Author: Mary Bennett

Labyrinths – An Invitation from Steven

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From Steven Epperson’s sermon on February 17th.

There are two labyrinths on this property. An encounter with them may go something like this: We’re walking along Fremlin Street or taking a short cut through the courtyard out there. Occupied with random everyday thoughts, our attention is diverted by a strange, mazy pattern laid out on the lawn or on the pavers in the courtyard.

There’s an opening into the design, an entrance, and we see that a path ensues. With its twisting turns, a glance tells us that a person can’t walk through it quickly. What to do? Flee and continue on our way; or stop, slow our pace, step inside and follow the path?
There’s something about that entrance—like an invitation to cross a threshold from the ordinary into a different kind of space and time. We sense this as soon as we’ve taken a few steps into the labyrinth. We become aware of our body moving with non-linear deliberateness.
As we tread, step-by-step, the flotsam, flux and cares of random musings and feelings may give way to a concentrated, affective thoughtfulness. And it may come to pass, it’s not guaranteed, that as we wind our way toward the heart of the maze, the maze enters our heart.
For thousands of years, we’ve been laying out labyrinths as symbolic roads of pilgrimage toward…what? There are various answers to that question. But the way I see it, the intent of walking the winding path is to take us out of the everydayness of our lives in order to deliver us to a realm of insight—a place of understanding hidden truths about ourselves and the times and places in which we live. Such is the latent power of a labyrinth.

  • Please do come and walk our labyrinths any time. They’re relatively small so it can take just a few minutes of your time and might inspire others to take time as well.

    • Painting with Jackie on the Labyrinth

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    Jackie Conradi-Robertson with her finished painting. She said: I kept seeing more and more that I wanted to include.

    Jackie Conradi-Robertson beginning her painting.

     

     

     

    Iraqi Refugee Family Arriving Next Week

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    from Huguette Sansonnet, Refugee Committee

    An Iraqi family of a couple with a two-and-a-half year old child will be arriving from Jordan by way of Frankfurt on January 22nd. The refugee committee has been busy assembling furniture and household items to move into the new apartment for them. If you have or know someone who has 4 chairs and a bed appropriate for a young child, please contact Huguette right away or phone the congregation’s office at 604-261-7204.

    The family is originally from Iraq.

    Donations to support the Refugee Committee’s sponsorship efforts can be made to the church, marked “refugees” and are tax deductible.

    How Refugee Sponsorship Works at UCV

    By Kaitlin Duck Sherwood, Leader of a Refugee Sponsorship group

    The Refugee Committee helps refugees in two different categories:

    Private Sponsorship, where the refugees are named and known (what I call the “let’s bring in grandma” category) and

    the Blended Visa Office Referral (BVOR) program, where you want to help somebody but you don’t care so much who.

    With the Private Sponsorship, the sponsors are legally responsible for 100% of the financial support for the first year; with BVOR, the sponsors are legally responsible for a portion (around 60%) of the financial support. With both Private and BVOR, the sponsorship group is responsible for 100% of the logistical and emotional support.

    While the Vancouver Unitarians Refugee Committee does all of the support for some of the refugee families, a very important role is to facilitate sponsorship for other sponsorship groups, such as my own group of private individuals. To sponsor a BVOR family, a sponsorship group must partner with a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) such as CUC. By facilitating the work of other sponsorship groups, the Vancouver Unitarians Refugee Committee acts as a “force multiplier”, allowing sponsorship of many more refugees than the Refugee Committee members could handle by themselves

    The Unitarian Church of Vancouver, as a constituent of Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), makes sure the sponsorship groups raise enough money to support the family, vets the sponsorship groups, holds the money, advises the sponsorship group, helps pick a family off an anonymized list (that only the SAH has access to), coordinates communication between the sponsorship group, CUC, and IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada), meets the family and signs the legal documents to formally take responsibility of the family at YVR airport, and passes along in-kind physical donations (like clothing/furniture/kitchen supplies) from UCV members, and provides more advice. And more advice.

    Ultimately the Unitarian Church of Vancouver is responsible if for any reason the sponsorship group is not able to meet the government requirements. And the Canadian Unitarian Council is responsible if UCV is not able to meet the requirements. So we all work closely together to make sure everything is done well. And this works.

    Once the sponsorship group (which might be the Refugee Committee itself) finds out when the family’s plane will arrive, it kicks into high gear.

