The Kitchen Sink presents: Should we Empower or Make Space? with Guest Speaker Thea Sheridan-Jonah on Tuesday May 18th at 7pm

You are invited!

Tuesday May 18th, 2021 – 7:00 – 8:30pm EDT

You’re invited to join Affirm United as we gather online every third Tuesday night of the month for a time of friendship and learning together in community. This is your chance to connect with people from across the country who share your passion for Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ justice and issues.

Thea Sheridan-Jonah will be talking about her experience as a youth in the church, the times when she has been empowered and the times when space has been created for her and others.

When we talk about safer and brave spaces we often don’t touch on the difference between empowering people and intentionally making space for people, their identities, their discomfort, their fears, their joy.

Thea will be focusing on how empowerment upholds the power imbalance and social hierarchies that exist in our society and how empowerment can be both necessary and harmful. There will be time for discussion, questions, and learning together.

More about Thea:

Thea Sheridan-Jonah

Thea Sheridan-Jonah is a Grade 12 student in Oakville Ontario. Thea is passionate about getting youth involved in church work, social justice, the environment and Affirming. Her home church is St. Paul’s United Church in Oakville, Ontario where she has served on various committees including co-chairing the Affirming committee since 2018.

Outside of her home church Thea has been involved in various UCC events such as attending GC43 as a youth delegate, and as a member of the Horseshoe Falls Regional Council executive. Thea can’t wait to share more about her experience with you soon.


Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98828097187?pwd=SGtnL3J4Sy82bFV5WTMwY1RYd3hkZz09

Meeting ID: 988 2809 7187
Passcode: 815307

Phone In instructions to ZOOM:

Canada (dial the number in your area code or use the Toll Free number below enter the meeting ID and the passcode with your key pad):

+1 778 907 2071
+1 204 272 7920
+1 438 809 7799
+1 587 328 1099
+1 647 374 4685
+1 647 558 0588
Toll Free: +1 855 703 8985

Volunteers Needed to Review Document Language

Addressing Language in Foundational Documents; racism, ableism, intersectionalities

Calling Volunteer Participants!

Are you a member of Affirm United/ S’Affirmer Ensemble?

We are beginning to update some language in our organizations foundational documents. This discussion specifically will address racism, ableism and other intersections that exist and should inform our work at Affirm United/S’Affirmer Ensemble…  Are you interested in joining the conversation around this and looking at re-writing these statements?

Meet on Zoom on Thursday March 25th from 7-8pm and we will start the discussions. Lead by Rev. Emma Pipes and Rev. Cindy Bourgeois.

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/93456556696?pwd=VUZqZlliL1dLM1gwR3haSFNISkZoUT09

Contact Michele with any questions at communications@ause.ca

NEW! Resources from: Adding Sparkle to Your Rainbow Webinar

Thank you for participating, your interest or registering for our webinar event:

Adding Sparkle to Your Rainbow: Refreshing Your Affirming Culture and Commitment

We hope you found the time we spent together informative and inspiring.

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our logistics and content. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers can be anonymous).

Click here to access feedback form now:

https://forms.gle/tyZdBZ5jYSybCc2x5


Webinar Video with Facilitator Linda Hutchinson:

Webinar Slide Show Presentation:

Adding-Sparkle-to-your-RainbowMKPFeb2021


Continue reading “NEW! Resources from: Adding Sparkle to Your Rainbow Webinar”

NEW! Kitchen Sink Series

You’re invited to join Affirm United as we gather online every third Tuesday night of the month for a time of friendship and learning together in community. This is your chance to connect with people from across the country who share your passion for Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ justice.

Join us in 2021 as we talk about everything and the kitchen sink – our topics might be a bit unpredictable but it will certainly be fun! Mark your calendars now with these five dates, February 16th, March 16th, April 20th, May 18th, 2021

Third Tuesday of the month 7:00-8:30pm EST

May 18th: Should we Empower or Make Space? with Thea Sheridan-Jonah

April 20th: Queer Friendship in COVID an Beyond with Ally Phillips

March 16th: Making Music Together with Mallory Brennan

February 16th: Pancakes and P.I.E. with Pam Rocker

December 1st: Global Partners with Tim Reaburn

November 17th: Youth Group Revisited with Laura Fouhse

November 3rd: Queer Joy: The Gifts of Identity with Ally Phillips

October 20th: The Power of Playfulness with Rainbow Camp and Mallory Brennan

October 6th: Queer Joy: Singing Queerly with Hilary Seraph Donaldson and Slats Toole

