Community of Christ in Canada
  • About
    • Values
    • Lived Experience >
      • The Congregation
      • The Mission Centre
      • The World Church
      • Mission in Action
    • Theology >
      • Enduring Principles
      • Mission Initiatives
      • Sacraments
      • Statement on Scripture
      • Principles of History
      • Generosity
      • Basic Beliefs
    • History & Heritage
    • Onward Together >
      • Strategic Plan
      • The Mission Centre Design Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Partners
  • Connect
    • Congregations >
      • Online Worship
      • What to Expect
    • Beyond the Walls
    • Blog
    • Stay Connected >
      • CWM Newsletter Signup
      • CEM Newsletter Signup
      • Online Worship Signup
      • Social Media
    • Contact a Minister
  • Give
    • Giving Tuesday
  • Canada West
    • CWM Dashboard
    • CWM Conference
    • CWM CAMPING 2025
    • News & Updates
    • Events Calendar
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Creating Connection >
      • Blog
    • Campgrounds
    • CWM Archive
  • Canada East
    • CEM Dashboard
    • Events Calendar
    • CEM Camping 2025
    • CEM Conference
    • News & Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Campgrounds
    • Connection Groups
  • Resources
    • Search
    • Training
    • Worship Resources
    • Congregational Resources
    • Forms
    • Posters and Media
    • Online Lectures
    • Job Opportunities
  • About
    • Values
    • Lived Experience >
      • The Congregation
      • The Mission Centre
      • The World Church
      • Mission in Action
    • Theology >
      • Enduring Principles
      • Mission Initiatives
      • Sacraments
      • Statement on Scripture
      • Principles of History
      • Generosity
      • Basic Beliefs
    • History & Heritage
    • Onward Together >
      • Strategic Plan
      • The Mission Centre Design Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Partners
  • Connect
    • Congregations >
      • Online Worship
      • What to Expect
    • Beyond the Walls
    • Blog
    • Stay Connected >
      • CWM Newsletter Signup
      • CEM Newsletter Signup
      • Online Worship Signup
      • Social Media
    • Contact a Minister
  • Give
    • Giving Tuesday
  • Canada West
    • CWM Dashboard
    • CWM Conference
    • CWM CAMPING 2025
    • News & Updates
    • Events Calendar
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Creating Connection >
      • Blog
    • Campgrounds
    • CWM Archive
  • Canada East
    • CEM Dashboard
    • Events Calendar
    • CEM Camping 2025
    • CEM Conference
    • News & Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Campgrounds
    • Connection Groups
  • Resources
    • Search
    • Training
    • Worship Resources
    • Congregational Resources
    • Forms
    • Posters and Media
    • Online Lectures
    • Job Opportunities

Blog

Greetings from World Conference 2023!

4/27/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Dear Friends,
​
We are so happy to be sending you this virtual postcard from our Community of Christ World Conference in Independence Missouri, USA!

So far we are having a wonderful time sitting with our friends from across Canada West and reuniting with friends from far away.
 
We’ve especially enjoyed the words of home and encouragement in the messages shared by church leaders and we encourage you to check out all the recordings online at cofchrist.org
 
We will share more here after we return. We hope you enjoy these few snapshots from our time so far.
 
 
With joy, 
Gwyn, Kat, & Shannon
0 Comments

The Journey

4/19/2023

0 Comments

 
​Written by Gwyn Beer
Canada West Mission Centre Co-President
Picture
"We are pilgrims on a journey - CCS # 550
  1. We are pilgrims on a journey, here together on the road; we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
  2. Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you? Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant too.
  3. I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear; I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
  4. I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I'll laugh with you; I will share your joy and sorrow till we've seen this journey through.

World Conference 2023 starts on Saturday, April 22!  I know some people are already on the journey to conference.  I will be flying on April 20th and I look forward to seeing Independence again!  
 
I choose the hymn above before I went on the website and saw the hymn list.  The hymnal is 10 years old this year!!!  I love to just read the hymns as poetry.  The hymns that are on the website for conference are available in multiple languages.
 
I read through the legislation on the Community of Christ website again today.  Whether you are making an actual journey to conference or you are staying home, check out the conference website.  Wherever you are, you are part of Community of Christ.  Join together in prayer, study, discernment, financial and courageous support.  
 
As CCS 550 sings "we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load... I will share your joy and sorrow till we've seen this journey through.

Joshua 1:9
I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
0 Comments

The Spark for a Lotus on Fire

4/12/2023

0 Comments

 
Written by Vickie MacArthur
Picture
“It feels like I am slowly dissolving the me I think I am, to become the love beyond the boundaries of Buddha and Christ, and you and me.”
--- A Lotus on Fire
​

As I stand at the podium at Analog Books, looking out over the sea of expectant faces, I feel a tinge of nervousness. Surrounded by walls of books on every side, I wonder what passage I could possibly read from my newly born book, that hasn’t already been written in some form? As I take a deep breath, and take time to truly look into the faces of beloved family, friends, and students, I see a spark of love shining through. It reminds me of another time of looking into the eyes of Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It was that moment that sparked the idea for the book I now hold in my hands, A Lotus on Fire: How a Buddhist Monk Ignited My Heart.

I met Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) at a large retreat out in Vancouver in 2011, just after my mother passed away from cancer in 2011. I arrived with a raw and open heart, hoping for a quiet space to be with the sadness and loss I felt. At one point towards the end of the retreat, I had the opportunity to sit very close to this gentle and revered monk. Our eyes met, and a feeling of love such that I had never known welled up in me. It felt like I was looking into the eyes of the Buddha, or Christ.

When I got home, I felt like I needed a way to process and reflect on this life-changing glimpse of “enlightenment” I’d received. I got out my journal and started to write. I wrote in the format of Letters to my Teacher (Dear Thay), describing my feelings, and asking the deep questions of my heart. Each question led to some insight and answers, but always uncovered deeper questions. Over time, these letters began to connect some of the dots for my life experience, revealing some overall patterns and themes. I wondered if these heartfelt letters in my journal could somehow become a book?

So began the long process of writing, and re-writing, in between teaching yoga, raising our teenage boys, leading church, and all the other activities of life. I finished the first draft in 2019, and started looking for an editor. Several months later, I was invited to be part of the online leadership team for Awakening Spirituality, an online outreach group for our church, dedicated to being a safe and welcoming place for all different kinds of spiritual seekers. On the leadership team, I met Susan L. Scott, a long time church member whose own roots run deep in the RLDS tradition. Susan is also an author and editor passionate about inspiring and helping people like you and I to write and share our own stories. She calls this “Spiritual Life Writing”, stories at the intersection of spirituality and everyday life. She became my mentor and editor for the rest of my book journey. I shared my excitement with my dear friend Lana Cullis, and she too became a mentor and companion for me.

In early 2021, we finally had a fully edited manuscript. Initially, like a lot of new writers, I hoped to find a traditional publisher to publish my book. This is no easy task, as most large publishers won’t even look at you without an agent, and smaller publishers don’t want to take a chance on you unless you already have a huge following, and a large social media platform. The submission process alone was like writing an entire book all over again. So I spent the next 6 months sending out book proposals, and either getting a polite “thanks, but no thanks,” or no answer at all. It felt like my manuscript disappeared into a big black hole!

In September 2021, my life changed drastically. I was hit by a car while crossing in a crosswalk, and sustained serious injuries to my left shoulder and left knee, requiring two surgeries, two weeks in hospital, and three months in bed (and lots of prayer!) My life literally flashed before my eyes, and I spent most of the next year recovering. When I finally felt well again, I knew I needed to find a way of getting my book out into the world right away. My story mattered, as do all our stories!

I decided to self-publish and become an “Indie-Author” as we’re called. It’s still a lot of hard work, but it gave me more control over the creative design of the book, including title, front and back cover design, and inside formatting, and complete copyright and ownership. I found an experienced graphic artist up in Calgary, who designed the stunning cover for A Lotus on Fire, and also did all the formatting inside the book, so I could upload easily to Amazon to publish both the paperback and E-Book versions.  An official book launch was planned for March 22 at Analog Books here in Lethbridge.

As I now stand at this podium, holding A Lotus on Fire in my hands, I can feel the faith of many generations converging in this moment. I sense the courageous faith of my parents and many generations of RLDS, now Community of Christ. I feel the teachings and meditation practices of Thich Nhat Hanh, and his Vietnamese Buddhist lineage traced right back to the Buddha himself. I feel the great love of the Living Buddha, and the Living Christ flowing through me, to be a tiny spark of love wherever I am.

A Lotus on Fire is available in both paperback and E-Book on Amazon. To find out more about Vickie and A Lotus on Fire, please see Vickie’s website: www.vickiemacarthur.ca
0 Comments

Holy Week

4/6/2023

0 Comments

 
Written by Kat Goheen
Canada West Mission Centre Co-President
Picture
This is Holy Week. We breathe in this space when Jesus was closer to his disciples than ever before, yet so far away as they clung to him and would keep him from following his call. Holy Week is a space for learning how to stay awake and watch, and how to act. We find ourselves right now in the liminal space between the extraverted, frenetic joy of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the deep, upwelling, inner joy of encountering resurrection past the grave.
 
Both of those kinds of joy were evident in our CWM staff retreat last weekend. As Gwyn, Shannon, Debra, Sandra, and I got to know each other in one another’s full presence for the first time, we were able to share our hopes for this work as well as the struggles we encounter. Our joy came from being accepted as we are and our felt freedom to be fully heard, to be encouraged, to experience beautiful hospitality. Like the disciples, we came together and ate. We walked together. We prayed together, for us all.
 
None of us can see the future of our beloved Mission Centre. All of us care so deeply about the well-being of this particular expression of Christ’s love on earth! In your journey through Holy Week, we encourage you to find community, break bread together, listen deeply to one another, and remember the new life that Jesus has shown us. May we all travel well in darkness so that we may be embraced in resurrection light!  
0 Comments

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    October 2019
    April 2019

    Categories

    All
    All Voices
    Announcements
    Apostle Art Smith
    BLM
    Board Updates
    Camp
    Celebrate Mission
    Climate Justice
    COVID-19
    Creating Connection
    Giving Tuesday
    MIssion Centre Design Team
    Mission Centre President
    Onward Together
    Racial Justice
    Vlog
    World Church

    RSS Feed

COMMUNITY OF CHRIST
355 Elmira Road North, Unit 129
Guelph, ON N1K 1S5 Canada
888-411-7537
QUICK LINKS
  • Make a Donation
  • Beyond the Walls
  • Resources
CANADA WEST MISSION
  • Congregations
  • Campgrounds
  • Upcoming Events
  • Staff Directory
  • Join our mailing list
  • 877-411-2632
CANADA EAST MISSION
  • Congregations
  • Campgrounds
  • Upcoming Events
  • Staff Directory
  • Join our mailing list
  • 888-411-7537
SEARCH OUR WEBSITE
EXTERNAL LINKS
  • World Church Website
  • Creating Connection
  • World Accord
  • Encounter World Religions
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Report a Website Issue