Supporting the Saints

Friday, November 1, 2024 

Greetings on this All Saints Day, as we remember with gratitude, the saints of the past, our ancestors in the faith.

It is almost like a “family reunion” of the church, when we call to mind, and somehow mysteriously to our very presence, all those who have gone before us, who have shown us through their living and sometimes, in their dying, how God was present in them and in the world. 

Today, I am remembering and giving thanks for many who mentored me, inspired me, cared for me, and led me, in the United Church and beyond. I marvel at the ways God's Spirit is able to work in and through us, ordinary and imperfect human beings, to bring God close to us, and us close to God.

I am also remembering with gratitude the ways you, a leader in your community of faith, allow God's light to shine through you!

LeaderShift has been busy dreaming up some ways to support all the saints, in our call to leadership in our congregations, communities and the world. Check them out, and be in touch for more information!

1. Living Generously: A Stewardship Webinar - Session Four: Advent of Generosity, Tuesday, November 12, 1pm PT/2pm MT. Free, online only via Zoom.

This 60-minute session for church leaders--both clergy and lay--will talk about different ways that we can bring conversations of stewardship into Advent, Christmas Eve, and beyond. Through hospitality, welcome and invitation, let’s help make this Advent the beginning of a church year full of deeper generosity.

For more information, and to register: Session 4 ~ Advent of Generosity: Inviting giving and participation during Advent | Event Registration | Chinook Winds & Pacific Mountain Regions UCCan Store

2. Daylong Retreat for Boards/Councils and their Ministry Personnel, Saturday, November 16th, 9 am to 5 pm, at the PMRC Regional Office in Burnaby. Free, lunch included, registration required, in person only.

Join Pacific Mountain Regional Ministers for workshops on recruitment, emerging models of congregational governance, best practices, Manual roles and responsibilities and more. Come gain some knowledge and skills, build relationships with other lay leaders, and reconnect to why you care about and give your time, energy and commitment to your community of faith!

More info and registration here: A Day-Long Retreat for Boards, Councils and their Ministry Personnel — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

3. Chinook Winds Region Ministry Personnel Retreat, February 9-12, 2025, at Sanctum Retreat Centre near Caroline, AB. In person only. 

Escape the winter chill and join your colleagues for a rejuvenating experience that will reconnect you with God, your calling, the earth, and your truest self. Come and be refreshed and empowered, and leave with a personalized plan for your own flourishing and well-being in ministry.

More information and registration, here: Chinook Winds Ministry Personnel Retreat — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

4. Weekend Retreat for Boards/Councils and their Ministry Personnel, April 4-6, 2025 in Kelowna, BC. Free, registration required. 

Join Pacific Mountain Regional Ministers for workshops on recruitment, emerging models of congregational governance, best practices, Manual roles and responsibilities and more. Come gain some knowledge and skills, build relationships with other lay leaders, and reconnect to why you care about and give your time, energy and commitment to your community of faith!

For more information and to register: Spring Weekend Retreat for Church Boards, Councils and Their Ministry Personnel — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

May today be a day of rich remembering and gratitude for you, as you celebrate all the saints who have blessed you!

Michelle

Celebrating and Savouring

Friday, October 11, 2024

On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:  “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”  

But the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday already had a long background. Unlike the American festival of Thanksgiving, which remembers the arrival of the first European settlers in New England and so has a more patriotic tone, the Canadian holiday has its roots in European harvest festivals, marked with special worship services of gratitude to God, as well as community feasting celebrations.   

So Thanksgiving has long been a communal practice of gratitude for the harvest that comes in the autumn, along with a more general gratitude for all of life’s blessings.

It turns out that the very word “harvest” comes from an Old English word that literally means, “autumn.” So the very name of this season in creation holds within it the sense of fulfillment, of fulfillment of the promise of last spring. It holds the celebration of the work of planting, and watering, and weeding, and tending, and finally, of picking. And it holds the celebration of abundance, of the overflowing of what is good and healthy and nourishing things. 

Celebrating thanksgiving in the autumn is a reminder that gratitude is a practice of savouring, of truly enjoying, experiencing, delighting in the goodness we’ve been given. But savouring is not a practice that our culture encourages us in. Actually, the reverse is true: we live in a culture that is saturated by craving. A constant barrage of advertisements attempts, and largely succeeds, to create dissatisfaction within us, a dissatisfaction that will eventually be so uncomfortable that we will buy whatever product promises to make us happier. And yet once we have bought it, whatever it is, all too often, we find ourselves still…dissatisfied. 

This dissatisfaction is not natural. It is a culturally induced phenomenon, that is essential to the dynamic of our culture of money. It is a spirit of craving that surrounds us and within us, as pervasive as the air we breathe. And it is a dissatisfaction that will never be alleviated, because what consumerism promises us: love, power, friendship, happiness, importance – can never be provided by more things, or more experiences, or more relationships, or more knowledge. When there is never enough, we are held captive by dissatisfaction.  

But the practice of savouring can help free us from this captivity. Simply stopping to enjoy, celebrate and really experience the truly good things in our life is a key to practicing gratitude. Whether we are stopping to really enjoy good food, or wonderful company, or rewarding achievements, the practice of savouring prevents us from wasting away in a fundamental sense of dissatisfaction with ourself and our life. Pausing to enjoy, to really experience the blessings of our lives helps us to realize that the life we have been given is enough to begin with, and enough to go on with. 

