DUCC National Gathering

Seventy some members of Diakonia of The United Church of Canada (DUCC) met via Zoom, over two days, in early March for some business and learning. The focus of the time together was diaconal identity. Several members filmed short videos to share what diaconia meant to them.

We examined our 1984 founding charter. And we were joined by ecumenical, diaconal guests (L to R):

Sister Noreen Stevens, Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Rev. Janice Soyer-Delaney, Wesley Diaconal Community, Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas

Diaconisa Arlete Prochnow, Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB)

Philippians 4:8-9 guided our reflection and prayer: Finally, friends, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all thatdeserves respect, all that is honest, pure, decent, admirable, virtuous or worthy of praise. Live according to what you have learned and accepted, what you have heard me say and seen me do, then will the God of peace be with you.

These pictures were taken on Thursday, March 4, for Thursdays in Black: Toward a World without Rape and Violence

DUCCs are meeting

DUCCs attending Chicago Assembly 2017

DUCC (Diakonia of The United Church of Canada) is meeting March 3 and 4, 2021, 12 pm—3 pm CST. That’s early morning in the DAP region and evening in the DRAE region. As you start the day or end the day in DRAE or DAP, or wherever you are in the DOTAC region during the day, please remember in prayer our brothers and sisters in DUCC as they meet together (virtually). 

Statement of Vision:

God calls us to diaconal ministry. 

The gospel of Jesus invites all to this ministry:

to offer compassion and accompaniment,

to work for liberation and justice,

to act as advocates of creative transformation.

Diaconal ministry, as a recognized order, is rooted

within our faith tradition and history,

and it is continued and embodied

in an ecumenical, world-wide community.

This vocation is a journey

involving Spirit-filled enrichment and learning,

requiring humble offering of self,

demanding prayerful discernment and courageous risking,

exercising visionary and communal leadership,

promising joy and meaning,

and daring to imagine God’s abundance

in a world of love and respect.

Through education, service, social justice, and pastoral care,

diaconal ministry in The United Church of Canada,

encourages a growing faith,

speaks truth to power,

seeks mutual empowerment,

proclaims prophetic hope,

nurtures life-giving community,

fosters peaceful, right relationship,

within the church and the whole of creation

wherever the Spirit may lead.

Adopted at DUCC National Gathering, April 2009.

Canada continues to have public health restrictions to deal with COVID19 and variant strains that are causing concern because they spread more easily, cause more severe illness, or current vaccines may be less effective against them. It’s been a long winter in largely lockdown conditions. 

World Council of Churches Prayer Cycle - North America (25th-31 October 2020)

We remember Canada and the member associations in  Canada

(the next post will feature other member associations in Canada and the U.S.A.)

* Order of Diaconal Ministries -Presbyterian Church in Canada

* Association of Anglican Deacons in Canada

* Deacons of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

* Diakonia of the United Church of Canada

Focus 1: DIAKONIA OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA (DUCC)

Diakonia of The United Church of Canada was formed in the early 1980s as an association of diaconal ministers.  However, diaconal ministry has roots in our church dating back to 1890s and the formation of the deaconess communities of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches.  Diaconal ministers are commissioned to a ministry of Education, Service and Pastoral Care.  With ministers who are ordained to Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care, diaconal ministers constitute one of two streams of ministry in the United Church.  In 2018, DUCCs gathered for a national biennial meeting in Winnipeg.  The theme was taken from the DUCC Vision Statement “Courageous Risking.”  The  biennial national gathering was to be held May of 2020 in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and the focus was to be “Faith Inspiring Power and Politics.”  Instead we met by Zoom. Work has been completed on renewing the DUCC website.  We share news in the community through regular mailchimp connections.  Our database has received much attention and now in good shape.  We have also participated in a recruitment video from the national church which highlights ministry options. DUCC is a member in Affirm United, a alliance of GBLTQ+ positive ministries.

WCC prayers

Intercessions

We are thankful for:

the vast expanse of North America with its resources and varied landscapes; may they be preserved, enjoyed and used wisely;

those who were its original inhabitants – First Nations and Native Americans;

church-related organizations that strongly advocate for justice, and those that provide for new immigrants and refugees today, as well as for others who are poor and vulnerable; 

ecumenical and interfaith engagements which are occurring in many communities that previously were mainly white and Christian.

We pray for:

churches facing new challenges, that they may continue to witness boldly to the gospel in evolving multicultural, multireligious and secular contexts;

indigenous peoples in their long struggles for survival, land and rights; and for ongoing healing and reconciliation with those who have come after them;

new immigrants, that they will continue to be welcomed in these countries, and that policies will serve the common good;

effectively countering systemic greed that exploits communities and natural resources;

government leaders that they would advance justice, human rights, and peace for all within these countries and in the rest of the world.

