The first photos are beginning to emerge from the Canada Youth gathering in St. Catharines:
This photo was posted to the Canada Youth Live page at BeingPresbyterian.ca by Rev. Matt Brough via Twitter.
If you’d like to follow the first-hand experiences of Canada Youth attendees, be sure to check out the CY Live page!
Update: There are more great photos emerging on Flickr as well: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/canadayouth2009/
Group photo of ecumenical KAIROS Atlantic contingent
About 10 days ago I was sitting in a theatre at the University of Waterloo listening with rapt attention to Sylvia Keesemat. We had just had an amazing worship led by the group from the Atlantic Provinces and with the musical support of Becca Whitla. Why was I in Waterloo? Who were the participants? Why were we all so fired up?
From June 18-20, 2009, I was honoured to attend the KAIROS National Gathering on behalf of Justice Ministries of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. KAIROS is an organization for “Faithful Action for Justice” which grew out of PLURA (Presbyterian, Lutheran, United, Roman Catholic, Anglican) and the anti-poverty movement when more faith-based groups sought membership. This three-day gathering of people from member churches and those touched by the issues of ecological justice, social justice, and human rights was the first national gathering of this organization.
The gathering was an amazing experience for me both as a Christian and as an advocate for justice. Our opening worship led by Dan and Mary Lou Smoke and Cheryl Curtis had us singing the Water Song as if we had always known it, and enabled us to focus on our solidarity not just with each other but with the creation of which we are a part. In plenary sessions we heard from Sheila Watt Cloutier on the melting of the polar ice cap, Sharon Ruiz Duremdes on Apocalypse, Ched Myers on the need for “insomnia theology”, Denise Couture on resistance, and Sylvia Keesemaat on our connection to the earth and how “in the end healing will come from creation.”
Workshop sessions were held in the afternoons on a wide variety of themes, which expanded on the plenary issues and brought things into more concrete terms. Some of the topics included how to work for justice in rural areas, the need to view issues as ‘ecological’ (includes humans) rather than ‘environmental’ (excludes humans), how to bring these issues into Bible study and preaching in our churches, and working for peace in Palestine.
Highlights for me included: the Sunrise Ceremony at 5:30 AM on the first day where we celebrated the Strawberry Moon and raised our prayers to the Grandfather of the East; all the worship events, but especially the one led by the Inshallah Lutheran Seminary Choir, which had the congregation/choir alive with the Spirit; the fiery words of Sharon Ruiz Duremdes; and all the people I met and connections I made.
Every conversation I had at the gathering was deeply engaging and challenging. It was a chance to meet with old friends and make new ones, to learn to understand the issues facing all our brothers and sisters. If we had arrived at the gathering unsure of the issues, we were not just aware of them when we left, but inspired to action!
Cathy Scott is a high school teacher, a member of KAIROS Atlantic, and the choir director at St James Presbyterian Church in Hanwell, New Brunswick.
The 135th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada gets underway this weekend, but due to the recent population boom at my house (we had twins a few weeks ago), I won’t be attending GA in Hamilton.
Of course, I want to follow along as much as possible from home, as I’m sure you all do! Luckily, the staff at the Communications Office will be making regular updates to the website through the PCConnect-Daily newsfeed and on the General Assembly page itself.
Of course one of the best ways to follow and discuss an event like GA from afar is Twitter. If you’re familiar with Twitter and want to keep up with and comment on the Assembly proceedings, the Communications Office has established a hashtag specifically for GA. All Tweets related to GA should contain the hashtag: #pccga09
Even if you’re not a “Twitterer” yourself, you can follow the action on Twitter’s search page: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=pccga09 or a special page we’ve setup here at BeingPresbyterian: Live Coverage
If Facebook is more your thing, you can follow the proceedings through regular updates to the PCConnect Facebook Page.
I look forward to reading the reports from Hamilton and especially your comments on them!
Colin Carmichael
Associate Secretary, Communications (currently on leave)
The leadership event of the year is coming to Ingersoll, Ontario.
The Spirit Centre at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church will be one eight sites in Ontario hosting this year’s Maximum Impact Simulcast leadership event on Friday, 8 May 2009.
The event features ten of the world’s most inspirational and creative leaders, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, golf legend Jack Nichlaus, Disney’s Al Wiess, “360 Manager” John Maxwell and many more. Over 70,000 people worldwide participate in the event.
