Active Witnessing: Bystander Training

Dear friends in leadership and LeaderShift,

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Today we have two important offerings

1. Thursday Reflection
This moving letter "Thursday Reflection" (link here) is written by Rev Amy Haynes of Deer Park United Church. Amy wrote to the community of faith that she serves, and gave permission for us to share with you. As you read it, you will know why it is important to share with our wider church - a church re-committing to dismantling racism and anti-Black racism.

2. Active Witnessing: Bystander Training SAVE THE DATE
With anti-racism educator Angela Ma Brown

• Thursday July 2 (updated event date to not conflict with PMRC’s Celebration of Ministry Service)

• Wednesday July 8

Registration will open in the afternoon of Monday June 22. A dedicated newsletter will be sent on Monday with the registration links, full event details and Angela's bio.

Faithfully,
The LeaderShift Team

Tressa Brotsky - communications
Rob Crosby-Shearer - LeaderShift Church Plant Project
Allison Rennie - director
Rhian Walker - program staff
Brenda Wolff - administrative assistance

United Against Racism - An Online Worship Service

We have participated in demonstrations. Letters have been written and statements have been made. Now it is time to worship together as people of faith.

The Black Clergy Network of The United Church of Canada invites the whole church to join virtually for a time of worship, prayer, and reflection to face the issues of anti-Black racism across our country and in our church. In worship we will lament, we will hope, and we will be reminded of the need to act against racism.

Sunday June 14, 2020

7-8pm EASTERN Time

Online (link here, and in the fuller details below)

Please plan to join live and let others know you’ll be joining by sharing this event on social media. Use the hashtag #UCCan and tag the United Church on Facebook and Twitter. 

Join Us on YouTube

This service of prayer and reflection will be led by members of the Black Clergy Network and will be livestreamed on The United Church of Canada’s YouTube Channel. You will be able to observe the service as well as chat and comment through YouTube.

Plan to worship together live on June 14. Note that the 7 pm start time is for Eastern Time; please adjust for your local contexts.

Find Out More

• Dear White People—in this blog post, Rev. Dr. Paul Douglas Walfall calls on White people in the church to put their love into action to counteract racism.

• Church Leaders Acknowledge the Racism in Their Midst—the Moderator writes that the struggle against anti-Black racism is the work of White members of the church, and the time has come to commit themselves to this work.

• Call for Churches to Do More to Address Anti-Black Racism—leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and The United Church of Canada have issued a joint letter calling on churches to do more to address anti-Black racism.

• Learn more about the United Church’s commitment to racial justice.

Online Course Announcement :: Good. True. Pleasing.

“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…”
Philippians 4:8

And friends, there are true things,
    and worthy things,
        just and commendable things,
            and excellent things
        emerging
        from the heart of the ministry and leadership that is happening in these days.  

Dear One

The continuing rupture in our patterns of being and believing allows us a chance to voice the lament, and also to turn our gaze and minds to the surprise of what is actually good, true, pleasing. It allows some very good questions to guide our next chapter of discovery. One colleague recently identified that the focus has shifted from “How are we going to do this?!!" and "What’s going to happen tomorrow and next week…”, to “I wonder what faithful ministry could really look like for us in the coming year?”. What an excellent inquiry for a community of faith to hold.

At LeaderShift, we continue to pay attention to the places where online engagement is rewarding - where skills, spiritual practice, and theological reflection are deepening. Because of some of the beautiful and good experiences arising from recent programs, we are excited to repeat three online engagement sessions from LeaderShift partnerships.

Faith Leaders for Such a Time as This with Janet Gear and Rev Brian Thorpe is on the calendar again beginning June 16th. This is a chance to go deep into the questions of the moment, both theologically and personally. Register here now.

“During the month of May a highlight for me was the weekly meeting with Brian and Janet online. Their input was rich, conversations with others in the group were enlightening and the group facilitation was sensitively done. How fortunate we are to have this opportunity for ordered and lay people to learn together. Thank you.”

— Marion Best, 'Faith Leaders for Such a Time as This' participant

In the future, watch for the Stewardship Buzz – a hands on learning for small teams within a community of faith, and Nourishing the Soul of the Preacher – a small group geared towards the unique context of rural and remote ministry personnel to help you develop practices that build collegiality in the face of isolation, and find spiritual practices that support grounded worship leadership.

In the meantime, I want to share with you the outstanding work of our colleague, Blair Galston PMRC Archivist and his support of the Vancouver Japanese United Church community as they created and launched their website, www.vjucarchives.ca Enduring Faith. It's an excellent place of image and story that connects us more deeply to our shared history.

And I want to recommend the excellent work of the PMR First Third Ministry Network and their encouragement to equip ourselves for leadership with children, youth and families. Their upcoming series called the Spirituality of Play still has a few spaces left. You can register here: www.pmrfirstthirdresources.ca. What a worthwhile invitation to engage creativity at a time when imagination may be limited by the video-conference squares on your monitor!

So, as you rest this weekend and prepare for the coming week, may your conversations, prayers, writings and reflections hold lament and praise in tension – and may this tension allow Spirit to forward compassion and creativity in your leadership, as you serve your community.

Faithfully,
Allison Rennie
LeaderShift Director