United Church of Canada News
August 17: United Church Launches Emergency Appeal for Pakistan
June 1: The United Church of Canada Marks Its 85th Anniversary
March 31: Moderator Travels to Haiti for Easter Season Pastoral Visit
January 17: Climate Change a Crisis of Conscience for All Canadians
January 12: Moderator Prepares to Deliver Climate Change Message to Canadians
August 17
United Church Launches Emergency Appeal for Pakistan
The United Church of Canada announced today that it is launching an emergency appeal for donations designated for flood relief and reconstruction in Pakistan.
The United Church will receive donations to its Emergency Response Fund to be used by the ACT Alliance, a global network of 100 churches and church-related organizations that work together to provide humanitarian assistance and long-term development. ACT members in Pakistan are working diligently to deliver assistance including food, water, tents, kitchen kits, hygiene kits, mosquito nets, and emergency medical care.
Gary Kenny is The United Church of Canada’s Program Coordinator for Emergency Response. He says the United Church has a solid history of working with its in-country partners and organizations like ACT to deliver aid to affected communities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. Delivering aid to the affected communities is extremely difficult, because they are in mountainous, remote, and hard-to-reach regions. Nonetheless Kenny says he’s confident that the initial emergency funds the United Church has sent—$65,000 from emergency relief funds and $75,000 through its membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank—has reached or will soon reach communities in need.
“Patience, ongoing consultation, and careful planning and monitoring are critical requirements in responding effectively to a humanitarian crisis as complex as that currently unfolding in Pakistan,” says Kenny.
Individuals are invited to contribute to the United Church’s Pakistan appeal either through their local congregations or directly to The United Church of Canada’s national office: 3250 Bloor St. West, Suite 300, Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4. Cheques should be made payable to The United Church of Canada and marked “Pakistan Flood Relief.” Online donations can also be made at www.united-church.ca/pakistan.
Additional background material related to the United Church’s Pakistan appeal has been posted on The United Church of Canada’s website (www.united-church.ca/pakistan). Please watch for updates as new information becomes available.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis
Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
E-mail: mdenis@united-church.ca
June 1, 2010
The United Church of Canada Marks Its 85th Anniversary
United Church congregations throughout Canada will be marking the denomination's 85th anniversary beginning this weekend. Local celebrations will be happening in the days leading up to and immediately following June 10, the date on which The United Church of Canada was formed in 1925. In addition to the many different activities being planned in communities from coast to coast to coast, there are a number of shared initiatives that the whole church has been invited to participate in during this anniversary celebration.
In an initiative called Making Connections, more than 2,000 congregations, community ministries, and overseas personnel were randomly matched with one another and invited to exchange anniversary greetings and get to know one another. Many congregations took this opportunity to find innovative ways to share their stories with one another. For example, two congregations arranged a conference call so they could exchange greetings and talk about what they found special about their own congregations. Another church's Sunday school class made friendship bracelets to send to the children in their partner church.
Even though churches were matched randomly, surprising coincidences and interesting connections have surfaced. In one instance an Ontario United Church minister had placed the highest bid in a fundraising auction for a week at a cottage in PEI and then found out that her congregation had been paired with one in PEI. Needless to say, the minister is planning to visit the partner church while she is on vacation this summer.
A second 85th anniversary initiative across the church is called Sharing a Common Loaf. Locally milled flour was gathered from each of the United Church's 13 regional Conferences. Then a group of volunteers from Wilmot United Church in Fredericton, New Brunswick, blended the flour with the other dry ingredients needed to make bannock and packaged and labelled the mix to be shipped to United Church congregations across the country. Congregations are invited to use the mix to bake bannock to be used as communion bread at their 85th anniversary worship service or to be shared at a community meal.
The third 85th anniversary initiative is an all-day open house at the United Church's national office in Toronto on June 10. Members of United Church congregations throughout southwestern Ontario have been invited to drop in for a visit or take part in a full program of activities. The day wraps up with a worship service at 7:30 p.m. at Islington United Church in Toronto.
Another special 85th anniversary worship service will be held on Sunday, June 20, at Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto. This service, which begins at 5:00 p.m. EDT, will be streamed live via the Internet. For further information, please visit http://www.united-church.ca/getinvolved/events/more-franchises-a-second-cup#highlights.
For more information:
http://www.united-church.ca/85th
Mary-Frances Denis
Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
416-231-7680 ext. 2016 (office)
1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016 (toll-free)
mdenis@united-church.ca
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Moderator Travels to Haiti for Easter Season Pastoral Visit
Toronto: On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, the Moderator of The United Church of Canada, Mardi Tindal, will travel to Haiti leading a five-person United Church delegation on what is described as a pastoral visit.
"After horrific death it can take a very long time before we can really hear Jesus' words, "Do not let your hearts be troubled"-but it takes less time when we accompany one another," says Tindal.
She explains that the United Church's partners in Haiti are engaged in relief and reconstruction despite the trauma of losing family members, homes, and offices. "They have asked us to accompany them-pastorally and personally-and so, like good neighbours in time of crisis, we are going to be with them," she says.
