Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says the church needs to renew efforts to foster generosity in our children. She shares five principles that can help instill the joy of giving in the next generation of givers.
How can we help our children become responsible, generous, unselfish people? This question is critical to the church as it looks to shape the next generation of faithful givers. It is even more critical to families confronted with the “gimme-gimme-gimme” mindset our consumeristic culture pushes onto their children from the most tender age.
While the need to instill generosity in younger generations is more critical than ever, it is also more challenging than ever before. Some of us are old enough to remember ... Read more
On Saturday 23 September, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. in Cathedral Memorial Hall Lounge, we'll screen and discuss The Letter, an 82-minute documentary film providing environmental illustration, exploration and context to Laudato si’, the encyclical letter on the care of creation that was released by Pope Francis in 2015.
The movie tells the story of a recent gathering in Rome where Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders from many corners of the world met with Francis to respond to Laudato si’. The film is a fine witness and reflection on the climate crisis -- connecting climate change with human migration in Senegal; explaining the influence of unsustainable agriculture on deforestation and loss of human life in Brazil; telling the stories of Australian bush fires and flooding in India; and showing coral reef loss around Hawaii.
The stories in the film are presented in original languages with continuous translation.
Our screening will be followed by a brief reflection discussion.
Please reserve a seat with Kurt Schmidt: <k.schmidt at cccath.ca> or 506-259-3711.
How can parents shape a generous spirit in their children? Ken Sloane outlines ten practical ways families can focus more intentionally on giving and gratitude, compassion, and service so that their children grow in faith and generosity.
Who doesn’t want to see our children grow up knowing how to manage money wisely and generously — acknowledging that all blessings come from a generous God who wants our lives to be abundant and full of love and compassion? Unless we are intentional about teaching them, they have only what they will hear from the media and marketers read more ...
Telling our story.
Line item budgets are boring. Not only that, but seldom do they tell the real story. It’s too easy for us to make assumptions about how the dollar we give is used or not used on what we specifically consider important. However, no facet of church ministry operates in a vacuum. For instance, music may be one’s own personal focus, but music cannot happen without a warm, dry and lighted space. In fact, if we think deeply, we begin to realize that in a very real way everything depends on everything else.
Christians around the world are invited to give particular attention to praying and caring for God's creation as part of the global Season of Creation, observed from September 1st to October 4th every year. General Synod 2019 passed a resolution adopting the Season of Creation in the Anglican Church of Canada as a time of prayer, education, and action and encouraging dioceses and parishes to participate. Resources and events related to Season of Creation may be found on the Anglican Church of Canada website to help you plan, at anglican.ca/seasonofcreation. Note: To avoid confusion it is worth noting that the Season of Creation is not a liturgical season like Advent or Easter but rather a time of intentional prayer and reflection. from McCausland's Order of Divine Service, Anglican Church of Canada p. 136
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many have become familiar with the concept of being muted in conversations. Many voices are muted in public discourse around climate change and the ethics of Earth-keeping.
These are voices of those who suffer the impacts of climate change. These are voices of people who hold generational wisdom about how to live gratefully within the limits of the land. These are voices of a diminishing diversity of more-than-human species. It is the voice of the Earth.seasonofcreation.org
The burning bush is the Symbol for the Season of Creation 2022. Today, the prevalence of unnatural fires are a sign of the devastating effects that climate change has on the most vulnerable of our planet. Creation cries out as forests crackle, animals flee, and people are forced to migrate due to the fires of injustice. On the contrary, the fire that called to Moses as he tended the flock on Mount Horeb did not consume or destroy the bush. This flame of the Spirit revealed God’s presence. This holy fire affirmed that God heard the cries of all who suffered, and promised to be with us as we followed in faith to our deliverance from injustice. In this Season of Creation, this symbol of God’s Spirit calls us to listen to the voice of creation.
This June, join the Great Canadian Giving Challenge!
Your charity could WIN $20,000!
From June 1 – 30, every $1 donated through CanadaHelps gives your charity a chance to win $20,000.
It's a month-long initiative to help you drive donations during a slow time of the year for fundraising. Every June since 2015, we’ve given you a reason for donors to invite others, and create the chance to win a major prize donation from CanadaHelps.Here’s how it works:
Every dollar donated to your charity in June, via CanadaHelps.org or CanadaHelps fundraising tools, is an entry for a chance to win $20,000. Every charity using CanadaHelps is automatically entered: all you have to do is fundraise. The more you raise, the more chances you have to win!
