We are saddened to share the news that Joan Ridge passed away peacefully at Etobicoke General Hospital on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the age of 86. Joan was a life-long member of Community of Christ and had long been very active in the Toronto Congregation. 

Joan was born, the 5th of 6 daughters, to Florence and Thomas Campbell, on February 14th, 1937, and was raised in Fergus, Ontario, where she learned to swim, culminating in a Canadian Swimming & Diving Championship in 1953.

In 1957, Joan met the love of her life, the late Frank Gerald Ridge (Jerry) and even though following their first blind date, she thought, “he's a nice man, but if he ever tried to kiss me, I’d just die”, she soon changed her mind and within a year they were married (a marriage that lasted 63 years, until Jerry passed) and proceeded to have 4 children in the next 6 years. Joan was the loving mother of John, Jane, Gerald (Leslie) and Joan-Marie Martino (Joe).
 
In their later years, Joan & Jerry started their worldwide travels, that included cruises to Alaska, the Mediterranean & Asia. Their winters were spent at their Treasure Island, Florida condominium, Key Capri and throughout their travels they gathered many lifetime friends, who loved and admired them
Grandma was dearly loved by her grandchildren, David and Patricia, Jacquelyn, Samantha and Racquel, Joey and Michael and Joey's wife, Stefanie, and their sons, Domenico and Stefano, Joan's great grandchildren.

Joan’s funeral was held on March 7th and was attended by friend and fellow congregant Joyce Dawson. Joan is remembered and loved by members of the congregation and others across Canada whose lives she touched.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at, www.kanejerrettnorthyork.ca for the Ridge family.

Many of earth’s communities now live out of balance with the world around them. Many lack access to food, water, and shelter, the universal needs of existence. Many have gifts that go unrecognized and unshared. As a result, all communities—the human and the more-than-human—experience woundedness and loss.

Come for a weekend of nurturing, awareness and hope. Join in community as we learn about and experience profound acts of reconciliation and restoration happening both locally and throughout the world.
 
Special Guest Isabelle Hachette,
World Accord Program Director 

Isabelle has over twenty years of experience working in international development and emergency relief programs in countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Cambodia. She has worked with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), United Nations agencies as well as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 
Isabelle joined the World Accord Team in the fall of 2015. Thanks to Isabelle’s keen interest in forming meaningful partnerships, World Accord is a member of the Food Security Policy Group, the Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development (C4D) as well a member of the Ontario Council for International Cooperation’s Gender equality hub and a member of the Movement for Community-Led Development.

Find your place in this great awakening. Register today! www.nurturingspirit.creatingconnection.ca

You are invited to register for the Priest Course if you have recently been called to the office of priest or are just interested in knowing more about how the priest serves in congregations.
 
Snacks and beverages will be supplied on Friday evening and a light breakfast, snacks and beverages for breaks, as well as lunch and beverages will be supplied on Saturday all for a free will offering.
 
To register for this course, please contact Don Millard at 519-870-1464.
 
You will be responsible for ordering a hardcopy of course materials or purchasing, downloading, and printing the PDF booklet from Herald House. 

Share Words of Blessing
Offer words of courage and blessing that will be shared at World Conference during the communion service on Sunday 23 April. Members and friends from around the world are invited to participate in the spirit of fellowship and worship that connects us in sacred community no matter where we are located.  

Completed blessings should be returned by 12 April 2023.   

INSTRUCTIONS

• Download and print the blessing cards template.
• Write words of blessing in your own language or languages.  
• You may write one blessing or several. 
• Write only one blessing on each square. 

SUBMIT
 
Mail
Karin Peter, Words of Blessing 
c/o World Conference Directors 
1001 West Walnut St. 
Independence, MO 64050 USA
Email 
Scan or take a photo of the completed blessings. Email to Karin Peter. Subject Line: Words of Blessing 

EXAMPLES
Some examples of blessings: 

• May you be blessed with Christ’s peace. 
• Peace be with you. 
• Act with courage to be a blessing. 
• God’s blessings be with you. 
• May God bless and keep you. 
• Have courage. Be Kind. 

 
New Spiritual Formation Cohort
Do you feel called to deepen your knowledge and practice in spiritual formation, discernment, companioning, and leadership?  

Applications for the third cohort of the Spiritual Formation and Companioning Program are open. The deadline for applications will be 1 June and the program will begin in the fall of 2023.

SFCP is partnering with the Center for Innovation in Ministry and Mission (Community of Christ Seminary) to offer a two-year hybrid formation experience online with one week each year in person at the Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. SFCP participants who complete the program will receive a certificate in Spiritual Companioning and Leadership.

Email us for more information or assistance with the application process.  

New possibilities are emerging. We live between what was and what will be. ...The Holy Spirit breathes anew into our lives, the church, and creation. God’s aim is a new creation in us, among us, and around us! And nothing is more important than discerning what God is up to and our role in it. - Stephen M. Veazey, “Boldly Venture”

 
World Conference Paid and Volunteer Opportunities
Paid Positions

• Facilities/Set-up Assistant
• Herald House Book Store Staff
• Herald House Bookstore Assistant Manager
• Registration Assistant

Volunteer Positions

• ASL Interpreter
• French Interpreter
• Spanish Interpreter

Those interested in serving in a volunteer role should email the Translations Team.

Beyond the Walls – Who is Jesus?
Michael Wright brings the message this Fifth Sunday of Lent, live from Rome, Italy. After being betrayed and arrested, Jesus stands trial before Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch. They want to know who he claims to be: Is he the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of the Jews? This week, as we share in the sacred story of Holy Week, we will consider the many ways that we, as Christian disciples, answer the question, “Who Is Jesus?” Our choir premieres CCS 38 - Who Is This Jesus. Let us gather on Sunday, March 26 at 12 PM EDT to consider this question in worship with the Beyond the Walls community. We will gather again at 6 PM EDT for Late Edition.  

