Yellowknife United church Announcements for the Week of June 15

[ykun...@ssimicro.com]

Hi Everyone,

Here are the Announcements for the week of June 15, 2025.

Please remember that all church services between now and August 31 will
begin at 10 a.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
June 15 - Worship Service led by Dawn McInnes
June 15 - Annual Congregational Meeting immediately following church.
Bannock and muffins will be served.
June 15 - Worship Service led by Lorne Gushue
June 15 - Worship Service led by Karen Wilford
June 15 - Indigenous Day of Prayer
June 21 - Indigenous People's Day

📌 THANKS to our helpers for Sunday, June 15:
Opening host: Karen Wilford
Greeter: Lloyd Henderson
Reader: Terrilyn Hayden
Closing host: The Congregation

📌 The United Church of Canada is looking for our input! - Online Focus
Group regarding Racial Equity
The United Church of Canada (UCC) is reaching out to congregations to
participate in an upcoming online focus group dedicated to reviewing the
UCC's communications tools and practices--through the lens of racial
equity. This is one part of a broader organization-wide initiative and
the goal is learn from congregations about what the UCC is doing well,
where it is falling short, and how the United Church of Canada can
communicate more equitably and inclusively.

Yellowknife United Church is indeed fortunate to have a diverse and
inclusive congregation. If anyone would like to participate in this
focus group, or receive more information, please contact either Reverend
Alison at revali...@gmail.com, or Laurie Gault at
laurie...@hotmail.com and we will put you in touch with the UCC
facilitator, Loralie Bromby. A specific date has not been set yet, but
it is planned for later in June or in July, on Google Meet, for 90
minutes. All input will be completely confidential.

📌 RED BINS - Help is needed to collect from the Co-op from July 1 - 15.
All slots for the month of August are still available. If you are able
to help, please let Terrilyn (terrily...@theedge.ca) know or speak
to her after church.

📌 NOTE FROM STEWARDSHIP: Today it almost feels like summer is finally
here and and people will be getting ready for holidays, going to their
cabins, or just taking a break from church services. We appreciate
those on PAR (or pre-authorized remittance) as their givings continue
even when they are away. For those who are not on PAR, please consider
signing up or giving extra on weeks you attend. You can also do an
e-transfer (marked as a donation) to the church at
ykun...@ssimicro.com.

📌 Yellowknife United Church will be sponsoring two community Christmas
Bazaars on November 15 and December 6, 2025. If you are interested in
booking a table for this event or know someone who is, please email Marg
Henderson (ma...@theedge.ca) for more information.

📌 BLUE ENVELOPES: On the side table you will find blue envelopes marked
with ways you can financially support the work of The United Church of
Canada Foundation on this the 100th Anniversary of The United Church of
Canada. The envelopes will be available until June 29 and all funds so
marked will be forwarded to the foundation after that. The following
will explain more about the mandate of the Foundation and more
information can be found if you google "United Church of Canada
Foundation". The Foundations’s purpose is to foster deep spirituality,
bold discipleship and daring justice by attracting and deploying
financial resources. Through capacity building, convening, granting, and
careful stewardship of funds entrusted to us, we support congregations,
ministries, and programs that enrich The United Church of Canada, create
a more just planet, and celebrate God’s abundance in the world. United,
we support the ministries that are meaningful to you. We help generous
people sustain the work of The United Church of Canada, its
congregations and its partners, in life and beyond. The Foundation
directs your gifts to support the ministries you love both right now,
and for far into the future. United, we create lasting change in your
communities of faith.We support new initiatives, ministries, and
programs that enrich the church through our extensive granting and award
program, Seeds of Hope. Last year, we awarded almost $550,000 to 74
recipients through the Seeds of Hope program.

📌 Indigenous Day of Prayer June 15, and Indigenous Peoples’ Day June 21
June is Indigenous History Month and June 21 is National Indigenous
Peoples’ Day.  This is a time to celebrate the outstanding achievements,
history, cultures, and diversity of Indigenous peoples. This is also the
time of summer solstice. Check to see what First Nations, Métis, and
Inuit communities and organizations in your area are doing to celebrate,
and join in. Check to see how your municipality, schools, and libraries
are marking this time. Take in the Indigenous programming on APTN
(Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network) and the CBC.

📌 The first ministers in the United Church in 1925 included Robert and
Egerton, the sons of Ojibway missionary Henry Bird Steinhauer, who had
established the Methodist mission at Whitefish Lake, Alberta in the
1850s. Robert served in a number of Indigenous congregations in Alberta
and, like his father, spoke out about the treatment of native people. In
1936, he became the first indigenous person to receive a Doctor of
Divinity degree from their alma mater Victoria College. Egerton served
first in the west and from 1918 to retirement in 1926 worked with the
Ojibwa on Lake Huron. Together they published a hymn book in Cree in
1920.

📌 Broadview Magazine: Your support today will help Broadview as your
gift powers:
* journalism that’s grounded in faith and driven by purpose
* stories that spark spiritual reflection and courageous action
* a rare, trusted voice for inclusion and justice in today’s media
landscape
Every dollar counts. A gift of $25 or $50 can go a long way
(https://broadview.org/donate/).

📌 Mission & Service: A Time to Grieve, a Space to Heal. Your support
will ensure that those who carry the grief of entire communities do not
carry it alone.

In 2024, a group of United Church ministers serving in northern
communities gathered for a retreat made possible by your support through
Mission and Service. These ministers carry an extraordinary burden. The
number of deaths in their communities, many of them young people, has
been devastating. The unrelenting cycle of grief, funeral after funeral,
has left deep emotional and spiritual wounds. “When I started in the
United Church, we buried a lot of elderly people,” says Rev. Grant
Queskekapow, who was ordained in 1987. “But now we bury a lot of youth
who die as a result of suicide.” Last year, Rev. Queskekapow was one of
twenty-three Northern ministers and their partners who took part in a
healing and rejuvenating retreat at Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre in
Manitoba. For many, including Rev. Queskekapow, it was the first time
they had gathered in this way with fellow ministers. The retreat offered
a needed opportunity to pause, to grieve, and to find healing.
Ministers received critical support including rest, trauma-informed
training, and spiritual care through sharing circles, art therapy, and
cultural practices like beading. It gave participants space to process
what they had been holding, sometimes in silence, for far too long.

The impact was clear. Ministers returned to their communities with
renewed strength. Participants shared their appreciation for a space
where they felt truly supported in the face of burnout. Because of this
profound response, a second retreat is being planned for September 2025.
The need has not lessened. If anything, it has deepened. Your continued
support through Mission and Service will ensure that those who carry the
grief of entire communities do not carry it alone.

Our ministers are doing sacred work in places where loss is deep and
ongoing. They need time to rest. They need space to grieve. And they
need to know they are not alone.

Your compassion through Mission and Service makes that possible. Thank
you.