I spoke with Rev. Lonnie Atkinson, minister at St. Paul’s, Ingersoll, about how the Spirit Centre became involved in Maximum Impact, and what it meant to the congregation and the community.
“St. Paul’s, Ingersoll, created a leadership centre called the Spirit Centre five years ago. It’s hope was to offer affordable, accessible, world class leadership events in a small town setting. We believed the church needed to encourage strong spiritual leadership in all areas of our community life.
“We sought to reach leaders in health care, education, community development, business and in the church. Our leadership team included community and business leaders.
“Two years ago a young bank executive approached us about becoming a host site for John Maxwell’s Maximum Impact Simulcast. This annual event showcased ten or more business and community leadership experts sharing in a one day simulcast experience.
“We thought it would be a unique opportunity for St. Paul’s to extend our reach and offer care and support for corporate and non-profit leaders.
“Last May we launched our first simulcast event. Up went the satellite dish, in came the people, and together we shared a wonderful day of learning and networking. Folk from United Way agencies, churches, real estate agents, small business owners, local health organizations and others shared in the first event.
“This year a local financial advisers group have come forward to sponsor the day, one of whom is reconnecting to our church after many years of inactivity.”
“We are excited at the outreach and leadership development opportunities presented by this event.”
Cost is $75.00 and includes continental breakfast and lunch. To register for the Ingersoll site event, call 519.485.3390 or email stpauls@execulink.com.
For more information about Maximum Impact, go to www.maximumimpactsimulcast.com.
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It’s been a busy two weeks or so – so here are a few quick items that I’ve been meaning to pass along:
PCConnect-TV is Coming!
The Communications team has been busily preparing for the launch of PCConnect-TV, the new weekly video series being produced by the Communications Office to showcase the life and work of The PCC across Canada and around the world. The first episode is scheduled to air on Youtube and at Presbyterian.ca on April 10th.
An Innovative Church Blog
Rev. John Borthwick of St. Andrew’s, Guelph is the interim moderator for Knox Crieff and has taken an interesting approach to documenting the search process – he’s blogging it! I haven’t had a chance to talk to John about the hows and whys yet, but I hope to get an episode of the BeingPresbyterian Podcast out of it. 
More Innovation – Write your own Job Description!
The folks at St. John’s, Toronto have taken an interesting approach to their search for a new Family Outreach and Christian Education Worker. As was reported in PCConnect-Daily today, the congregation is inviting applicants to write their own job descriptions within the parameters of stated goals and objectives. The chair of the search committee, Laurie McGugan, said that this unique approach was inspired by her committee’s reading of Christianity for the Rest of Us.
More to come soon!
In a message sent to the denomination through the PCC website at presbyterian.ca, Rev. Stephen Kendall, Principal Clerk of the General Assembly, announced the names that will appear on the ballot for the Moderator of the 135th General Assembly.
Those names are:
The ballots will be counted and the Moderator of the 135th General Assembly will be announced on April 1st, 2009.
I had the pleasure this morning of speaking to a group representing the various specialized ministries in Canada. The group is comprised of staff from church camps, native ministries, urban ministries and others. The discussion was primarily about the the denominational website at presbyterian.ca which gave me a great opportunity to hear the concerns of a group that is sometimes missed.
A photo of the group is below. If you have any questions about the various specialized ministries operating within the PCC, please ask in the comments below and I’ll do my best to get your questions answered.
Update: If you were at the conference today, please leave a comment below describing your ministry.
The staff of the national offices of The Presbyterian Church in Canada gathered this morning to celebrate the season of Advent and the coming of Christmas by decorating the area affectionately called “the holodeck” at 50 Wynford Drive.
While I haven’t yet discovered how this central section of the building acquired this Trek-inspired nickname, I can say that it looks significantly more festive now than it did last week. Here are some photos of the decorating in progress:
For the record, I did hang a few wreaths – there just isn’t any photographic evidence of it.
The Assembly Council of The Presbyterian Church in Canada is currently holding its November meeting at Crieff Hills. During a break in the proceedings, I was able to get this photo of the entire group – with the exception of yours truly.
A full report on the proceedings of Assembly Council will be published at Presbyterian.ca in the coming weeks.
PCC News & Events
This site is one of 90 on the PCCWeb network; a service of the Communications Office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
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