SLIM (Sharing Love in Mission) - 1:45 p.m. Presider Don Robb. Video presentation of President Veazey's closing message and counsel from the 2019 conference. At the conclusion of the worship service we will share President Veazey's announcement of his retirement in 2025 and the call for the church to begin a time of discernment as to our future and our future president. Contact Don Robb for Zoom details.

Other Online Ministries are available from many varied places for you to connect with.

Beyond the Walls – Take this Cup from Me
As Jesus contemplates the path set before him, he prays to the Father, “Take this cup from me.” In the meantime, the disciples are unable to remain awake during their vigil. For the third Sunday of our Seven Weeks of Easter commemoration, we join Jesus and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Join us as Zilphia Martin IV returns to explore the subject of prayer, drawing upon the vivid example of Jesus as recounted by Luke 22:39-46. Beyond the Walls – Take this Cup from Me. We hope to see you there on Sunday, March 12, at 12:00 PM or 6:00 PM EDT. 
   

SLIM (Sharing Love in Mission) - 1:45 p.m. Daryl and Angela McDonald presiding. During March, we will support ROCK Mission in Chatham by purchasing sleeping bags and toilet paper to assist in their support of homeless or those struggling to make ends meet. Donations of sleeping bags or toilet paper can be sent to Karen Newman or if you wish to provide a financial gift, etransfer to Mary Robb at drobb3ca@yahoo.ca. Our mission budget will provide additional funds to help  this worthwhile cause.Contact Don Robb for Zoom details.

Other Online Ministries are available from many varied places for you to connect with.

Project Ploughshares, founded in 1976, is the peace research institute of The Canadian Council of Churches, with a focus on disarmament efforts and international security, specifically related to the arms trade, emerging military and security technologies, nuclear weapons, and outer space.

We are seeking a Senior Fundraising Officer to manage and run the fundraising program at Project Ploughshares.

Position Type: Full-time permanent
Location: Waterloo, Ontario (on-site or hybrid [on-site/online])

Position Summary:
The Senior Fundraising Officer is responsible for leading the implementation of Project Ploughshares’ fundraising program. The Senior Fundraising Officer will oversee day-to-day fundraising functions, including running the organization’s major donor, direct mailing, and planned giving programs, as well as building and maintaining a support base to advance the mission of the organization. The Senior Fundraising Officer reports to the Director of Operations.

If you're interested or know of someone, click the button below for a full description of the position.

Wednesday, March 29th and Thursday, March 30

​In a rapidly changing world, and in a church trying desperately to discover what the ‘new normal’ might be, the liminal experience is very real. Do our inherited models of leadership work in such a context? Is a new approach required?

Fresh Expressions developed by first connecting with those projects already developed and then encouraging others to take first steps. These new forms of church ranged from family focused Messy Churches to New Monastic Communities and to Social Justice Projects in UK. For a snapshot visit their YouTube page to see them in action.

Join congregational leaders, church planters and pioneers from across the missional landscape to hear stories about what God is up to, explore meaningful ways of being relevant in today's culture and hear from some inspiring speakers and authors. 

NOTE: Gathering times are 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. GMT  =  6 a.m. - 11 a.m. ET
 
GUEST SPEAKERS

Rev. Dr. Kate Coleman - founding director of Next Leadership. She has 35 years of leadership experience in the church, charity, voluntary, and business sectors, and is a mentor and coach to leaders from diverse sectors, backgrounds, and communities.


Rev. Cham Kaur-Mann -  over 25 years leadership experience in the church, charity and voluntary sectors. She mentors and supports leaders from a variety of sectors, backgrounds and communities and is the first (and currently only) Asian woman minister within the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Revd Roy Searle - extensive experience of pioneering in urban, suburban and rural contexts. He is one of the founders of the Northumbria Community. He writes, mentors and advises leaders, churches, missional communities and charities all of whom are wrestling with the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world.

Alan Roxburgh - a pastor, teacher, writer and consultant with more than 30 years experience in church leadership, consulting and seminary educatiion. (Alan has worked with Community of Christ in the past within CEM and World Church.) 

Fresh Expressions developed by first connecting with those projects already developed and then encouraging others to take first steps. These new forms of church ranged from family focused Messy Churches to New Monastic Communities and to Social Justice Projects in UK. For a snapshot visit their YouTube page to see them in action.
 
RETHINKING CHURCHThinking afresh about church is a mission priority. To re-imagine church requires a clear picture of what church is. What can change and what has to stay the same?

Learn more about this incredible and creative movement, Fresh Expressions.

The First Presidency is sharing two important announcements with the worldwide church. 
 

• Announcement Regarding Next World Conference 
• Letter to the Church from President Veazey 

Read the announcements and learn more about the discernment process President Veazey speaks about in his letter. 

​World Accord invites nominations from qualified candidates to serve as a Board Director for an initial three-year term. This is an excellent opportunity to work alongside others with shared values and commitment, contributing skills, energy and knowledge that provide strategic leadership to a small, dynamic, and growing international development organization. We welcome applications from people across Canada and are committed to a governance board that models diversity, equity and inclusion.

Previous experience with Non-Profit Organizations is an asset, but is not a requirement to be considered.

Prospective board members are interviewed and vetted by a Committee. If successful, applicants then meet all Board Members and a vote is held at the AGM in June of each year. The new Director’s first year of a three year term begins immediately following the AGM.