Join us on an illuminating journey to discover the ways history, culture and belief systems influence how we relate to one another today.

For more than 20 years Encounter World Religions has brought the world religions to life for those who want to discover their stories. Our special online version introduces you to 5 of the world’s religions: Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and First Nations through meaningful conversations and an opportunity to hear from a faith guide who will discuss the practices, rituals and beliefs that shape their faith, and answer your questions.

Additional optional sessions offer opportunities to discuss what you are learning with other attendees and with our presenter Dr. Brian Carwana.

Whether you attend for personal interest or professional development, a new understanding of the world’s religions will help you better understand your new neighbour, your children’s friends, your colleagues at work, even the evening news. Most importantly it will help you understand yourself, and the factors that shape your own beliefs. Visit the Encounter World Religions Centre website for more information.

The program is taught from a non-sectarian perspective and is open to all. We would love to have you join us. Click on the button above to register. Early bird registration fee available until March 31. 
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​Have a question? Email Brian Carwana at [email protected]
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Simcoe County Kairos is honoured to bring you this year’s Ecumenical Good Friday Walk for Justice live online.
We are a local group inspired by the work of KAIROS Canada, a national social justice movement which unites the work of various Canadian churches and all people of faith or conscience as they work together for ecological justice and human rights.
Before COVID, we would have gathered along the shore of Kempenfelt Bay on Lake Simcoe. In this second year of the pandemic, we gather again virtually to reflect on the parallels between the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth and the current suffering of many members of our community who have gone mostly unnoticed in the past year and whose numbers have grown due to the effects of the pandemic.

Specifically…

• Those who are suffering and dying alone as a result of the opioid crisis
• Those temporary foreign workers who are at risk during the pandemic and upon whom we depend for our food supply
• Those who are experiencing homelessness
• Those service workers who are often racialized, vulnerable and of low-income who cannot say no to work

Through reflections, songs and prayers we hope you will experience this year’s Good Friday walk for justice as an opportunity to show solidarity with all members of our human family.

Know God with the community Beyond the Walls. Join ministers and hundreds of disciples and seekers from around the world. Dan Gregory of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will preach on the theme, “Know God.” Pete Gaffney of Leicester, England, will give our Peace Lesson and Charlie Brown of Melbourne, Florida, will lead our Disciples Generous Response. Trudi Gunderson will offer the invocation from Pahoa, Hawaii. Vickie MacArthur of Lethbridge, Alberta will lead our Meditation on the Message. The lectionary scripture will be read by Tiona Horning of Independence, Missouri and our Call to Worship will be read by Emelia Goheen of Chauvin, Alberta.

Sunday, March 21, 12 Noon EDT

SLIM (Sharing Love in Mission) - 2 p.m. Speaker, Shone Carson. Contact Don Robb for Zoom info.

Port Elgin Congregation - 9 a.m. class. Coffee & Conversation 9:40. Worship 10 a.m. Steve Northey will be the speaker. Presider Catherine Manson. Contact Larry Buchanan for Zoom details.

La Salle Road Congregation - Social time from 10:15-10:30. Worship 10:30 a.m. Contact Pastor Vonda den Boer for Zoom details.

Reaching Out - Generally meets twice a month. Please sign up for email notices by clicking here.

Kitchener Congregation - Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Contact John & Ruth Black for details.

Cambridge Congregation - 11 a.m. Complete Worship Services are held each Sunday at 11:00 am For details go to www.cofchristcambridge.ca. On the calendar page click on the event for the Zoom link. Social time follows the service

First People Community of Christ (FPCC) - Reaching out to Native People across North America  and the World! Online Prayer and Testimonies Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. and Worship Sundays at 7 p.m. Contact Larry Buchanan for ZOOM details.

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

​Join Linda Booth exploring our theme “Accept the Light of the World,” and ministers, disciples, and seekers from around the world. Zilphia Martin IV of Southfield, Michigan will give our Peace Lesson and Elray Henriksen of Brussel, Belgium will lead our Disciples Generous Response. Janine Judd McCully of Chilliwack, British Columbia will offer the invocation. Johan Koeslag of Orangeville, Ontario, will read our Lectionary and Kathy Deemer of McDermitt, Ohio, will lead our Call to Worship. The Beyond the Walls Choir will premiere CCS 240 “Light Dawns on a Weary World,” and CCS 646 “Go Now Forth into the World.”
 