DUCC - United Church of Canada

Gathering of DUCCs at the last meeting of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario

Diaconal ministers in the United Church of Canada are members of the order of ministry who are commissioned to a ministry of education, service, and pastoral care. There are approximately 300 diaconal ministers in the United Church. You can find out more about Diaconal Ministers in the United Church Canada on their website. 

Diakonia of The United Church of Canada Statement of Vision

God calls us to diaconal ministry.
The gospel of Jesus invites all to this ministry:
to offer compassion and accompaniment,
to work for liberation and justice,
to act as advocates of creative transformation.

Diaconal ministry, as a recognized order, is rooted
within our faith tradition and history,
and it is continued and embodied
in an ecumenical, world-wide community.

This vocation is a journey
involving Spirit-filled enrichment and learning,
requiring humble offering of self,
demanding prayerful discernment and courageous risking,
exercising visionary and communal leadership,
promising joy and meaning,
and daring to imagine God’s abundance
in a world of love and respect.

Through education, service, social justice, and pastoral care,
diaconal ministry in The United Church of Canada,
encourages a growing faith,
speaks truth to power,
seeks mutual empowerment,
proclaims prophetic hope,
nurtures life-giving community,
fosters peaceful, right relationship,
within the church and the whole of creation
wherever the Spirit may lead.

Adopted at DUCC National Gathering, April 2009.

DUCC gathering, April 17-20th, 2018

The National Gathering for Diaconal Ministers in the United Church of Canada takes place in Winnipeg from April 17th-20th, 2018. Prayers for them as they gather to share stories, to gather around the Word, and to be equipped and inspired for ministry. 

DUCC National Gathering (Diakonia of the United Church of Canada)

 

This week (Tuesday April 28th to Friday May 1st), Deacons in the United Church of Canada have gathered at Crieff Hills Centre, Puslinch, Ontario for their biennial national gathering. The theme is 'Timeless Wisdom: Exploring Innovative Traditions'. During the gathering they will revisit the history of diakonia, consider the future of diaconal ministry in the church, conduct the business of DUCC and explore diaconal identity as ministry agents. Participants will explore together major historical periods when Diakonia was forced to change in response to a changing context and new understandings. They will look at key documents from their denomination which have significance for DUCC, as well as future initiatives as DUCC. Key documents are on line here.
(Some video and photos from the gathering are on the DUCC Facebook page here)

Ecumenical guests include:

• Lisa Polito, DOTAC President, Executive director Lutheran Deaconess Association
• Marg Robertson, Presbyterian Diaconal Minister; DOTAC executive member
• Sister Anne Keefer, Lutheran Deaconess Community ELCA/ELCIC
• Frank Tyrell, Anglican Deacon, CCS board member

The Statement of Vision adopted by DUCC at its April 2009 gathering:
God calls us to diaconal ministry.
The gospel of Jesus invites all to this ministry:
to offer compassion and accompaniment,
to work for liberation and justice,
to act as advocates of creative transformation.
Diaconal ministry, as a recognized order, is rooted
within our faith tradition and history,
and it is continued and embodied,
in an ecumenical, world-wide community.
This vocation is a journey,
involving Spirit-filled enrichment and learning,
requiring humble offering of self,
demanding prayerful discernment and courageous risking,
exercising visionary and communal leadership,
promising joy and meaning,
and daring to imagine God’s abundance,
in a world of love and respect.
Through education, service, social justice, and pastoral care,
diaconal ministry in The United Church of Canada,
encourages a growing faith,
speaks truth to power,
seeks mutual empowerment,
proclaims prophetic hope,
nurtures life-giving community,
fosters peaceful, right relationship,
within the church and the whole of creation,
wherever the Spirit may lead.

Please uphold the gathering in prayer. The prayer below expresses wonderfully the hope not only for the DUCC gathering but for God's world-wide church. 

Prayer
Holy One, Source of All, Creator of all that is and will be
Christ, Saviour, and Redeemer,
hope of the world to come,
Spirit and Sustainer, Advocate, breath of life and love.....
We give thanks for creation.
In awe and wonder,
we marvel at the new life and beauty you are continually creating.
And we know,
beyond all sense of knowing, that what you are doing is good.
We draw inspiration and strength from places
where we already see hope lived out and the Spirit unleashed.
And we know that your Spirit - that sense of unwavering hope -
is stirring and speaking life in the very depths of our being
and inviting us to be part of your new creation.
We know our attention sometimes strays
and we focus on things that do not serve your mission.
But your mission is our mission.
We pray for insight, that we may sense your call.
We pray for the strength to let go.
And we pray for the courage to travel more lightly.
May we draw closer to you and your vision,
as inspired and invited by Jesus’ own example.
Propel us into your future, which is rooted in the richness of our past.
This is our prayer, and in the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
May it be so. Amen
(Source: United in Vision, UCC comprehensive report 2015)