 By: Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Thanks to everyone who is contributing to make sure our youth attend Spectacular at Graceland University! I was one of the chaperones for the NorthWest delegation. Canada West Mission has joined the NorthWest delegation for the last few years! The team for the NW delegation does an amazing job of blending youth from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Germany and Taiwan. Canada West Mission had 6 youth and we talked about doubling or tripling the youth for 2025! The youth attending Spectacular are from around the world. They are busy from 6:30 am till 10:30pm+. The connections made with both those within their delegation and everyone else are the kind that last a lifetime. There truly is something that appeals to everyone. It is not just sports anymore! BE…as a theme made everyone think. The NorthWest delegation had 2 T-shirts that had to be washed every night with the other colour being the one for the next day to wear. One was a great blue colour that said NorthWest with mountains above. The green one said “be…spectacular northwest” on the front. On the back, in a circle at the top says “Be You” with a couple of bees and then above and below 2 stylied worlds it says “Everyone Else is taken”. Matthew 5 :1-16 was studied every morning. This may be the only contact some of these young people ever have with Community of Christ. I believe it will be a week carried forever in the lives of the youth attending. For those who are part of a Community of Christ base, this may be what gives them BRIGHT HOPE for the future in their lives, both spiritual and practical. So, youth camps and retreats are coming back into play as well. For Community of Christ to move forward, we need the youth to be engaged. What am I asking of you? Thanks to those who have been camp directors, counselors, CIT (counselors-in-training), and LIT(leaders-in-training), and chaperones supporting the re-growth in camps and Spectacular since covid. I am asking for people to volunteer time, effort and finances. We need cooks, camp directors (deep appreciation to those who have been stepping up in the time I have been part of the Mission centre team). We saw an amazing Polar Plunge challenge at HOP youth camp and the fabulous financial response. Thanks Lisa, Caitlin and Andy for taking the actual plunge. Please support Community of Christ World Church Spectacular in any way that you can!  The Canada West Men's Retreat has happened for the past fifteen years. If you are interested in attending you should be at least high school age. There will be an ice-breaker hosted by Jae Senga on Friday night. Saturday will consist of several sessions led by our guest minister, Parker Johnson, and Saturday evening we will have a campfire (not to be missed) followed up by eating snacks and playing games in the dining hall. Sunday morning we will have a Communion Service and, at about noon, we hit the road to return home. The weekend is a great chance to reconnect with the men in the Canada West Mission Centre, experience spirituality, have some laughs, and eat as much pie as you want (it's kind of our thing). It has structure and a schedule, but it is designed for you so if you need to miss a session then do so.
I’m excited to have Parker with us! His theme for the weekend is "Clarity" and who couldn't use some of that? I believe that good things come from accepting invitations - it didn't work out too bad for the disciples. Even better for us, we get to make a road trip out of it. So get a couple of guys in the car and join us for the adventure. I hope to see you September 13-15. Dan Esch - Retreat Director  Host Congregation: Edmonton, AB
From: Debra Donohue - Conference Manager We know you’ve been missing our annual conference, seeing old friends, making new friends, celebrating our accomplishments, and remembering those we’ve lost. Our guest ministers are Vonda DenBoer and Leandro Palacios from Canada East. We know you’ll love getting to know them or getting to know them better. Mark your calendars, call a friend to arrange billeting, or book your hotel. Registration will be open next week to attend online or in-person. Check out the Conference Hub on our website for updates and news leading up to mission conference. We look forward to seeing you in Edmonton for Canada West Mission Conference 2024!  By: Becky Middleton - Canada West Mission Centre Co-President
As our Family Camp and Youth Camp at Hills of Peace have drawn to a close we are very encouraged by the joy and excitement shown by those in attendance. The participants are slowly building in numbers again and we are very hopeful that this will continue to be the case. The enthusiasm shown by young families and the youth/young adults is wonderful! Family camp was a real joy to be at with meaningful worship, classes, crafts, games and visiting too. The youth camp inspired us all with their highly successful fundraiser and the polar plunge challenge. Both camps were enriched by the ministry of Matt and Margo Frizzell. A good time was had by all! We know registration costs are significant as is the cost to run camping activities and the campgrounds. We are very appreciative of any donations to the mission center in support of camping and the ability to offer subsidies to those who require help. THANK YOU! The Men's Retreat at HOP is coming Sept. 13-15 and we encourage men of all ages to attend it will be a wonderful time I'm sure! Also our mission center conference in Edmonton is coming Sept. 27-29. We encourage all who can come in person to do so and it will be shared via zoom as well. It is so good to be able to be together to share in worship, fun and fellowship!  