Hello Pastoral Charges,

The Community of Faith Support Committee of the Northern Spirit Regional Council would like to remind you of some work that you need to add to your “to-do” list at the beginning of the year.

We have noticed that we have a few churches that are struggling. We truly want to be able to support churches before they get to a crisis stage. The best way to do that is for each of our churches to share how they are doing, what their challenges are and to join in conversations to explore solutions and ways forward.

Annual Report:
We would like to receive your reports by April 15, 2023.
The Manual says that it’s part of our Mission as a Community of Faith to do a regular self-assessment and to file a report with the Regional Council (Polity 5.3.1 2 Page 34).
This is your Annual Report. Each Pastoral Charge and Community of Faith MUST send a copy to the Region. You can do this by email to NorthernSpirit@united-church.ca OR mail it in to 13535 122 Avenue NW, Edmonton AB T5L 2V7.
Annual Reports include reports from the Governing Body, Committees and other groups in the Congregation or Pastoral Charge. This also includes a comprehensive Financial Statement for the previous year and a budget for the upcoming year.
We have readers who will review your reports. Their task is to offer a summary to the Committee and identify any issues that might need attention to ensure that our Communities of Faith are supported.

Financial and Ministry Assessment Tool:
We asked all Communities of Faith to complete this Assessment Tool. This was in direct response to Community requests for assistance and support. Yes, this takes a bit of work to complete but the information it provides is invaluable to help see the resources that each community does or doesn’t have moving forward. Once it is completed, it will be a much simpler task to continue adding information to it each year. For some who did complete this assessment it has given them positive reinforcement of their ministry, some found themselves becoming aware of possible barriers to be negotiated, some found that this helped them take a realistic look at their circumstances.
In the future, this assessment will be a necessary component in the work that is to be done if your Community of Faith is looking to change Terms of Call or make a Change in Pastoral Relations. If you are looking for a new Minister you’re going to need to do this! Click here to access a copy of this form.

Please take the time to help the Regional Committees gather the information that we need to have to support you. Watch for reminders in the Newsletters and please ask for help if you need it. We are partners in Ministry together, learning together on this new path we share.

Blessings,
Helen

Rev. Helen Reed
Chair of the Northern Spirit Regional Executive
and member of the Community of Faith Support Committee