 Co-author Sharon S. Hines shares the call to story and the Spiritual Life Writing online retreat:
Have you heard the call to story? By now, it may be a familiar call. For example, Doctrine and Covenants 162:8a says: “You are a good and faithful people, but sometimes you fail to see the power that is resident in your own story and fellowship. Look carefully, listen attentively, and sense the Spirit among you.” This verse and many others talk about listening. But the directive to listen implies that someone has first written. Maybe you’ve heard the call to be one of those someones—the ones doing the writing. Maybe you aren’t sure where to start, or you just need companions for the journey. If you’re hearing the call to story, we’d love to have you join us at the online Spiritual Life Writing Retreat. Early bird registration is now open for this two-day retreat hosted by Creating Connection and featuring authors Susan Scott, Lana Cullis, and Sharon S. Hines, with special guest author Traci Skuce. As part of your registration, you’ll receive a Kindle copy of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook: From Concept to Bookshelf, written by Susan, Lana, and Sharon. Dates: Saturday, October 18 & Sunday, October 19 – 10 a.m.–5 p.m. PDT each day Hosted on Zoom – link sent one week prior Early bird rate: $60 CAD (regular $75)  When: Sunday, September 14 Time: 2:00 PT, 3:00 p.m. MT, 4:00 p.m. CT, 5:00 p.m. ET, 11:00 a.m. HT, 10:00 p.m. London, 7:00 a.m. Sydney (+1 day) The 2025 World Conference of Community of Christ was a historic week of hope, inspiration, and important legislation. Three climate resolutions were considered, discussed, and passed with overwhelming support. But now what? Passing legislation proclaims the values and intentions of our movement. But unless we live them out, they are just words. The September Climate Webinar will be an opportunity to explore actions that implement the three resolutions and help move church members forward in decreasing fossil fuels and addressing climate change. Are you eager to take action? Are you wondering what your next step could be toward a sustainable lifestyle? Join us to dialogue with others about transforming the World Conference resolutions into real, active, and powerful commitments to make a difference—both individually and systemically. Hosted by the North American Climate Justice Team. Sponsored by the GPNW Mission Center, Community of Christ. Open to all people of all faiths and traditions. If you registered for a past webinar, you do not need to register again. Once registered, you will receive a Zoom link before each session.
 Our Mission Centre Conferences are almost here. This year we will gather at Chilliwack and at Ziontario to consider the resolution to create one Mission Centre that will unite all congregations and campgrounds across Canada. You might be wondering… how did we get here? Flashback to 2021: as our in-person activities were only beginning to resume after the covid closures, many of us realized that some things had changed for good. So much change in such a short time was hard to process in our minds: Now what? Where do we go next? The path forward presented challenges—but also opportunities—that we had not anticipated. It was at this moment that Apostle Art Smith invited us to envision together what the future of our church in Canada could look like. We called this discernment process All Voices because all members from east and west were called to participate. Many expressed their vision (testimonies are available at here), and many more gathered via Zoom to share their ideas, concerns, and hopes. Our efforts to continue ministry and mission during months of isolation reshaped fellowship and cooperation beyond geographic limitations. As we pondered together what matters most, a shared vision for the future of our church in Canada emerged. Now we are considering moving Onward Together as a unified Canadian Mission Centre—but naturally, many questions come to mind:
