 As the summer heats up I've realized that we are now just 40 days away from Mission Centre Conference! Wow! How time flies. To think that this time last year the three of us were beginning to discern and understand a calling to this work of being a volunteer Mission Centre President team. This year's Mission Centre Conference, like the conferences in the past two years, will look different as we continue to think carefully about how to use everyone's time, talents, and treasure in the best way possible. If you haven't heard, we decided to leverage our team of three to do something previously not done, which is to have your Mission Centre President be in multiple places at the same time! Gwyn will spend the weekend in Regina, Shannon in Calgary, and Kat in Vancouver. We encourage you to plan on joining us in one of these locations as we still have so many of you to meet and get to know better. Our main purpose for this gathering is to conduct the business of our Mission Centre, but it is also the way we are able to reconnect with those we don't see all the time. The world of online events has changed this, and I suspect many of you have seen a variety of faces from across the mission centre more often in the last two years than you may have before. I know I have, and what a joy that has been. But what a delight it will be to see many of you in person! I'm very excited. In preparation for conference I was reviewing the documents from the creation of our mission centre in 2004. Did you realize we are fast approaching our 20th anniversary of being a mission centre? I didn't! What a journey these last 18 years have been of stretching our hearts across four provinces to create a new grouping of faithful disciples, supporting one another in following Christ's call. I remember those first few conferences being almost like starting at a new school, so many new faces, and a few vaguely familiar ones. Now those new faces are familiar faces, and so beloved. I can't imagine this discipleship journey without all of you. While our conference is September 9th-11th, we will have opportunities in the week leading up for you to engage early. We will have two options for virtual pre-legislative sessions on September 4th in the afternoon and 7th in the evening for you to learn about our business agenda and ask questions in a more relaxed setting. There will also be a "coffee and conversation" virtual gathering on the evening of Thursday September 8th with Debra to explore questions around our theme of Growing Together. So, I hope you are able to join us online in the week leading up to conference, and then many of you in-person (or online) the 9th-11th. Even if you are not a delegate this year, you are invited to listen to the meetings, join in the worships, and celebrate with us how we are continually Growing Together. 
Written by Kat Goheen Canada West Mission Centre Co-President [email protected]  I was so blessed to spend the weekend at Hills of Peace for the Spiritual Retreat three weeks ago. The lake, the hills, the food, the poplar trees all whispered peace to me. Two of us were there for the first time, and the campground seemed happy for our group presence after almost three years of no camps there. We gathered from three provinces and shared deeply about our response to God’s movement in our lives, guided by the stories of Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus in the New Testament. Everyone was full of insights from their lives and from the texts. I am amazed by how much growth we saw in those biblical figures within a few short paragraphs, and how we were able to identify those rhythms and movements of Spirit in our own lives. I saw myself in each of our biblical friends and was able to touch into some places within that can still use love and healing. It was brave of us to go through grief and resurrection together and I am so happy that we practiced leaning on the heart of God in community. May our service be blessed with spaciousness. May our contemplation lead us to action. May we always willingly receive the gift of new life! From our guiding poem by Joyce Rupp: It is enough for me to know the heart of God is with me, Full of mercy and compassion, tending to the wounds I bear. 
 As we get closer to gathering together at camps again, we wanted to provide additional thoughts on our COVID guidance for in-person events. You’ll notice this is “guidance”, not rules or policies, that wording is intentional, as is the wording “Personal responsibility can look like” there are options for everyone. As you can imagine I’m sure, there was consideration of stricter requirements, like Spectacular has chosen to have. After much consultation and discernment, we instead offered this list of many ways we can all take responsibility for protecting each other at camp. COVID is still making many people ill, and leading to death everywhere in Canada, and the last thing we want is for our gatherings to become exposure events. In my social circles it has become common practice if one is going to a gathering with a larger group to take a rapid test that morning or the day before as tests are freely available at pharmacies, and testing gives a person confidence that they will not pose a danger to others. It’s not required, but it is a way to take personal responsibility. Testing regularly myself gives me peace of mind when I go to church on Sunday or gather with immune-compromised family members. We trust that this list of ways to protect one another is not new, but are the kinds of things you’ve heard public health authorities advocate for, and habits you are already taking on as you prepare for any trip or larger gathering. For example, I myself wouldn’t be able to isolate before traveling because I have to go to work, but I’m vaccinated and boosted, and I can easily take a rapid test. If someone isn’t vaccinated, and can’t access testing, this list proposes that isolating is a way to protect others. Again, these are guidelines, not rules or policies, and are intended to help you think critically and manage risk in ways that are accessible to you. Kat, Gwyn, and I are happy to address any other concerns you have or if others you speak to raise concerns, please send them to us. 
 A picture says a thousand words! I could have told you here that the three of us were blessed to attend Gwyn Beer Sr.’s memorial this weekend in Chilliwack, but you can see in this picture how glad we are to be together, and how much we love Gwyn Sr.
We are preparing for Mission Centre Conference, and an important feature of the conference is to remember our dear ones who are members of our Mission Centre who have died this year. If you are carrying one of these losses close, please consider sending in pictures as a tribute. We would love to feature one from their youth, one from young adult or middle age, and one recent picture. You can send them to [email protected]. Our conference is different this year from any I have experienced – it is neither online only nor all of us in one place, but truly hybrid. The three of us will lead the conference from Regina, Calgary, and Vancouver, and you are free to travel to one of these sites or participate from home. You can also organize a watch party from your congregation, although you’ll have to bring your own food! We approach this 2022 conference as a time to take stock of where we are and what we can do. Our theme is “Growing Together”, and that is exactly what we hope to do! Please plan to join us on September 9-11 for this chance to grow together and discover who we are.  When: July 9, 2022 at 2:00 pm MDT
Where: online via Zoom Send an email to [email protected] to get the Zoom link |
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