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Regional Council gathering – June 2023

Name: Regional Council gathering – June 2023
Start: 2023-06-03T09:00:00-04:00
End: 2023-06-03T17:30:00-04:00
Location: Plymouth-Trinity United Church

June 3, 2023 @ 9:00 am - 5:30 pm

Pre-meeting resources

The Regional Council gathering on June 3, 2023 will be a hybrid meeting (in person as well as on Zoom), hosted by Plymouth-Trinity United Church in Sherbrooke.

What will we explore together?

Through the symbolism of loaves and fishes, we will explore the idea of how we share abundant life with each other: in our communities of faith, pastoral charges and other ministries that make up our regional council. We will focus on answering God’s call to faithful discipleship, as individuals take on active roles with leadership teams (Nominations) and as we begin to imagine how to discern our path forward together (VisionAction). We will discuss the new Remit, concerning the autonomy of the Indigenous church and highlight upcoming celebrations of the completed Mohawk translation of the Bible. Updates from other initiatives will also be shared.

The afternoon will conclude with a celebration of milestones for ministry personnel, including the ordination of three candidates for ministry: Cynthia Reynolds, Aaron Miechkota and Aron Molnar. We will also mark some other important milestones in the lives of ministry personnel, communities of faith and pastoral charges, celebrating (and grieving) together.

How can I prepare for the meeting?

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Please download and review documents in advance by clicking on titles in the Meeting Resources section below. [NOTE: There will be no access to Wi-Fi or printed copies of documents on site, so please download and/or print your own copies.]

BYO LUNCH : Participants are invited to bring their own lunch.

CALLING ALL CHEFS / BAKERS: The June meeting will offer occasions to connect in person during gathering time and break times. If you feel called to share your cooking/baking talents with the people at the Regional Council Gathering, we are looking for people to offer to share in the “Pot-Luck” snack ensemble. If you would like to cook up or bake something in a shareable quantity for the meeting, please contact Shanna Bernier to let us know what you will be bringing. We only ask that you please make a small sign indicating what your creation is and if it contains any major food-concerning ingredients like gluten, milk, eggs, etc. ***NO NUTS OR PEANUTS PLEASE!*** Looking forward to tasting your creations in our time together!

BRING A BOOK, SAVE A TREE: The June hybrid gathering of the Regional Council will have a book table for anyone wishing to re-gift books from their collection for others to adopt and add to their own libraries. Please bring along any books from your own collection that you think might be of interest to others that you are happy to offer up for adoption. [NOTE: We ask only that you please bring back home any of your books not adopted by those in attendance.]

BRING YOUR KIDS!: Children’s programming/childcare will be provided.

SHARE YOUR GIFTS: We always need readers, stewards, equity team members, etc. to help with the smooth running of the meeting. What gifts are you willing to share? Please indicate how you can volunteer using the space provided on the registration form or contact Valerie Nickson, chair of the planning team.

REGISTER ASAP! It’s important for the planning team to know how many people will be attending on site and how many will be online so please don’t wait until the last minute to register! [NOTE: We are testing out a new registration process directly through Zoom (link below), and look forward to your feedback.]

Meeting resources

(Click on titles to view and download documents)

Draft Agenda – updated 2023-06-01
Motions – updated 2023-06-01
Appendix A – Draft Minutes (March 24-25,2023)
Appendix B – Draft Financial Report (Dec 31, 2022)
Appendix C – Finance & Extension Board Financial Report
Statement regarding homophobia and transphobia – updated 2023-06-01
Remit 1: Establishing an autonomous national indigenous organization
Equity Support Resources
Bios of Candidates for Ordination – updated 2023-06-02

If you are attending in person, here are some details about the venue:

If you are attending online, please print the following three images in advance:

Meeting Evaluation Survey

Post-meeting resources

(Click on titles to view and download documents)

Presentations / videos

Ohenton Kariwatekwon / Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Prayer (Sosan Montour)
Land Acknowledgment (Rev. Jan Jorgensen and Lisa Byer-de Wever) including Learning about Otsokowatseri (part 1) (Robert Patton and Alma Ransom)
Learning about Otsokowatseri (part 2) (Robert Patton and Alma Ransom)
Opening Worship (David-Roger Gagnon, Norman Robert Boie and Rev. Andrew Lairenge)
Statement regarding homophobia and transphobia
Learning about Equity (Shanna Bernier)
Then, Let Us Sing! Ensemble, chantons! (Rev. Paul Sales)
Greetings from General Council (Rev. Murray Pruden with video from Moderator Carmen Lansdowne)
Remit Process (GC44 commissioners Norman Robert Boie and Morgan Pierre Point)
Discussion of Remit and Calls to the Church (Rev. Jan Jorgensen, Lisa Byer-de Wever and Rev. Read Sherman with video from Sara Stratton and Adele Halliday)
Nominations (with Rev. Linda Buchanan)
Candidacy Pathway / Introduction of new ordinands (Rev. Caroline Penhale with Cynthia Reynolds, Aron Molnar and Rev. Read Sherman on behalf of Aaron Miechkota)
VisionAction (Rev. Helen Hliaras, Peter Bisset and Rev. Florence Bukam Kamta)
Mohawk Bible translation (Rev. Jan Jorgensen and Satewas Harvey Gabriel)
Closing Worship and Covenanting with Candidates and Executive
Announcements ( Video | PDF )
Milestones of Communities of Faith (unfortunately, we did not have time to celebrate these milestones during our meeting, but wanted to share them with you all the same!)