Hello Leaders of First Third Ministry!

I bring you greetings from the First Third Ministry Team! I - and we all – are in absolute wonder of how you made so many sacrifices, learning and adapting to be Church in new ways at breakneck speed these past 18 months. The team’s aim over this COVID time was to support and empower you in your ministry and relationships with the families, youth and young adults in your settings. Moving into re-entry and summer months, the hope is that First Third Ministry can continue to assist you in worship and program planning, give you opportunities to connect with fellow ministry leaders, and create a space for ministry innovation and leadership develop.

You are warmly encouraged to be part of the series of Ministry Leadership Circles the First Third Ministry offers

• Re-Entry with First Third Ministry (full now, but make add your name to the fall sessions
• Leaders Online Gathering all summer (no maximum, register for the Zoom link here)

and to bring your young people to the wider Regional Council events opportunities for FUN and United Church identity building

• Camp Spirit
• Family Retreats
• Youth Retreat YOUTH TREK 
• Young Adult Retreat HOLY LISTENING

All are noted on the printable overview document too (note that as a PDF, all the links are live links to our different websites and events!):

• First Third Ministry Summer and Early Fall 2021 Overview PDF

You may also be interested in the summer Tech Tools and Testimony sessions being offered by LeaderShift, as a way in to what the hybrid/ in-person/ online/ integrated way of leading groups and worship might look like for you.

I have to admit that I’m approaching the summer months with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am relieved and excited that restrictions are beginning to ease as more people get vaccines and our case numbers continue to trend in the right direction. On the other hand, I am feeling a combination of fatigue and caution, as so much of our shared COVID-19 experience has been filled with the anxieties of only being able to plan from one health update to the next. After leading and attending Zoom meetings that must be now stretching in to the triple digits, and seeing so many ministry leaders from coast to coast with such Zoom fatigue, my one true wish is that I could treat you all to a day at a spa! You deserve it.

Peace,
Chris Mah Poy
Coordinator

5 employment opportunities in the First Third Ministry area are now open for applications! These openings stem from purposeful changes in the organizational structure of Camp Spirit and Campus Ministries in our Regional Council -- Camp Spirit and Campus Ministries were overseen by what was called presbytery. Now, both are held by the First Third Ministry of the Pacific Mountain Regional Council, and part of decades of intentional and meaningful ministry and leadership with families, children, youth, young adults in our regional council.

Now open and accepting applications are:

• Administrator: First Third Ministry, PMRC
• Animator Rural and Indigenous Communities, PMRC
• Camp Spirit Executive Director, PMRC
• Campus Minister Animator, PMRC
• Campus Minister University of Victoria, PMRC

Click here to view all the position details: united-church.ca/opportunities webpage 

Note: the application deadline for all positions is Tuesday January 26, 2021.