Annual Planning for Ministry Forum 2025
Our Ministry Forum Team committed to doing some Annual Planning last month. Over two consecutive Mondays we stepped away from our screens and spent a little time in nature at our “FIRST CHOICE” for all of our Ministry Forum retreat needs - Crieff Hills Retreat Centre. While there was an agenda and lots of amazing ideas were generated as well as spending some intentional time being grateful for you, our Ministry Forum audience - the space was also a integral part of each of our days away.
For those who want to learn more about the birds in your area - download the Merlin Bird ID here.
For those of you who know me, you know I love birds and squirrels - yes, I’m #TeamSquirrel (Ihope I don’t see any unsubscribes today as a result of this declaration!)
I have The Cornell Lab Merlin Bird ID app on my phone and it has this great feature - Sound ID - where it will listen to your surroundings and make a best guess on the bird it is hearing. Did you know that while I was sitting in the still of the morning prior to starting our day, the Merlin app identified over 20 different bird species within ‘ear shot’.
I was able to catch a glimpse of most of them but the Baltimore Oriole still eludes me.
We invited a few wise and trusted leaders to join us - Rev. Kristine O’Brien (the executive director of Crieff Hills) and Rev. Jeffrey Crawford (leadership coach and General Presbyter for the Presbytery of Waterloo-Wellington) - to help us think deeply about the real needs and capacities of ministry leaders across Canada, in all their diversity. Their reflections were insightful and generous, and they shaped how we began charting the year ahead.
We looked out over the next 12 months and started mapping out initiatives, themes, and resources we hope will truly serve you—our Ministry Forum community. We left our two days together feeling energized, aligned, and incredibly grateful for what lies ahead and the sacred privilege it is to walk alongside you in ministry.
It is good to plan and even better to plan time away that will nourish your soul, stimulate your senses, and bring you closer to those awe-filled moments in life.
That being side - now is the time to book your stay at Iona Abbey in Scotland. They just released their 2026 programme and it books up quickly. If I had stayed in congregational ministry my next Inter-mission was going to include some time at Iona as well as a walking pilgrimage similar to the one that the Director of Crieff Hills Retreat Centre, The Rev. Dr. Kristine O’Brien took many years ago and made mention of in our Ministry Forum Podcast interview with her. If the UK is your destination, the British Pilgrimage Trust has curated a variety of routes on their website. Who knows, I may make it to Iona yet! Let us know if you have some big plans that we can share with the Ministry Forum Community.