should see the salvation of God―and that through that One, we are capable of coming together to achieve the impossible.