Sunday, March 14th, at 12:00 pm EST.

SLIM (Sharing Love in Mission) - 2 p.m. Marianne Wilson of the Chatham Kent Pride Association will share her life's journey and how a welcoming community helped along the way. Anthony Smith will be the presider of this service. Contact Don Robb for Zoom info.

Port Elgin Congregation - 9 a.m. class. Coffee & Conversation 9:40. Worship 10 a.m. Lorne Currie will be the speaker. Presider Barb Currie. Contact Larry Buchanan for Zoom details.

La Salle Road Congregation - Social time from 10:15-10:30. Worship 10:30 a.m. Contact Pastor Vonda den Boer for Zoom details.

Reaching Out - Generally meets twice a month. Please sign up for email notices by clicking here.

Kitchener Congregation - Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Contact John & Ruth Black for details.

Cambridge Congregation - 11 a.m. Complete Worship Services are held each Sunday at 11:00 am For details go to www.cofchristcambridge.ca. On the calendar page click on the event for the Zoom link. Social time follows the service

First People Community of Christ (FPCC) - Reaching out to Native People across North America  and the World! Online Prayer and Testimonies Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. and Worship Sundays at 7 p.m. Contact Larry Buchanan for ZOOM details.

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

​The "Green Session" of elearning classes is open for Canadian enrollment. Please ensure this information gets into the right hands for communicating to your congregation:
 
Enrollment Information for eLearning Classes:
 
The following credit classes are open for a limited enrollment: 

• Ministry of the Teacher (MP303): 6-weeks, April 3 - May 14
• Introduction to Scripture (SS400):  8-weeks, April 3 - May 28
• Ministry With Latter-day Seekers: 4-weeks, April 3 - April 30 - Instructor: Karin Peter
• Children and Youth Worker Core Training: (complete within 2-weeks), April 3 through mid-summer
• MEADS ZOOM Class - Hebrew Scriptures - April 26-30 (Monday-Friday) 5:30pm-8:00pm (Eastern) - Instructor, Dr. David Anderson

eLearning Classes cost is $7.50 each. MEADS class cost $30  and should be paid before class via check to:

[email protected]
 
To enroll, go to developmetrics.org and click on the "Canadian Registration Form". 

This Easter, we're gathering for an online worldwide Communion worship and we need your help to create a truly global experience.    

  Photos of your Communion emblems
Videos of you dancing to Takwaba Uwabanga Yesu!

Deadline: March 17
Learn how to submit your pictures and videos below. 

Photos 
Whatever your Communion emblems look like—bread and juice, water and crackers, even milk and cookies; and wherever you take Communion—at home, at work, in a congregation—we want to see it.   
 Send us your best photos that are: 

• Landscaped images (longer than wide) 
• At least 3 megapixels 
• Good-quality image in focus, with emblems clearly visible 

 Submit a Photo
Upload your photos to WeTransfer, entering [email protected] as the email address to notify. 

Videos
We want to dance with you in joyful celebration of Jesus with us now and always...come join the dance!  Here's how: 
Get the music...
Download "Takwaba Uwabanga Yesu!" from this link. 

Get ready...
Set up your phone or camera (more below) put on your ear buds or headphones (so we don't hear your music while you record...but you can clap or play percussion if you want to) and your dancing shoes (or go barefoot!) 

Go! 
Playback the music to your ears and dance with joy! No matter your age or ability, let's celebrate together in movement and dance.  Kids?  Yes.  Just your dancing feet or whirling wheels?  Absolutely. Your whole family? Certainly! (Kids must get their parent or guardian's permission first and submit a Photo Release for Minors Form with the video)

Submit a Video
Upload your video to WeTransfer, entering [email protected] as the email address to notify.   
 
Setting Up Your Phone or Camera  

• Videotape a landscaped image (if a phone is used, hold it sideways)  and record with the higher-quality back-facing camera, i.e., the one you would use to take a photograph) at HD 1080p quality (1920 pixels x1080 pixels) at 29.97 or 30fps, with enough light to ensure good picture quality and in a quiet environment where your audio can be recorded without extraneous noise.  
• Please ensure the camera or phone is at eye level. Look directly into the camera to record.  No bright windows directly behind you, please. 
• Please start your recording at least 10 seconds prior to your dance, and let your recording continue at least 10 seconds after you are done before you stop recording.   
• Add no graphics please; we'll add those in later for a consistent look across the entire presentation. 

