As part of the continuing Communication plan for Maritime Conference, notes will be written up to convey the highlights of meetings of the Conference Executive.

Starting with the October, 2009 meeting, a special page has been set up for accumulating these. You can find it here.

The most recent notes are for a January 30, 2012 Sub-Executive meeting.

The United Church Men's Rally will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at Trinity-St. Stephen's United Church, Amherst, Nova Scotia. This year's speaker is the Rev. Dr Rob Fennell. The registration fee is $30 before April 15; $35 after that date. Click here for more information.

Tatamagouche Centre is seeking a creative, motivated individual to join our Program Development Team to develop, implement, and manage the Faith and Spirituality Program area. This is a permanent position, with a 6-month probationary period, beginning May 1, 2012, or as negotiated. Interviews will begin March 5, 2012 until a successful candidate is appointed.

For more information, download the Position Description.

Once again, Maritime Conference has negotiated a video licensing agreement with Criterion Pictures and Audio Ciné Films Inc. Because the Conference does the paperwork for both companies it is a better rate than an individual congregation could negotiate. The combined cost for both companies to cover congregations in Maritime Conference will be $1.20 per person based on average Sunday attendance as reported in the Year Book. The license will be in effect from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013.

There are many creative ways that you can use movies in your congregation – legally! If you are interested in registering your congregation for the license, then please download the application form and follow the instructions on the form. The deadline for applications is March 16, 2012.

Intermediates at Conference (IAC) is a three day residential event for United Church youth between the ages of 12-15 (or grades 7-9). It is designed to offer participants opportunities to explore the church and youth issues through games, music, worship, and discussion.

Information for participants (and their parents!), is available by downloading the IAC information sheet.

Facilitators are needed to be part of the team offering the IAC program. As a facilitator, you will lead activities and discussions with your home group and through these activities foster a sense of community. Information and an application form are available by downloading the IAC facilitator information.

There is an upcoming Youth Study Tour to Nicaragua in May for young adults (ages 18-25). The tour is open to any young adult who wishes to participate.

While in Nicaragua, we will visit some projects and also learn about the larger context in which the projects operate. We will explore various issues dealing with food, farming, and agricultural production in Nicaragua. There will also be a homestay (2-3 nights) and a chance to meet with Nicaraguan youth.

All pertinent information can be found on the web site:
http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/upcoming_food_study_tours.aspx

Wesley Memorial United Church, Moncton, has available after January 8, 2012 thirty Royal Blue choir gowns, comfortable wash and wear fabric.  Also available immediately is a Hammond Organ, Model E-182, and 50 Hymn Books (Red), 160 Songs of a Gospel People (Green) and 45 Service Books (Green).  Price is an appropriate donation to Wesley Memorial of which 50% will go to the Mission and Service Fund.  For more information contact office@wesleymemorialuc.com, or Craig Dickson at 506 382-8432

Wilfred Laurier University Press has released a new book: The United Church of Canada: A History; Don Schweitzer, editor. This book recounts and analyzes the history of the church of Canada’s largest Protestant denomination and its engagement with issues of social and private morality, evangelistic campaigns, and its response to the restructuring of religion in the 1960s. For more information, download the book announcement.

This Recipe Book as Kidston's Fund Raiser has been made possible by the generosity of Camp Kidston's beloved Cook, Janet Templeton. Janet has been a cornerstone of Kidston life for many years. She is the reason many campers return year after year. She believes in home cooking, no matter how many mouths there are to feed! Unlike many camps there are NO packaged cookies or cakes mixed at Kidston! Campers and Counselors alike love Janet's baking and everyone has their favorite treat. Whoopie Pies rank # 1 on the list. When asked if she would consider sharing her recipes with the Kidston and Church Community, she very graciously agreed. Many of the recipes are in volume and we've done our best to accurately adjust them to "Family Size" from "Janet size". So many of the Kidston Family would like to say thanks to Janet for all her years of wonderfully delicious baking at Camp Kidston.

To order a Cookbook at $10.00, please contact: Cindy Penney CampKidstonCookbook@gmail.com or 876-0161.

The Maritime Conference has issued a news release Limiting the Destructive Impacts of the Alberta Tar Sands.

"Sackville, New Brunswick- Expansion of oil sands production in Alberta should be rejected in favour of a clean and sustainable national energy policy according to Maritime Conference of The United Church of Canada. The regional arm of the largest Protestant denomination in Canada says a clean energy policy must be based on conservation, efficiency and renewable energy while upholding principles of ecological sustainability and Indigenous Rights." Download the complete news release here.

