To the people of Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council,
“This must be quite the experience, watching something that you envisioned come to life like this.”
I said this while standing next to Rev. Cathy Hamilton in the Summerlea hall, just minutes after our second gathering of the Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council. I was feeling both tired and Spirit-filled, having been inspired by the ministry and work of people all over our country and having managed to chair us through the meeting for the first time. She responded with a smile. “This is what we had hoped for; to change some of the foundations, so others could re-imagine ministry and mission for their own context.”
Thank you to everyone who participated and lead at our meeting in November; this was just one more step on this journey of restructuring. Last year, after the Comprehensive Review completed their work, our Transition Commission took over where they left off. This Commission took on the task of beginning to create our governance handbook, while seeking people to serve on our first executive. In May, we, as a regional council accepted their work, with a desire for more collaboration as we continue to build our structures and policies. In the morning of our gathering in November, we heard about the work of ministry restructuring that is being done within our national church. Then in the afternoon, we heard the creation stories of our regional council’s Leadership Teams. After all the work in visioning this restructuring, some of the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.
There is still work to be done in this re-imagined way of being church, how we move forward is dependant on you. The next building block that I want us to create includes Clusters and Networks, and in May we will take the time to hear from the groups that are already starting to form. If you are in an area that has started a Cluster, we want to hear from you; and if you are in an area that has not started a Cluster but would like too, we want to hear from you, too. If you are part of a committee that would like to transform into a Network, we want to hear from you; if you are passionate about a specific area of ministry and want to create a Network, we want to hear from you, too. David-Roger Gagnon, our new Minister – Supporting Networks & Clusters (drgagnon@united-church.ca), is ready to be of service and will be collecting the information of Clusters and Networks that are beginning within our regional council. Networks and Clusters are about connecting communities and passions; building relationships that will inspire and empower our regional council’s ministry.
So COME, help build our regional council, be a part of the work of re-creation, and come prepared to re-imagine the ministry of Christ for our time and our own context.
Blessings to all my siblings in Christ,
The Reverend Linda Buchanan
President of Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council