The leadership team of Community of Christ in Canada has provided an FAQ addressing these and other questions that were discussed this summer at our camp reunions. What does the future of Community of Christ in Canada look like for you? This Thursday, we will host our last Town Hall via Zoom. Don’t miss this chance to join the conversation. We would love to hear your ideas, concerns, and hopes as we prepare for our upcoming Mission Centre Conferences. Be ready to take part in this historic moment! Last Town Hall Meeting Thursday, Aug 28. 5 pm PT / 6pm MT / 7 pm CT / 8 pm ET Please register to receive the Zoom link. Canada West Mission Conference Sep 12–14, Chilliwack Congregation Canada East Mission Conference
Sep 19–21, Ziontario  Dear members of Community of Christ in Canada,
Generosity has always been a cornerstone of our shared journey. When needs arise, we respond together—and today, we’re inviting you to do just that. As of June 30, 2025, contributions to our World Mission Tithes are at:
While these numbers are similar to last year’s mid-year levels, we’re encouraging earlier and more regular giving in 2025 so our mission in Canada remains vibrant and fully supported as we move Onward Together in mission. In 2024, strong investment returns helped sustain our efforts, but returns have been more modest this year. We also recognize that many members traditionally give later in the year—often after summer camps and reunions. This year, please consider giving sooner and, if possible, setting up a monthly gift. Your contributions to World Mission Tithes directly support programs that are vital to our shared mission and impact across Canada and beyond:
As you plan your giving for the remainder of 2025, please keep World Mission Tithes in mind. Together—through generosity, faith, and a shared vision—we can meet our goals and continue building a compassionate, mission-oriented community. Thank you for your ongoing commitment! Warm regards, Sam Smalldon Bishop of Canada Community of Christ in Canada [email protected]  Engage your curiosity and grow your knowledge with free, live Zoom sessions hosted by the Centre for Innovation in Ministry and Mission (CIMM). Beginning August 27, Community of Christ ministers and scholars will explore topics in theology, mission, worship, and culture through engaging, “bite-sized” sessions.
Most sessions take place on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Central and run for about an hour, including time for live Q&A. Join from the comfort of your home and connect with others who are curious and eager to learn. If you miss a session or want to revisit one, past recordings are available on CIMM’s YouTube channel. Upcoming Schedule: • August 27 – CofC Theology part 1 – Tony & Charmaine Chvala-Smith • September 3 – CofC Theology part 2 – Tony & Charmaine Chvala-Smith • September 10 – Onward! – Stassi Cramm • September 17 – “Art and Soul” Project – Shandra Newcom • September 24 – New Worship Resources – Katie Harmon-McLaughlin • October 1 – Feminist Theology: Women in 40 Years of Ministry – Nancy Ross • October 8 – Crossing Generational Cultures – David Lloyd • October 15 – Crossing Generational Cultures – Zac Harmon-McLaughlin • October 22 – Seminarian Session: The Spiritual Development of Children and Youth within a Fluid and “Experimental” Faith Community — Jenny Lowndes • October 29 – Seminarian Session: Community of Christ in Post-Catholic Spain — Lola Brown • November 5 – Post-Colonial Theology – Joudy Clark Rufou • November 12 – CofC Theology part 3 – Tony & Charmaine Chvala-Smith • November 19 – CofC Theology part 4 – Tony & Charmaine Chvala-Smith • November 26 – No session (Thanksgiving) • December 3 – Seminarian Session: Ministry to the Unhoused – Gleen Johnson • December 10 – Jesus as an Untouchable – Joshua Bennett • December 17 – God with Us: Reclaiming the Truth of the Nativity – Dave Anderson Everyone is welcome—bring a snack!  After five years of discerning what matters most and envisioning how Community of Christ will continue to live Christ’s mission in Canada, we are reaching the final stage of this journey. Next month, members across the country will gather to decide how we move Onward Together as one Mission Centre.
