Welcome!

We hope you can join us for the 2024 Canadian Shield Regional Meeting! This year’s meeting will be a hybrid, held both in-person at the Quattro Hotel in Sault Ste. Marie and online in Zoom. Our meeting will begin on Friday May 3 and continued on Saturday May 4, 2024,  ending with our worship service  on Sunday, May 5, 2024. Joining us will be special guest the Rt. Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, 44th Moderator of The United Church of Canada.

Join Us In-Person

Feature Hotel Location

The Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre will be the home for this year’s in-person regional meeting. They are located at 229 Great Northern Rd, Sault Ste. Marie (MAP).
There will be a block of rooms available for those attending the regional meeting. Call in to book and pay for your own rooms quoting ‘UCC – General Block’ to access the saved block of rooms
The deadline to book a hotel room at Quattro is April 2, 2024. After that date rooms will be released to the general public at an increased price.

Contact Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre here to book your room.

Ministry Personnel Retreat Accommodation

People who are attending both the Ministry Personnel Retreat AND the Regional Council Meeting will book and pay for their own rooms. They can stay in the same hotel room all weekend and will not need to book under the general room block. Call in to book and pay for your own rooms quoting ‘UCC – Ministry Retreat’ to access that saved block of rooms. The deadline to book a hotel room at Quattro is April 2, 2024.

Accommodations List

If you would rather not stay at Quattro, here is the accommodation list of other hotels available in Sault Ste. Marie.

Please note: there is another large conference in town the same weekend and hotel space may be limited, so we encourage you to book as soon as possible to ensure you have accommodation.

Meal Plan

This year we will be offering a meal plan for those attending the regional meeting. On Friday there will be a buffet supper, on Saturday there will be a buffet lunch and a sit down served meal for supper. Please indicate that you would like to purchase your in-person registration form, whch will cost $40. The deadline for ordering food is April 19, 2024 You will be redirected to our secure online payment site (Stripe) to pay by credit card. Payment in full is required at time of registration, otherwise your food order will not be included. 

If a guest will be joining you, they will not have their meals subsidized by the region, and their meal cost will be $150.

Travel Reimbursement

The Regional Council will reimburse over 300 km for Regional Council members travel, or contribute to airfare equal to mileage cost, minus the value of 300 km. The Regional Council encourages folks to car pool for both environmental and budgetary reasons. Travel reimbursement forms will be at the registration desk for you to pick up and drop off. Reimbursements will be mailed out to you after the regional meeting. If you have any questions please contact Kathleen Jones at kijones@united-church.ca

Workshops with our Special Guest Speakers

We will be breaking out on Saturday afternoon for several workshop sessions. Please indicate on your registration form which workshop you wish to attend at what time. Session 1 runs from 1:15 – 2 p.m, Session 2 runs from 3 -4 p.m. and Session 3 runs from 4:15 to 5:15 pm.

The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne is the 44th Moderator of The United Church of Canada (UCC). She is the elected national spiritual leader and public representative of the United Church until 2025. As Moderator, Carmen chairs the governance bodies of the UCC. 

She also sits on the board of the Vancouver Foundation–Canada’s largest community foundation. She has previously held a number of important governance roles with the UCC, including supporting indigenous candidates for ministry.

Prior to serving the national church, Moderator Carmen was the executive director of First United Church Community Ministry Society in Vancouver.

The Moderator leads with compassion, thoughtfulness, and creativity while maintaining academic interests, church ministry, indigenous ways of being, parenting, and partnering. She holds a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and is a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation. She is passionate about creating a life with great stories and amazing adventures with her family.

Rev. Melody Duncanson-Hales
Community of Faith Stewardship Support
The United Church of Canada

Melody is your go-to for all aspects of community of faith stewardship, including annual giving programs, year-round stewardship, Mission & Service, planned giving, the United Church Foundation and more. Melody also brings her experience to the modules of Called to Be the Church: The Journey, the United Church stewardship program.

Labyrinth Walk

Manitou Intentional Learning Center will be hosting a self directed labyrinth walk at Willowgrove United. Walking the labyrinth is embodied prayer. It is a symbolic action that can bring meaning into everyday reality; a place of integration, of focus; a place to discover or recover the desire of one’s heart.

Online Only Workshops

Several of our in person guest speakers will also be offering online only workshops as well. Please remember to check off which one’s you will attend so we have an idea of attendance.

Nominations

Canadian Shield Regional Council is currently recruiting new members for the following:

• Regional Council Executive Committee Chair Elect (1 vacancy)
• Regional Council Executive Committee Members (3 vacancies)
• Pastoral Relations Commission Chair (1 vacancy)
• Support to Communities of Faith Commission Members (4 vacancies)
• Finance Resource Team (1 vacancy)
• Mission Support Grants Resource Team Members (2 vacancies)
• Nominations Committee Members (2 vacancies)
• Property Resource Team Members (4 vacancies)
• Right Relations Resource Team Lead (1 vacancy)
• Right Relations Resource Team Members (2 vacancies)
• Youth and Young Adult Resource Team Lead (1 vacancy)
• Youth and Young Adult Resource Team Member (4 vacancies)

The position descriptions for each of the vacancies can be found here:

Regional Council Executive Chair Elect (PDF | 1 page)
Regional Council Executive Committee Members (PDF | 1 page)
Pastoral Relations Commission Chair (PDF | 1 page)
Support to Communities of Faith Commission Member (PDF | 1 Page)
Finance Resource Team Member (PDF | 1 Page)
Mission Support Grants Resource Team Member (PDF | 1 Page)
Nominations Committee Member (PDF | 1 Page)
Property Resource Team Member (PDF | 1 Page)
Right Relations Resource Team Lead (PDF | 1 Page)
Right Relations Resource Team Member (PDF | 2 pages)
Youth and Young Adult Resource Team Member (PDF | 1 Page)
Youth and Young Adult Resource Team Lead (PDF | 1 Page)

If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone about any of our current opportunities to get involved, please contact our team at csrc@united-church.ca

The deadline to submit your nomination is 12 Noon on May 4, 2024. To submit your Nomination form, please see the Nominations page of the website.

General Council 45 Commissioners

The General Council of The United Church of Canada will meet in Calgary in August 2025. Canadian Shield Regional Council may elect 14 commissioners to attend the meeting and serve as members of the General Council for three years, beginning in June 2025. Commissioners will also participate in educational sessions beginning in April 2025.

Please see the position description for GC45 Commissioners (PDF | 2 pages) for further details on what expectations will be required.

The regional council will vote on the slate of commissioners at our regional meeting being held on May 3 – 5, 2024. For more information please see our General Council Commissioner page.

Meeting Registration

Please register to attend this meeting if you are Ministry Personnel or an Elected Lay Representative. Elected Lay Representatives are elected by their community of faith or by the region. Not sure if you are an elected lay representative or have other registration questions? Contact us at csrc@united-church.ca.

Please note that the deadline to register and order meals was April 19, 2024. You are still able to register but there will be no meals available to purchase, and you will be responsible for your own meals for the meeting.

If you are unable to attend the meeting please submit your regrets below. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon!