When Cindy Bourgeois was growing up as a boy in Winnipeg, she never dreamed she’d play a prophetic role in The United Church of Canada. But she’s discovered that being the first known transgender minister the church ordained carries risks.
We’re publishing Bourgeois’ story in the current issue of Mandatebecause she’s one of the United Church’s prophetic leaders willing to take those risks.
Who do you know who is a prophetic leader? What kinds of risks has he or she taken that inspire you?
We’re living in a time of great divides, where it is easy for people to become fearful about others who are different from them. For Muslims, that’s been a real concern since 9/11, and even though that happened a decade ago, we’re still wrestling with how to counter Islamaphobia.
What does it mean to love your Muslim neighbour? We want to hear your ideas as you consider the workshop on Islamaphobia in February 2010 Mandate. We’re publishing the workshop to get people in our congregations and communities thinking about how we can all start to cross the divides, wherever they occur.
How can we help to build better relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people? We’d like to hear your ideas as you consider what church members are being asked to do in their areas in the article “Step Up and Be Counted On” in November 2010 Mandate.
How do you prepare for Christmas? Where does considering what Christ’s birth means fit in with your baking, shopping, decorating, and visiting? Or does it? We’d like to hear from you as you consider what two writers said about how they approach Advent in the November 2010 Mandate.
Before he was ordained, the Rev. Matthew Stevens—a United Church minister of Mohawk and Irish Métis heritage who is a staff person in London Conference—used to celebrate Advent with his family by lighting a wreath with five candles representing peace, hope, joy, love, and Christ. They’d have calming after-dinner readings and discussions, but then, he says, “[I] allowed ordination to replace a natural and gentle progression with frantic ritual.”
Although this Sunday morning gathering is audibly silent, it’s visually loud. When Helen Bickle leads the weekly worship service at her unique congregation for the Deaf in Belleville, Ontario, no words are spoken. Rather, Deaf congregants enthusiastically sign prayers and songs, while the text is displayed on a screen.
Worshippers have come together at Quinte Deaf Fellowship since 2007, when Deaf members of several local churches decided to form their own non-denominational church. Bickle, who was born Deaf, serves as the lay pastoral minister.
It’s clear that our current food system is not sustainable.
“Around the world, in the wake of recent sudden price spikes in international markets, governments are looking to their own food systems for a more predictable supply,” says Stuart Clark, Senior Policy Advisor of the Winnipeg-based Canadian Foodgrains Bank, of which The United Church of Canada is a member.
“In Canada, the issue is that farmers need better access to local consumers so that Canadians can better value the work of those who pro
When Cindy Bourgeois was growing up as a boy in Winnipeg, she never dreamed she’d play a prophetic role in The United Church of Canada. But she’s discovered that being the first known transgender minister the church ordained carries risks.
How can we help to build better relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people? We’d like to hear your ideas as you consider what church members are being asked to do in their areas in the article “Step Up and Be Counted On” in 
