This week we offer this column to Debra Donohue, Creating Connection Director for Canada West Mission, who brings us some exciting news! 

"Creating Connection One Person at a Time"
Written by Debra Donohue 
Creating Connection Director Canada West
[email protected]
1-877-411-2632 ext. 4

I want to share some news with you that I am very excited about.  My role as Creating Connection Director for Western Canada will be changing a little.

Before I became the Creating Connection Director, I was the Congregational Outreach Specialist for BC.  Now I have been given the opportunity to take the best of what I learned as Congregational Outreach Specialist, and the best of what I learned as Creating Connection Director, to embark on a new vision of Creating Connection.

I hope to become a bridge between Community of Christ and your local communities.  I know that many of you already have wonderful relationships with your communities.  It’s my hope to build on those relationships through the resources and advertising we can do through meetup.com and other platforms.  Rather than create new projects and extra work, I want to take the good work you are already doing and promote it, ask for volunteers from the community, and ultimately introduce like minded people in your communities to you in a way that is comfortable for you both. Of course, I would love to help you with your new ideas too.

I’ll be communicating with the Pastors, Pastorate and Leaders in your areas to find out where I can be the most help and I ideally, we’ll have a group from each congregation that may or may not include the pastor to figure out what areas I can assist with. Please let me, or your leadership team, know if you would like to be part of an informative zoom call. For you to gather information from me, and for me to gather information from you.

In Creating Connection we’ve had great success advertising on Meetup.com, Facebook and Eventbrite.  Through meetup, we can really pinpoint our message to people in your local areas. I’ll give you some examples of activities I’m thinking about.

Does your congregation or group do a Peace Walk, or a River Cleanup, or a day at the Food Bank, or provide Christmas gifts to a charity or neighbours?  Do you have an online activity like prayer shawl knitting, or a conversation group you could invite people to join?  Do you hold a workday at your church building or campground where we could invite others in the community to volunteer? I can help connect you with like minded people in your community who want to be part of something meaningful.  They may not realize yet who we are in Community of Christ, and how similar our feelings are towards inclusivity, peace and justice, environmental causes, and supporting community.

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.  Please reach out me by phone or email or connect with your pastor. To learn more about Creating Connection events visit the Creating Connection Meetup Event Page! 

​Yours in Christ,
Gwyn, Kat, and Shannon
[email protected]
​[email protected]
[email protected]

SPECTACULAR 2022 UPDATE for families of youth in Canada West Mission who are eligible to attend SPEC
 
It was recently announced SPECTACULAR will return as an in person event from July 16-23, 2022 at Lamoni, Iowa. Any youth who have finished grades 9 through 12 are eligible to attend.

We are interested in hearing your feedback and feelings about Canadian youth attending SPEC. If your household has youth who are eligible to attend SPEC (finished grade 9 through 12 by the end of June 2022), please click on the buttons below to read the document and complete the feedback survey by March 1. This will help us in our planning and decision-making process. 

We are asking for responses from all families whether or not your child is planning to attend. We will keep you updated as we move along in this decision-making process and anticipate a final decision if Team Canada will attend SPEC will be made by the end of April.

Looking Towards Lent
 
It’s interesting to me the variety of experiences that we have of the season of Lent in Community of Christ. You may have embraced the observance of Lent as a way to deepen your spiritual life. You might think of Lent as an oppressive or restrictive practice that’s almost more like a new year’s resolution. You may have never really thought about what observing Lent could mean for you.
 
I’d never really thought much or known much about Lent when I was growing up in Community of Christ. I began to learn more about it when I was in seminary at Vancouver School of Theology and was amongst classmates of different Christian backgrounds. There I learned the practice of taking on a new spiritual discipline, and perhaps giving something up as a way of making space for that new practice. For example, someone might give up an hour of watching TV at the end of the day and replace it with an hour of bible study or meditation. What I liked about this was that they weren’t just giving something up, but finding something life-giving to replace it with. This appealed to me, and I began my own practice of giving up the snooze button on my wakeup alarm for Lent! I replaced that snooze time with morning meditation.
 
