The Chinook Winds Regional Executive Council met on April 12-13, 2024 at the Chinook Winds Region Office in Okotoks, AB. Executive member Rev. Dave Holmes reports below on their meeting. Dave serves St. Andrew’s United Church in Lacombe.

As I am just finishing my first year on the Executive, I still feel like a relative newbie. It is good, in this time of change and transition in The United Church of Canada, to be in meetings in which we spend most of our time “in the balcony,” talking about vision, mission, the real struggles of churches and our Region, and where we believe God is leading us.

Here are some of the highlights of our most recent meeting:

• We begin with worship and reflection, normally led by Joanne Anquist. This is important time, when we pay attention to where we see the Spirit active in our churches and region.
• We spent some good time with Scott Reynolds, the Growth Animator for Chinook Winds and Pacific Spirit regions. He is here as part of a national program and is working in our region helping us with renewal, invitation, and creation. Part of this project is a hope for 100 new congregations across Canada – but Scott is here to help us grow in a number of ways. As we consider becoming more inviting churches, for instance, he encouraged us to ask ourselves: what are we inviting people into? What kind of change or healing are we encouraging?
• We had some discussion about next year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) – which will be around the time of the 100th anniversary of the United Church. What do we need to hear as we remember the past and look to the future? Who do we need to hear from?
• Oh, yes, we did have a discussion about property. What happens when property in the United Church is sold? How do we balance the needs, hopes and health of individual congregations with the needs of the region as a whole? How do we support parts of our region where resources are scarce and needs are significant? We recognize that the health of our communities of faith is our primary concern; as a Region, it is also our job to help nurture a supportive community of communities…
• The last conversation I’ll note was around ministry models. Particularly in the rural parts of our region, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage our traditional congregational norms – buildings, professional ministers, pastoral charges as they have been. What kind of ministry models might enable our rural communities of faith to not only “hang on,” but thrive? How do we nurture conversations that might uncover these patterns, and open the way to a more vibrant ministry?

It’s a privilege and a learning experience to serve on the Executive. It’s a good group, too, one that genuinely cares for the church, its congregations, ministries, and people.

Hope to see you at the May 2-5, 2024 AGM at McDougall United Church, Calgary, and we look forward to future conversations throughout our region!