[cuc-uumoc] NOVEMBER MESSAGE TO MINISTERS FROM THE CUC

[Mary Bennett]

CUC-UUMOC message – November, 2007
This message is written for professional ministers serving in Canada and a
cc is sent to CUC board and staff. It can be forwarded to anyone in whole or
part with attribution.

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WINTER IS UPON US
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As I write this, it’s 4 below in Toronto, and I’m acutely aware that winter
is coming—and with it a busy season for our ministers and congregations. On
return to Vancouver, I’ll be starting the season with the choir advent
concert. Ever since being a Unitarian, I have found it a great alternative
to the shopping season count-down. I’m very aware that if church seems a
busy season for me as a lay member, that the demands on our professional
ministers are very high at this time of year – with events and pastoral
care. I hope that you will also find it a satisfying and exciting time and
that you find time for rest and relaxation with your own family and friends.

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BUY NOTHING DAY
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This coming Friday is Buy Nothing Day, an event endorsed by the CUC
Environment Monitoring Group. Thanks to Rev. Wendy McNiven who is
spokesperson for the news release we sent out and wrote a piece for CanU on
why we should celebrate this event.

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OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND…
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In England, I met with Rev. Steve Dick, Chief Executive of the British
General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. He will be
attending our Annual Conference & Meeting in May. If you have ever
considered a working holiday or sabbatical in Britain, Steve would be more
than happy to discuss possibilities with you. If it’s helpful, I can do a
“virtual introduction” or suggest ways to explore British Unitarianism in
advance. 

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CUC FRIENDS  - www.cuc.ca/friends
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You may have already received a letter asking you to donate to our annual
Friends campaign. There is also a request in the Canadian Unitarian
newsletter. This fund represents about 7 per cent of our revenue, and we
truly appreciate the gifts from those who can contribute.  Please consider a
Christmas gift to the CUC.

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ICUU 
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A news release about Rev. Brian Kiely’s election as President of the
International Council of Unitarians and Universalists can be found at:
http://cuc.ca/whats_new/announcements.htm

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MARY’S AND LINDA’S AND LAURA’S AND SYLVIA’S MESSAGES
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Some of you receive staff monthly messages directly through the
announce-only email lists. (All are welcome of course). Others prefer to
read online or in the hardcopy mailing that comes to your congregation.
The messages that go out via email are included in the congregational
mailing, so if you prefer to read online, just go to:
http://cuc.ca/programs/congregational_mailings.htm

People have different preferences about how they like to receive their
information and when we see several comments the same, we try to either
adjust or create a new option. Some people are joining cuc-mailings where
you would just receive a message each time the congregational mailing or
CanU is posted, so you’d have an inbox reminder of when there’s something
new. 

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HELP FOR CUC EMAIL LISTS
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Any email list inquiries and requests can be sent to email-groups at cuc.ca –
this then forwards to a CUC staff member who can assist you. Right now, it’s
Kirstie Peden who worked in the Toronto office and moved home to Winnipeg
who handles most of the email group questions.

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THE ACM IS COMING
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More details are being posted at cuc.ca/conference/2008 as plans for ACM
2008 become finalized.  Thank you to those who responded with offers for
concurrent session proposals. I am still also interested in any ideas you
may have of how professional ministers might contribute in other ways,
possibly similar to UUA GA who have chaplains, joys and sorrows sharing and
(sometimes) small group ministry sessions.

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SERMON PAGE
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I welcome submissions for the Sermon page. Our smaller, lay-led
congregations especially welcome these offerings. Please include a “bio” of
yourself so those reading the sermon will know a bit about you.  Especially
welcomed are seasonal pieces so if you have sermons from last winter season
for sharing, please do send them to me or directly to Bert Christensen, our
webweaver at webweaver at cuc.ca.   Link:
http://cuc.ca/ministry/index.htm#Ministers

Take care,
Mary

Mary Bennett, Executive Director
Canadian Unitarian Council
mary at cuc.ca 

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