We live in a time when institutional structures and places of learning and worship are changing rapidly. Despite the often-quoted saying, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring troubles of its own" (Matthew 6:34), many of us still worry about what the future holds.
These are real questions without simple or obvious answers. But as followers of Christ, we are called to believe that God brings new life out of impossible places—the margins, the sick bed, the tomb. The church.
Here, as at the Lutheran Seminaries, they are looking at a vision of the future characterized by possibility. As the landscape of the church changes, new forms of Christian community are coming into being and longstanding faith practices are being renewed and some are not. I spoke about the balance between tradition and new ways of being a church.
A concept that explains this shift is the "mixed ecology," which describes a blend of inherited and innovative forms of Christian community. In the mixed ecology, traditional Sunday morning services exist alongside emerging practices that connect with people where they live, work, and play.
The mixed ecology signals a paradigm shift from thinking of the church as an institution to the church as an ecosystem of thriving Christian communities. This model has taken root in the United Kingdom through the Fresh Expressions movement and is becoming more widespread in North America. (You can learn more about this movement in the recent article in Story magazine, "Meeting Jesus at the Park.")
These "fresh expressions" of Christian community come in all shapes and sizes, reflecting the diversity of God's people and the places they seek meaning. Weeknight dinner meetups, "messy church" for young families, fitness and spirituality groups, and pioneering church plants meet people where they already are and invite them into deeper relationship with God and neighbor.
The more we lean into the idea of the mixed ecology, the more excited we become about the future into which the Holy Spirit is calling our students, the seminary, and the church as a whole.
The mixed ecology is a radically inclusive model that, by design, provides a point of entry for people who otherwise may never set foot in church. It's a "both/and" perspective that affirms the rich inheritance of our Christian traditions while adapting to the vital questions, diverse contexts, and deep need for connection in our contemporary culture.
We need to pray and discern what the future holds for us called to lead Christian communities. The mixed ecology model reflects a current reality—that many churches are rely on both lay leadership and professional clergy—but it doesn't stop there. And people are called out of the pews and into more active and engaged forms of discipleship, leadership, and ministry in our community and it is wonderful.
It's invigorating and humbling work to be thinking and praying about these things. People thinking about membership in the church as being an important part of this ‘mixed-ecology’ that adds each voice and meaning to the direction and outreach that our church is taking as followers of Christ. We continue to welcome new and current members of our church to be engaged in our ministry and outreach.
As Christians, we give thanks for the Holy Spirit's steadfast presence as we accompany the church into this new era.
,BR /> In Gratitude, Pastor HeatherCell 1-204-294-9212
office: 1-204-636-2259
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Council meeting was held Thursday, August 17th at 7:05 p.m. with Cathy, Benita, Earl, Raymond, Shaun and Pastor Heather present. Krisjanis attended the first part of the meeting to present the Parkland Youth Hub Report. Cathy led the opening prayer. The minutes of the July 20th meeting were approved as distributed by Earl, seconded by Raymond.
In closing, the Lord’s Prayer was prayed in unison. Next Meeting is Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in ELC Board Room. Adjournment at 8:37 p.m.
Submitted by Benita Nylen, Secretary
As we head into fall I’ll be organizing an awareness raising campaign to launch our new season and encourage participation in the PYH programs. This will include creating advertisements for newspaper and radio, as well as, handouts to be circulated in the schools and through the mail. I will also experiment with paying to have our social media posts “boosted” during the fall. Undertaking this advertisement will reaffirm our presence in the community and let people know we’re here and what we’re up to.
After-School Drop-In (ASDI)
We’ll be moving the ASDI back to its regular Thursday 3:30 - 5:30 pm slot. We’ll continue to offer the safe space, snacks, and unstructured activities that we’ve been providing throughout the year.
ARThub
The ARThub program will move to Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 – 5:30 pm. We will continue to undertake individual and group projects with the kids allowing them to express their creativity and exposing them to new ideas through art.Open Gyms
The Open Gyms program will re-open in the fall and will run Mondays 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Onanole School Gym.
