Annual Theology Conference (October 19 - 20, 2026) 2 day Conference

and livestreamed at United in Learning

How do we grapple with the many interlocking uncertainties that surround us globally, nationally, and locally? How do we find space to step away from the anxious voices to be held by the calm places that can grant us rest?

Over four sessions, Sylvia Keesmaat will delve deeply into the wisdom of the biblical story to explore how those who lived in the shadow of empire in biblical times created communities of lament, resistance, and hope. Each session will weave together biblical texts in dialogue with a current crisis: environmental collapse, genocide, abusive political power, and the oppression of the marginalized.

Drawing also on the wisdom of Indigenous writers and Palestinian Christians, we will dare to dream of a community where lament helps to carry our grief, hope enables us to imagine a healing future, and resistance binds us together in love.

Dr. Sylvia C. Keesmaat is a biblical scholar, activist, and farmer. She has taught at various seminaries in Canada and is the co-author, with Brian Walsh, of Romans Disarmed: Resisting Empire, Demanding Justice and Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. Through her online teaching platform, Bible Remixed (www.bibleremixed.ca), Sylvia offers online courses throughout the year that are open to all. Sylvia lives on an off-grid permaculture farm in the Kawartha Lakes on the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg, with her husband, Brian Walsh, and a fluctuating number of people and animals. You can read more about Sylvia here: https://bibleremixed.ca/sylvia-keesmaat.

We have made arrangements with the Hyatt Place Ottawa West hotel for a Conference rate. Cut off date for this is September 18. Details can be found in the confirmation email, which will be sent to you after you register.

Early bird rate $275 until October 2

General Admission: $299

Theology Students: $75 (please enter the Promo Code STUDENT when you checkout, if you qualify for this discount)

Please register early; we cannot guarantee meals for those who register after October 2

"Music and Meditation: Improvisation, Lament, and the Practice of Resistance"

Peter Woods and Nick Gummeson (Field Notes Collective) lead a participatory workshop exploring jazz improvisation as a practice of listening, lament, and faithful resistance. Through music, reflection, and a shortened “Music and Meditation” experience developed at MacKay United Church, participants will encounter improvisation as a model for communal discernment, creativity, and courageous spiritual practice.

Peter Woods (saxophone) and Nick Gummeson (piano and voice) collaborate as part of the Field Notes Collective, an Ottawa-based musical project rooted in improvisation, storytelling, and community engagement. Their work blends jazz, folk, and hymn traditions and has grown from the ongoing “Music and Meditation” gatherings hosted at MacKay United Church.

“I Am About To Do a New Thing” The Theology of Toward 2035"

Toward 2035 invites everyone in the United Church of Canada to join in prayer, listening, and shared reflection on how God is calling us into the future. It asks us to picture our church in 10 years. It is communities of faith that are resilient, inspired, diverse, and contextual. It is a church present in local neighbourhoods and connected in regional, national and global relationships.

This workshop examines the theological themes and convictions that underpin and shape Toward 2035. What does it say and assume about the Holy Spirit? About God’s future? About the nature of the church? Together, we’ll explore how Toward 2035’s theology can strengthen, challenge and encourage us to live faithfully and hopefully within our particular contexts.

(You can find out about Toward 2035 here: united-church.ca/toward2035)

Greg Smith-Young (he/him) is a Growth Animator with the United Church of Canada. He works alongside existing and newly-forming communities of faith in southwest Ontario, helping them strengthen their invitation to their neighbours to explore and share in the life of Jesus together.

"The Fibres That Bind"

The development of functional items like clothing, bedcovers and rugs occurred in tandem with a desire for beauty and meaning. This impulse carries with it a divine core that binds us to the Creator of all things. Both physical and spiritual wellbeing are deeply connected to my artistic practice.

Rev. Dr. Christine Johnson (retired) served pastoral charges in Ontario and Quebec for twenty-seven years. She also maintained an art practice focusing on fibre arts for over 35 years.

"Make your Church Website Sing!"

Visitors almost always check out our websites before they walk through the Sanctuary doors. What draws them in? What stops them from dropping by? Can reimagining your website have an impact on attendance? Enthusiasm? Ministry? In this workshop we’ll talk about pictures, text and copyright, templates to use, and sustainable ways to keep the information current. Bring samples from your own website, or sample some of mine, and let’s explore why they work and how to make them even more engaging.

Rev. Stephen Fetter recently retired from ministry at Forest Hill United Church in Toronto, and from the General Council Office where he created and maintained the United in Learning program. Juggling both jobs meant he needed to learn how to communicate with digital tools effectively and efficiently, and automate updates in ways that didn’t take over the rest of his life!

See the conference website for more detials! https://annualconference.ca/

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