Affirming Celebrations of Three Regional Councils … Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls and Western Ontario Waterways!
We are One, We are Many:
A Celebration of the Affirming Designations of Antler River Watershed, Horseshoe Falls, and Western Ontario Waterways Regional Councils
Save the Date!
All are welcome to join virtually via Zoom.
Sunday June 6th, 2-3 pm (EDT) to celebrate!
Guest Preacher: Rev. Michiko Bown-Kai
Featuring the music of David Kai, and the Rainbow Chorus
Bring a candle (real…or not!) to help light the Christ Candle together!
For more information, please contact:
dmatheson@united-church.ca or tsamuel@united-church.ca
Send congratulations to:
Antler River Watershed: arwrc@united-church.ca
Horseshoe Falls: hfrc@united-church.ca
Western Ontario Waterways: wowrc@united-church.ca
An Affirming Celebration for Regional Council Prairie to Pine is planned for May 30th, 2021!
Affirm United / S’affirmer Ensemble is Hiring!
May 7th, 2021 | AUSE eNewsletter | The Kitchen Sink presents Should we Empower or Make Space with Thea Sheridan-Jonah
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 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
Mental Health Awareness Week with Rev. Cindy Bourgeois
What have you been up to? We want to hear all about it! It’s Affirming Ministry Annual Report 2020 Report time!
Spring 2021
This spring we celebrate over 242+ Affirming Ministries who continue to be Public, Intentional and Explicit in the welcome of 2SLGBTQ+ people!
COVID has created much change over the last year for congregations and Affirming faith communities across Canada. We were delighted when ministries who were “in the process” and completed the Affirming Ministry program rose to the challenge of celebrating in the safest ways possible. Many anniversaries, celebrations and P.I.E. Day events moved online to Zoom, Facebook and YouTube. The creativity of these services and all the people involved with making meaningful services, has been inspirational!
Affirm United / S’affirmer Ensemble continues to work with national Regional Councils as they explore what it means to be Affirming in their transitioning entities. We are grateful to all Affirming Ministries for the continued commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The work of Affirm United’s Council continues to grow and we look forward to another Virtual Summer Conference in July, 2021. With thanks we continue to work this year with Ren Ito (General Council Office staff resource to AU/SE) who supports us in many ways.
It is time once again to ask you to please submit your Annual Affirming Ministry Report and your updated contact information to Michele our Communications Coordinator no later than May 31, 2021.
- Affirming Ministries Report for 2020: Share what your Affirming Ministry program did in 2020 (events, programs, workshops, etc.), and tell us about your plans for 2021. You can submit the report about your Affirming activities as part of your church’s annual report OR as a standalone report written specifically for Affirm United.
- Please send your report electronically if possible. Information received will be shared in a variety of ways, including with ministries that are in the Affirming process and/or looking for ideas or supportive contacts. Email the report to our Communications Coordinator, Michele at communications@ause.ca. If you can only submit your report in hard copy, mail it to: Affirm United / S’affirmer Ensemble, Attn: Annual Report, PO Box 57057, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1A1.
- Contact Info Update: Send your Affirming Ministry’s primary contact name and email address to the Communications Coordinator, Michele. This will help us update our database and website, as well as keep the Affirming Ministries list on the United Church of Canada’s website, up-to-date!
- Share Photos and Videos! Photos and videos from workshops, worship, Pride events and more are always welcome. If you have photos and videos to share, please send them to communications@ause.ca.
It is always inspiring to hear what you are doing throughout the year. We will share news and stories received from Affirming Ministries via various communication tools (website, social media, eNewsletter). We encourage you to connect with other Affirming Ministries listed on the website and those ministries in your area that may be considering becoming an Affirming Ministry, to remind ourselves that “We are not alone, we live in God’s world…”
Thank you,
Linda Hutchinson
Liz Carter-Morgan
Jackie Harper
Kamloops United Church celebrates 25 Years of Affirming Ministry!
On May 16, 2021 Kamloops United Church in Kamloops, British Columbia will celebrate a very special 25 Year Anniversary of Affirming Ministry!
Send your congratulations to office@kamloopsunited.ca or use this form below to send your message!
SOGIECE / Conversion Therapy Research Project
Help Develop Supports for SOGIECE/Conversion Therapy Survivors!
April 14-July 14, 2021
We encourage everyone who is eligible to participate in a community-based research project, created by survivors, for survivors.
2S-LGBTQ+ people who have been harmed by expectations of change (subtle or blatant, religiously-based or not), are invited to: Complete an Online Survey, submit an Email Response, join a Focus Group, request a One-on-One Interview.
Take the Survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F7RWXNM
Our focus is to listen to those who have been harmed, assess support needs through an intersectional lens, develop an advocacy plan, and work with Canadian partners to deliver the supports needed to recover.
This project is funded by The Women and Gender Equality Department of Canada’s LGBTQ2 Community Capacity Fund.