2SLGBTQIA+ Group
This group will be led by Meg Hutchings. We’re still making final arrangements for this group, but it will be a group that meets regularly and will take place in the evenings this year.
Supper Club
This will be a new program where kids, with guidance, will make dinner for themselves as a group. I’ll also be looking into getting “guest chefs” involved throughout the year. This will be an opportunity for the kids to learn how to cook, and through cooking, learn how to feed themselves healthily and economically. Through cooking, kids can experience new flavours, cultures, and ideas, while developing a sense of curiosity, self-sufficiency and self-confidence at the same time.
Many of these programs are still being developed and may be subject to changes as scheduling and budgets are worked out. If all of these programs come to fruition the PYH will now have a full weekly slate of regular activities to offer the youth in our community. This is an exciting step in the project’s development.
Speaker/Workshop Series
One initiative I’m very excited about this fall, is the launch of our Speaker/Workshop Series. As part of the initial grant proposal for the PYH project there was a line item earmarked for “Cultural Sensitivity Training”. I’ve decided to use those funds to create an ongoing series of talks and workshops that will be made available to the general public.
This series will aim to address a range of topics that affect our community. We will look at topics such as: Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous Culture, Sustainable Development, Food Security, Mental Health, Sexual Education, and Addictions Counseling.
I’ve already been in touch with a number of organizations in the province including: The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, The Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre, The Kairos Blanket Exercise, Food Matters Manitoba, The Marquis Project, The Manitoba Climate Change Connection, and SERC (Sexual Education Resource Center Manitoba). These organizations have responded positively to the idea of being involved with our project. Form here it’s just a matter of organizing these events.
I believe that this will be an exciting opportunity for the PYH to amplify its presence in the community, while at the same time expanding and establishing ourselves within a network of likeminded organizations working in our province, and Canada at larger.
Haunted Hub
Another initiative I want to pursue this fall will be to work with the Food Security Hub and Food Bank to put on a Safe Halloween event for the kids in Erickson/Rolling River, i.e.: The Haunted Hub. This would simply involve decorating the Food Security Hub to fashion it into some sort of Haunted House that will be open on Halloween evening.
I think this would be a great event since it will provide an opportunity for the groups involved to raise awareness around their activities while promoting community togetherness. Halloween is a great celebration since it encourages people in the community to go out into the streets, explore their neighbourhoods, and meet their neighbours in ways they might not otherwise. It would be great to make our organizations a focal point of this celebration. The PYH specifically will be able to curate programing around this event. The kids at the ARThub can make decorations and costumes and the Supper Club could potentially make treats to hand out.
Submitted by Krisjanis Kaktins-Gorsline, Director
Meeting was held in May at Dolores‘s. It was decided to donate $500.00 to the Vacation Bible School run by LAMP. LAMP is a cross-cultural ministry sharing Jesus Christ with God's people in remote areas of Canada. As well there were continued discussions regarding the June 11th Ordination Service
ELW meetings are held every second Thursday of the Month at 7:00 p.m. Please check the Newsletter and Events noted above for the date and location of the next meeting.
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where you may access online services.
ELC Service links will be posted on our Facebook page.
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REMEMBER... GOD IS WITH US; WE ARE NOT ALONE.
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If you would like to support our outreach, you can make a donation or an online offering A) via etransfer to tres@ericksonlutheranchurch.ca or B) through Canada Helps by clicking the link below.
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Sunday worship is conducted with the Lutheran Order of Worship. On the third Sunday of the month, a Hymn Sing is held before worship. On the second Sunday of the month there is a Communion Service.
Located just south of beautiful Riding Mountain National Park on Highway 10, Erickson Lutheran Church holds services every Sunday at 10:00am from May to September, and 11:00am from October to April.
All are welcome to the worship services.
We will be using Facebook, our website and our newsletter as our primary ways of communicating with members and want everyone to be informed in a timely manner.
While we are back into in-person services, our services will be available online on the church's Facebook site for those who are unable to come to our in-person services
Anyone wishing to be more involved with our faith community and advocacy please call us at 1-204-636-2259. May the Peace of Christ be with you!
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