General News and Announcements

June 14, 2010

The 40th General Council invites ministry personnel (ordered and lay), with the support of congregations, community ministries, presbyteries, and Conferences/districts, to take appropriate language and cultural training in French, supported by National Continuing Education Funds.

The goal of the “Learning French for Ministry” Language Programme is to support training in French language and culture for those ministry personnel of The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada who will use French in their ministry and who are located in a context where there is potential for welcoming and reaching out to Francophones.

Funding is available in the amount of $1,500.00 (maximum) to be granted per person per year. It is possible to be funded up to three times in three different (and possibly consecutive) years, depending on the availability of funding. The “Learning French for Ministry” Language Programme would normally be complemented by congregational and/or presbytery and/or Conference/district funding—making support for and ownership of equipping leaders for Ministry en Français the work of the whole church.

Consideration for funding will be given to applicants wishing to enrol in a recognized or formal program of language learning in French given by a variety of institutions, including universities and school boards. The “Learning French for Ministry” Language Programme encourages courses that focus on the acquisition of oral skills, including the development of vocabulary and grammatical competence. Immersion experiences have been shown to be an effective method of language learning. Therefore, two- or three-week intensive immersion courses will be given preference over year-long or two-hours-per-week courses.

Interested applicants may apply up to three times for financial assistance for such courses. Acceptance is dependent on the availability of funds. First-time applicants will be given priority.

The next deadlines for the submission of funding requests are

• September 20, 2010: for courses in the late fall of 2010, and in the winter and early spring of 2011
• February 20, 2011: for courses in the spring, summer, and early fall of 2011

For more information, please visit «Learning French for Ministry» Programme.

Or, please contact

• David-Roger Gagnon
  Ministères en français
  L’Église Unie du Canada
  1435, rue City Councillors
  Montréal, Québec  H3A 2E4
  Tel: 514-284-1675 poste 226
  Fax: 514-284-1672
  E-mail: David-Roger Gagnon