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Friends, We were lucky to hear from many that while you are keen to participate in an Christian, anti-racism conference for leaders of children, youth, families and young adults, the November 2023 dates we had simply couldn't work for you. While there's a certain impact felt when changing any event date, we are encouraged by your feedback and have great hope for this anti-racist church leader's event. We are extremely pleased to confirm a new date for our First Third Ministry Leadership Conference! Update All The Calendars!
Gifts In The Change
We see opportunity with these Spring dates and feel renewed enthusiasm as we begin to develop additional elements to deepen your conference experience! The planning team is already growing partnerships and considering how more sessions and topics might be explored (engaging activism with art, supporting an Indigenous and Racialized Youth & Young Adult Circle, including all-ages considerations or youth empowerment - perhaps?). But most importantly, it is now possible for you to arrange travel, accommodation, and life's schedules as needed so that you can participate! The April date also gives you more time to connect with first third ministry colleagues and friends across the region and wider-church, to plan how you can attend the First Third Ministry Leadership Conference: Anti-Racism Work & Action, together. Yes, Our Exceptional Conference Offerings Remain the Same Our confirmed line-up of inspiring speakers and guests, the beautiful conference location, and focus of our three-day conference remains unchanged! Varied learning formats and thoughtfully chosen content will empower you to engage key learnings, work, and action required in developing an anti-racist church that thrives. Discovery-based questions and reflection opportunities will help you to compassionately and faithfully examine your own ministry and leadership with the children, families, youth, and young adults in your specific setting. As Spring's step in your personal anti-racism journey, this conference converges your path with so many others leaders all seeking a new way of being church. Faithfully Designed for You Our prayer for you attending this conference is the same as our goals: May this conference support, equip, and inspire you in your ministry. May you move from acquiring knowledge to living out anti-racist behaviour and action in your own ministry; may your daily life be enriched as well. May the power of being in a Christian-community working for an anti-racist church strengthen the faith and passion in all who participate. May all who want to attend, find themselves attending and with as few barriers as possible. May the fullness of this conference-time expand and deepen our collective potential for creating an anti-racist church in God's world. May we journey well together. Amen. Two bursary forms for financial assistance are on the conference website, and course credits for VST students are possible. Please contact Rev. Mary Nichol at any point with your questions, or if you need support getting registered. And friends, all are warmly welcome. You are warmly welcome - just as you are, no matter your experience of or comfort with anti-racism work and action. Blessings, First Third Ministry Team Find the Conference page here. Folx and Folks 14 to 17 years are encouraged to apply to CWPM Youth Council! Click for Application Information: Youth Council (2024-2025) Positions Available
Youth Council Members
For more information contact Regional Staff & Youth Council Lead: Chris Mah Poy  A prayer for the children we love at the start of the school year:
Loving God, parent of us all, please bless precious <<insert names>> as they start their school year. May they never lose their excitement or enthusiasm for learning. May the spark of creativity, possibility and adventure remain strong in them. Keep them safe from all harm, including harmful thoughts and ideologies. May all who encounter them show respect and kindness, and may they be loving, kind and respectful. Bless them and help him to shine, and may this be true for all kids. Amen Prayer shared by The United Church of Canada, on their Facebook page. Dear friends, I sit in this place of profound gratitude and frankly, awe, that so much has happened to establish First Third Ministry in the Chinook Winds and Pacific Mountain Regional Councils as a resource for your communities of faith and ministries. I am so grateful for the hardworking, faithful, committed team members who seek to build relationships with you in your places that nurture and deepen the faith formation of God's young people in our United Churches. I am writing this note to let you know of some changes that are coming this Spring. In the Office I am very excited to announce that Natalia Cabrera is moving from full time Administrative Support in our ministry areas (including Camp Spirit) to half time in her new role as First Third Animator (PMRC) and half time as ongoing First Third Ministry Administrative Support (while Camp Spirit hires a permanent, part-time administrator - details below). Natalia brings energy and curiosity to this Animator position and the region will be blessed by her skills and gifts. Campus Ministry Supported by PMRC's Campus Ministry Animator Daniel Martin’s creative and visionary leadership, the United Church will have a presence of campus leadership at four PMRC university campuses by the end of the spring (SFU, UNBC, UVic and UBC). We are currently hiring for:
Please join our whole team in wishing Rev. Greg Powell well as he has resigned from his position at UVic (effective April 30th) to take on more leadership at Westshore Community of Practice. Camp Spirit Camp Spirit is building its summer staff team as I write this! We are in the process of hiring 23 young people for summer leadership for our 32 camp locations across BC - an increase from last year’s staff team of 18 and 28 camps. We are are hiring a permanent half time position of Camp Spirit Administrator (the posting for the position is here) to support the Camp Spirit's summer ministry and and school-year initiatives. The Long Game After two years of mostly being online, finding ways to strengthen faith practice in households during the pandemic through the Faith@Home resources and resourcing communities of faith and other ministries as they need, church leaders of all kinds, across our regions are deepening their skills and meeting together to collaborate and create new ways of being church with young people post-pandemic … the Holy Spirit keeps pushing and encouraging us to lean into what is here and what might be possible and the life that is bubbling as a result is amazing! Gratitude None of this would be possible without the generous financial support of local communities of faith, grants from ProVision, other granting bodies, and budget allocations at the regional councils. I am grateful for the resources, and commit to faithful stewardship of the gifts we are given to grow the capacity of ministry with children, youth, families and young adults - together! If you have any questions or thoughts about what you are reading or observing in ministry with people in the first of life's three stages (birth to mid-30s, including families of all kinds), I would love to hear from you. Blessings,  |
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