    For example, we got the news seven days in advance that the Eritream family of three would arrive on March 6, 2018. After we got the news, we arranged temporary housing, got them a phone and cell plan, stocked their temporary housing with some food, found a permanent apartment, helped them fill out a massive number of forms, helped them get Social Insurance (SIN) cards and a bank account, got them winter coats, took the father to a medical appointment, showed them how to use their debit cards to buy transit Compass Cards, took them shopping for essentials (like underwear!), helped them phone their friends back in the camps, took them to the Ethiopian Church, and did a lot of talking, orienting, and many other details too minor to call out explicitly.

    Shortly after those urgent matters, we will co-sign the lease on their apartment, move donated furniture into the apartment, buy a small amount of furniture, help them buy groceries and cleaning supplies, help them register the boy for school, register for English classes, take a bus/Skytrain ride, get library cards, and get to eye and dental exams.

    Longer-term, we will check in periodically to make sure they are adjusting well and give help as needed (e.g. to help mediate disputes or help them find trauma counselling), and help them find jobs.

    As the leader of a sponsorship group, I am deeply grateful to the work the Refugee Committee does. Not only would it not be possible for us to sponsor a BVOR family without the Refugee Committee’s legal umbrella, it would have been much more difficult to muddle through without easy access to their institutional knowledge and large stockpile of donated objects.

    People ask: How can I help?

    For the family who just arrived, things are pretty much in hand. There are always expenses before, during and after the settlement, so donations to the UCV Refugee Fund is the most obvious way of helping. (Yes, tax receipts are issued). If you attend on Sundays, bring stuff for the thrift sale table and buy stuff. Julia absolutely refuses to give a “price”– it’s all by donation. All items that are donated find a good home. If they’re not needed by our refugee families, they’re sold at UCV. If they’re not sold after a while, they’re donated to the Mennonite Central Committee who ensure they’re used.

    Now, speaking of that table, Julia and George do a huge job storing, setting up, distributing items. If you have storage space or a way to transport items around, I’m sure they could use help.

    Help out at a fundraising lunch or event.

    The big ask is: When we have families arrive, they need temporary housing for about two weeks. On short notice.

    An even bigger ask: Form a group of five and take on the responsibility (and joy) of sponsoring a family. We can put you in touch with other leaders who can show you the ropes. It’s a big job–and a very rewarding one.

    The committee meets monthly: show up and learn more and you’ll see where the needs are.

    Do you have other questions or offers? Send an email and we’ll forward to the right people.

     

    Transitioning: Are You Mystified About Gender?

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    by Mairy Beam   

    Are you mystified about gender? Don’t really get what the fuss is about? Perhaps you are curious. Maybe you are as fascinated as I was when I met my first transgender person. There is a lot more information available now but it is still an area where knowledge and awareness are increasing.

    I first met a trans person in 1993. I was fascinated. At that point I was writing short stories, not plays, and Roberta immediately became a feature in my stories. My interest in trans gender has ebbed and flowed over the years. Peaking when a colleague or friend came out as trans, ebbing when life got busy. It is only now 25 years later that I understand the intrigue.

    In 2013 a group of students in the ACT II program at Ryerson University decided that it was time that the queers should be more visible. ACT II is a theatre program for people over 50. You would think that theatre would be progressive, and in many ways it is, but all the roles were either male or female, and often we lesbians found ourselves playing some man’s wife.

    We created a documentary theatre piece called Closets and Cubicles where we told our coming out stories. Mostly we talked of sexual orientation, but we included some reference to gender. Gender was something we struggled with, that we didn’t fully understand ourselves. The audience loved our play mostly, except for the gender parts which they just didn’t get.

    In 2015 I organized a smaller group of two gay friends and one other lesbian to explore gender more. I wrote a play for this group, but they were not much interested in it. It was a role reversal called My Way or the Highway. It takes place in a world where women have the power, and a husband is struggling to assert himself. It was produced in Toronto in 2016 and had a reading here at UCV in 2017. People found it quite funny.

    Meanwhile the group was developing a play about a transwoman coming out, and the reactions from her partner, her sister, and her brother in law. This play called Out and About was a much more honest look at the issues arising from an adult deciding to transition. It was a great group to try to grapple with the issues. I remember at our first meeting when we learned about the concept of cisgender. It’s a little like learning that white is a race (not just the standard or default). Out and About was produced in Toronto and Vancouver in 2017.

    A year ago I completed yet another play about gender as my fascination had continued unabated. At its heart it is a dialogue between a trans man and a non-binary gender person. I wanted to delve into how a person who believes strongly in the binary gender, who has the physical characteristics of one gender but feels their essence is the other, how such a person talks to someone for whom gender has no meaning. This play is called Body Parts. It will be produced as part of the New Ideas Festival in Toronto in March 2019.

    So, why this fascination about gender? It’s not just because it’s a hot topic, and plays on this topic are more likely to get produced. No, it’s much more personal than that. I have decided that I’m non-binary gender. All the reading and research that I did on the topic, talking to others who are trans of some type, it all started making so much sense to me. All my life I’ve had characteristics that society generally deems masculine, for example being very analytical. On the other hand I’ve no desire to be a man (though there clearly are advantages to that). I don’t want to leave the company of women, but I’m reassured that many women’s gatherings now include non-binary people.

    I don’t mind which pronoun you use for me – she/they/whatever. I don’t intend to have any surgery or make drastic changes in my life. I am happy just to discover the benefits of living a freer life, a life not defined in any way by gender. I will join the fight for more inclusive language, and to get rid of the practice of having only two check boxes for gender. I will join in the high energy of the Trans march – the best part of Pride weekend, in my opinion.

    If you are curious, I recommend the book, Gender Failure, by Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon. It is entertaining and informative. Ivan Coyote is a great story-teller. You may have heard them on the CBC. They also wrote Missed Her which I recommend.

    It’s always great to hear from a variety people speak of their personal experiences. For this I recommend Beyond Magenta: Transgender teens speak out by Susan Kuklin, and Trans/Portraits: Voices from Transgender Communities by Shultz, Jackson Wright.

     

    Volunteer Roles for Annual Women’s Gathering

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    Update: The event was very successful thanks to so many women who stepped up to help.

     

    —post from January below—

    You can still register to attend our annual Women’s Gathering. Scroll down for link to register.

    And we’re still looking for some help to ensure the evening goes smoothly. Many of the volunteer roles are for a 15-minute shift. Many hands make light work and all that. If lots of people sign up then everyone can have lots of free time as well.

    Below are descriptions of some of the needs at this point.

    Want to be a Lamp Lighter?

    If you like sparkly, shiny things (like twinkle lights and lanterns with live flames), and you’re coming to the annual Women’s gathering, I’m looking for 2-4 people available at 5 pm to put out the lanterns and lights around the property and indoors. Kinga is coordinating this endeavour. She likes sparkly, shiny things.

    Night Owls?

    We have a good crew ready to come early and help set up the decor and food arrangements for the potluck. And now need to have a few stalwarts who will be the last to leave: do a final cleanup; move furniture back to where it belongs; do a final dishwasher load; check on lights and locked doors etc.  And of course to bring IN and store the twinkle lights and lanterns! With many hands we’ll be done by 9:30 pm.

    Collage Space

    An extra set of hands (or two) to help Coral and Laurie arrange things for the drop-in Collage Space 7-9 pm so they can enjoy other aspects of the evening. Perhaps some of you registered for the afternoon workshop would drop in now and again and offer some support to rookie collage makers.

    Divination/Meditation Room

    Jodie will set up the Meditation room with runes and some handouts but we’d like to make sure there’s a volunteer in the space from 7-9 pm to answer questions and just welcome people into the space. You don’t need to know a lot about runes, but knowing a little bit would be helpful. Probably some of the people who have attended Jodie’s recent workshops will be available. There will be posters up giving the meaning of each of the 24 runes and some suggestions for a “reading”.

    Mathom Mashup

    Biddle Room will be set up for our yearly swap meet. Kinga needs a few more people to check in every half hour or so and make sure the wares are looking tidy. She may need help at the end to box up the stuff left and make sure the box(es) are labeled for the Refugee Committee to get the following Sunday. Arrange with the caretaker Igor or a keyholder to put boxes into the office. (Bringing plastic bags or shopping bags and perhaps even bubble wrap would help the items get to the right place!)

    Women’s Groups Panel

    We are inviting women who would like to be in a women’s group to come to the Fireside Room from 6:30-7 pm (with their dessert). Sheila Resels will facilitate a discussion. If you are currently (or have been) in a women’s group, through UCV or elsewhere, we hope you’d join a panel to share different kinds of women’s groups. We feel that would help those who would like to be in a group form an idea of what they would want in a group. They might then join together and put the word out through UCV to invite other women to join or express interest.