A moment with your Mission Centre President, by Shannon McAdam - Canada West Mission Centre Co-President I hope you are all finding some sabbath rest during these summer months. As we turn towards fall it is time to start looking at some of the topics that will come before us at Mission Centre Conference and beyond. If you attended one of our information sessions at Samish Reunion or Hills of Peace Family Camp you have already heard about the draft policy that is being proposed to address questions around Priesthood members and marriage-like relationships. We’ve already been on a long journey with this topic in Canada, so for some people this conversation will be one you are familiar with, for others, it may be brand new. For background, at World Conference 2023 the Council of 12 Apostles proposed legislation (WCR 1327), to rescind a previous resolution on marriage from 1984 (WCR 1182) and give Apostles responsibility for creating new culturally specific policies around marriage. The guideposts for ethical relationships that WCR 1327 is based on come from Doctrine and Covenants 164. Our Apostle for Canada, Art Smith, connected with leaders across Canada starting last year to draft a potential policy. Art is committed to a process of common consent as we move forward together. With the help of Joan Thompson, Canadian leaders have come up with a draft policy. Our next step is to share the draft and hear your feedback, which has already begun at camps and reunions across Canada. This fall, after both mission centres have had time for discussion, we will have a period of online polling where all members in Canada will have the opportunity to show their level of support on a scale, not as a yes/no vote. If there is 80% or higher support, Art will move our policy to the next step by taking it to the Council of Twelve, and then if it is approved there, to the First Presidency for review. If all approve, then it will become our new policy for Canada. Our draft is a non-prescriptive policy that does not try to cover every type of relationship question. One of my thoughts is that this type of policy doesn’t make things easier, but it does allow for more sensitivity to individual situations. It will require us to have open dialogue and mutual discernment around what kinds of situations do and don’t impact a person’s ability to provide priesthood ministry. There are a lot of background documents that have led to the creation of our draft, including those I’ve referenced above. We will link the draft policy and other documents here. It’s not our intention to overwhelm you with information, but to provide you with background to help your own discernment and aid in discussions you may have. Please share your questions and thoughts with us via email, including what kinds of conversations you’d like to have – large groups? Small groups? We want you to feel included in this process and appreciate all feedback you have to offer. 
 By: Marian Thompson - Camp Director
This year saw another excellent Family Camp at Hills of Peace (Aug 3-8). Our camp started at 3:00 pm on Saturday of the August long weekend. We had several young families attend on the weekend, with a Sunday attendance of 65 people. Our weekend was lively as we explored our theme ‘Heal the Earth: A Restoration Imperative’. We all worked together to make Nature Mandalas in the morning during ‘Make Time for the Planet’ as we focused on the wonderful creation of the earth. In the afternoon fairy gardens were a hit with the children. The Sunday evening worship service was noted as a highlight. Our attendance dropped to 34 from Tuesday to Thursday and our week became much quieter. All were very appreciative of the ministry given by Matt and Margo Frizzell. The adult class material was well received. Everyone appreciated the time to visit, relax, learn, and work together as a community. Feedback at the end of the week suggested people would like to start the camp on Friday evening, extending the amount of time people could attend on the weekend.  Join Parker and Dan as we search for Clarity surrounded by the beauty of the Hills of Peace. Together we will enjoy amazing food, lots of laughter, and delve deeper into what it means to have clarity in today’s world. Together we will look at our lives, the church, and world at large. Then we’ll turn our focus to the future and try to find direction on how we can find our place(s) in it and help set healthy boundaries that will aid in building a brighter tomorrow.
September 13 - 15 Hills of Peace campground  This week Gwyn and Becky are at Hills of Peace Family Camp. The guest minister is Matt Frizzell.
Some young friends created this nature mandala and then released back to nature. It's wonderful to be having camp at Hills of Peace in spite of the damage that was caused by a recent hail storm. |
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