God's Mission Our Gifts: Your June Mission and Service Stories and more!

Please forward this to your outreach people and anyone else interested in Mission and Service, and let us know who they are. Your June Mission and Service Stories PowerPoint slides for each story are available on the Mission and Service in Worship page. JUNE 1 Advocating for Sexual and Gender Minorities in Other Countries   [Image credit still: The United Church of Canada]   While we haven’t always done what is right, The United Church of Canada now recognizes that all love―including Two Spirit or LGBTQIA+ relationships―is holy and blessed by God. But those rights do not exist in many parts of the world today. JUNE 8 Still Called. Still Committed. Still Together.   [Image credit: The United Church of Canada]   A hundred years ago, people of faith across Canada imagined a church united not only in belief, but in bold action. They dreamed of a community that would live out God’s love by reaching out to neighbours, both nearby and across the world.      JUNE 15 A Time to Grieve, A Space to Heal   [Image credit: Derek Sutton from Unsplash]   Ministers serving in northern communities are doing sacred work in places where loss is deep and ongoing. The number of deaths in their communities, many of them young people, has been devastating. The unrelenting cycle of grief, funeral after funeral, has left deep emotional and spiritual wounds. They need time to rest. They need space to grieve. And they need to know they are not alone.   JUNE 22 Gathering To Remember, Reconnect, and Renew     [Image credit: Mamawe Ota Askihk]   At Mamawe Ota Askihk, the land is more than a backdrop. It’s a sacred space where Indigenous children, youth, and families reconnect with culture, language, and one another.   JUNE 29 Healing with Horses     [Image credit: Healing with Horses]   When participants gather for the Healing with Horses program in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, something remarkable happens. People open up. They share, listen, and connect with each other, with the land, and with the gentle strength of the horses guiding their healing journey. 2025 Northern Pastors Retreat – Give Healing and Respite In 2024, United Church members supported the first retreat for our Northern Manitoba and Ontario ministers. These ministers are facing spiraling mental health and addiction issues leading to increasing numbers of deaths, primarily among the youth, and the retreat provided support, counselling, training and respite which was desperately needed.   The crisis is ongoing and the need for support is still there. A second retreat is planned for September 2025, which will once again offer respite for our northern church leaders in this time of crisis. Your support will be essential in helping this retreat to take place.   Donations, whether from individuals or from Communities of Faith, will allow these ministers to travel to the retreat, some from thousands of kilometers away. Your compassion will bring rest and healing, and allow them to return to their communities able to provide needed support and comfort.   Make a gift today! Congregational Stewardship/Generosity This is your resource to help you grow generous disciples and gather the resources you need to do God’s mission. Please modify and use these ideas in your context. It’s Never Too Late for PAR! May is almost over, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop inviting people to consistent giving through PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance). What’s the easiest way? Include an invitation to regular monthly giving as part of the Offering Invitation. Better yet, tell people why YOU use PAR to give, and then invite them to join you.   Remember, regular monthly giving is a great spiritual practice for followers of Jesus. It’s guaranteed generosity! And generosity helps bring us closer to God.   All the resources you need, including a full sermon and sample letter and announcements are ready for you to download and use, on the Giving Monthly through PAR page.   This May, invite people to monthly giving and discover the power of PAR!     Now is the time! Invite people to monthly giving and discover the power of PAR! Called to Be the Church: The Journey   I know you are busy with your 100th Anniversary celebrations and summer is approaching, so here’s something easy for you. One hour. Online. A bit of homework. And off you go – nurturing generosity and growing faith!   Getting Started in Stewardship Join United Church people across the country to learn some stewardship first principles.   Find more information and register for upcoming 2025 courses at CHURCHx. For more information on these and other stewardship supports, contact called@united-church.ca. Resources You Need! Free Themed Stewardship Resource Kits The Starter Kit, Digging Deeper Kit, Stewardship program Kit, Planned Legacy Giving Kit. Get them at Free Stewardship Resource Kits.   Stewardship Seconds Short, pithy sayings that pack a punch, to help infiltrate stewardship thinking into your community of faith. Add them to newsletters, worship, announcements, webpages, wherever people gather!  Find them at the Stewardship in Worship webpage.   Offering Introductions & Dedication Prayers The offering time in worship is NOT about collecting money! It is about growing generous disciples and stewards. These Offering Introductions, and Dedication Prayers, for each Sunday of the year, will help. Find them at the Stewardship in Worship webpage. Get the Stewardship Support You Need The people and resources to help you succeed are here. Mission and Service Volunteers What do you feel called to do? There’s a place for you! Mission and Service volunteers are people who are ready to spread the word about the great work that’s being done by the United Church of Canada through Mission and Service. They can choose the work they want to do and the amount of time they are able to spend.   It’s easy to take the next step to become a Mission and Service volunteer. Just call us at 1-800-465-3771 or email us at ms@united-church.ca. Did you know you can give to Mission and Service through PAR? Did you know you can give to Mission and Service through PAR? You may have noticed that May is PAR month, but did you know that it’s not just about your local community of faith? You can also donate to Mission and Service through PAR! Visit Giving Monthly through PAR to get started. GOD’S MISSION, OUR GIFTS is your newsletter. We want to provide news and information that you can use in your community of faith, whether you’re a minister, a board member, an administrator, a treasurer, or anyone else who wants to make a difference.   What else would you like to see? What can we do to help your community of faith get where it needs to go? Send us your thoughts! Donate Facebook Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn   Your generosity enables the United Church to love, serve, and minister in the world. Make an online donation or learn more about your options to support the work of the church.

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