Mount Royal United Church

Message from Chair of Council April 19, 2020

Hi. I hope you have had a good week.

We had some lovely sunny days making it easy for us to get outside for a bit of fresh air. Everywhere you look, people are smiling and feeling renewed by the weather. As I walked this afternoon I saw children climbing trees; giggling with joy.

I hope you are finding a way to pass the time and stay resilient. I thought it might be fun to ask you to send pictures of what you are doing during self-isolation. Send a photo that shows you doing something you love; that gives you joy. It could be reading, writing, crafting, decluttering, washing your car... We want to see you in the picture. If you can't or don't want to send a photo, please share a line or two about how you are passing your time or a favourite quote of encouragement. We will put them together -whether it is 20 or 200 and share them after a future service.

Send your photos or messages by May 3rd to photos@mountroyaluc.ca

Here are some familiar faces I encountered while out on my walk today.

I also wanted to tell you that on Friday I participated in a Zoom (web-based video meeting platform) with up to 80 other people from the Fundy St Lawrence Dawning Waters Region of which we are a part. It was a great opportunity to ask others how their Communities of Faith are doing, to share ideas and ask our questions.

The overriding message was while this has been a period of great challenge it has also presented a vast number of opportunities as well. Things will never be the same after finding new ways to keep in touch from home. And as Debbie Maund said to me on Saturday, people will surely rethink what is important in their life.

I want to assure that the Region is considering many things on our behalf from how to: provide resources specifically geared to children, handle grieving and celebrate deceased loved ones, looking after church finances, respecting copyright and licensing agreements, assisting ministers in need of some self-care during these challenging times and even best practices around safely returning to church once government restrictions are relaxed. I was encouraged to know that we don't have to figure out all of these things in isolation from others in the United Church while at the same time understanding that our Region will be looking out for us and not basing our guidelines on situations that exist in larger centres or places where the novel Coronavirus is far more widespread.

Be safe this week. I look forward to seeing your pictures and reading your messages.

Susan