The United Church's partners in Haiti are the Methodist Church of Haiti and the Karl Lévêque Cultural Institute (ICKL). The United Church also works through the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance, and advocacy. According to the United Nations, more than 222,517 people were killed and 300,000 injured in the earthquake. More than one million people are living in makeshift settlements. The situation is staggering, devastating, and
unprecedented.
"Under the circumstances, it is impossible to have satisfactory conversations from a distance. Communication remains extremely difficult and limited," comments Tindal. "Being with our partners is the best way to truly see and hear what we need to understand of their immediate and long-term needs. We will learn more about the love and challenge of Christ, together."
Jim Hodgson is the United Church's regional program coordinator for partnerships in the Caribbean, Central America, and Colombia. He is in Haiti now preparing for the delegation's arrival and working with partners and the ACT Alliance.
Hodgson says that it will take years to work through this horrific tragedy, to respond with compassion, and to learn about the conditions that make the people of Haiti so vulnerable in the face of such disaster.
"Troubling stories of suffering and death in Haiti have been with us for many years, but the earthquake of January 12 has focused our attention on the staggering new need for immediate relief and long-term restoration," says Hodgson. "Haitians will need our ongoing help for a long time."
Since the devastating earthquake on January 12, United Church members have contributed over $2.7 million for relief and restoration efforts.
Hodgson explains that the cost of the delegation's visit to Haiti is covered from existing budgets made possible through regular donations to the church's Mission and Service Fund. None of the monies given to the United Church's Haiti Appeal are being used to finance the trip.
Tindal wrote in an Easter message to United Church congregations that she was honoured to represent them in this pastoral visit. She adds as she prepares to leave for Haiti, "I am humbled by the opportunity to serve our church in this way. When I return I look forward to sharing what the people I meet in Haiti say about how we can be with them through this most difficult time. And I will bring them assurance of our continued commitment to stand with them as they rebuild their lives."
The following are the other three members of the United Church Haiti delegation:
* the Rev. Pierre Goldberger, responsible for French ministries of the United Church, brings extensive experience with the Haitian community in Montreal and beyond. With Jim Hodgson, Pierre has French-language skills and contextual knowledge of Haiti and partnerships there.
* Justine Kiwanuka, an elected member of the United Church's Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit, brings expertise in human rights issues, particularly for people with disabilities. She works in immigration settlement in Winnipeg and has done work with the United Nations.
* the Rev. Bill Steadman serves the General Council Office as Executive Minister of the Financial Stewardship Unit. His responsibilities include interpreting the need for and the use of donations given for relief and rebuilding in Haiti.
The delegation's visit to Haiti will continue until April 13, although the Moderator will be returning to Canada on April 10.
For more information, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis
Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
Cell: 416-400-7273
E-mail: mdenis@united-church.ca
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Climate Change a Crisis of Conscience for All Canadians
Mardi Tindal, the Moderator of Canada's largest Protestant denomination, The United Church of Canada, today issued an open letter to Canadians calling on them to consider climate change a crisis of conscience.
In the letter Tindal urges Canadians "to choose hope and action over despair and paralysis" in addressing what she calls "one of the most urgent moral challenges in human history."
"I believe this is a unique time in humanity's fretful reign on Earth, a rare moment that will have historic significance," writes Tindal in the letter that was written after she returned from the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this past December.
Tindal attended the conference as part of a World Council of Churches delegation, and was the only North American denominational church leader present.
She returned to Canada bitterly disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations.
"Our moment of opportunity came and then went, and here we are now, the fate of civilization and of millions of the planet's life forms hanging by the frayed thread of inaction," she writes in the letter titled "Where Is the Hope after Copenhagen?"
Tindal believes this is a transformative moment in the planet's history and that "the world will be shaped by how we and our communities respond in the months to come."
"We need each other. We are emphatically, biologically not alone. As the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere rise, the planet will fail to provide for us. Life as we know it will die. Millions of human lives are on the line, rich and poor, old emitters and new, vulnerable and strong. There is no inoculation against this except all of us changing our behaviour all at once," writes Tindal in the letter.
This is why Tindal says the issue of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has moved far beyond being a political process. It has also moved far beyond being just a scientific issue. It is an ethical issue.
"Science has shown us that we have caused the chemical changes we can now track in the atmosphere and the ocean. Therefore, because climate change has been caused by our actions, we are ethically obliged to take responsibility for those actions," writes Tindal.
She says that she believes we must look at issues like climate change through the lens of morality and faith.
"Science describes what is. Faith describes how things can and should be. On this issue science is not enough. We need more. And that is why ecological issues are also fundamentally moral, ethical, and theological concerns."
The complete text of Tindal's letter is posted on The United Church of Canada's website (www.united-church.ca). An abridged version of the letter (950 words) is available upon request for use as an op-ed or commentary.
