Francophone ministries in the United Church have a new national governing body.
La Table des Ministères en Français, an 18-member council launched in February, aims to “support existing French ministries, promote the establishment of new French ministries, and help the Church as a whole respect its engagements concerning the use of French.”
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While many mourned the loss of Presbyteries that resulted from the church’s major restructuring early this year, it was especially significant for French-language ministries. Laurentien Presbytery, a non-geographic body, was their formal voice in the national church.
As a linguistic minority, francophone ministries require decision-making processes that are culturally relevant to their different approaches, says Éric Hébert-Daly, General Council’s head of French ministries. “It’s not to isolate francophone ministries, but rather to ensure that a culturally appropriate governance model exists for them.”
In a new collaborative process, La Table will work with regional councils to recognize newly established French ministries, and make decisions about closing congregations.
Some of La Table’s budding projects include a francophone equivalent of Gathering magazine, a Quebec-wide survey to gauge openness to the United Church among the general population, and a library of francophone video sermons and other resources available to all ministries.
The church has committed $100,000 to the council.
This column first appeared in the June 2019 issue of Broadview with the title “New support for French ministries.” For more of Broadview’s award-winning content, subscribe to the magazine today.
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I understand the intent of this article, I had trouble though with this quote:
“It’s not to isolate francophone ministries, but rather to ensure that a culturally appropriate governance model exists for them.” Canada, being diverse, the United Church needs to ensure that a culturally appropriate governance model exists nation wide. Issues in Newfoundland/Labrador will be different than Toronto, the Prairies, Yukon, or Vancouver.
Ultimately, culture is defined as the way of life for a community of people, is it not the United Church?