Glen Rhodes United Church

East End United

 

Toronto, Ontario

 

A regional ministry of the United Church of Canada

 

UPDATE: October 9, 2016

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Congratulations!

 

Four congregations voted on September 25 to join together for ministry in the East End: Cosburn, Eastminster, Glen Rhodes and Hope United Churches. Now there is great eagerness for what will come, as well as great curiosity.

 

Ambassadors and ministers of the congregations have been talking about what’s next for our shared regional ministry.

 

Here are some of the things we can expect…

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…in the short and medium term

 

· Joint services

 

There will be more joint services such as the one last Sunday at Glen Rhodes. We want to make them frequent enough that we begin to get to know and enjoy each other and far enough apart so that they remain special occasions.

 

· Joint action for social justice

 

One example is the Danforth Multi-faith Walk to eradicate poverty, Sunday, October 16 at 2:15 at the Madinah Masjid (the mosque at 1015 Danforth Ave.), proceeding west on Danforth to the sukkah of the Danforth Jewish Circle on Playter. There will be more activities involving us all in the months to come, including education and action for living out right relations and reconciliation.

 

· Shared social action

 

Eastminster houses the Out of the Cold program on Friday nights in winter. Glen Rhodes provides a food bank each Wednesday and a community meal on the 4th Monday of the month. We will begin to widen our sharing from all four congregations for these outreach programs.

 

· Website & communications

 

We anticipate help to get a new website and improved communications going. Each congregation will begin to refer to itself as a ministry or congregation of the regional ministry.

 

· Fun

 

There are activities proposed to help us get to know each other in informal settings.

 

· Faith development

 

There is already a call for joint bible study to help us grow in faith, possibly over dinner!

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…and in the longer term

 

· Exploring the vision

 

Meeting as large groups to orient ourselves to the possibilities of the regional ministry, and identify principles and hopes for it

 

· Organize our efforts as East End United

 

Gradually we will discover how best to use the many gifts and skills of volunteers and staff members across the regional ministry. It’s possible there will be added staff, too, with support from Toronto Southeast Presbytery.

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The East End regional ministry as an organization…

 

… the four congregations will flesh out and test the covenant for the next nine to twelve months. There will be another vote in all four churches some time in 2017 to decide whether to ask Toronto Southeast Presbytery officially to create one regional ministry from the four congregations.

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Structure

 

There will be a joint board or council, with representatives from each congregation. How joint ministry activities will be planned and administered will become clear in the next few months. It is likely there will be some joint committees to oversee things.

 

Finances

 

At some point there will be a joint account to cover costs of the regional ministry that are shared. Other, local expenses will continue to be paid by each congregation. Work is underway to develop a “fair share” formula, so that each congregation supports the central budget at an appropriate level.

 

Planning

 

Online resources such as a shared calendar and a central e-mail list will make it convenient for everyone to know what is happening at all four campuses of East End United.

 

 

Vision

 

We will be working together to develop an exciting vision of how we can be most faithful as a large group with a rich history and many resources for the sake of our neighbours, the many newcomers to the area and our world.