Maritime Conference has begun construction on a new building which will serve as the Conference Office and Conference Archives. The building will providing meeting space, as well. The new building will be approximately 13,000 square feet, including 2500 square feet of office space, 1400 square feet of meeting space, and 4700 square feet of archives storage. The start of construction signals the conclusion of a lengthy process of examination, reflection, consultation and planning. For more information, visit the Building Project 2011 page.

Coming this school year from AST's Diploma in Youth Ministry.

- "Engaging Youth in Social Justice & Mission" (online elective) October 11 - November 25 with The Rev'd George Porter, Diocese of Fredericton ($275)
- "Introduction to Christian Theology" (online required) full winter term - with The Rev'd Davena Davis ($420)
- "Critical Administrative Skills for Youth Ministry Leaders" (online elective ) partial winter term - with John Stevens, Archdiocese of Halifax ($275)
- "Engaging Youth in Worship" (residential at Bedford United Church) June 1-2, 2012 with Rick Gunn ($275)

Registration for the first two is now open, and for the second two will open by October 1. 

The registration deadlines are:
- 'Social Justice & Mission' - October 4
- 'Christian Theology' and 'Administrative Skills' - October 28
- 'Worship' - May 4

You do not need to be a Diploma student to take the elective units, but you must submit the personal registration and learning unit registration forms on our web page:
http://www.astheology.ns.ca/youthministry/

Forms must be submitted to:
Registrar's Office
Atlantic School of Theology
660 Francklyn Street
Halifax, NS B3H 3B5

New addresses effective June 13th.

Our new mailing address is: 21 Wright St., Sackville, NB E4L 4P8.

Our new civic address is: 1 Fairfield Road, Unit 2, Sackville, NB E4L 2X4.

The telephone number remains the same: 506-536-1334.
The fax number remains the same: 506-536-2900.

The Archives phone number 536-0998 will be disconnected as of Friday, June 10th. The new number to contact the Archives is the conference office phone number 506-536-1334 and you will need to choose the Archives option on the list of extensions.

"Do you know the hottest topic amongst Maritime Conference Annual Meeting attenders the day after we all got home?"

So begins the journey through the coming year with our new Conference President, Jane Johnson. Follow her journeys, in her car and in her mind, at "On the Road in Maritime Conference ... what I see through my windshield..." at www.through-the-windshield.com

If you have ever wondered who in Maritime Conference serves the General Council and in what role or where they are from, here are a couple of reports that will answer your queries.

This report lists all members of Maritime Conference serving the General Council by Presbytery.

This report lists the members of Maritime Conference serving the General Council by their role or responsibility.

Both documents are dated February 3, 2011.

The Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario announces:

We are very excited to introduce the United Church Digital Collection (www.ucdc.ca) to our Conference, and to the church community at large. UCDC is an exciting ministry of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, one that brings our faith to an innovative expression in the online world, and will continue to grow as an educational, informative and theologically diverse resource for The United Church of Canada community.

There are a few things we want to draw specific attention to in this announcement:

1. UCDC is a “living library”; the content and collection of this resource bank will grow and change as our church grows and changes. New resources will be consistently added over time, so check back often for the latest in online ministry and faith resources.
2. UCDC has a “living librarian”; please write Jordan Crosthwaite an email: libr...@ucdc.ca. He would be more than happy to receive feedback about the site, suggestions for new resources, and new ideas about how resource ministry can express itself.
3. UCDC is searchable. Take some time to browse through our collection. If you are a seasoned web-savvy browser, or still on the learning curve, know that we have designed UCDC to be user-friendly and easy to navigate. If you need some extra help, click “New to the Site?” for a quick tutorial video on UCDC's capability.

Are you a shutterbug?

Would you share your great photos on our Home page?

The photo on the Home page will be changed frequently on a seasonal basis. The purpose is to share the beauty of our Maritime Conference (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, part of Gaspé and Bermuda) and our community and church life together.

If you would like to share your seasonally appropriate photos, please send them to the Maritime Conference Office.

Photos must be Landscape oriented (horizontal) as opposed to Portrait (vertical) and as high resolution as you can possibly send them. They will be cropped and optimized for use in the space provided on the Home Page. If the photo shows a location it would be nice to know where it is.

Photos with people should have only a few people, and if possible they should be identified. If your photo shows people they MUST give their consent to have their picture on our web site.

Credit will be given on a Credits Page.

Emerging Spirit is an exciting initiative of The United Church of Canada focused on establishing and nurturing a relationship between the United Church and Canadians aged 30 - 45.

You can find out more about the campaign by visiting the Emerging Spirit web site.

The aim of Emerging Spirit is to help raise awareness about the ministry of The United Church of Canada and to invite people to join with us on the journey of faith.