For more information, or to arrange media interviews, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis
Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
Cell: 416-400-7273
E-mail: mdenis@united-church.ca
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Moderator Prepares to Deliver Climate Change Message to Canadians
On Sunday, January 17, 2010, Mardi Tindal, the Moderator of The United Church of Canada, will be issuing an open letter to all Canadians regarding the issue of climate change.
This letter arises from the Moderator's recent travel to Denmark to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which took place in Copenhagen December 7-18, 2009. Tindal attended the conference as part of a World Council of Churches delegation, and was the only North American denominational church leader present.
As such, she says she feels a compelling obligation to bear witness to what she describes as "one of the most urgent moral challenges in human history."
Tindal will first read her letter, "Where Is the Hope after Copenhagen," during the Sunday morning worship service at Sydenham Street United Church in Brantford, Ontario, on January 17. Sydenham Street is Tindal's home congregation, and the place she sought comfort immediately following her return to Canada from Denmark.
"The day after I returned home from the climate change talks, I needed a place to go where I could safely cry tears of lament," says Tindal. "I needed somewhere where I would be supported as I wrestled with the bitter disappointment I felt with the result of the Copenhagen talks."
She says it is fitting to return to Sydenham Street United Church this Sunday to deliver a message that she hopes will be a source of inspiration and hope for those who, like her, were heartbroken by the missed opportunity of Copenhagen.
In addition, the Moderator will also be inviting former Moderators and many others to read her open letter in United Church congregations in communities from coast to coast to coast.
On Monday, January 18, 2010, Tindal will travel to Ottawa to personally deliver the letter to the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and other party leaders. The letter will also be mailed to all Parliamentarians.
Tindal will be accompanied in Ottawa by the Hon. David MacDonald. MacDonald is a United Church minister and a former Member of Parliament who chaired the House of Commons Committee on the Environment from 1989 to 1993. He also travelled to Copenhagen as part of the World Council of Churches delegation.
The timing for the release of the Moderator's letter was chosen for two reasons. First, January 18 is the one-month anniversary of the conclusion of the Copenhagen talks, and secondly, it is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.
Tindal explains that King served as a primary source of inspiration for her when she was writing this letter, which is addressed not only to the people of the United Church, but to all Canadians. In particular, King's 1963 letter from a Birmingham jail galvanized Tindal's sense of purpose when she returned to Canada from Copenhagen.
The Moderator says her motivation for writing the letter also arises from her long-standing involvement in addressing environmental issues from the perspective of faith. This initiative is also in keeping with the commitment Tindal made when she was elected Moderator in August 2009 to focus much of her time and energy on matters related to the care of
creation.
The text of Tindal's letter will be posted on The United Church of Canada's website (www.united-church.ca) on Sunday, January 17, 2010.
For more information, or to arrange media interviews, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis
Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
E-mail: mdenis@united-church.ca
KEEPING THOSE CLIMATE CHANGE BELLS RINGING
The Moderator's letter from Copenhagen is approximately 1400 words in length. The text is embargoed until Sunday, January 17, 2010. This means that the content of the letter cannot be used or shared until that time. You can, however, use the backgrounder that is supplied below to describe the nature of the letter.
* For those who wish to read, distribute or post the letter during worship on Sunday January 17, 2010, you can receive an embargoed copy of the letter by e-mailing your request to copenhagen@united-church.ca. The deadline for processing these requests is 12:00 noon on Friday, January 15, 2010. A copy of the letter will be e-mailed to you with the understanding that it cannot be used or shared until Sunday, January 17, 2010.
* While the public release of the Moderator's letter is timed to January 17-18, the content is not. The letter can be used at any time after January 17.
* The Moderator's letter will be posted on The United Church of Canada's website (www.united-church.ca) on Sunday, January 17, 2010. It will also be available on the website as a PDF document, with the letter printed on UCC letterhead.
* Printed copies of the letter will be mailed to all pastoral charges, community ministries, chaplaincies, presbyteries, conferences, members of the General Council Executive, and commissioners to the 40th General Council, on or after Friday, January 15, 2010.
* A plain-text version of the letter will be e-mailed to pastoral charges, presbyteries and Conferences on Monday, January 18, 2010.
* A video of the Moderator reading the letter at Sydenham Street United Church will be posted on YouTube as soon as possible after January 17, 2010.
Backgrounder: Moderator's Letter from Copenhagen
The Moderator's letter is written to be read aloud in community. It is titled "Where Is the Hope after Copenhagen?" The letter is a passionate plea for all Canadians to dig deep down inside themselves to find the courage to tackle what Tindal describes as "one of the most urgent moral challenges in human history."
The letter runs approximately 1400 words and draws heavily on the inspiration Tindal experienced re-reading Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter from a Birmingham jail while she was in Copenhagen. She says King's powerful witness when faced with those who criticized him for his actions in fighting racial segregation, inspired her to write this
> letter after returning from Copenhagen, bitterly disappointed with the result of the climate change talks. The timing for the release of the letter is linked both to the one-month anniversary of the end of the climate change talks and to the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States on January 18.
For more information, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis
Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
E-mail: mdenis@united-church.ca
Supported by the Mission & Service Fund