Congregational E-mails
Congregational Email Update June 19, 2020
Congregational Email Update June 19, 2020 Dear Congregants, On my study leave last week, I continued contacting the thriving United Church congregations I visited last year on my sabbatical. Shortly, I will share a followup report from this research. In the meantime, I recommend a series of four youtubes entitled Pandemic Practicums that many …Read more
Congregational Email Update June 12, 2020
Congregational Email Update June 12, 2020 Dear Congregants, We will be starting our After Church Café this Sunday at 1:00 pm since this time seemed to work well for folks last Sunday. A question for us to discuss is, “How can I, as an individual, make a difference in the life of the church?” …Read more
Congregational Email Update June 5, 2020
Congregational Update June 5, 2020 Dear Congregants, This has been an incredibly difficult week as we have been deeply saddened and angered by the violence and racism displayed by some police officers and certain elected leaders. It is spilling into our own streets and I will be telling the stories of two African-Canadian Winnipeg …Read more
Congregational Email Update May 29, 2020
Congregational Update May 29, 2020 Dear Congregants, Last week on my study leave I began to virtually visit the 11 thriving United Churches I visited on my sabbatical last year. This pandemic shutdown is a great test of how the rubber is hitting the road. Predictably—all of the churches have online worship and have moved …Read more
Congregational Email Update May 22, 2020
Congregational Update May 22, 2020 This past week, our immediate neighbourhood has experienced two creative, fun events. We recorded congregants from age 9 to 89 cycling past the church for a blessing, which will be shown during the online May 24 service. Yesterday, I happened on Ray’s physically-distanced brass quartet serenading the community on a …Read more
Congregational Email Update May 15, 2020
May 15, 2020 Congregational Update Dear Congregants, This week I am grateful. Thanks to the skilled facilitation of our Council Chair, Pat S., we had a good Leadership Team meeting last week via Zoom where we were able to talk about how to creatively continue our essential ministries at Westworth. The Team Leaders and …Read more
Congregational Email Update May 8, 2020
May 8, 2020 Congregational Email Update Dear Congregants, I ask for your prayers of wisdom for our Leadership Team. We are having a retreat on Saturday, May 9 via Zoom as we look prayerfully and creatively at our ministry in light of our new reality of lockdown. We will be identifying essential functions and …Read more
Congregation Email Update May 1, 2020
Congregation Email Update May 1, 2020 Dear Congregants, Much has changed this past week with the provincial government’s phased restoration plan. Included in Phase II is the allowance of worship services, weddings and funerals in our church building as of June 1. However, Phase II is dependent upon all going well with Phase I, so …Read more
Congregational Email Update April 23, 2020
Congregational Email Update April 23, 2020 Dear Congregants, This has been a particularly difficult week as news has continued to roll in about the Nova Scotia massacre. Many of us have family in Nova Scotia. My colleague, Rev. Deb Murray in Winnipeg, had a stepsister killed. This double-whammy of COVID-19 isolation and job loss, coupled …Read more
Congregational Email April 17, 2020
Dear Congregants, We are about to enter into our sixth week of building closure. Time warps during crises and it seems months, not weeks, since we were last together. I pray that you are each finding new ways to stay healthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in these strange times of expansion. I am working …Read more
