Author: Mary Bennett

UCV Art Exhibition & Book Launch at the Beaty Museum

•

by Catherine Stewart

( 50% sales to UCV Refugee Fund )

For the months of March and April, I am pleased to be exhibiting two suites of inkjet prints inspired by the bird collection at UBC.  Courtship Colour Studies, on display in the Fireside Room, are abstracted compositions based on the combined colours of male and female songbird specimens.

The Venus Takes Flight prints, hanging in the Sanctuary, were made by layering scans of bird plumage with those of beautiful textiles and working with them in PhotoShop to create ‘hybrid’ compositions. Information about the ideas behind this work can be found in the artist’s statement in the southwest corner of the Sanctuary. Half of all sales from this exhibition will be donated to the UCV Refugee Fund. (The other half will help to offset framing expenses for the exhibition.) Respective prices for framed prints are $525 and $725 respectively. If interested, please speak to me or email me at stewartcm@shaw.ca .

I am also currently exhibiting at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC. The Skin & Bones exhibition explores our complicated relationship with the animal world through photography, natural science and the applied art of fashion design. More information about the exhibition can be found at: http://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/whats-on/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/skin-bones/

BOOK LAUNCH EVENT

Everyone is welcome to join me the evening of April 18 to celebrate the release of my two photo books, ‘Skin & Bones’ and ‘Invoking Venus: Feathers and Fashion’, both based on my Beaty Museum exhibitions. At the launch, I will be speaking at 7 pm about utilizing the museum’s collections in my artistic work. Visitors will be able to explore my latest exhibition and the collections that inspired it. Admission is free or by donation to the museum.

Catherine is a member of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, helps out with Arts Committee, is on the Sunday Coffee Service Team, and is currently learning about the work of the UCV Refugee Committee. More about the artist and her work can be found at: www.catherinestewart.net

Whisk away to a relaxing June weekend!

•
Camp Sasamat is 45 minutes away from UCV set on acres of forest at Sasamat Lake in Port Moody.
Come for an afternoon float, campfire sing-a-long, choral workshop, trail walk or fellowship by the water. All meals provided. Accommodations include accessible cabins and showers. All ages welcome and many bring friends and family.
This year’s choral workshop will be led by Kathryn Nicholson (music director for the Helena Choir).
Gabriella Harvey, Jazzfly Video Productions
www.jazzfly.com
Our guest speaker will be Gabi Harvey with a talk entitled:  “Tale of a South American Traveller: A Happy Journey of Exploration”.
https://tricitieschamber.com/ambassador-gabriella-harvey/
Jazzfly Video Productions
www.jazzfly.com
May 31 – June 2, 2019
Sponsored by Beacon Unitarian Church

Family Plots Available for Veggie Gardening

•

There are three and could be six small plots available for UCV familes to plant a small vegetable garden. Each plot is about 38″ square–a manageable size!

Mary Bennett is available to encourage and mentor on an ad hoc basis including at Messy Church nights or immediately after Sunday service.

Contact Mary if your family would like to have a plot for vegetable gardening.

Now is the time to plant peas and lettuce!

The vegetable garden is on the north side of Hewett Centre.

New plots will need a bit of time to get going. The three that were assigned last year are ready for planting.

 

How Sweet the Singing – Twenty Years with Donna Brown

•

“The choir is singing this Sunday? Oh good, I’ll be there for sure.”

You hear this often enough to appreciate that for many people, music is a vital part of any Sunday Service. In the Unitarian Church of Vancouver the choir sings two Sundays a month, on average, although it practises every week. And the face of the choir is the inimitable Donna Brown, currently celebrating her twentieth year as Director of UCV’s Chalice Choir.

Donna eased into the choir a few years after she joined the church in 1989. The previous director, Sallie Novinger, encouraged her to join as a soprano. Whenever Sallie was ill she asked Donna to direct and when she decided to retire, she suggested Donna take over. The first few years were tumultuous, with many guest ministers, a huge range in the organization of services and a never-ending need to check, coordinate and adjust. Things settled down when Steven Epperson arrived; he, Donna and Elliott Dainow formed a seamless, cooperative team. She credits Rob Taylor, Connie Wigmore and the late Donna Cook, for their support in the early days. Gavin Grandish and Nicola Hamilton fill in whenever Donna can’t be there.

Donna still quotes her mentor, Harold Brown, when the choir struggles to master a piece: ‘Perfection is an abstraction, one we must strive to reach though it will always be beyond our grasp.’

Donna’s patience in dealing with forty or so Unitarians, not unlike herding cats, has been honed by twenty-five years as an elementary school teacher. She remains pleasant and smiling even as she pushes singers to be better. Her determination to keep trained and talented section leads enables the rank and file members to ‘sing up’ a level so the choir can work on music that would otherwise be too difficult for many. As concert dates approach, she may have sleepless nights but she never panics. She will listen to everyone once and then make hard decisions when necessary. Although she never singles anyone out for blame, her bionic hearing for faulty timing and sagging pitch means the choir improves year by year. If the abstract of perfection is occasionally too far out of reach, Donna changes the program.