Naturally, there are big questions on everyone’s mind:
All Voices matter! This is our moment to explore together what the Mission Centre Design Team has recommended before we gather for mission conferences. This Sunday, August 17, we’re offering two live sessions so you can join at the time that works best for you: 1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT 4:00 p.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. CT / 2:00 p.m. MT / 1:00 p.m. PT Once you register, you’ll receive a confirmation email with your Zoom link and a reminder closer to the event. Can’t make it this Sunday? There’s one more meeting on Thursday, August 28, 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT / 6:00 p.m. MT / 5:00 p.m. PT Mark your calendar!  Author Susan Scott shares about the upcoming Spiritual Life Writing online retreat:
What’s your story? is a simple question that can stop us in our tracks. Is my story worth telling? Where do I even start? Stories are the lifeblood of understanding—key to growing in wisdom and sustaining community. Spiritual life writing is the ancient practice of honouring such stories. Join our online retreat to learn how to share those that touch on faith, spirit, or religion in ways that are meaningful to others, whether neighbours, strangers, or like-minded souls. Meet storytellers and seasoned guides in a safe space where everyone can feel at home. Come with questions. Leave with confidence—and the tools to deepen your journey of discovery. Register now to attend our Spiritual Life Writing Retreat hosted by Creating Connection and featuring authors Susan Scott, Lana Cullis, Sharon S. Hines, and special guest author Traci Skuce. Dates: Saturday, October 18 & Sunday, October 19 – 10 a.m.–5 p.m. PDT each day Hosted on Zoom – link sent one week prior Early bird rate: $60 CAD (regular $75) – includes Kindle edition of the Spiritual Life Writing Workbook Early bird pricing has been extended to Monday, Sept 15!  By Marian Thompson from Edmonton, Alberta
Led by Mission Centre Presidents Shannon McAdam and Vonda DenBoer, I served on the team tasked with planning conferences and representation. Our job was two-fold. First, we were to determine whether conferences should use an “all member” or delegate-based participation model. Second, we needed to propose the structure and logistics of a Canada-wide mission conference, including frequency, location, and format. As many of you may be aware, Canada is geographically one of the largest countries in the world. The distances we travel to get together can be large. When team members first thought about travelling to conferences across such vast distances, it was a little daunting. We also considered that although mission conferences are the forum to transact the business of the mission centre, we know that worship and fellowship are equally important. Given both of these factors, it became obvious early on that Canada-wide mission conferences would need to have hybrid access. Recognizing the worth of all persons, we recommended all conferences strive to be fully accessible for all who wish to participate. This includes livestream options available to friends and seekers. Annual conferences would be open to “all members,” with registration required whether attending in person or online. Every three to five years, a special in-person conference (with online access) would be planned. These conferences would have a special focus on an aspect of mission such as peace and justice. The location will alternate between east and west. You can find more detail on our team’s work at the website. Over several months of meetings, I realized that although we live in the same country and have a lot in common, we all have different lived experiences in relation to the church and to Christ’s mission. As we listened respectfully to each other and shared together, I began to understand how important it will be for all people from west to east to have opportunities to get to know each other in social settings and to listen deeply to the experiences we have each had. Each mission centre will make a final decision about becoming a Canada-wide mission centre at upcoming fall conferences. Whether you are a voting member or an interested observer, we invite your prayerful consideration of the challenges and opportunities before us. We hope you will join us as we seek to make Christ’s mission our mission in Canada and around the world. Our recommendations are available on our website. We hope you will add your voice to the conversation as we prepare for our 2025 Mission Centre Conferences in Canada. We look forward to receiving your reflections by email at: [email protected]  After years of feeling unworthy and experiencing loss, one young family found peace, acceptance, and new life in a community that welcomed them just as they are. By: Jamie Funk from Topeka, Kansas
My faith journey has been somewhat of a rugged one at times, as I imagine it is for a lot of people. Growing up, I was never really ever consistently taken to one church or denomination from one or another. However, general Christianity was always important—or at least, I always felt like it was supposed to be—as a kid. I always loved and enjoyed whenever we went over religion in history class and mythology. I'd love renting books from the school library on different old-world religions and learning about all the different variations in religion and culture. My mother was raised Baptist, and my stepfather was raised Catholic (though on my mother’s side of the family, they generally didn't care what denomination it was). I have a great uncle who is the pastor and minister in two different churches—so growing up, I was exposed to several different points of view. My personal journey runs counter to stereotypes. Many people start out having liberal