Advent Unwrapped: Dwelling in Possibilities

Dwelling in Possibilities… This is me at Tuba Christmas at Toronto City Hall.  Even after 30 years of practice, training, and muscle memory, I am still amazed that I can blow a raspberry into a long tube of brass and make music. It's really magical, and I rely on this magic to bring me joy in my times of trouble, when joy and happiness feel out of reach. Even after 20 years of ministry, the same stories of prophets, magi, shepherds, ordinary people, and angels continually reveal something new. It’s miraculous that the stories of our faith that taught my ancestors (despite hateful and harmful interpretations) continue to teach us. That scripture, like the song of Mary, which has been sung for thousands of years, still motivates us to turn the world around for the better. I have loved some people my whole life (and others I have loved for their whole lives), and even still, I find new and unexpected things to love about them, even in my hardest moments. Joy is like this; it is uncontrollable, unpredictable, and surprising.  Every time I pick up my horn, go to church, open my Bible, or visit a friend, I can’t guarantee that joy will come, but I am content to dwell in the possibility of joy. Perhaps my grandpa, who was a carpenter, felt the same way about woodworking, or my grandma, who is a seamstress, feels the same way about needlework. We can’t control joy for ourselves or for others, but hopefully, in our worship and in our ministries, we can create the possibility for joy to bubble out like a raspberry, even in our times of trouble.  [Image credit: courtesy of Alydia Smith]

This Week’s Round-up: New Videos, and more! If you are looking for resources to share with people who maybe new to Advent, or if you need a bit of a primer yourself, be sure to check out (and share) Your (Unofficial) Guide to Advent! This handy newsletter has some FAQ’s, tips for the season (at church and at home), and resources for worship at home. The Original Advent Unwrapped theme video for Joy is the gift that keeps on giving. The imagery of joy as an egg, in a fragile place, full of anticipation and potential, feels particularly poignant today as we search for joy. Catch up on some webinars from Advent Unwrapped past as you do your last-minute prep. An always timely conversation on Light and Dark imagery during Advent.  And a more recent conversation around Copyright Justice and Musical Misappropriation and how we can commit to anti-racism and anti-oppression in our communal singing. This A John the Baptist Christmas webinar lead by Diane Strickland is a helpful reminder of how to be welcoming of people who don’t quite fit into  pretty nativity scenes. Advent Blogs of The Week     Our social media is buzzing with all things Advent! This week's blog from Stephen Milton uncovers a question many of us probably wondered--Why do we wrap presents? Plus, check out the peace themed Microblog contributions from Sarah Yang, Michael Lee, and Mini Choi.  Shout Outs!   A special shout-out to all of the worship leaders out there who keep on creating spaces and opportunities for us to dwell in the possibilities, regardless. Thank-you! Last year, I gave a shout out to Journey Band of St. Mary’s Road United Church, and their CD “A Year in the Life of Faith.” Are there other great songs and resources to share? Let me know at worship@united-church.ca. To Consider     The holidays can be triggering for people of all ages in different ways. The constant reunions and family get-togethers can be painful for people who are separated from parts of their family. There is the pressure to be joyful and grateful. And there is also a sensory overload. Consider ways to respect all of the complex feelings that people are holding during this season. You can find some ways to support your own mental health or that of others in our resource: Supporting Mental Health and Wellness During Advent. To Try     I love this craft because it always comes out beautifully. First use crayons or oil pastels to draw a simple picture on a heavy paper (like card stock). If you wanna be fancy about it, outline the drawing with white glue and let it dry. Then take some markers (maybe blues and purples) and colour on a piece of foil (about the same size as your card). Spray the foil with some water and then dip your card right into the foil. And tada, you have created a beautiful water colour background! Again, if you would like to stay fancy, use the markers, foil, and water to create some instant watercolours that you could paint on to your drawing with a paintbrush. The glue will help to create a nice outline around your work (as it dries clear). Add some black tempera paint to your glue for a stained glass window effect. In anticipation, Alydia P.S Remember sharing means caring! If this email has been forwarded to you by a loving friend, family member or neighbour please sign-up for our weekly Advent newsletter. You may also want to follow us on on our Facebook page, where you can share links to resources, ideas and inspirations that have worked for you. Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn   Your generosity enables the United Church to love, serve, and minister in the world. Make an online donation or learn more about your options to support the work of the church.