Over the last twenty years, the choir has performed a wide range of pieces at its two annual concerts. Proceeds from concerts (and choir-run church lunches in lean years) have funded the music library. Donna has a passion for requiems but the music varies from Bach, Rutter, Faure and Stravinsky to medleys from Queen, Gershwin, Village People and West Side Story. The choir has sung for the wedding of choir member Catherine Ponsford and the funerals of Harold Brown and Phillip Hewett. Last year at the Vancouver Push Festival, the choir even sang in the role of Community Choir for the play, ‘The Events’ starring UCV’s own Douglas Ennenberg. This past February Donna took the choir across the border to sing at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship service and at an interfaith concert to raise money for housing the homeless in the Bellingham area.

This year’s spring concert is titled ‘Donna’s Favourites’, pieces culled from her twenty years as Chalice Choir director. Mark your calendars, Sunday May 5 at 7:30. Come celebrate her stellar career with the choir here at UCV.

Herbs and Four Directions

•
Altar set up for a summer solstice celebration with noisemakers, colours and herbs representing the four directions/ elements.

In our earth spirit gatherings, we call the four directions (or elements), a metaphor for bringing into our awareness various qualities that provide balance in our lives and relationships.

In our earth spirit circles we often include baskets of the following herbs – available for enjoying – and taking a sprig of each home with you.

  • East – Air – Lavender
  • South – Fire – Rosemary / Bay Leaf
  • West – Water – Thyme
  • North – Earth – Sage

We also sometimes include sound to correspond to the 4 elements/directions:

  • East – Tin flute – Yellow
  • South – String instrument – Red
  • West – Rainstick – Blue
  • North – Drum – Green

For added fun, we have “bubble wands” in the four colours. Kids enjoy walking/running the labyrinth spreading joy and happiness with bubbles!

 

 

Happy International Women’s Day

•

We are celebrating International Women’s Day with several one-off events as well as the recent launch of two monthly women’s groups.

And a new website page where you can find out about news and events that relate to women’s groups and women’s issues. http://vancouverunitarians.ca/community/small-groups/womens-groups/

From Sheila Resels

Women’s Groups – A Promising Beginning

Last Monday evening we had the first session of our *Wednesday Evening Women’s Group”. Twelve folks are registered. Ten attended. We met in the Fireside room. A welcoming crackling fireplace greeted us all. As it was our first meeting, I was curious to see who these women were? Some I had briefly met.  The bulk I didn’t know. When we did our round of introductions I learned we came from all walks of life. A teacher, a creative consultant, a journalist, a food specialist, a publisher…to name but a few. An inter-generational group that ranged from 26 to 78 years of age.  Each of us with a fascinating past. As I got a glimpse into these lives I wondered about the stories yet to discover.
We all had one thing in common. We were interested in connecting with one another,  in discovering ways to empower women, to discuss current women’s issues and, above all, to support one another.
Although our gathering consisted of determining ground rules, selecting topics and other logistics, the most fascinating parts were the individual stories, the enthusiasm in the air and the sense of possibility for this journey we were embarking upon. Together.
One of our participants, Naomi, summed it up well when she said, “Truly, it is through shared experiences and stories that we grow, reflect and expand who we are. In life and in the context of this group we all shift through life through our interactions with others and thus we assume many roles that include: teachers, mentors, students and leaders.”
A second Women’s Group will have their first meeting this Friday afternoon. It too has 12 registered women (the maximum). What a privilege to meet yet another group of women. To explore, discover and play with.
To be continued…
Sheila
*The Women’s Groups were born out of a discussion group that took place at the 4th Annual Women’s Gathering. Two women’s groups are well underway. A list being created for a third group. Contact Sheila at sresels@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.

For further Unitarian Women’s Events:

Women’s Groups Forming

•

WANT TO ENRICH AND EMPOWER THE LIVES OF WOMEN? Thirteen women participated in a discussion group at the 4th Annual Women’s Gathering (http://vancouverunitarians.ca/events/annual-womens- gathering/) and decided to form not just one, but TWO NEW WOMEN’S GROUPS. One meets on the third Monday evening of the month, and the other meets on the first Friday afternoon of the month. Registration is required. Both groups are now full. Contact Sheila at sresels@gmail.com if you would like to be put on a wait list or to register for a third Women’s Group (date TBD).

Our intergenerational groups ranges in age from 26-78 yrs. old. Most are in their 30’s and 40’s.

Contact Sheila sresels@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.

Sheila has notes from the gathering and some proposed dates for the first meeting.

“I am delighted that we are a diverse group in terms of age and experiences. Should broaden my horizons.” – Bev

“I’m somewhat new to Vancouver and want to join a Women’s Group to get support from women.
I think it’s important to foster that for myself and for other women.”  – Cayla

“I thought forming a women’s group would present me with an opportunity to meet with others to construct a safe space to address concerns, challenges and tools for empowerment.
Truly, it is through shared experiences and stories that we grow, reflect and expand who we are. In life and in the context of this group we all shift through life through our interactions with others and thus we assume many roles that include: teachers, mentors, students and leaders.” – Naomi

They were asked:

  • Why do you want to join a women’s group?
  • What would a women’s group focus on? 

