Outreach Ministry
As we look forward to a new decade, we honour the work of our Outreach Ministry over the past 40 years. Working with a variety of partners, Barrhaven United has reached out to support and empower our vulnerable neighbours in Barrhaven and the larger Ottawa area as well as beyond Ottawa (through the United Church’s Mission and Service and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.) As an offshoot of Nepean FAMSAC (Nepean’s food cupboard), we started the Barrhaven Food Cupboard in the early 1980’s. The Steepleview Crossing affordable housing community on church property was part of our vision for building our church in the early 1990’s and Barrhaven United was an original participant in the gatherings of faith communities in the early 2000’s that evolved into the creation of Multifaith Housing Initiative in 2002.
Today we proudly continue this work, supporting Mission and Service as well as a number of neighbourhood, city-wide and global organizations. We also continue to educate ourselves about issues and actions to address injustices, including those related to forming right relations with our Indigenous neighbours. Watch for web postings of special events and notes in our weekly Life and Work.
We welcome your interest and your questions. Please contact us at buc.outreach@gmail.com.
Supporting Our Outreach Partners
The Barrhaven United congregation supports a number of neighbourhood, city-wide and global organizations in various ways. We volunteer. Each Advent, we celebrate the traditions of White Gift Sunday and Come Sing Noel. We designate special offerings received at our Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve worship services, towards the important work of our partners.
Click here to learn more about our partners and our initiatives
Right Relations with our Indigenous Neighbours
Inspired by the United Church’s right relations work, including its support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission’s Calls to Action, our Outreach Team has been on a journey of learning about the history of contact in Canada between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, its impacts, and how to build new relationships. We have participated in ecumenical networking and educational endeavours, including the Ottawa Right Relations Network and a range of Kairos Canada and Truth and Reconciliation Commission related events. We also attended and followed the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal proceedings regarding inadequate and discriminatory child welfare funding on reserves.
The Outreach Team’s current focus is to provide opportunities for learning at Barrhaven United Church by organizing special services, movie nights and presentations as well as communicating opportunities provided by other organizations to the congregation.
Click here to learn more about right relations work done by the United Church of Canada and others, as well as local indigenous support services.
Mission and Service
Supporting the Mission and Service of the United Church of Canada is an important part of Barrhaven United’s Outreach Ministry. Please check out Generosity Through Mission and Service, including the link to ‘Mission and Service at a Glance’, for more information about initiatives supported by Mission and Service.
Environmental Awareness
We focus on our need to live in harmony with all of God’s Creation and its intricate web of life. Our activities have included solar panels on our roof, Earth Day walks, engaging in special lessons with the children, and providing information on local issues to the congregation.