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WCC NEWS: Combining digital with non-digital, United Church of Canada strives to reach wider array of people

With many people in Canada living far apart from each other, and the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many churches to go online, reaching church members has become a creative process that combines digital and non-digital efforts. Four United Church of Canada congregations, up to 1100 km apart, celebrate communion together as the churches navigate new ways of connecting during the Covid pandemic in 2020, Photo: RuralConnect 12 October 2021   In May and June 2021, the United Church of Canada invited congregations to a 3-part workshop entitled “The Church has left the building: how will we combine online and in-person church?“ More than 500 people joined in the workshop, expressing a common worry that leadership teams were tired out by the many new processes and procedures with which they were confronted. All this happened while they face dwindling and aging church membership, which means fewer volunteers contributing to the life of the church. In a summary of responses aggregated from 151 congregations from across Canada, many comments focused on the fact that older people were not able to participate in the life of the congregation. To reach members, some churches used non-digital means of communication, including phone, mail, and over-the-fence visits. Trinity United Church in Winnipeg set up a system whereby people could access the Sunday sermon by phone. Also, for pastoral care and general prayer practices, the phone was the dominant means of communication. Comox United Church, located in a remote community on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (western Canada) used the opportunity of online communication tools to partner with Topsail United Church in Newfoundland. Church leaders found that enabling community among people living in remote areas of the country helped bridge the loneliness. Linda Buchanan, lay preacher from Westminster United Church in The Pas, Manitoba illustrated her situation. The congregation has about 100 members. About 40-60 tune into the Sunday service when their wifi reception allows. Between 8-10 members are not able to join due to lack of broadband access or technical ability. "A small team printed the service or at least the sermon and mailed the documents,” explained Buchanan. "Also, especially senior members, when in need of pastoral care, preferred phone calls, instead of social media interaction.” The United Church of Canada study also showed that congregations were able to connect with new and former members who were not able to join the in-person life of the congregation, for mobility or geographical reasons. Katja Brittain, one of the workshop’s organizers summarized: “For them, online communication meant a new lifeline to a community that they formerly had to give up.” As Rev. Andria Irwin from Highland United Church in Vancouver, British Columbia explained: “A digital congregant who depends on physical distancing from other people finds meaning by actively contributing to the life of the worshipping community. S/he prepares the weekly prayer of the people among other tasks that can be done remotely.” United Church of Canada leaders also said that the challenge for all of the congregations with new members will be how to integrate digital and non-digital versions of church life, without excluding one or the other, once the pandemic lockdown is over. “Multisite-worship” is a solution that enables rural congregations with limited access to volunteers and technology resources to celebrate worship in a larger community. Multiple congregations are set up with one being the hub church and the others becoming satellite churches. Participating congregations access a fully interactive, live worship service. “The technology is controlled in the hub—or host—church while the others operate a box with all the equipment fully configured,” explained Randy Boyd from Rural Connect. "Access to the internet is not required.” If possible, each congregation gathers in their building to worship with a screen showing the entire service, she said. “With the use of a video camera, individual parts for the service are filmed and transmitted to the hub to then be included for all on everyone’s screen, and each congregation provides leadership for different parts of the service.” explained Boyd.” This setup also allows the congregation to livestream for those members who cannot join the service in-person.   Digital Symposium - Communication for Social Justice in a Digital Age Digital symposium case study See more about "The Church has left the building"   See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC interim general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland

Note from Nora: What are you doing for Lent?

