Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada

 

Living the Faith: A new round of congregational learning events offered by The United Church of Canada's Emerging Spirit initiative.

Living the Faith's relevant and inspiring learning events are an opportunity for your congregation to explore your calling, gifts, and mission in a new way.

Building on previous Emerging Spirit learning events, Living the Welcome and Living the Hope, this new, customizable series offers in-depth exploration of welcoming ministry, congregational vitality, leadership, and more.

 

To see the current 2010 Living the Faith Schedule, click here.

 

Living the Faith custom learning event options, click here.

 

Plenary and Workshop Options

Plenary

Each plenary session looks at:

- the profound changes taking place in culture and in the church and our place at this intersection

- the call and challenges for multigenerational dialogue and community within a biblical and theological framework

- stories of congregations as they identify resistance and hope in the midst of change

- the common threads of vital congregations which are creating transformative faith communities

- God's hope for the church

 

 

Workshop Options

 

Living the Faith offers many workshop options to choose from in the areas of Welcoming Congregations, Re-imagining Worship, Community Connections, and Leadership.

- Before the Call to Worship: Practical tools, techniques, and best practices of welcoming ministry.

- Nurturing Relationships with Young Adults: An examination of practices and programs that will help churches make new connections with young adults.

- Social Media and the Church: How congregations can use social media, including WonderCafe, to leverage online conversations and relationships to become more vital and intentional ministries.

- Ministry with Children and their Families: Radical welcome begins with a holistic understanding of ministry. How might the full inclusion of children and their families call us to reshape the way we do ministry?

- Intergenerational Worship, Development, and Nurture: Research shows the connection between various generations in worship, programs, and community is key to deepening the discipleship journey of a congregation. How might this connection be developed more intentionally in your church?

- Intercultural Connections: Explore the call to be an intercultural church and to consider interculturalism as an intentional commitment to be in relationship across cultural differences that result in mutual transformation.

- Getting Ready to Reach Out: Techniques and resources to help congregations identify their strengths discern opportunities for community partnerships.

- A New Chapter: Ways to influence a congregation to increase its missional orientation and to go beyond thinking about itself.

- The Strategic Use of Environics Data for Congregations: Learn to use Environics Congregational Reports, a practical tool based on demographic and social value trend data which will help you better understand your congregation and its broader community and develop a focused mission strategy.

- Worship Possibilities: Explores the welcoming, liturgical and technical components of emergent church worship.

- A New Vision of Sunday Morning: Re-imagine worship as a means of congregational transformation and faithful witness.

- Technology and the Church: In the last decade society has experienced a convergence within digital culture that has led many congregations and their leaders to wonder how they might connect these new and evolving technologies with their mission. This workshop focuses on the new digital water in which we live and why we need to learn to swim all over again. Some of the elements covered in this workshop include: digital projection, iWorship, iPreaching, webpage design, getting the right sound and light, and Web 2.0.

- Leaders Gifted and Called: Practical tools and techniques to assist leader's self-awareness of their gifts, passions and spiritual practices.

- Change Management: Ways leaders and leadership teams can guide congregations through the challenging times of change and transformation.

- Bridging the Gap: Identify the deep purpose of a congregation and discover practices which will help the church live into this calling though the predictable turmoil of change and growth.

 

For More Information

For more information about Living the Faith, or to schedule a Living the Faith event, contact:

Lesley Harrison, Emerging Spirit Coordinator of Welcoming Ministries

Email emergingspirit@united-church.ca or phone:  1-800-268-3781, ext. 4035