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Newsletter # 7 INDEX:
NEWS UP-DATES IRCA 2007 Conference Conference Chair Catherine Christie writes:"I am thinking about the theme: "Cry from the Heart: Finding Hope in the Rural Landscape" ... We are holding the dynamics of lament/despair and hope/rejoicing in a creative tension in the worship, presentations, workshops, etc as the week goes by." "Quite a bit of interest (has been shown) from people in rural ministry in Africa and India and Indonesia, so we can look forward to some wonderful descriptions of the stories of their churches. Pray that they will indeed be able to come, that their visas from the Canadian government go through, that they are able to get travel assistance where needed. Worship Leaders: Dr. Christine O'Reilly and Rev. Peter Bush Theme Speakers: Dr. John Ikerd, Professor emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri Dr. Roman Juriga, Director of the Orthodox Academy and the Centre for Application of Renewable Energy, Vilemov, Czech Republic Bible Study Leaders: David Webber, Cariboo House Churches, B.C Daniel Thiagarajah, Sri Lanka Each participant (or national group) is asked to report on the health and hope of the rural church where you are. There will be opportunity for all your stories, a day of field trips to choose from, and more. There is also an option of pre-conference hospitality with a Canadian rural church and community. This follows the Mennonite practice for international gatherings of holding a "conference scattered" prior to the "conference gathered". In the words of the organizing team: "Let us worship God and find Christ's leading, together".
RURAL MINISTRY (Life and Faith) Report on the Rural Chaplains Association (USA) Focus Event On Sept 14-17 I was privileged to attend, as an observer, the American Rural Chaplains Association focus event and annual meeting held this year in Chugiak, a small town near Anchorage, Alaska. I was most graciously welcomed by the Rural Chaplains and I thank them for the opportunity to meet with them. The Rural Chaplains Association is an organization of individuals, lay and clergy, who are committed to rural ministries of advocacy, service and compassionate Christian presence. The association is an arm of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and most of the members are from the United Methodist church, although other denominations are represented. Each of the Rural Chaplains goes through a three year initiation and probation before they are certified and commissioned to their work. Each of the members have different passions and skills and are involved in a wide variety of rural life ministries in their home communities. As an organization they take seriously their ministry of advocacy and I was impressed by the level of research and social analysis that they apply to that work. The Rural Chaplains provide support and networking of information for one another. As a group they support a wide variety of rural church community initiatives, including some international partnerships. Of particular interest to me was the Rural Chaplains International Team initiative in rural Russia. The Rural Chaplains at this meeting came from all parts of the USA with two visitors from Mexico. As I visited with the Chaplains over meals and during our field trips, the rural issues that were most frequently noted were issues that we would also have in common here in Canada: Our time in Alaska was opportunity for the Rural Chaplains (and me) to learn about some of the rural Alaskan communities and cultures. There is no agriculture to speak of in Alaska, so "rural" in Alaska means resource-based, fishing based, or Native communities. We visited three rural churches and at each place we heard about other communities as well. I was taken by surprise that poverty is such a major issue in rural Alaska. We are sometimes led to believe that it is a rich state; however they are dealing with significant fallout from the oil boom of the 1970's. All of the rural churches were challenged to find ways of ministering to individuals and families in poverty. The majority of Alaskans have come from the "lower forty-eight", so community populations often have a high rate of transient residents - congregational life reflected this also. Social displacement and isolation are issues in many of the rural communities. As we visited the communities we heard different speakers tell us about daily life, about the fisheries, the diverse Native cultures (229 different tribes in Alaska), issues of health care delivery and church life. I was touched by the energy and sense of mission that the congregations we visited had. Each was so very intentional about their ministry of presence, and their ministries of service. One of the congregations had a huge wood pile that they kept ready for people to come and get wood for heating their homes if they were in need. The pile of cut and split logs represented many hours of "church care". Lasting Impressions I return from Chugiak, Alaska, and the meeting of Rural Chaplains Association (USA) with a deep respect for the work of rural advocacy and service that these justice-minded Christians are doing all across USA. I am saddened that at times their prophetic voices are silenced within their own country. I return with a renewed appreciation for the common rural characteristics of courage, strength, great humor and determination that I heard in everyone's stories. I return with greater appreciation for the particular concerns that rural people in different parts of the USA have. I also return with an appreciation for the Canadian Rural Church Network and the gift and strength we have in our widely ecumenical base. I missed the dialogue and insights that come from working with ecumenical colleagues in rural ministry. (Although this experience was an interesting "visit" to the Methodist roots of my own United Church tradition!) ... And the scenery of Alaska was glorious! Carolyn McDade's music kept singing in my head:
"I lift mine eyes, mine eyes to the mountains, (Report Submitted by
Liz Richards (rural minister at Onoway, Alberta, Learnings from RCA Conference Since the Rural Chaplain's Association has had long experience with supporting persons in rural ministry in the USA, and since some of their members have been very supportive in helping Canadians form a vision for the Canadian Rural Church Network, their gathering in Alaska gave us a chance to meet with them and learn about their organization. Liz Richards added the following asides when she submitted the preceding report: "Over several days there is so much I could report, but this gives an over-view of the things that seem of concern to us. Actually, the organization is different than what I was expecting. It is individual based ... each Rural Chaplain is commissioned only after three years of work and probation with intensive interviews etc. each year. So it is not at all a group for any one who is in rural ministry to join when/if they want to. I prefer the direction (the CRCN) seems to be taking of keeping the events and meetings as open as possible to anyone who is working in rural ministry. I was also surprised that there were only three people there from any other denomination than United Methodist. I really think our wide (interdenominational) base is important to keep encouraging..." Joyce Sasse,
who was unable to attend the Conference, but has been in contact with
persons from the RCA since 1998, notes things mentioned in Liz's report
that the Canadian Network can affirm: RURAL ISSUES Building Caring Communities (Sturgis/Preeceville, Saskatchewan) The Story the Media Missed When tragedy strikes a rural community, city based media may report the sensational. But too often they fail to catch the real story. "Within a month this summer, Foam Lake (Saskatchewan) survived two major, totally unrelated fires," Joyce Eyolfson Cadham reported in the Prairie Messenger newspaper. One was a nighttime blaze that "burned three buildings containing five businesses and the doctor's office." The second started in a decommissioned elevator. 65 km winds carried sparks to an elevator annex two blocks away and threatened the town's lumberyard and hardware. Out-of-town media filmed, photographed, interviewed and wrote the story from their own perspective. They concluded "small towns don't have the economic strength or the collective emotional stamina to survive two major blows so close together." What Eyolfson Cadham tells is the other part of the story: volunteers of all ages worked tirelessly, farmers hauling spray tanks of water, neighbouring fire departments arriving, food drops, clothing and accommodation provided for those who lost their business and home, cash donations ... "The fires were spectacular, but the response of the community was far more so." Businesses were absorbed by other businesses and were up and running within days. Helicopter water bombers were called in when the second fire threatened to become a run-away. "Four hundred volunteers battled grassfires, made sandwiches, ferried food and water to the fire fighters, and helped with the evacuation of several bocks of residences..." When you've been part of such a community, you know the kind of spirit that emerges. The writer tells about the young man who said to her "The whole town should be in church on Sunday, saying thank you." "It fit," she added. "At the end of it all, what we were feeling, individually and collectively, what we talked about for days after the second blaze was gratitude. And that's the story the out-of-town media missed." Thanks, too, for media outlets such as the Prairie Messenger, a paper that understands the importance of telling the real story. (Summary notes by Joyce Sasse from article appearing in the Prairie Messenger, Sept. 20, 2006)
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