Welcome to London Conference

We live in one of the most exciting eras of the Christian Church.  In ways that are not yet clear to us God is creating something new within our midst. 

Welcome to London Conference of The United Church of Canada.  In this wonderful, chaotic, turbulent time we are the followers of Christ, the people of God, your neighbours and your friends.  Our congregations stretch across the northern shore of Lake Superior and fill the toe of southwestern Ontario.  We are 300 congregations, 240 pastoral charges 270 ministry personnel and over 75,000 people of all nationalities and many languages.

We do some amazing work, helping people who are hungry, providing shelters for homeless people particularly in the dark days of winter.  We reach out through food banks and breakfast programs.  The names may sound strange -- ELUCO, Windsor Downtown Mission, Inn of the Good Shepherd, Operation Sharing – but there is nothing strange about the work we do, the tears that are dried, the people we help, the hope we share.   We work hard to live justly and responsibly in the world.  Our youth first raised concerns about water bottles in 2005 and since then we have seen this movement spread across the country and has now been picked up by a number of municipalities. 

We are custodians of one of the great tools of outreach in our country.  Our “Mission and Service Fund” is amongst the best charitable funds in the world.  Through this Fund we deliver aid in effective ways across the country and around the world.  Wherever we work we find local partners that know the needs and can responsibly and effectively respond to the needs of their communities.  The Mission and Service Fund includes people who think about where each dollar goes so that we get the best bang for our buck.  One dollar to the Mission and Service Fund can affect our neighbours down the street and life around the world. 

Our life in the community is evolving.  We are changing our landscape.  New ministries and directions are emerging.  Some buildings are closing.  Sometimes we cry.  Sometimes we laugh.  Always we remember that we are on a journey, following the One who is always with us.  What else can we say except, AThank you God for this journey and for the privilege of living in this age.