May Newsletter Part 2

Wider Church Notes:

Presbytery: A couple of things to note. One is that the Presbytery has been having some intentional visioning discussions. Part of these discussions has been to encourage folks to think regionally, to consider how best to be the United Church presence not only in our home communities but in the Peace District as a whole. Part of that has been some “cluster” discussions. St. Paul's is in our central blob along with Spirit River, Beaverlodge-Wembley-Hythe, Clairmont, and Fairview. Time will tell what will come out of these discussions. The other note is that as of the beginning of June Gord will be the Chair of Northern Lights Presbytery.

General Council (National): At the last meeting of General Council (2012) the Commissioners authorized the creation of a Comprehensive Review Task Group. This group is charged with preparing a proposal for the next meeting (2015) to help the United Church survive and thrive into the future. To that end they have created a discussion paper that outlines a radically different way of being the church. The feedback they get on this discussion paper should guide them as they write their final report and proposal. The Presbytery Executive had a discussion about this work but I would like to hear from the congregation as well. The discussion paper (“Fishing on the Other Side”) can be found online at: http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/general/140206. Folks are invited to gather in the Friendship Room on Wednesday May 21^st at 7 pm to learn more and discuss this question.