Here are some of the responses:

  • having a group that supports the 7 Unitarian principles
  • enriching and empowering the lives of women
  • increasing the sense of self-worth and self-confidence of women
  • finding out what current women’s issues are
  • Interested in change and with a group of women it’s easier to make change.
  • getting support from women and fostering that for myself and for other women
  • meeting others with different ideas, cultures, ages
  • empowering each other, e.g. equal salaries
  • receiving help and guidance from others re guidance with difficult, challenging situations both professionally and personally
  • sharing experiences from different cultures…learning about Canadian attitudes and sharing views my background
  • discussing: parenting concerns, relationships
  • how much sexism we have incorporated within ourselves (perhaps unconsciously)
  • how to have a women’s group that maintains an open attitude toward men (avoiding an us vs them attitude).
  • being solo in today’s society which doesn’t support being single; being childless in a society which doesn’t support being childless

Structures to consider

  • meet once a month
  • duration of the meeting: two hours
  • have one person in charge of administrative issues
  • rotate facilitation of group. Facilitator chooses a topic and facilitates discussion.
  • discuss the topic selected by facilitator
  • ensure confidentiality, respectful discourse, equal air time for everyone, etc.

Meet at UCV in Hewett Hall. Book the Fireside room (if available)

Some suggestions for logistics:

  • Size of the group: maximum 12 per group
  • invite other Unitarians and their friends through website, Order of Service, word of mouth
  • closed group once maximum number is reached
  • as people drop out of the group, it opens to new members

There’s lots going on by and for women. Check here for news and events.

Volunteer Reporters for Refugee Committee and Visual Arts

•

UCV REPORTERS NEEDED – REFUGEE COMMITTEE AND VISUAL ARTS

The communications committee is looking for “reporters” (one or two) to write up news, collect/take photos and post on the website updates for the Refugee Committee and the Visual Arts committee.
This would involve talking with committee news, writing up an article, sending to the committee for any additions or corrections, asking for photos, taking some (with permission of course) or finding images online to illustrate the content. For the arts committee, the article could be in the style of a review and ideally interviewing and photographing that month’s artist. (You do not need to attend meetings but of course you could.) Most if not all of this work could be done from home with a phone and computer. You would need to take the Feb. 23 workshop on how to post an article to the website. Apply to communications@vancouverunitarians.ca

Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women’s Association – CUUWA

•

The Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women’s Association (CUUWA) cuuwa.org

Among the programs is a Meditative Poetry group that meets Saturdays and Sundays between 9 and 9:15 am Pacific time online.

We read a poem 3 times with some silence and sharing in between.

Sign in here: https://meet.google.com/jka-jkoh-cpi or through this shortlink: https://tinyurl.com/uu-poetry

 

 

Here is the 29-page package of writings and images to help women’s groups celebrate International Women’s Day. Of course the readings might be used at any other time as well.

The focus is on Journey and includes some “before and after” images and writing of the members of the CUUWA. You might like to write your own or share your stories in your women’s group.

Announcing the 2019 International Women’s Day Service Packet

Canadian Unitarians on Wikipedia

•

During March some of our members are learning to edit wikipedia and searching for relevant pages where Canadian Unitarian and Universalist women may be under-reported or nonexistent.

We are starting with a seminar with an an experienced wikipedia editor, on March 2 4-5pm before Messy Church. Please note there is no age restriction for wikipedia editors so our youth might be interested in coming early and becoming an editor.

We will check to see if women mentioned in the Concise Portraits and Invisible Influence books have pages. If so, we may find additional information or corrections to make. If not, we can consider whether to propose a page. We will learn about the rather stringent requirements for this.

We can also look over this page and see what we might add:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unitarians,_Universalists,_and_Unitarian_Universalists

Wikipedia notes: This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Here’s another resource to check out: https://www.thoughtco.com/unitarian-and-universalist-women-3530635

March 3 – At the monthly CompuTech session, Galen and John will help you sign up as a wikipedia editor.

During the month, we’ll compare notes on a google document about our findings and by the end of March decide how to proceed.

With the renewed interest in women’s groups in our congregation, we are setting up various ways to celebrate International Women’s Day this year and hope these projects will become a tradition.

Along the way we’ll likely find other wikipedia references to Unitarians we’d like to have changed or added.

Join me for this adventure?

Some things we (and other Unitarians) might consider:

Unitarianism is not listed on this Religion Portal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents/Portals#Religion_and_belief_systems

Where would you put us?

Unitarian Church of Vancouver Wiki Page

Our UCV page had been deleted. It’s been restored. Let’s update it and do what would be necessary to ensure it won’t be removed again

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Church_of_Vancouver

Canadian Unitarian Council

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Unitarian_Council

There’s a note that says: This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources.