Activist Alphabet author Donna Sinclair will offer readings and conversation about why and how we might try to live out God’s call to live with respect in Creation. Webinar participants in Northern Ontario might be especially interested in some anecdotes described in this book —  many of the people involved will be familiar.  Faith communities can be far more influential that we sometimes think in the now-enormous struggle to care for our lovely and threatened planet. Questions, comments and opinions will be welcome.

Monday, October 19th, 6:30-8pm via Zoom

Register by contacting Gillian Schell at

Donna Sinclair

As a long-time senior writer with The United Church Observer, Donna won many national and international awards, among them news coverage and editorial courage. She is a recipient of the A.C. Forrest Memorial Award for excellence in religious journalism from the Canadian Church Press.

Donna is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books, most recently Activist Alphabet (Wood Lake Books). She is a Fellow of Huntington College in Sudbury, and has an honourary doctorate from Queen’s University in Kingston.

Now retired, Donna continues to write occasionally for Broadview magazine and others. She is a long-time and active member of St. Andrew’s United in North Bay, and  also a committed member of the Indigenous Solidarity Team of the North Bay and Area Mission Cluster, United Church of Canada.

Activist Alphabet is available from Wood Lake Publishing or from the United Church Resource Distribution Centre.

Advent on October: A workshop for all those leading worship during Advent

So,… it’s October… the time when all good worship leaders start planning for Advent and Christmas. Join Rev. Stewart Walker for a time of reflection and discussion of the Advent and Christmas lectionary readings and how we might frame the Advent message in this peculiar time we are all living through. As is usual for this recurrent Advent event, we will look at the scriptures but we will also consider how we do Advent and Christmas in a time of Global Pandemic.

Join us for this workshop via Zoom.

Saturday, October 24^th from 9:30 am to noon.

To register, please contact Gillian Schell manitouintentionallearning@gmail.com

The police killings of black and indigenous people and the protests that followed have received extensive media coverage.   Many voices have joined the chorus to demand change.  To be able to bring about change, it is important to understand the roots of racism and the daily experience of individuals and communities affected by racism. Please join in the Zoom presentation with Carla John (Manager, Equity, Human Rights, and Accessibility at Cambrian College), and Kelly Lee Assinewe (Coordinator of the N’Swakamok Alternative School), who will speak about issues of racism in our area and how to work towards racial equity in our local context.

This is a Zoom event to be held on Wednesday, September 30^th, 6:30 t0 8:00pm.

Presented by the Manitou Intentional Learning Community (MILC)

Registration required. Please contact gillian.schell@sympatico.ca

About our guests

Carla John is a former teacher who returned to university after 7 years of teaching and received her Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from Mount Saint Vincent University.

Hard-of hearing since the age of two, Carla has experienced how marginalized identities intersect and are sometimes forgotten. She’s worked with people with disabilities both as Learning Skills Counsellor at Laurentian University and as former chair of the Sudbury Accessible Sports Council.

Originally from Bermuda, Carla likes to return often with her wife and son to visit family and friends.

Kelly-Lee Assinewe is originally from the Serpent River First Nation but is now a member of Sagamok Anishnawbek. She is a mother of 3 beautiful children and grandmother to 2 grandsons.

She has been working as the Coordinator of the N’Swakamok Alternative School for over twenty years and has over thirty years of experience working with Indigenous youth and adults in educational settings.  She helps at risk students achieve their dreams of obtaining their diplomas.

She has been recognized for her work through the Indigenous Educator Award for Community Service by Indspire; Native Education Person of Distinction Award from Laurentian University and Woman of Distinction through YWCA Sudbury.

Many of us have been participants in Zoom meetings but have you ever wanted to learn how to host one or to dive a bit deeper than to just be a participant?  You can learn by coming to this online workshop being presented by MILC.

This workshop, hosted by Susan Whitehead, a staff member of the Canadian Shield Regional Council, will prepare participants to make the most of Zoom meetings.

Topics include: booking meetings, sharing screens, using security settings and waiting rooms, chat box, breakout groups, back-end settings, sharing audio and visual materials, and Zoom meeting etiquette.

Date:  Wednesday, September 16^th 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

To register and receive an invitation, please contact gillian.schell@sympatico.ca.

How to produce a video worship service with no budget, a phone, and a computer.

On March 15th, 2020 Espanola United Church held regular Sunday worship in the sanctuary. On March 17th at 9:13 A.M., the province of Ontario declared a state of emergency which shut down most of the province including our places of worship. On March 22nd, Espanola United Church produced an online worship service. Join the Rev. Stewart Walker as he shares the story of his transition from humble country minister to YouTube star with 100 views per week! Seriously though, it was a steep learning curve and I would like to share the things I learned along the way, particularly how to produce a video worship service with no budget, a phone, and a computer. We will look at free, open source software which allows production of reasonably professional videos; how to use the software; and how to post the video to the internet. The session will take place on Wednesday, September 9^th from 6:30 to 8:00 by Zoom. To register and receive Zoom invitation, please contact gillian.schell@sympatico,ca

MILC extends a very large thank you to Maurice Switzer for discussing the history of Treaties will MILC participants in May 2019 and for permitting a recording of the presentation.

Rev. Jeff Rock, Senior Pastor at Metropolitan Community Church Toronto, offered a talk on Que(e)ring Religion to MILC participants in June of 2020.

You can watch a recording of the presentation here.