United Church’s CMNO Appeals For Member Support
WINNIPEG, MB—The Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, United Church of Canada (CMNO) is issuing a dynamic appeal to its members to help build support to move the national offices of the United Church of Canada (UCC) to Winnipeg.
CMNO recently released an interactive video presentation to its membership that contained video messages from the Honourable Flor Marcelino, Minister for Culture, Heritage, and Tourism, Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, and President and Vice‐Chancellor of The University of Winnipeg Lloyd Axworthy.
“I strongly believe that God is calling the General Council to Winnipeg,” says Bruce Faurschou, Executive Secretary of the CMNO, “and our partners at the University, the city and the province believe that Winnipeg and Manitoba would make an excellent home for the national body of the church.”
The lease on the office of the UCC in Toronto expires in August 2015 and the national church has been busy investigating alternative sites. CMNO and its partner YES! Winnipeg have produced an excellent proposal and Winnipeg has emerged as a strong contender for the new home of the UCC. In the hopes of creating a grassroots movement the CMNO recently released the interactive video presentation and the proposal to their membership asking that they share the information widely.
“We are offering the gift of hospitality and new possibilities to our General Council,” says Bev Simpson, President of the CMNO. “We are confident that a move to Winnipeg would not only benefit the city and the conference, including all of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, but would be life ‐giving for the whole church, nation‐wide as well.”
“Winnipeg has been a focal‐point for social justice struggles and working on relationships between Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal Canadians,” says the Honourable Bill Blaikie, United Church Minister and Minister for Conservation. “Given that the United Church of Canada has long been on the leading edge of both, Winnipeg and the church stand to benefit from the synergies that will be created if the General Council moves to Winnipeg.”
The UCC’s General Council Executive is expected to choose one of the potential locations during a meeting in mid‐November.
If Winnipeg is chosen, the UCC could realize significant savings in operating costs and wage and salary rates while the province and the city would benefit from the spinoffs of having a national organization centred in Winnipeg.
“A United Church of Canada move to Winnipeg would be a great complement to the many other exciting developments in the City,” says Bill Morrissey, Leader of Yes! Winnipeg. “It would be a win‐win situation for the Church, the city, and the province.”
The Conference hopes to grow momentum for the movement to relocate General Council offices once the benefits of a move to Winnipeg are better known.
To read a copy of the proposal or to view the interactive video presentation click here Conference Message on UCC Move.