Instead of being consumed with a sense that we should always have more -  more things, more power, more security; or with the sense that we should be more – more caring, more successful, more loving, more accomplished;  we can be sustained by the awareness that the gift of life is not only enough, but something worth enjoying, experiencing, savouring. And once we start looking at, really seeing and recognizing what we have, we begin to have an overwhelming sense that what we have, really is enough – is more than enough, in fact.  

Something I am extraordinarily grateful for, is all of you, colleagues, friends and companions on the journey of leadership and discipleship. I'm especially grateful for opportunities to gather together to worship, to learn, to share in community and support, and to celebrate and encourage one another. Such as...

1. the Rural Ministry Conference, coming up on October 25-27, at Trinity United Church in Fort Macleod, AB. This conference is for Lay Leaders and Ministry Personnel whose church life and work is rooted in a rural setting. Come experience rural hospitality, inspiring theme sessions and practical workshops tuned to today’s rural ministry contexts! And don't worry - if you're in an urban or suburban context, you'll find the workshops helpful and the community nourishing as well. The registration is only $50 for the whole event, including meals. If the accommodation costs are keeping you from coming, please contact me for a substantial subsidy! You can find more information and registration links here: Rural Ministry Conference 2024 — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

2. Day long Retreat for Boards/Councils and their Ministry Personnel, on Saturday, November 16th, at the Pacific Mountain Regional Council office in Burnaby. Free of charge to you, but please register so we can serve you lunch and know which workshops you'd like to take part in. Check it out here: A Day-Long Retreat for Boards, Councils and their Ministry Personnel — LeaderSHIFT UCCan. (And yes, plans are afoot to hold this retreat in more places - like Kelowna in April 2025, and Prince George in September 2025...)

3. Chinook Winds Region Ministry Personnel Retreat! Taking place at Sanctum Retreat Centre in Caroline, AB, Sunday February 9th (evening) to Wednesday, February 12th (after lunch). Accommodation, program and all meals are just $250. Again, subsidies are available - please mark your calendars! More info and registration links here: Chinook Winds Ministry Personnel Retreat — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

This Thanksgiving, may we all practice the spiritual discipline of gratitude through the gift of savouring all we've been given. May it be so!

Blessings,

Michelle

"I hope September is good to you..."

Dear friends,

Sometimes I think autumn is my favourite season of the year. I love sweaters and boots and scarves and London Fog lattes.

Growing up, I usually enjoyed being at school, and loved the energy, anticipation and enthusiasm of heading back after the summer break. I love agenda planners and fresh textbooks, school supplies and fancy pens, new clothes and new shoes. 

I relish the "back to church" energy in the fall too:  people returning from holidays or just their gardens, children and youth showing up with bikes and backpacks to be blessed, the first book discussion group or bible study of the church year, the welcome/welcome back BBQ after church.

There is something in the air of autumn, something about  renewal, and starting fresh, about possibility and hope.

And, there is also an expectation, for many of us, that we spent the summer being refreshed and restored, rested and renewed, so that we can go FLAT.OUT. from September to June.

Maybe... we don't have to? Maybe... we shouldn't? Maybe, the rhythm of work and rest is one that should be woven into our every day, our every week and month, as well as our year.

You get this email because you are a church leader, whether paid or unpaid. I know how seriously you take your responsibilities to lead your community of faith into not just surviving but thriving, and I know how hard that can be these days. 

I also know that it's not your ministry, or your community of faith. It belongs to Jesus.  

And so, as you prepare to give it your all this week (month, liturgical season, church year), I pray that you can entrust your ministry, your leadership, your people, your community of faith, to the One who makes all things new: even you, even me.

My hope for you can be summed up in this beautiful poem by R.M. Drake, that really resonated with me: (click link for full poem)

"I hope September is good to you. I hope it brings you
the peace you've been searching for, the moments of
quiet that let you breathe a little easier...
... Whatever you're carrying, I hope September 
helps you lighten the load, even if just a little..." 


I hope that LeaderShift can be part of your rhythm of work, learning and rest, this fall too!

Clergy Rest & Renewal Retreat, October 22-25, 2024, Naramata, BC

With Wade Lifton leading us in reflection, Chris Giffen leading in music and worship, and the Ministry Personnel Support Team offering hospitality, this will be a rich and nourishing event. Come attend to the big questions on your heart, mind and spirit right now, in the good company of friends and colleagues on the journey. Find more information here: Clergy Rest and Renewal Retreat — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

Day Long Retreat for Boards/Councils and Ministry Personnel, November 16, 2024, Burnaby, BC

Join Pacific Mountain Regional Ministers for workshops on recruitment, emerging models of congregational governance, best practices, Manual roles and responsibilities and more. Come gain some knowledge and skills, build relationships with other lay leaders, and reconnect to why you care about and give your time, energy and commitment to your community of faith! Free of charge and includes lunch. More information here: A Day-Long Retreat for Boards, Councils and their Ministry Personnel — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

Rural Ministry Conference, October 25-27, 2024, Fort Macleod, AB

Come enjoy rural hospitality, inspiring speakers, and practical workshops in affirming Christian community! With workshops designed for rural ministry contexts, including First Third Ministry, Intercultural Ministry, Part-time Paid ministries, and Affirming Ministry. More information here: Rural Ministry Conference 2024 — LeaderSHIFT UCCan

We have other things cooking up as well - stay tuned. 

Hoping September is good to you, in all the ways, 

Michelle