Rev. Jonathon Schmidt of the Canadian Churches’ Forum for Global Ministries will guide participants through the practical and theological considerations of engaging youth in short-term mission projects.  Ideal for leaders considering a future trip, those currently engaged in mission preparations, and seasoned trip planners, this seminar will take us through all the stages of exposure trip development, from early discernment to post-trip reorientation.

Participants receive a free resource, “Sojourning: A Leaders Guide for Short Term Mission Travel”.

Established in 1921, the Canadian Churches’ Forum for Global Ministries is an ecumenical agency whose members include the Anglican, Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutheran and United Church.  Visit them at www.ccforum.ca

This is a FREE seminar!  Email yaya@uccanottawa.org to register.  Registration is limited to 30 participants.  Lunch is provided.

Click YouthMissionTrips for the promotional poster.

Top Left: Erin Anderson from the Globe & Mail (and Joel)

Top Centre: Julia Valley from the West Ottawa Resource Centre

Top Right: Dr. Gretchen Conrad (right) from the Royal Ottawa Hospital (and Deb)

THANKS to everyone who came and really wrestled with what we can do as the Church, and as youth leaders, to bring healing to individuals who suffer from Mental Illness.  May this be the beginning of further discussions and may we work together to end the stigma that surrounds this really prevalent disease.

We’re excited to be bringing you another great FNV event for the month of November.  Join us as we talk about Mental Health Issues with Youth.  We’ve got some great guests coming to lead workshops and guide us in this discussion.  And as always, there will be loads of opportunity to meet people and have your soul and spirit renewed.  We hope you can join us in this important discussion.

How do we empower youth to grow in faith?  How do we encourage youth to live out their beliefs?

Join other youth leaders from Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and United Church communities as we wrestle with questions of discipleship and faith formation.  Through worship, reflection, discussion, self-care and fellowship we will support each other and grow in our abilities to serve youth and fulfill God’s calling on our ministries.  Click on the tabs above for schedules and registration info.

Our concentration this month will be on engaging youth with the arts, and workshops will engage both practical and theoretical concerns. You can check out the variety of workshops here and the day’s schedule here.

If you still want to register, you can download the registration form here.

We have just added a Resources Section which will contain handouts and resources from all of our Fresh New Vision events. Just uploaded are the Ketchup Skit, Introductory Power Point, Social Justice and Spiritual Practices handout. More to come in the near future.

We would especially like to thank all who participated, as well as the people of Riverside United / Anglican Church of the Resurrection for hosting us.

We had 20 participants in the day’s activities which included a time of worship, our opening Renew session, three tangible, Revision workshops, and our closing Refresh session, spending time in the Soul Harbour labyrinth.

We hope that you all had a great time, that you learned a bit, and that you’ll join us again in November.

Our November workshops will be all new, featuring a different slate of workshop leaders. We’ll get all of the nitty-gritty workshop details up in the coming weeks. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Andrew, Andrew, Christine & Joel
Fresh New Visionaries

We’re excited to be able to offer these training sessions for youth leaders in the Ottawa area, for members of all of these denominations and beyond. These sessions are open to anyone who is interested in helping to invigorate youth ministry in their own congregation, and in the broader community.

It’s all a part of an effort to work collaboratively and to find fresh new ways to envision our ministries amongst youth.

We have three events scheduled, each of which will be different from the others, taking place at different locations around Ottawa. Because these sessions have been organized collaboratively and ecumenically, we’re trying to reflect that ecumenism in our venues as well.

We hope you’ll be able to join us. You can download the registration form here.

Here’s the schedule:

September 27, 2008 – Riverside United / Anglican Church of the Resurrection
3191 Riverside Drive, Ottawa

November 22, 2008 – St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church
971 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa

January 31, 2008 – All Saints Lutheran
1061 Pinecrest Road, Ottawa

Registration and Coffee begin at 9.30am, with the sessions to begin promptly at 10.00am. Lunch will be provided as a part of your registration fee.