Ministry on the fringes

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jimkenney12

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A church I supervise is on the fringe of the United Church. It is the furthest east church in the EOORC. I am probably the closest minister at about 55 minutes away and I drive through the edge of another region to get there. The closest UC minister in Quebec is about the same distance as me. They need a minister to do a wedding in August. I used Google to search for United Churches, Anglican Churches, and Presbyterian churches near them. The closest ones are in a cooperative ministry which includes a sort of retired minister who lives in Montreal close to the St. Lawrence. There is one Presbyterian church between Gatineau and Grenville and one Anglican church beside the one in Grenville.

I am across the Ottawa River where there are a handful of mainstream Protestant churches in an area of about 15,000 square kilometres The only francophone one that I am sure of is part of our cooperative and it is a small congregation and the only one north of Montreal in the Region with the church I supervise being a bilingual but mostly Francophone congregation.

I feel torn. The systems part of me says this is a shrinking population and let nature take its course. The evangelist in me says our society struggles with increasing loneliness, isolation, striving for meaning and direction and a church centered on people, faith, and caring for the lost is needed more than it has been in a long time.

How much of a moral and faith responsibility does the United Church have in supporting faith communities like the two I supervise in that area (the other is basically a family anglophone church that has one or two services a year when people come back home from wherever they live now to their roots.) This applies to the dozens to hundreds of isolated churches. The United Church Rural Ministry Network works with these issues.

I really do feel torn with a mix of doubts about what is and what should be.
 
Churches have been successfully planted throught the door-to-door canvassing method. I'm thinking of pairs of Francophones sharing a short questionaire or set of questions asking people what kind of church they would like to see in their areas and sharing their faith, if the opportunity arises.
Perhaps this visitation should be preceded by a mass mailing of such a questionaire inviting people to a meeting at a certain location for expressing thier ideas about a new or renewed church in their community.
 
When concentrated in an encampment ... the greaterpowers could slaughter them off ... like at a buffalo fall ... follie?
 
A church I supervise is on the fringe of the United Church. It is the furthest east church in the EOORC. I am probably the closest minister at about 55 minutes away and I drive through the edge of another region to get there. The closest UC minister in Quebec is about the same distance as me. They need a minister to do a wedding in August. I used Google to search for United Churches, Anglican Churches, and Presbyterian churches near them. The closest ones are in a cooperative ministry which includes a sort of retired minister who lives in Montreal close to the St. Lawrence. There is one Presbyterian church between Gatineau and Grenville and one Anglican church beside the one in Grenville.

I am across the Ottawa River where there are a handful of mainstream Protestant churches in an area of about 15,000 square kilometres The only francophone one that I am sure of is part of our cooperative and it is a small congregation and the only one north of Montreal in the Region with the church I supervise being a bilingual but mostly Francophone congregation.

I feel torn. The systems part of me says this is a shrinking population and let nature take its course. The evangelist in me says our society struggles with increasing loneliness, isolation, striving for meaning and direction and a church centered on people, faith, and caring for the lost is needed more than it has been in a long time.

How much of a moral and faith responsibility does the United Church have in supporting faith communities like the two I supervise in that area (the other is basically a family anglophone church that has one or two services a year when people come back home from wherever they live now to their roots.) This applies to the dozens to hundreds of isolated churches. The United Church Rural Ministry Network works with these issues.

I really do feel torn with a mix of doubts about what is and what should be.
Fringes are nice

A nice addition to clothing

Or that table runner

Or curtains

Freedom for All or Freedom for None!
 
Churches have been successfully planted throught the door-to-door canvassing method.
But in a lot of rural areas, door-to-door is not terribly practical. You sometimes are looking at hundreds of meters or even kilometers between residences or villages/towns. Door-to-door works well in urban and suburban areas where residences are walking distance from each other but could be a significant effort with little gain in rural areas.
 
But in a lot of rural areas, door-to-door is not terribly practical. You sometimes are looking at hundreds of meters or even kilometers between residences or villages/towns. Door-to-door works well in urban and suburban areas where residences are walking distance from each other but could be a significant effort with little gain in rural areas.
That's what Hootenannies and such are for? :3
 
Do you think between rural and urban, rural has more community?
That's certainly the stereotype. I wonder if it is still as true in the 21st century as it might have been in earlier times. Certainly my elderly neighbour, who spent part of life as a farmer in SW Ontario, is one of the most community-spirited people I know.
 
The rural area I live in doesn't seem to be particularly community minded between individuals. We have had several people die alone and not been missed for weeks. The wider community has things going on - art shows, concerts, sports events etc.. Many can't get to them, of course, many have no spare cash for tickets.
 
There's also the stereotype of everyone knowing your business in a small community. Sometimes rural people express a wish for more privacy.
 
But in a lot of rural areas, door-to-door is not terribly practical. You sometimes are looking at hundreds of meters or even kilometers between residences or villages/towns. Door-to-door works well in urban and suburban areas where residences are walking distance from each other but could be a significant effort with little gain in rural areas.
We had guys doing selling door-to-door in our neighbourhood. Due to the distance between houses, I was a bit hesitant by their approach. Seemed odd. Turned out they had parked a car down the road, and were walking up to each house. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who was questioning who they were when they showed up at the door.

Don't think that door-to-door would work in our community. Mailbox inserts -- maybe.
 
The problem is the challenge of believability in how honest is their presentation in a quick poke ... compare this to politics all around! It is upsetting and reciprocal ... for those stewed! Stupid????
 
There are friendly and unfriendly rural and urban communities.

I was at a fundraising supper a 30 minute drive from me and the first two people to sit near me lived another 30 minutes farther.

In November we joined an organization that hosts 300 game evenings. 300 is a bean bag game that uses a special wooden structure with 13 holes in it. One couple drives from Cornwall which is an hour away. Another couple drives from Gatineau which is over an hour away.

Rural communities are like urban communities. They mix geographical proximity and personal interests. Different communities have different histories and personalities.
 
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