Yellowknife Announcements for the Week of April 26, 2026

[Yellowknife United Church Administrator]

Yellowknife United Church meets Sunday in the Auditorium at 11 a.m.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Monday to Friday

MINISTER'S OFFICE HOURS:
Tuesday and Thursday 10 am-noon

Upcoming events:
May 9: Garage Sale
May 31: Annual Congregational Meeting
June 7: Covenanting Service between Reverend Alison Mock and Yellowknife
United Church


Helpers:
Opening Host:Karen
Greeter: Jeanette
Word & Wonder:
Reader:
Closing Host: Dawn

Early Reminder:

Garage Sale - May 9: Looking to downsize or get rid of items or clothes
you no longer want or need? To help you with those unwanted items and
to support the work of the church, we will be holding our annual garage
sale on Saturday, May 9. We are looking for clean, gently used items in
good condition, in working order, and which people will be interested in
buying. Items can be dropped off at the church on Friday, May 8,
between noon and 8 p.m. We have limited storage space so only in
exceptional circumstances, will we accept items early. If you are able
to assist us either in set-up, with selling, or transporting items, the
sign-up sheet is available on the side bulletin board. Posters are
available on the side table and your help in getting these out to your
friends and to businesses around town, it would be greatly appreciated.
If you require more information, please contact Marg Henderson at
867-444-8362 or ma...@theedge.ca.


Book Club – Our next meeting is Sunday, May 3 when we will discuss The
Rebel Christ by Michael Coren. Christianity’s founder is often
misunderstood and misinterpreted. This book presents the real Jesus: a
rebel, a radical, and a revolutionary. Copies are available at the
public library, on Hoopla, and for purchase at in-person and on-line
bookstores. We will meet at 12:15 in Room 215, all are welcome.


Blue Bins - Thank you to our volunteers for the month of April: Marg &
Lloyd Henderson, Matt Smillie & Joanna Wilson, Gordon & Karen Hamre,
Brian Kelln, Sean & Janice Daly. Help is needed to do the bins at the
Co-op and the Independent/Fieldhouse from May 16-31. We are also
booking ahead for the months of June, July and August. This is an
important fundraiser for our church and many hands make light work. If
you have students that require community service hours, this does count
and we are happy to sign the required paperwork. If you would like to
help but maybe don’t have a vehicle, that’s ok! We have people with
vehicles who could use an extra pair of hands.If you are able to help,
please contact Marg (ma...@theedge.ca, 867-444-8362).


Mission and Service Story:
Room to Speak, Space to Listen

On Wednesday afternoons, a group of young people come together to do
something simple and powerful. They talk. These gatherings are part of a
mentorship and mental health program through the National Council of
Churches of Kenya (NCCK). For many of the youth who take part, it’s one
of the few places where they feel safe enough to share what they’re
thinking and experiencing.

Christine now leads these conversations as a mentor, but her journey to
this moment began in a similar circle, as someone seeking support herself.

In Kenya, young people are expected to grow up fast. By age 15, they may
be seen as old enough to handle life on their own. But the reality is
hard—youth may not get the encouragement or support they need. Some may
leave school early, often because of teen pregnancy, the need to work,
or lack of access to education in general. And showing emotion—crying,
opening up—can be seen as weakness.

Christine knows this reality firsthand. When struggles go unspoken,
young people can feel completely alone. Youth suicide is a real and
painful reality. She once carried burdens in silence, feeling the weight
of expectations without a safe space to share what she was experiencing.

Then she found the NCCK mentorship program.

In those Wednesday gatherings, Christine discovered something she had
been missing: a place where she could speak freely, where her thoughts
and feelings mattered. “Mental health means feeling safe enough to
express your thoughts and feelings,” she now explains with the clarity
of someone who has lived it. “Talking it out is the best way out.”

The support she received didn't just help her survive—it transformed
her. “It's been one of my dreams to be there for someone,” she shares.
That dream became her reality.

Today, Christine mentors 40 young people through the UCC youth
mentorship program. She brings to each session the understanding of
someone who has sat in their seats, who knows what it means to need
someone to listen. As a mother, she practices intentional
parenting—encouraging confidence, conversation, and honesty with her own
daughter. She’s become the person she once needed.

Her advice to the young people she mentors comes from experience:
“Embrace the support if you have someone.”

Christine envisions building a community of young people who can support
one another, breaking the cycles of silence that too often lead to
isolation and despair. Through her journey from mentee to mentor, she’s
proving that healing isn’t just personal—it multiplies.

Through Mission and Service partner the National Council of Churches of
Kenya, Christine and her community are creating spaces for young people
to be heard and reminding them that they matter.

When we support Mission and Service, we are helping make spaces like
this possible—places where listening leads to hope, and where young
people don’t have to face everything alone.

Let’s be the community that shows up. By giving to Mission and Service,
we stand with young people in Kenya and around the world, helping ensure
that safe circles continue, mentors are trained, and hope keeps
multiplying.
--
Thank you
Administrator, Yellowknife United Church
Phone : 867.873.6291
Web : yellowknifeunitedchurch.ca