March 6, 2020 The pancakes have been eaten, and the smudges of ash washed from the forehead. Lent has begun. Our 40-day experience may not be as challenging as the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, but I appreciate setting this time apart in some way in preparation for Good Friday and Easter. I seem to vary my Lenten practice every year. Last year I gave up candy, which wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice for some, but was a real discipline for me. One year I gave up buying things — anything except food, toilet paper, etc. and even though I do not think of myself as a big consumer, that too required more restraint than I had anticipated. This year (and this is partly because I am trying to organize to move after I retire), I am spending time each day “decluttering,” sorting things that I do not need and figuring out what to do with them. Each of these practices through Lent have given me occasions to think, at least daily, about the many things that occupy my mind and my life and distract me from the centred faith that I yearn for. The congregation I am part of in Toronto helps me in my Lenten practice with daily reflections written by members of the congregation, and a daily message from our minister. It’s a bigger commitment than many congregations could manage, but I am grateful for these resources, and also grateful that the electronic tools we have these days make it possible for anyone to access them. Every year the Lenten devotional produced by the General Council Office is one of the church’s most popular offerings, and this year is no exception. Faithfully Yours: Letters for the Wondering brings us the writing of diverse voices as we journey through Lent. Many congregations are using it for their Lenten studies, and there is also the option of an online discussion group through United in Learning which is led by Alana Martin, one of the contributors to the book. The Moderator’s Lenten message, about finding hope and life in the face of death, is a powerful one, available for congregations to show, or for anyone to watch at home. As I looked at a few websites around the church, I could see all these resources being put to good use in congregations, and I found some innovative ideas too. Here is one: the First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council has created its own folders for special Lenten offerings. Further afield, I was intrigued by the Lent event that the Uniting Church in Australia has created, where stories of the impact of that church’s global work are told through beautiful videos, and people are invited to “be personally changed by God’s work in the world… building peace, beating poverty, and creating hope. Another part of this “event” takes the familiar approach of living simply by giving up something or adopting a particular practice and adds the option of getting sponsors for this Lenten practice. Interesting! There are many more resources out there. Aren’t we lucky to live in a time when the internet gives us access to such a vast array. I wonder what you are doing for Lent? I hope you have found something to ground you, to challenge you, to accompany you, through a time of deepening connection with God. Blessings, Nora Nora Sanders is General Secretary of The United Church of Canada. Subscribe to the General Secretary's letter, "Note from Nora." [Photo credit: DIOFW, Flickr  (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)] Share Tweet Forward Subscribe This message has been sent to subscribers to the General Secretary's Letter, "Note from Nora."

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Note from Nora: Our prayers can mean so much.

February 21, 2020 “High alert but low risk.” If you are like most Canadians, you are concerned about the COVID-19 virus (coronavirus) but life is continuing as normal. As of February 16, 358 potential cases had been investigated in Canada, with only eight actual cases identified. As of February 18, 43 Canadians on board a cruise ship off Japan have also been confirmed as infected. Quarantine arrangements have been imposed on those returning from either Wuhan or the cruise ship, and voluntary quarantine is encouraged for others travelling back from China. That’s fine for us, but for our partners in China, and for pretty well everyone in China, nothing is normal right now. As of February 18, the total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 72,532 and the death toll at 1,871. Millions are affected by quarantine or restrictions in movement. Let me share a little of what we are hearing from our Christian partners in China. Some who were Commissioners at the 43rd General Council will remember meeting Rev. Kan Baoping, who was one of the global guests at our gathering. Rev. Kan was at that time the President and General Secretary of the China Christian Council, and he is now serving with the National Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which is the affiliated Protestant social service organization. He knows Canada well, having been a student of Douglas John Hall in Montreal some years ago, and he warmly hosted our United Church delegation when we visited China in 2016. When I reached out to Rev. Kan last week by email, he responded, letting me know that he is deeply immersed in the efforts of the China Christian Council and National Three-Self Patriotic Movement to provide medical supplies and support for the epidemic region, Hubei province. In words reminiscent of the words of the Apostle Paul, he asked for continuous prayers, adding that “your prayer will give us strength and support our spirit in combatting against the virus.” I wanted to share that with you, friends across the United Church, because I know that many of you will want to join in those prayers, asking for God’s abounding love and mercy for the people of China. The United Church is helping in a modest financial way too, working through the American Baptist International Ministries to send medical supplies. The Amity Foundation, another of our partners in China, has provided updates on this work.     By the way, if you have been following the blog posts of Kelsi James, our young overseas personnel with the Amity Foundation, she is back in Canada now, sooner than expected. Even though she was not in the Wuhan area, it seemed appropriate to bring her home at this time. In the recent Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we were reminded of the worldwide network of love and support of which we are part. Our prayers can mean so much to those facing this time of trouble. Blessings, Nora Nora Sanders is General Secretary of The United Church of Canada.