Welcome to the
Maritime Conference
Church Revitalization Committee
Home Page |
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Updated on
January 4, 2010
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Links
Engaging
Change Within Maritime Conference by Catherine Gaw, published
in Imprints magazine
(Spring 2005) which will be available at Conference Annual Meeting
Reflection
Time by Diane Tingley
Imprints magazine, Fall 2004
Life Cycle (of
a Congregation) by Diane Tingley
Imprints magazine, Fall 2004
Committee Members:
Rev.
Catherine Gaw is the Conference Staff Person relating to the
Church Revitalization Committee |
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Our Mandate
". . . to assist the Presbyteries
and the Conference Executive
in establishing an approach to transformational ministry
which would move from a caretaker approach
to one committed to the care and revitalization of its congregations."
(Maritime Conference Executive Meeting,
February 11, 2004)
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The Church Revitalization Committee's
'Working
Definition' of Transformation:
A God-centered movement toward a more abundant life
that Christian communities enter into in order to be faithful disciples.
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The Church Amidst Changes
Reflecting on Our Church’s Social,
Economic and Environmental Context
"In looking at the changes taking place and the choices facing congregations in Maritime Conference, I worked with five pastoral charges in different types of communities to look at how what was happening in the community affected their ministry.
"There were two phases to this effort. The first phase was to meet with participants with each of the five pastoral charges. The second phase brought together some representatives from those pastoral charges in a regional forum to meet with Conference staff and others engaged in social ministry and community development both within and outside the church. I reported briefly of Phase 1 - Congregational Conversations and Phase 2 - Regional Forum to the annual meeting of Maritime Conference in May 2005."
- Eric Tusz-King, from the Introduction
FINAL REFLECTION
"This Is What We Heard"
NOW AVAILABLE
As part of the Maritime Conference Staff Strategies to support ministry within the
Conference, Janice MacLean, Conference Minister for Christian Nurture & Enrichment, accompanied by a note-taker, visited twenty-five Pastoral Charges, nearly 1/10 of our pastoral
charges in Maritime Conference.
They visited at least one Pastoral Charge in every Presbytery and tried to reflect
the diversity of the Maritime Conference in the pastoral charges they asked to host
conversations. All the congregations they asked responded positively to the invitation.
Janice's final reflection is now available in doc format (Microsoft Word - 254 KB) and pdf format (Adobe Reader - 163 KB). |
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Dialogue with Anglicans
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At the recent 'Rendle event' in Tatamagouche, the chair of
Maritime Conference's Church Revitalization Committee inquired of Bishop Fred Hiltz as to
whether members of his Anglican Diocese would be interested in meeting with representatives of
the United Church to explore mutual experiences of congregational transitions and
revitalization.
Bishop Hiltz's eager response resulted in the quick establishment of
a date, time and place for a potential June meeting. Thus, on June 24th in Truro, the
following persons gathered to begin a cross denominational dialogue.
The goals of our day were:
- To engage in 'holy conversation' across denominational lines
- To share information of one another's experience of church
revitalization/transformation endeavors within the Maritimes
- To identify learnings, struggles and moments of celebration
- To identify future possibilities for collaborative ministry
Decisions resulting from our dialogue included:
- Ongoing cross denominational sharing of resources
- Initiation of conversations between Sydney Presbytery and folk
from Anglican Congregations in the area that have experienced successful transitions
- Intention to become informed with the present National Anglican/United
Church dialogue and how that dialogue might inform us
- Issuing of invitation to the Fredericton Anglican Diocese to join us
in future discussions
Future meetings are in the planning phase and will focus on the
possibilities for shared Education Events and New Church Development
Diane Carter Tingley (Chair, CRC)
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To date the Church Revitalization
Committee (CRC) has:
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Facilitated
the Following Workshops:
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Pre 2004 AGM Workshop (gathering of folk who attended the Oswald event)
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Presbytery Table Officers' Workshop, September 2004
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Executive Workshop, February 11, 2005
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Engaged
in Dialogue with the Following: |
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Ongoing dialogue with Conference Personnel. We
very much support Conference Personnel's newly developed work
strategies as they reflect the need for data and narrative gathering
already named as essential by the CRC for the process of transformative
work
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Mission and Support sub-committee to help the Committee
think through and develop criteria for transformation grant applications
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Tatamagouche
Centre to brainstorm events to support
leaders who are interested in learning about approaches and strategies
for revitalization. The Gil Rendle event (April, 2005) and a rural
ministry event (fall 2005) are outcomes of the dialogue
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the MP&E Committee that is now exploring ways
the Committee might do its work differently in light of transformational
ministry as a priority for its work
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AGM Planning Committee who supported our recommendations
for 2005's AGM theme speaker (Sharon Moon) and the formation of
a Committee to work with her to develop a "discernment process" for
the AGM. Members of CRC serve on this Committee along with members from
Conference's Discernment Committee, the AGM Planning Committee
and two members at large
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Staff Committee who were interested to know how
CRC envisioned the Executive's priority of "transformational
ministry" as impacting the work of its Conference Personnel
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Participated in Other Work |
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Designed and facilitated portions of a presentation for the 2004 AGM
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Clarified CRC's mission and 'working definition of transformation.'
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Read and discussed the book Holy Conversations (by
Alice Mann and Gil
Rendle) which informed much of our work and has
become a
highly recommended resource!
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Experienced a transformed identity ourselves (We now see ourselves
as a 'planning' committee rather than one that 'does' the
work of transformation)
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Contributed articles to Imprints Magazine
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Supported the distribution of on-going pastoral letters to Pastoral
Charges
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Developed a template for Presbytery reporting so that the Executive
might become more aware of transformational activities happening within
the Conference
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Met with consultant Paul
MacLean (from 'Potentials')
who cautioned CRC to move with haste slowly! Change happens and is
sustained over time only if the change is owned by the body. Thus
our redirection to facilitating more conversations happening at 'ground
level'.
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Ongoing work |
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CRC is developing a Theological
Statement – a
theological rationale for the work of transformational ministry
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CRC is considering the production of a Resource Booklet
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CRC will participate in the analysis of information
gathered by Janice MacLean and will have
ongoing conversations with Kendall
Harrison re: the findings that emerge from
their work
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CRC will develop recommendations for the Executive following its analysis
of feedback received at the AGM
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Hopes |
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That conversation about transformational ministry gets embedded in
the wider Body of the Church within Maritime Conference
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That presbyteries, pastoral charges and congregations most affected
by change will become involved in shaping the 'way ahead.'
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Copyright © 2007 Maritime
Conference The United Church of Canada.
This document may be reproduced provided this copyright notice is included
with it.
If you have questions or comments about this Web Site, please e-mail
the Webminister,
Garth Caseley, whose e-mail address you will find on the home
page. |
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