Questions
Questions or issues? contact [email protected]. 

Good News
The forensic investigation into the security incident for some of International Headquarters systems has now concluded. As a reminder, under the direction of our insurance company and guidance from legal counsel, the church hired a leading computer forensic firm to assist us with investigating the January 2021 incident and confirming the security of the church’s systems. This process determined that the church was the victim of a ransomware attack that resulted in some of our files being locked or encrypted for a period of time. As a reminder, eTithing, AIP tracking, CofChrist.org email, the World Church’s General Ledger software, and the current payroll systems were not involved in this incident.
 
Fortunately, the investigation did not find evidence that any personal information or jurisdiction banking information was accessed or acquired by any unauthorized third party. The church is reviewing our technical security measures and taking steps to reduce the risk of this type of incident from occurring in the future. As previously announced, we have accelerated our upgrade program to move all our systems to cloud-based systems. This will allow us to implement the latest security measures identified by the experts. However, this requires more time than a simple data restoration on the existing network.  
 
We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we move to improved systems. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].  
 
Shelby Access-Next Phase
Shelby access for field and mission center users that access Shelby at least once a month is in process. Instructions on how to regain Shelby access were emailed. If you support a field or mission center and feel you require Shelby access but did not receive instructions, please contact [email protected].  
Access for congregation users who access Shelby at least once a month will occur during March. Watch for email instructions around 16 March. If you are a congregation Shelby user and do not receive instructions by 16 March, please contact your Field Support Minister or International Services.
 
AIP Balance Users
​For people who previously had access to online AIP balances, the new application to view balances is available once you have access to Shelby. If you have access to Shelby and need the AIP Balance application, please email [email protected].   
 
Additionally, if you have access to the AIP Balance application but are missing some accounts you need to see, please email [email protected]. In your email, please send your new Remote Desktop Username (ends with CofChrist.org), your old Citrix username, and list the accounts that you are missing.  

​President Veazey shares some thoughts on the guiding question that we will continue to explore in 2021 as a worldwide church. 

​Friends,
Here we are once again making a heartbreaking decision, but a prudent one, to cancel our CEM in-person camping events for this summer.

How we long to be together, but unfortunately we have all become too aware of the realities with Covid flareups. We are all attuned to local, provincial and national progress on a weekly basis and hope that the vaccination supply and rollout across our province and beyond will proceed according to schedule where all Canadians who choose will receive vaccinations by the end of Sept. Until then, our in-person campground programming will remain closed.

Other factors that are affected by campground closures are financials from loss of revenue from rentals and programs. This year we have truly been blessed by the benevolent generosity of others beyond our own Mission Centre to provide assistance to each of our CEM campgrounds. The Meadow Ridge congregation in the lower mainland of BC has recently sold their building. A portion of the proceeds they chose to distribute was graciously offered to our four CEM campgrounds to offset our hefty insurance costs. This is a blessing in this second year in a row of no incoming revenues. We are looking at ways we can offer our sincere thanks to CWM and the Meadow Ridge members.
 
After one year of living creatively with Covid challenges in our church community, we now are familiar with the many innovative options that are possible through on-line connections not just during the summer but year-round. Our e-camping last summer was novel, however many CEM congregations and others around the world have equally blessed us with their offerings of relational programming. Art Smith is requesting information from other apostolic fields sourcing out what others are also preparing. We expect that collaborative offerings will enhance the schedule of activities that will be available to us for 2021. We also will share our events with all.
 
Let us be thankful in the midst of this persistent virus that life, although altered, still brings us together in new and wonderful ways. I am so inspired by the innovations of so many congregations. In each case the tireless broadcasting of events has been remarkable by individuals we all know. Thank you for your ongoing diligence. Thank you for the vast number of participants across the entirety of our Mission Centre and beyond. We have been blessed. We anticipate more of the same will unfold as we know Community of Christ answers the call of the Spirit to amplify joy, hope, love and peace for all.

With Meaning,

Kerry Richards
CEM President