The Mission and Outreach team of the Diocese of Fredericton continued its Christian Forum series with a most timely topic entitled COVID-19, Religious Freedoms & Christian Response.
Dr. Alan Sears, Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick, was the speaker, his second time presenting for the diocesan Christian Forum. Alan’s main focus of study and research is citizenship, civic education and the intersection of religion and education.
To help combat the spread of COVID-19, governments worldwide have imposed stringent measures, including limits to public gatherings like religious worship services. Some have seen these rules as violations of their religious rights, and in response, have protested and even engaged in acts of civil disobedience. It is this backdrop that forms the context for Alan’s presentation.
GivingTuesday - the world's largest generosity movement
GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, taking place each year after Black Friday. The “Opening day of the giving season,” it’s a time when charities, companies and individuals join together and rally for favourite causes. In the same way that retailers take part in Black Friday, the giving community comes together for GivingTuesday.
GivingTuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities; it provides a platform for them to encourage the donation of time, resources and talents to address local challenges. It also brings together the collective power of a unique blend of partners - nonprofits, civic organizations, businesses and corporations, as well as families and individuals - to encourage and amplify small acts of kindness. Across Canada and around the world, GivingTuesday unites communities by sharing our capacity to care for and empower one another.
“We have two days that are good for the economy.
Now we have a day that is good for the community too.”
While we’ve been focused on the global pandemic for almost exactly a year now, the urgency of working on climate change has not diminished. We should be putting as much effort into stopping that as we are into stopping the pandemic.
Climate change is more than a science issue, it's a spiritual and moral issue too. Our churches have an important role to play. While we tend to shy away from discussions of climate in polite society, that is something that author Jim Antal is calling us to change. Join this discussion group to learn more about how to lead or support your community of faith in engaging to make a difference for future generations.
We will talk about ways to engage with this big, scary topic, and how we can take meaningful action – in our social circles, in our workplaces, in our families, and especially in our places of worship.
If you want to get a taste of the type of information and hope that you will encounter in the book, take a listen to Jim Antal interviewed by Laura Hunter, Minister for Justice and Mission at the United Church of Canada on her podcast “Making Hope Visible”
Here are some places you can get Climate Church, Climate World by Jim Antal (prices vary). Make sure to order yours in time to start the study:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Feel free to bring your lunch.
This initiative is sponsored by the Anglican Diocesan Environment Network (DEN) of the Diocese of NS and PEI and St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Fredericton NB.
How many of us have heard the above phrase in our working lives? It is an exhortation to use your time wisely so you can produce more with less effort and is typically well understood by everyone. Have you thought about stewardship in the same way? We all know of the tax benefits that come from donating to a registered charity, and I have written on this on a number of occasions.
Let’s look at food banks for example. How many of us add a few extra cans of soup, boxes of Kraft Dinner, or pasta to our grocery carts and donate it in the bin after we check out at the cash register?
We all know of the tax benefits that come from donating to a registered charity
Volunteering at a local food bank two afternoons most weeks, I can certainly see the need, especially now with all the restrictions and unemployment due to COVID-19, although New Brunswick is faring better than most provinces.
Instead of buying those extra items, welcome though they are, have you considered donating directly to the local food bank or to Food Depot Alimentaire, the organization that distributes to the food banks?
I’ve illustrated the advantages of doing this in a table. The food banks do not have enough food donations to fulfill their needs so they go out and purchase.
Due to their bulk purchases, the major chains give them a price break — more product for the same dollar amount. I had not thought about this until our parish had the executive of a local food bank give us a talk. If you think about what you spend, then gross it up to allow for the tax relief, then donate that amount, you have spent the same after-tax dollars. However, the food bank is able to use those grossed-up dollars and purchase much more. The end result is that for the same after-tax donation to the food bank, they receive far more product than if you had donated the product itself.
As you can see, the first column is an illustration of giving product directly. The second shows donating the same amount of cash, lowering your after-tax cost but giving the food bank extra.
The last column shows the result of giving so your net aftertax cost remains the same as donating product but the food bank receives three times the product that you would donate directly.
In New Brunswick the tax relief is a little below 50 percent, but I have used that percentage for ease of illustration. This is just one example of smart stewardship where you leverage the tax advantages so your charitable donation goes much further.
Think about all you do and whether there is a way to give smarter and benefit your chosen charities.
