News



Eden's Future Quest Program

 

 

"...we live in a new world, the church is finding itself at a crossroads, and it is time for us to be open to the Emerging Spirit of discovering -- Who we are? What is God calling us to be and do now? And, who is our neighbour?"
-- Rev. Barry King

 

 

 

Eden has been blessed with numerous gifts and opportunities since our Methodist beginnings in 1824. Today, our church family has grown to over 603 members, plus adherents. As in the past, it is essential for us to communicate as a family by sharing and acting on our dreams, hopes, and visions. This web page is a resource page for the materials and data collected and presented by the Future Quest team at Eden. It is one of the many ways the team is communicating their progress to the congregation.

Future Quest is the name of a visioning program at Eden which began in January of 2007. At an informal congregational meeting, it was decided that Eden should:

This action plan was presented and approved by the congregation on April 1, 2007. The interim model of governance is currently in place.

Visioning Program

Since the action plan was approved in April, the following event and surveys have occurred as part of the
visioning program:

The purpose of this event and the surveys was to determine what people feel Eden is doing well and how Eden can improve. Below are the survey results from the online survey:

Future Quest Survey Results

Ongoing Programs and Schedule

January 27, 2007 -- Future Quest team to present the survey results at the Annual General Meeting to be held following worship.

January - February -- Receive and review Environics report regarding the neighbourhood and region surrounding Eden. Do a comparison between it and the survey data collected from looking within Eden.

March -- Share this information back to the congregation and receive feedback.

June -- Present mission statement/vision  at congregational meeting.

 

Summer 2008 Update

During the last few months, the Future Quest team has reviewed models of governance that are currently being used and recently adopted by other United Church congregations. They are also drafting new mission and vision statements, and from those a list of Eden’s core values.

It is the team’s intention to circulate these drafts to Council and committee members in August for feedback. At the September Council meeting, the Future Quest team will present a new model of governance for Eden. These are exciting times. We are nearing the end of our 18-month period of discernment and a picture of Eden’s future is becoming clearer. In November, the Future Quest team hopes to call a congregational meeting to present our recommended new model of governance to all. Stay tuned!

If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please contact one of the members on the Future Quest team – Rev. Barry King, Allen Graham, Dan Thoms, Linda Halupka, Beth Hawley, Mike Parker, or Nicole Metcalf Santos.

Or, email your questions to futurequest@edenunitedchurch.com.

 

 

Related Reading and Web Sites

www.emergingspirit.ca -- A United Church of Canada web site devoted to establishing and nurturing a relationship between the United Church and Canadians who don't attend church, with a focus on those between the ages of 30 and 45. The aim of Emerging Spirit is to help raise awareness about the ministry of The United Church of Canada and to invite people to join with us on the journey of faith. The media component of Emerging Spirit will proceed hand in hand with work to help congregations and their leaders develop more effective welcoming ministries and connect in a new way with their communities.

www.wondercafe.ca -- An online discussion forum supported by the United Church of Canada. Emerging Spirit is reaching out through a national media campaign which uses magazine and Internet advertising, viral videos and other popular media. A key part of this campaign is the WonderCafe online discussion forum.

January Future Quest Results  -- PowerPoint presentation of the consolidated results from the visioning program carried out at Eden. Includes results from the Visioning Event, Stewardship Survey, and Online Survey. Shows large trends in the results.

Churchill Meadows Halton Presbytery Presentation  -- PowerPoint presentation from Eden United Church to Halton Presbytery detailing the results of the Churchill Meadows Region (CMr) project. The purpose of the project was to collect, sort and analyze data on the CMr with an eye to developing new ministry activities within the area.

Keep the Faith or Pull the Plug  -- Globe and Mail article by Michael Valpy, January 12, 2008

www.emergingchurch.info -- A web site funded by UK Christian organizations and denominations with an interest in mission and the future of the church.

Future Quest team presented the survey results at the Annual General Meeting on Jan.27'08.  View the presentation here.

 

 

If you have questions, please email them to: futurequest@edenunitedchurch.com.