Ecumenical Stewardship webinars

Ecumenical Stewardship webinars

Since 2020, the Archdiocese of Regina has been collaborating with the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle and the Saskatchewan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada to offer a series of webinars on various aspects of stewardship. The team has a broad vision of stewardship, as is reflected in the diverse topics covered in these webinars. Each webinar is hosted on Zoom and livestreamed to YouTube, so they remain available for later viewing. Many of these could be used for group discussion in a parish or small group study.

The team typically offers a series in the fall and another series in the spring of each year. There have also been individual webinars on special topics, such as the Season of Creation.

All of the videos are available in the YouTube playlist

Stewardship of Creation

• 2020 – Join Dr. Volker Greifenhagen, Bishop Chris Harper, Tashia Toupin, and others for an ecumenical webinar on the Stewardship of Creation. What do the Hebrew scriptures teach us about the interconnectedness of humanity and all creation? What we can learn from Canadian Indigenous spiritual tradition, Roman Catholic social teachings, and other sources of wisdom?
• 2021 – Listening to the Land: A conversation on the stewardship of creation. Our three panellists will reflect on what listening to the land means from their perspective, tradition, and experience; what they hear the land saying and how we might respond.
  • Bishop Chris Harper is from Onion Lake Cree Nation and served in ministry in the Anglican dioceses of Saskatchewan, Algoma, and Toronto before being elected bishop of Saskatoon in 2018.
  • Elder May Desnomie, Regina Catholic School Board, was born and raised on Wapaskokimaw in northern Saskatchewan, also known as Sandy Bay First Nation.
  • Reverend Mitchell Anderson, minister at St. Paul’s United Church in Saskatoon, is dënesułiné and a member of the English River Dene Nation.
• 2022 – How do We Talk about Climate Change? A conversation on Integral Ecology. In this webinar, we explore the concept of “integral ecology” as found in recent ecological discussions, including Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ and others. We have two speakers to explore this topic with us:
  • Dr. Arthur Walker-Jones has been until recently the United Church of Canada Research Chair in Contemporary Theology at the University of Winnipeg. He has also been involved in various environmental organizations, is chair of Green Faith Alliance Canada, and was co-chair of the Roman Catholic/United Church of Canada Dialogue on Climate Change.
  • Sr. Dr. Mary Rowell, csj is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph and is deeply engaged in eco-ministry at Villa St. Joseph Ecology & Spirituality Centre in Cobourg, Ontario. She teaches eco-theology at Regis and St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. She also served as a member of the Roman Catholic/United Church of Canada Dialogue on Climate Change.
• 2023 – Let Justice and Peace Flow: Celebrating the Season of Creation. The prophet Amos urges us to “… let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5: 24) in all aspects of our lives, including our care and regard for God’s wonderful Creation. Each year, churches around the world celebrate the Season of Creation from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4. Parishes and congregations can participate in myriad ways. This webinar offers practical suggestions and resources for planning for the 2023 Season. Our panel consists of:
  • Rev. Dr. Jennifer Janzen-Ball, Executive Minister for Theological Leadership, United Church of Canada;
  • Dr. Carl Bear, Music Director, St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Ottawa; and
  • Very Rev. Ken Gray, retired Dean of St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Kamloops.

Growing God’s Kingdom in a Material World – Spring 2020

• Stewardship Through New Eyes – Susan Graham Walker, Stewardship Ministry Associate for the Anglican Church of Canada.
• Growing the Stewardship Garden – Fr. John Weckend of St. Cecilia Parish, Regina broadens our understanding of stewardship with his presentation of the 12 plots in the stewardship garden.
• Relational Giving – We move from transactional to relational giving. Presented by Susan Graham Walker (Anglican Church of Canada) and Jane Harding (United Church of Canada).
• Legacy Giving – Kurtis Krug leads us in a discussion of the various forms of giving through investments, bequests, insurance, and other planned gifts.
• Canada Helps – Lucas Froese from Canada Helps explains how a church can best use the online giving service.

Gathering God’s Harvest – Fall 2020

• Money Talks: How to Preach Stewardship – Rev. Dr. Herb Gale, former stewardship director for the Presbyterian Church in Canada, invites preachers to think about the challenges of preaching stewardship within a congregation. Using relevant scripture selections, Herb offers a variety of homiletic models to integrate stewardship education within your preaching. An optional follow-up seminar will be available for preachers who wish to work with Herb developing a sermon.
• Stewardship of Self-Care – Join Anglican priest Cheryl Toth and social workers Amanda Fontaine and Murray Patzwald for a conversation about the why and how of self-care for ourselves and our communities in these anxious times.
• Practical Stewardship Tips for Your Congregation – Fr. John Weckend is associate pastor at St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Parish in Regina. Ray Deis is a lay leader at St. Cecilia’s. This webinar is a case study of how stewardship was implemented at St. Cecilia Parish. Discover ideas of how to ignite a stewardship approach in your church congregation.
• Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things – Join Kurtis Krug, Professional Financial Advisor, on a journey to demystify planned, legacy, and major giving. Discover how easy and affordable it is to empower yourself to enable your favourite charities to do transformational things.
• Stewardship in the land of ‘Mammon’: How are we working for God? – Currently the executive director of the Centre Oblat – A Voice for Justice in Ottawa, Joe is the former executive director of Citizens for Public Justice and the former director of the Social Affairs Office of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Joe discusses how our work and vocational choices — the what and the how — contribute to Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.

Signs of Life in the Local Church – Spring 2021

• Unmasking the Post-Covid Church – with Rev. Dr. Ross Lockhart (Dean of St. Andrew’s Hall at UBC, Professor of Mission Studies at Vancouver School of Theology). Churches have been through a prolonged period of adaptive leadership challenges over the last year with Covid-19. What has God taught us through this experience about what it means to be church? How will this experience shape and change the nature of our witness and shared life together in a post-pandemic world?
• Fabulously Flourishing in the Local Church – with Canon Dr. Neil Mancor (Congregational Development Coordinator, Anglican Diocese of Montréal). Before we start talking about money, we need to get the conditions right. In the same way that we prepare the ground for planting our gardens, we need to do the same in our churches. Research has consistently flagged two key characteristics of flourishing congregations: a lively spirituality and an outward focus on the community. In this seminar, we will explore these two characteristics and how they impact financial generosity in the local Church.
• To the Regions Beyond: Spiritual Care in Under Served Areas – Join us for session 4 of our “Sign of Life in the Local Church” series. This final session was led by Rev. Dr. Robin Haensel (Director of Church Development, Canadian Midwest District, Christian & Missionary Alliance Church). Dr. Haensel introduces his recent D.Min. project (Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon) helping him fulfill God’s calling to equip the church to serve those often ignored because of the logistical challenges of shrinking rural populations. His greatest desire is that the church would be able to fulfill her calling to the world, but especially to those communities that face the challenge of diminishing resources.

Exploring our Sacred Texts: A Conversation about Stewarding our Common Life – Fall 2021

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim panellists discuss the scriptural sources for understanding generosity, hospitality, and compassion. In these days of increased social polarization and intolerance, where racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia appear to be increasing daily, dialogue between faith communities is an antidote to ignorance and hatred. Generosity, hospitality, and compassion are social virtues that can heal the wounds of our society.

• Session 1 – Generosity
• Session 2 – Hospitality
• Session 3 – Compassion

Rabbi Jeremy Parnes is the spiritual leader of Beth Jacob Synagogue in Regina. His long involvement in multifaith and community organizations includes Regina Multifaith Forum, Habitat for Humanity, numerous City of Regina committees on social housing and homelessness, and several inner-city boards, including Youth Connexions and The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada.

Rev. Amanda Currie has been minister of First Presbyterian Church in Regina since 2017. She previously ministered in Saskatoon for 14 years and has recently completed a two-year term as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. She is vice president of the Canadian Council of Churches, where she has served on the Governing Board for the past 7 years. She has convened the Ecumenical & Interfaith Committee of the Presbyterian Church and is active in numerous national and local ecumenical and interfaith initiatives.

Imam Dr. Mohamed Masloh is the leader of the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan in Regina, an RCMP chaplain, and a teaching assistant at the University of Regina. He studied at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo and the Graduate Theological Foundation in Indiana, where he earned a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies.

Sacred Places and Spaces – Spring 2022

We’re thinking about the use of sacred buildings and properties in new ways.

• From Maintenance to Mission – Rev. Dr. Iain Luke will help us consider the factors in moving congregations to a more missional approach in their ministry. Rev. Luke, an Anglican priest, has been principal of the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad in Saskatoon since 2016. He previously served as Dean of Athabasca and rector of St. James’ Cathedral in Peace River, Alberta as well as parish appointments in Humboldt, Watson, and Nipawin, Saskatchewan. From 1999 to 2007 he was Director of the Institute for Anglican Ministry and Assistant Professor of Theology at St. John’s College, Winnipeg. Iain has been a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Canada since 2016.
• Greening Our Churches – Norman Lévesque will explore with us the various ways our facilities and our grounds can reduce their impact on God’s beautiful Creation. Lévesque is animator of Creation Care Ministry in the Diocese of St-Jean-Longueuil outside Montréal. The founder of the Green Churches Network (greenchurches.ca), Norman served as executive director from 2009 to 2018. He has also been Associate Director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, sessional lecturer at the Institut de pastorale des Dominicains, and Assistant to the General Secretary of the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec. He is author of “Greening Your Church” and “Prendre soin de la Création” (Novalis, 2014) and a co-author of “Les pages vertes de la Bible” (Novalis, 2012).
• Facilities and Ministries – Rev. Dr. Sandra Beardsall will discuss the many and varied ways denominations can work together in ministry and in the sharing of facilities. Rev. Beardsall is an ordained minister in The United Church of Canada, with pastoral experience in Newfoundland, Labrador, and Ontario, including a United/Anglican shared ministry parish prior to her faculty appointment at St. Andrew’s College. Her teaching, research, and writing bring together historical, pastoral, and ecumenical concerns in the service of congregational ministry in prairie and western contexts and the search for Christian unity. She serves as a member of the World Council of Churches’ Faith & Order Commission and has been a member of the Anglican-United Church dialogue and the Roman Catholic-United Church dialogue. Together with Mitzi Budde and William McDonald, she is the author of “Daring to Share: Multi-Denominational Congregations in the United States and Canada” (2018).
• Loving Our Neighbours! (again) – Zoë Chaytors will engage us in the question of how we practically interact with our communities and use our physical resources in mission for the good of all. Zoë (she/her) is a registered Social Worker who currently resides on Treaty 6 Territory in Edmonton, Alberta where she grew up. Her passions in life are dichotomous. She loves to work with other people in helping capacities and seeks out solitude in nature as often as she can. She has been working with Southminster Steinhauer United Church since 2018, supporting a number of programs including Camp Dragonfly and Emberwood. She is currently working with the United Church of Canada on the EDGE team, as Innovation Support. In her spare time, Zoë enjoys curling up on the couch with a good book and her two cats, Benny and Joon. She can often be found exploring Mill Creek Ravine on foot or by bike.

Raising Children to Give – March 9, 2023

Generosity is a spiritual practice, just like prayer. Yet so often children are left out of discussions about stewardship and giving. In this engaging webinar, educators and authors Traci Smith and Laura Alary will share practical ways to open the conversation and nurture generosity and giving with children all year long.

• Laura Alary is the coordinator of the McKay Educational Resource Centre at Caven Library, Knox College, Toronto. The McKay Centre focuses on faith formation and congregational life and incorporates a growing Picture Books in Ministry collection. A former Christian education coordinator, Laura is also a writer and storyteller. Her books include Read, Wonder, Listen: Stories from the Bible for Young Readers, the church year series Make Room, Breath, and Look! and most recently Sun in My Tummy, The Astronomer Who Questioned Everything, and Here: The Dot We Call Home.
• Traci Smith is a pastor, mother of three, and author of three books Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home, Prayers for Faithful Families: Everyday Prayers for Everyday Life, and Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas: 100 Ways to Make the Season Sacred. Traci’s passion is helping families find times for connection and spiritual nourishment amid the hustle and bustle of daily life. Traci speaks to both ministry leaders and families about faith formation at home and trends in faith formation within the church. Her weekly newsletter, Treasure Box Tuesday, provides weekly resources, links, and inspiration. Traci has a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and undergraduate degrees from Calvin College.