September 22nd: Queer Joy: LGBTQ+ Show and Tell w/ Michiko Bown-Kai & Jeffrey Dale


Topic: Kitchen Sink Series Event Zoom Information
Time: 7pm – 8:30pm EST

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98828097187?pwd=SGtnL3J4Sy82bFV5WTMwY1RYd3hkZz09

Meeting ID: 988 2809 7187
Passcode: 815307

Phone In instructions to ZOOM:

Canada (dial the number in your area code or use the Toll Free number below enter the meeting ID and the passcode with your key pad):

+1 778 907 2071
+1 204 272 7920
+1 438 809 7799
+1 587 328 1099
+1 647 374 4685
+1 647 558 0588
Toll Free: +1 855 703 8985

Don’t give up pie for Lent! PIE Day 14 March 2019

Don’t give up pie for Lent! Announcing Affirming PIE Day 14 March 2019 and our new website and video!

What’s PIE? Public+Intentional+Explicit= PIE. These are the standards for a real and radical welcome for LGBTQIA2S+ people in our church. Draw the circle wide and join in! Host a story telling event complete with pie and join many others across the land and the church as we learn together how to offer this welcome. Co-hosted by Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble and Affirming Connections. All traditions and backgrounds welcome: you do not need to be a United Church ministry or member to join the fun. All PIE stories are an important source of inspiration (and possibly nutrition).

Planning resources, full info, and event sign up and calendar: www.pieday.ca

Remember: this is all about you and your ministry! If you’re planning an event, we need to hear about it.

Our video to launch PIE Day and to give some tips of what Affirming looks and feel like is coming soon! Our hosts take us through a journey of pie and what PIE (Public, Intentional, and Explicit) can mean for you! You will have free access to the video by March 1 and can plan to show it at your PIE event or for any Affirming initiative.

Affirming PIE Day- hold March 14, 2019!

Do you like PIE? Hold the date: March 14, 2019

Public. Intentional. Explicit. Those are the standards we hold ourselves and our welcome to when we become Affirming or affirming.

On International Pi Day 2019 (3.14- get it?)  we invite you to serve up some pie and PIE in your ministry and community.

Get together and:

Show AUSE’s new video-to-be featuring your stories about being PIE. 

Tell your own PIE stories: examples of your LGBTQ+ welcome that are and have been public, intentional, and explicit. Host a community open mic/ coffeehouse for all stories. Eat lots of delish church pie (and everything else you consider delicious). Together, spend, say, a half hour talking about how LGBTQIA+ and Two Spirit rights and dignity could be advanced in your context and community.

Come up with some bite sized ideas and note them down for ongoing action.  Fundraise/ awareness raise for your local Pride and LGBTQ groups. Put the proceeds wherever you want. Put in a good word for Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble and Calgary’s awesome Affirming Connections, our partner.

Whatever you do: don’t give up PIE for Lent, hold the date, and watch www.ause.ca for more information and materials.  Contact the communications coordinator at communications@ause.ca with your ideas, questions, and recipes.

AUSE Conference 2018 July 13-15, Toronto

We’re delighted to announce that Royal York Road United Church will host the 2018 Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble annual conference July 13-15 in Toronto.  We’ll gather on Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, and Anishinabek Territories; we look forward to creating a safer space and a deeply inclusive welcome for all.

AUSE also thanks Toronto Conference of the United Church for its generous contribution to staff support for this gathering. We’re deeply grateful to Affirming ministries like Royal York Road and Toronto Conference, and we hope our time together will be a chance for all to experience and learn from Affirming ministries across the land. As always, people of all identities are welcome, and we’re in an accessible space with public transit at the door.

Please watch this site, www.ause.ca for registration and details. Our annual conference: includes community, worship, learning, discussing, eating, and probably films and dancing too! All identities welcome. We’ll post registration and agenda links here when they’re ready. For now, please hold the date! And please share the invitation widely, as a PDF for printing, or as a JPG for social media and your newsletters (right click on the image above).

This weekend falls before the United Church’s national triennial meeting, General Council, and its public Festival of Faith in Oshawa, about an hour east.  If you’re travelling to General Council, come early and join us. Or, stay on after for the Skylight Festival July 27-29 at Five Oaks near Paris ON.