Rev. Frances Kitson, Minister at Whitehorse United
Church: I want so badly for this church to have hope not because I'm a PollyAnna
and not because it's like a pie in the sky possibility. But I want this church
to have hope because that is our God-given gift, that is what God offers us. You
know so many people give what they can and have raised their children in the
church and are watching the church, the specific congregation they've been in
for decades dwindle. They remember the people who used to be in those pews,
they have children who live in town who are not in those pews, and they ask
themselves "What have they done wrong?" And the truth is they have done
nothing wrong, they have been good and faithful servants in a world that has
changed around them and the fundamental story of our faith is that death is not
the end, that impossible ridiculous and scandalous new life arises from the
ruins and the rubble of broken hearts and dreams and futures and if I can make
a magic wand and give us all the sense like in our viscera in our blood and in
our bones that the God who raised Jesus Christ from the grave is not done with
us. That is what I want, that is my vision, that is my hope, that is my passion,
that is my dream and that is my prayer for the church.Rev.
Wonder Chimvinga, Pine River United Church, Ripley, Ontario: my
vision is to create a vibrant inclusive and spiritually enriching community
where individuals everyone from diverse backgrounds feel welcomed supported and
inspired to grow in their faith and I dream of leading with innovation, empowering
new leaders in my church in the wider community and addressing unique needs of
my congregation and the community at large.Rev.
Katie Aven, Minister of Bedford United Church: My bold vision is that
the United Church of Canada will have this incredible invitation to anyone who
is seeking, that we will have the warmest of welcomes, that people who come to
our churches will feel transformed whether it's a Sunday worship, a community
meal, a youth group, a pickup badminton game, a spaghetti dinner, whatever it
is, that experience in the community will be transformative and we know that
the transformation of the human heart is the most important change that can
happen in the world and so I think that's what my bold vision is, that the
United Church of Canada is going to be this agent of change for the human heart.
Rev. Catherine Stuart,
Minister of Children, Youth and Young Adults for the Atlantic Regions: I think
one of one of the dreams that I have for the church is that we would come to
understand that just because things aren't the way they have been that we're
not dying, that part of it might need to change but that there's something good
that's going to come from all of this. I
think a lot about what happened in 1925 and the excitement that was in that
arena the excitement and yet the nerves of “ will this thing work?” but they
had vision and they had dreams. You know our history hasn't been perfect, it's
caused some harm, it's done some hard things but I think I want for the church
that same excitement, that same sense of “we're in this together and God's going
to do something through us”. We might not always know what
that is .
Rev. Hoeun Lee,
Minister of First United Church, Waterloo, Ontario: when I just started taking Regenerate
program with the moderator and I drafted the capstone project, and one
congregant responded to that with “this is just a dream” and after one year,
there is real progress like turning things around. We witness the change, the
progress that we are making and so now the dream is not just a dream, it's a
vision to guide us to move forward. Out of bold dreaming, there can be a clear
vision.
Rev. Tori Mullen,
Growth Animator of Eastern Ontario: I really hope that for my that when she's
at a place in her life where she wants to dig deeply into spiritual questions
and find community and find an affirmation of her gifts, that there is a church
that might not look like the churches we have today, but that there is a
presence of spiritual community committed to deep spirituality, bold
discipleship, and daring justice that she gets to call her spiritual home.
Rev.
Lindsay Mohn, Youth and Young Adult Minister, Living Skies
Regional Council: my vision and dream for the future of the United Church is
that when someone feels like life is hard and they're lonely and they need to
feel an experience of being loved by God and by God's people, that they would
know they could find that at any United Church across Canada. This life can
just be so hard at times and we need each other and we need God and I hope that
my dream and my vision would be that people would just know they could find
that here.
Rev.
Rick Gunn, Minister of St. Luke’s United Church, Upper Tantalion,
Nova Scotia: my vision and dream for the future of the church involves becoming
really confident in being Christian. I think we are in this postChristendom world
but I'm almost getting tired of saying and thinking that because I do sense the
Spirit through people coming through my church's doors and conversations out in
the community that Christians who are inclusive and welcoming and affirming and
really embracing mutuality and diversity. We’ve got to get stronger at being that voice in
the world.
Rev.
Sarah Chapman, Minister of Eglinton St George’s United
Church, Toronto, Ontario: my vision and dream for the United Church of Canada
is to be at the tables of spirituality, to be a an option for people to engage
with a deep faith, with community where they can find belonging and then also
play within their spirituality, opportunities for people to engage their
spiritual health or wellness are on the rise. People are longing for those spaces and
they're looking everywhere and so I long for the United Church of Canada to be
really bold in showing up to the tables where people are looking for that type
of care to their spirituality and then being a potential option or fit for them.
Rev. Mitchell Anderson, Lead
Minister at St. Paul’s United Church, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: my dream for the
future of the United Church is that we would be a church that is a place for
all Canadians from every walk of life, of every background and especially as we
see the future of what Canada is, becoming a younger and more diverse country enriched
by people coming from all over the world, drawn in by a country that is
welcoming and inclusive of all, where different types of people can live well
together, where we speak different languages, where we eat different foods,
practice different cultures and are all one.
That is what God is calling the United Church to be, a church that is
younger and more diverse, a church that practices that inclusion and a church
that speaks to the hopes of Canadians of future generations in the way we have
for the generations past.
Rev.
Anna Constantin, Senior Minister, St. Paul’s United Church,
Edmonton, Alberta: my call, my passion for church is the multigenerational
aspect of the church where everybody is welcome at the table. I really hope and
pray and I believe this is God's dream of how do we have abundance at this
beautiful table because everybody is there and if they're not there, let's talk
about why, let's figure out how we're inviting them, let's listen to their prophetic
voices to see what is happening there, because I guarantee that there God's
voice is working there too and that we'll all be transformed.
Rev. Erin McIntyre,
Minister of Knox St. Paul’s United Church, Cornwall Ontario: my vision and
dream for the future of this United Church is to have a vibrant denomination
that meets folks where they're at and inspires them to be bold disciples with
deep spirituality and who are not afraid to stand up on matters of justice. I
envision a denomination that seeks to serve the communities of faith and the
regions to ensure that they are healthy and growing and doing the work that
they love to do that meets the needs of their communities, that helps to grow
disciples and grow faith and inspire folks and just be a presence in the world.
What is your Vision and Dream for the United
Church?
No comments:
Post a Comment