The "How Green Is Your Church?" program challenges you to become a greener church by aiming for certification through the Greening Sacred Spaces Green Certification Program. This program offers three levels of certification - light green, medium green and deep green - with a wide-range of actions to select from. There are three prizes of $1,000 each for the best plans (one for each certification level). Eligibility is limited to communities of faith in Shining Waters Region. Award applications should be submitted by May 1st 2019. An information package can be downloaded here. If you have any questions you can contact Ali Hayes of TUCC (ali@tucc.ca) for help.

Welcome to Jill Strapp and Katja Brittain. Two new faces were added to Council’s staff team as the CCDL said farewell to Janet Marshall in October. Janet has accepted a position at the Anglican Diocese of Toronto after four years working as the CCDL Director. While she will be missed we are glad to let you know that the direction and standards she set will be continued in the months ahead. Jill Strapp joins Council as Coordinating Consultant for the CCDL. Jill will be the primary contact person for congregations and ministries looking for help with planning, ministry development & fresh direction, as well as providing staff support to the new Innovative Ministry Training Program. Katja Brittain has been working as a freelance CCDL consultant and now joins the staff as Associate Director for Property & Mission.  

On October 15 Council hosted the 10th Heart & Vision Awards Concert, a celebration of our Church’s commitment to social justice. 350 people were present to honour Senator Murray Sinclair, Rev. Dr. Grafton Antone, and Dr. Eileen Antone for their contributions to the restoration of right relations between First Nations Peoples and Settler Canadians. Jackie Richardson performed haunting selections from Gord Downie’s Secret Path and the Young Creek Performers dazzled with their powerful drumming and dancing. Drew Hayden Taylor, author, theatre director, and stand-up comedian hosted. Check back soon for a video recap of the event.

Teams from Council and our United Church camp partners ran and walked in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon’s Charity Challenge on October 21st. Funds raised by the participants will support property maintenance and new construction at our Church’s youth ministries at Camp Big Canoe, Sparrow Lake Camp, Camp Scugog, Camp Simpresca, and Ryde Lake Camp. The cumulative fundraising from the marathon over the past 9 years has reached more than $170,000 and pledges to this year’s participants are still coming in. Contact Ali Hayes – ali@tucc.ca – for more details on next year’s marathon and to learn how you can get involved in supporting United Church camping.

Council is now accepting donations on our website! Click here to visit our donation page and make a gift to the fund of your choice (online donations will still be processed by Canada Helps).

Ministry teams are invited to participate in a three-part workshop series designed to: develop life-giving work relationships, encourage strong collegial leadership, strengthen communication within your team and with others, and ensure that your team is working effectively within your congregational system. Sessions will run on March 27th, April 10th, and May 11th. Attend one or attend all three. Click here for more details or here to egister .

Living Our Faith Stories is a resource kit of five booklets developed from  Council’s partnership with Toronto Southeast Presbytery in Mission Articulation Processes (MAP) - part of the Effective Leadership pilot. In addition to an overview and prayer resources, the kit includes practical advice on exploring Context for Ministry, Setting Goals and The Missional Stretch. Contact Toronto Southeast Presbytery for copies.

In September the workbook ‘Welcoming & Belonging – Creating a Culture of Invitation within Your Congregation’ was introduced to teams participating in a workshop for the Living Presence project. This is the first of a series of workbooks originally written for CCDL by Bonnie Greene and which have been re-edited for wider use. Contact us for copies.

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