For years this has been my practice. Now you might wonder “why don’t you just permanently give up that snooze button Shannon?” And there have been times where, beyond Lent, I’ve stuck to it. But when I’m “off the wagon” and snoozing again, Lent is often the perfect time to give it back up again. Something beautiful happens as our days lengthen in springtime and getting up gets a bit easier each day. There is something very holy for me in being able to witness that change of the season, and that holiness of morning quiet light helps me renew my commitment to intentional time with the Holy One.
 
This year Lent begins on March 2nd, and yes, I will be giving up the old snooze button again! I’ll also be inviting others to walk the Lenten path with me through reflecting with poetry, chant, and spiritual practices. Stay tuned to the Weekly Wire for more details coming soon about a weekly virtual gathering during Lent! I hope to see you there, and I hope you have a blessed Lenten season, however you choose to observe it.

​​Yours in Christ,
Shannon, Gwyn and Kat
[email protected]
[email protected]
​[email protected]

We have bittersweet news to share with you all. Our Gathering Ministries champion Lisa Neudorf will be leaving her position with the Canada West Mission Centre effective February 28th.

We will let Lisa share in her own words why this was the right time for her to leave, but first we wanted to convey our deep appreciation for Lisa’s service to the mission centre these many years. Lisa has set the bar high for our gatherings in Canada West, and we want to assure you that as your Mission Centre Co-Presidents, we are committed to ensuring those programs continue at that high level.

Think about when you have seen Lisa in action at camps, reunions, and conferences, and how she always has that item you wouldn’t have thought to pack, or the words to encourage you to try something new. As we’ve navigated the Covid-19 pandemic in past two years, Lisa has had to come up with new and creative ways for us to come together virtually when we couldn’t be together in person, culminating in her realization that her work was not limited to camps and retreats but could be better named “Gathering Ministries” to encompass all the ways we gather as Community of Christ in Canada West. 

It likely goes without saying that Lisa will be missed and is irreplaceable. As we continue to discern the path forward for Community of Christ in Canada with All Voices and our own work here in Canada West, we will not necessarily be immediately filling her position. We welcome your thoughts and reflections on how to best continue our commitments to Gathering Ministries in Canada West. 

To explain why this was the right time for Lisa to move to something new, we’ve asked her to share a few words:

Please join us in thanking Lisa for all her hard work, service and contributions to the Canada West Mission Centre. Also join us in wishing her nothing but the best in the future.

Thank you so much Lisa and God bless you!

​Yours in Christ,
Gwyn, Kat, and Shannon
[email protected]
​[email protected]
[email protected]

What: "Unconscious Bias" online mini workshop with Gwendolyn Hawks-Blue and Cathi Cackler-Veazey

When: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Time: 6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central (SK) / 9pm Eastern

This 90 minute online workshop was created by Community of Christ Diversity and Inclusion Team whose primary focus is to assist the church in clarifying how we perceive those who are different and embrace attitudes that lead to actions of advocacy and peacemaking endeavours in our congregations and communities. This workshop will focus on honouring the worth of person and their diversity and what unites us rather than divides us across the international church.

There is no registration fee, however, registration through www.cwm.events is required to receive Zoom link.

For more information please email Lisa Neudorf ([email protected])

Blessings of Community

“Community of Christ,” your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go.
                                                                                              D&C 163:1

This week I participated in my congregation’s planning meeting about growth. We realized early on in our sharing that one barrier to telling our story and inviting others is embarrassment – concern over chapters in our church history and our Christian heritage, and a feeling that we need to criticize ourselves continually. It felt good to bring these feelings into conversation and examine them.
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My heart swelled to realize that while we have a shadow, it is a much smaller shadow than the hope that is within us. We shine the light of acceptance, of curiosity, of community and the deep knowing of God’s love. Our sharing together as individuals, congregations, and as a Mission Centre make Western Canada a better place, and I am so proud of the impulse to serve our neighbours and God’s creation that shines through our fellowship. We’re always going to have a shadow, and that’s okay, but don’t be afraid to let your light shine!