The Very Rev. Dr. Peter Short

March 2006

To: Presbyteries/Districts and Conferences

Dear Colleagues and Friends in Christ,

Please accept greetings on behalf of The United Church of Canada along with our gratitude for your ministries. I write to you in anticipation of the 39th General Council to which we are looking forward very much and for which we are planning and working. I hope the brief video presentation that we have prepared will encourage your spiritual preparation for the council.

In the recorded message I ask you to invoke the gift and the discipline of discernment as you participate in the election process for commissioners from your Conference. The election of commissioners is always a crucial task in the church. Electing commissioners for the council in Thunder Bay will be no exception. I know that in some instances commissioners have already been elected but I hope that the message will be useful to them just the same.

Video Presentation

• High Speed [WMV: 6:29/10.5 MB]
• Basic [WMV: 6:29/1.6 MB]

Read script

• English
• En français

Each meeting of the General Council has had a unique blend of people, characteristics, and issues to face. However, the 39th General Council will be different from the others in another way. A significant portion of this council's agenda will be given to clarifying the purpose to which God is calling The United Church of Canada today. In order to pursue clarity of purpose for the church, the council will have to do more than respond to reports and proposals. It will have to discern the signs of the times, name the crucial issues that define our spiritual context, and catch a glimpse of the path upon which God is calling us to set our feet. Articulating clarity of purpose is not something that diverts the council from its work. It is the council's work.

Therefore, those who are elected as commissioners will find themselves entering into a different kind of General Council meeting. They will be required, as always, to attend to proposals, reports, and elections, but something more will be asked of them. They will need your prayer, encouragement, and support as they pay attention to the moving of the Spirit in and upon the church.

I want to express gratitude on behalf of the whole church to those who are willing to let their names stand in nomination. May God's Holy Spirit guide us all as we approach the 39th General Council of The United Church of Canada. Please pray that the freedom of the church to live its life in the way of Jesus Christ will be upheld and expanded.

Sincerely,

Peter Short (The Right Rev. Dr.)
Moderator