News from the Northern Spirit Region
Regional Council meeting: Oct. 24, 2004, via Zoom
On Oct. 24, ministers and lay representatives of churches within the Northern Spirit Regional Council, which includes northern Alberta, Dawson Creek, B.C. and Yellowknife, met via Zoom as a continuation of the spring annual meeting. Northern Spirit is part of a larger administrative area that includes Living Skies (Saskatchewan) and Prairie to Pine (primarily Manitoba.) This larger administrative grouping is based in Winnipeg.
The meeting was chaired by Shannon McCarthy, Executive Minister for the three regions. Executive and committee reports were presented, including a report from the Northern Spirit archivist Leanne Templeton whose work includes Chinook Winds Regional Council (southern Alberta).
Several items of business were discussed including election of nine commissioners from Northern Spirit to the next General Council. Many at SSUC will remember Monica Rosborough, who went into ministry after being a member here for a number of years. Monica is now the minister at Athabasca United Church.
Congregations can present petitions to the council to be debated before being forwarded to General Council for debate there. Rev. Paul Walfall presented two from the Pilgrim congregation in Edmonton, requesting an apology from the church to people of African descent for any involvement of predecessor denominations in slavery and a renewed commitment to work towards racial justice. These petitions will be forwarded to General Council.
There was also discussion of congregations’ preparation for acknowledgement of 2025 as the 100th anniversary of the formation of the United Church.
Community News and Invitations
Deep Winter Song
Saturday, December 21, 7:00 pm
Centre for Spiritual Living (7621 101 Ave NW, and live-streamed online
Deep Winter Song is an acoustic evening filled with traditional and modern songs of winter, heartfelt stories, poetry, angelic voices, and immersive mystical moods. Highlights include captivating projections, a sacred sound journey, and a meaningful Solstice Fire Ritual.
For more details, visit our event page here: Eventbrite – Tickets
Gifts with Vision: This week we focus on supporting healing and reconciliation
Are you trying to find a gift for a special person who does not really need any thing? … that person who is a supporter of healing and reconciliation…
How about a gift of Vision! Combine your determination to be a part of reconciliation and your appreciation of that special person. Read more about the suggestions below at the Gifts with Vision website here.
Examples:
Mamawe Ota Askihk (Share Life Together Here on Earth) is a cross-cultural group supported by the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre in Beausejour, MB. At Mamawe Ota Askihk events, people learn to reclaim the homegrown, the home-spoken, and the homemade. These land-based programs encourage friendship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and help all to learn to use the gifts of the Earth in a way that honours rather than exploits. Your gift of $25 will give people with low or no income the opportunity to learn and share at Mamawe Ota Askihk events.
Return of the Buffalo:
In Manitoba, 90 percent of children in the care of Child and Family Services are Indigenous. The cycle of colonialism began centuries ago; the trauma of child apprehension leaves lifelong attachment wounds for children and deepens their parents’ despair. To end this generational cycle, Indigenous culture must be the way forward. Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre in Beausejour, MB, is fostering Indigenous family well-being through Return of the Buffalo, a program centred around the land that combines traditional knowledge with trauma-informed care. By learning about returning to the land, Indigenous lifeways, and the teaching of respect for all our relations, families will be able to begin to heal. Your gift of $50 helps Indigenous parents and children heal from the long-standing trauma of family separation.
Morley First Nation and the Lethbridge area
Food prices continue to rise because of inflation and worldwide supply chain disruptions. For Indigenous Elders living on the Morley First Nation and in the Lethbridge area, it’s already hard to make ends meet, and rising food prices will make it even harder. Chinook Winds Regional Council delivers supermarket gift cards four times a year to help them buy food and other necessities. Your gift of $20 will purchase two gift cards for Indigenous Elders; your gift of $50 will purchase five gift cards for Indigenous Elders.
Food access in the Far North
In the fly-in communities of the Far North, already high food prices are going even higher. Everyone has a right to have enough nourishing food for themselves and their families. Help people in the Far North access the food they need. Your gift of $20 will buy two grocery cards for a family in the Far North; your gift of $50 will buy five grocery cards for a family in the Far North.
Precarious housing in Edmonton:
In Edmonton, AB, the rising cost of living means that more and more people and families are living paycheque-to-paycheque, and in many cases are just one crisis away from becoming homeless. Bissell Centre’s Community Bridge provides immediate help to prevent a household from reaching that tipping point. Each household receives support that is tailored for their unique circumstances, which gives them time to increase financial stability and keep their homes. Your Gift of $25 will help people and families facing homelessness to stay in their homes.