beliefs when they are younger, and by the time they get into their mid-to-late twenties (or older), they slowly become more conservative. By contrast, I’d say I was raised pretty liberal—at least in the “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” sense—and yet I was attracted towards more conservative denominations. I was introduced to the Restoration movement when I was 19 by some missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I immediately became fascinated by the uniqueness of the denomination and many of the bold and “as a matter of fact” claims made by those in the church. I found that this denomination also puts strict requirements on its members, which it defines as living “worthily.” Somewhat like a Catholic confessional, you have a private meeting with the LDS bishop (who is like the pastor of the church), and he goes over a list of questions with you to determine whether you're “worthy” to enter an LDS Temple. Most of the faith-based questions were easy for me at the time, like “Do you believe in God and have a testimony of Jesus?” Other questions, like “Do you strive to be honest in all you do?” were more difficult for me because I tend to do deep, critical analysis of myself constantly. When asked, “Do you follow the teachings of Jesus in your private and public dealings?” my initial answer was “yes, of course!” But for some reason, during the interview, the thought came to my mind where one day I was at work and I opened the break room fridge and my coworker’s coffee (which he always left in the door of the fridge) fell out and splattered onto the ground. Now, I was somewhat afraid of this gentleman at the time (I hadn't been working there long, and he had already been there many years), and I was afraid to tell him that I spilled his coffee. And of course, he was extremely upset when he found out. According to the bishop, this alone was apparently enough to be rejected for a temple recommend, and at that time, with that incident and others, it kicked my self-judgment into overdrive. Every little thing that I did, thought that I had, or action I took made me question if I was ever going to be “worthy.” I didn't understand how people could honestly be able to answer every question and be genuine while I struggled with myself. Thankfully, however, I met my wife in the church. Because I was not deemed “worthy” to enter an LDS Temple, we got married at the courthouse in 2016. While we constantly made each other feel special and important, we felt like we were being divinely punished and prevented from being able to begin our family until we were “worthy” of it. About once a year to a year and a half, my wife and I experienced miscarriages in the first trimester. It had gotten to the point where we had finally firmly believed that either we needed to reach this point of perfect humanhood to deserve a family, or one just wasn't in our cards. As time went on, we became less and less active at the LDS church, and we began attending a local, non-denominational Evangelical church. We had become spiritual seekers, but we were not sure where the Spirit was leading us. After we had another loss in the Evangelical church, the Spirit led us to Community of Christ in 2023. I remember walking in on my second visit, on a Communion Sunday, and being absolutely fascinated by two ordained women blessing the sacrament in the same style they had in the LDS Church. One thing that I really liked was the encouragement to kneel as much as possible in reference to the sacramental act. Upon taking the sacrament, I just remember being spiritually lifted out of my seat! I felt the Spirit stronger than I had in any church before—and it was done by God’s priesthood through a woman! That really turned my head around. Another confirmation of the Spirit came after we had made the decision to join and were confirmed as Community of Christ members. We were finally able to carry our son to full term, and he was born a perfectly healthy, bouncing baby boy. I can't give anyone praise for this, but Jesus alone, for blessing us. Now happily in our faith home, we began bringing him to church as soon as three weeks old. He loves church, and it’s starting to get hard to keep him from running around during the service. He’s such a good boy, and I'm so blessed to have such a loving and wonderful wife who takes care of us and is such a good mother. Community of Christ embodies a lot of the core beliefs I hold dear and was encouraged to have. I'm definitely not perfect—far from it—and if it came down to a litmus test on my moral integrity, I'm sure it'd be easy to poke holes in it. But I thank Jesus for that forgiveness that I can't earn. This is a hard concept that many wrestle with: forgiveness that we can never earn but is a gift from our Savior. We are firmly happy in our new faith home and are so grateful to have been accepted “right where we are.”  Registration is now open for Discovery Week 2026—and spots are already filling up quickly. If you've been waiting for the right time to attend, we encourage you to reserve your place today.
The 2025 Discovery Week brought together 46 curious and compassionate participants from Canada and the USA for an immersive experience in exploring the world’s religions. From the generous Sikh practice of seva, to the challenges faced by Wiccans and Jews, to the complexity of misunderstandings in sacred spaces, this year’s journey offered rich lessons in empathy, identity, and the beauty of religious diversity. The reflections shared throughout the week—insights, encounters, and honest conversations—serve as a hopeful reminder that learning across difference is always worth it. You can read more about the experience in the latest blog from the Encounter World Religions Centre. |
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