Pride Panel

07/11/20 • 69 min

What does it mean to be an Affirming Church? Guests on this episode are from one of the first, and one of the most recent Communities of Faith in Atlantic Canada to be recognized as Affirming Ministries in the United Church of Canada. Katelyn Vardy, from St. John’s, Newfoundland tells Laura about their involvement with St. James United Church, which recently completed the process, and about Affirm United/S’affirmer Ensemble – the organization supporting the network of primarily United Church ministries striving to be fully inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Caden Hebb and April Hart met at Bedford United Church, in Bedford, NS, which was designated an Affirming Ministry in 2006. Caden reflects on growing up in an Affirming congregation from his perspective as a transgender person and activist. April Hart, points to the importance of continuing to be strong voices of welcome to the 2SLGBTQAI+ community, long after you start flying a rainbow flag.

Learn more about Affirm United/S’Affirmer Ensemble

Remember you can always find more what’s happening with Justice, Mission, and Outreach and subscribe to receive our somewhat regular e-newsletter by visiting our UCC East website, and by joining the Facebook Group, Justice and Mission – UCC Atlantic.

Learn more about Affirm United/S’Affirmer Ensemble

Previous Episode

Indigenous Worldviews, Wampum, and Wise Words: Guests Ron Tremblay, Alma Brooks, & Shalan Joudry

In honour of Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, host Laura Hunter, has a rich conversation with two Wolastoqey elders. Ron Tremblay is the Chief of the Wolatoqey Grand Council, and Alma Brooks is a Clan Mother, which is a distinct role within this traditional governance structure. Ron and Alma have been steadfastly working on Indigenous rights and protection of lands and waters for many years locally, nationally, and internationally. This conversation touches on some hard truths and challenges, but is also full of moving stories, fierce love, some surprising science talk, and mentions of a few inspiring projects they are involved in.

It also features two poems read by Shalan Joudry, a Mi’kmaq poet, storyteller, and ecologist, living in L’sitkuk, Nova Scotia. “Forest Tree” and “Unfolding of Blankets” will be coming out in a collection of her poetry to be published by Gaspereau Press this fall, 2020. You can hear more from Shalan on her podcast called “Trails, Tales, and Spruce Tea”.

Remember you can always find more what’s happening with Justice, Mission, and Outreach by visiting the website, and by joining the Facebook Group, Justice and Mission – UCC Atlantic.
Music
Morrisson's jig - Leslie's march by Aislinn is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Note that this episode also features musical clips from Wood_Flute via Freesound.org.

Next Episode

Special Episode: Meet the New General Secretary - Rev. Michael Blair

Reverend Michael Blair offers evocative images to describe how he will approach his new role as General Secretary of the United Church of Canada. In this conversation you will learn about his early roots in ministry, his visions for “reconnecting with the commons” from a place of spiritual comfort and humility, ....and about a couple of his “superpowers”. But more than anything you will get a sense of the depth of experience and spiritual grounding he brings to his leadership. And that he is also a very cool human being!

Remember you can always find more about what’s happening with Justice, Mission, and Outreach by subscribing to receive our somewhat regular e-newsletter. Simply visit the Justice and Mission pages on our UCC East website. Also, we want you to have the chance to share ideas, questions, inspiration with this wider Justice and Mission network so come join the Facebook Group, Justice and Mission – UCC Atlantic.