Join the Circle
“Since graduation I have searched for con-ed that offers the depth and breadth of content as well as the educational style CCS gave me.”
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Viewing healing ministry through diaconal eyes
By Ross White “When we are present, we see that there really is a Holy Plan, and that it is happening right now. Consciously participating in the miraculous unfolding of reality is Holy Work and it is the greatest source of satisfaction that we have.” (Understanding the Enneagram, 56) I am a confirmed eclectic….
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Courage – worshiping with the Tragically Hip
On a cold November night in East Gwillimbury, armed with a live band, two projectors and about 100 glowsticks, 40 people gathered at Sharon Hope United Church to sing, dance and pray along with songs by Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip. Our theme was Courage, and the many forms it takes in our daily…
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Two weeks to transform your life!
Intense. Spiritually enriching. Faithfilled. Expanding. World-opening. Learning on Purpose: Changing Leadership for a Changing World is two weeks of focussed leadership training, in community, intended to help leaders to dig deep and expand outward. The next Learning on Purpose will be offered June 11 – 23, 2018 in Victoria, B.C., at Christ Church Cathedral, a short…
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Of cookie crumbs and singing!
What is more joyful than cookies and music? Gathering with friends to sing together, eat the cookies, enjoy a glass of hot cider and a whole lot of conversation! Twenty friends of the Centre came together on Friday, December 8 to sing Christmas hymns and carols, interspersed with breaks for chatting, drinking hot cider, and…
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Connections
Diaconal ministers seem to love to connect. And November was a month for gathering. Lori Stewart (not pictured), CCS Development Coordinator, stopped in Kitchener for coffee with Ellen Baynton-Walker, Margaret Collard, Meghan Gilholm, Marilyn Burnard, and Katharine Edmonstone .
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On coaching and the Enneagram
The Enneagram is a system which identifies nine different personality types as a map for personal development. CCS grad Roland Legge reflects on using the Enneagram in his coaching practice. Recently I took nine-months of intensive training through the Deep Coaching Institute to learn a coaching model that uses the Enneagram. It is all about…
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Gathering together and drawing wider circles with diaconal sisters and brothers
The Central Committee of Diakonia of the Americas and Caribbean (DOTAC) met this month in Vancouver. DOTAC is both an international and ecumenical organization that connects and gathers those engaged in diakonia. Check them out here http://dotac.diakonia-world.org/. Diaconal Gathering at Carey Hall, UBC, Thursday, November 9, 2017 Shout out to Ted Dodd and other members of…
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Neighbours ~ a good Samaritan story by Annika Sangster
CCS grad Annika Sangster has published a delightful retelling of the story of the Good Samaritan called Neighbours. We recently talked about the genesis of the book and gaining the confidence to share her creativity. Details for purchasing Neighbours are at the bottom of the article. Neighbours emerged from a Vacation Bible School with…
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Announcing the 2018 Companion of the Centre – Sue Taylor
“In my understanding, spirituality is about a sense of connectedness or a search for connectedness: Connectedness within ourselves or a feeling of “being at home” within ourselves; connectedness with others in relationships; connectedness within the wider community or the world; connectedness with the universe or creation and the mystery that we might call God—a connectedness…
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Music, the Bible and connecting to God
CCS program staff person Janet Ross reflects on Music and Spirituality in the Rupertsland News. Music has had a significant place in my life and in some ways has been a “character” or perhaps more accurately a kind of dialogue partner in my life story. Music has invited me into new spaces of existence and existentiality,…
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Planting seeds of social justice
The Oxford Coalition for Social Justice is a small volunteer run group dedicated to addressing multiple issues that negatively impact the life and health of residents in Oxford County, Ontario. It’s not easy taking on large gravel companies who want to carve up the landscape, or challenging a plan to dump garbage in a new…
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A Place of Dignity
When I reach Don Evans he’s in a hotel room in Portugal. He’s just woken up from a nap after spending the day touring therapeutic communities for people addicted to drugs and meeting with politicians. Don is the executive director of Our Place in Victoria, BC, and a CCS student. Our Place is a church-supported…
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Listening brings healing
Racism is not an easy thing to talk about with white people, or so I’ve found. When I was bullied all through grade 7, shoved up against lockers and called “Paki,” my caucasian friends just kept walking, as if they’d seen nothing. I was too ashamed to bring it up myself, so we just acted…
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Mamawe Ota Askihk – Sharing Life Together Here on Earth
Diaconal minister Karen Tjaden reflects on a week at the Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre with Indigenous community leaders and settler allies to reclaim the homebred, the homespoken, the homegrown, and the homemade. Photographs from Michelle Owen’s experience at the Feast for Friends. Centred around the sacred fire, a wonderful community based on an immersion experience…