    Make Posters for the Women’s March

    If you can bring some poster making supplies for the 7:30 – 8:30 pm workshop with Cayla, it would be appreciated. Cardboard, sharpies, markers, glue gun, glue sticks…

    Click here for details on the gathering and how to register.

     

     

     

    Our Website and Social Media: A Team Approach Through Training

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    “Excellent Sessions”

    (Step One of a Planned Three-Year Initiative in Becoming More Computer Literate as a Congregation)

    Luke Zukowski, Computers Made Easy

    Yes, our first computer training series was well received.  Thanks to funding from the Robert Koerner fund, the Connect & Engage Team was able to provide training to 12 Unitarian volunteers. Luke Zukowski, technology consultant from RevealMax, facilitated four sessions in October/November at the Hewett Centre.

    If you’d like to take a similar series,
    please complete the survey here.

    Our goal was to train more committee members to become proficient in the use of social media and, in particular, in navigating our website. Learning how to post articles and events would provide more up-to-date information of our numerous UCV activities. Having more folks acquire these skills will decrease the current demand on our very limited resources (namely, our staff and limited volunteers with advanced computer skills).
    So, how did we do?  On the whole, the training went very well, as illustrated by feedback from some participants:
    …thanks for the first social media workshop, Sheila. I thought Luke (the instructor) was very skilled and responsive to our circumstances.
    Luke is amazing!
    I thought it went very well apart from the technological hitch which usually occurs anyway!
    Excellent session – pleasant and valuable.  Luke was knowledgeable and clear.
    The instructor was on the whole very good and I definitely learned some valuable things.  The last two sessions though were too fast for a ‘real’ beginner… mixing levels was problematic. 
    If you would like to access the information provided in these sessions, Luke has provided us with the following videos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AuNdXk4Bx8U0gjIOQdZ3feihrBI2
    Our success was due to the efforts of dedicated volunteers. Thank you to John Henderson who worked tirelessly in providing valuable background information to Luke and gave up three Saturday afternoons to help out during the sessions (and who is volunteering to do it again for Phase Two). To Galen Elfert who got us back on track after a technological glitch. To Cathy Sevcik who assisted participants.
    We learned a lot from this first step toward enhancing the computer literacy of our hard-working volunteers. We are hoping to build on this success and offer a second year of training.  It  would include a more advanced wordpress series as well as a social media/instagram series.
    Stay tuned for further news as we move toward Step Two.
    If you’d like to take a similar series, please complete the survey here.

    Women’s March – Discussion and Poster-making

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    Sunday January 13 7:30-8:30 pm Fireside Room, Vancouver Unitarian Centre, 949 West 49th at Oak

    Women’s March – Discussion and Poster-making

    Cayla Naumann  just moved to Vancouver in May of last year after having lived 15 years in Victoria. She grew up in the Unitarian Church San Jose, California.

    She will share her knowledge of Women’s March Canada, the H.E.R.S. principles and participation in the March On event on January 19th, and other events year round. She’ll share her experience of what WMC – Victoria has done, ideas for what she thinks WMC – Vancouver could do, but mostly she wants to try and build a network of women supporting women.

    Here’s what she says about herself by way of introduction:

    I’m a biologist, very passionate about social justice and environmentalism. I’m involved with Women’s March Canada, I organized the Victoria March last year and am trying to get the Vancouver chapter up and running. I’m also interested in gardening and reading/bookclub (some friends and I started a badass ladies bookclub in Victoria and I haven’t found a similar group in Vancouver yet). I’ll be 30 years old in April and live in Marpole (South Vancouver) and I’m the admin for the Buy Nothing Marpole FB group part of the Buy Nothing Project.

    Optional: Make a poster to take on the march.

    If you can bring felt pens, poster board, cardboard sheets, glue guns, wooden dowels or sticks, etc. please let Cayla know at cayla.naumann@gmail.com or just bring with you.

    This is part of the Annual Women’s Gathering which starts at 5:30 pm with a potluck dinner.

    More information here: http://vancouverunitarians.ca/events/annual-womens-gathering/
    If you’d like to come to a poster-making session at a different time, contact Cayla and we’ll try to set something up.

     

    Links:

    March On Vancouver (organizers of Vancouver’s March) https://marchoncanada.ca/march-on-cities/march-on-vancouver/
    Women’s March Canada https://www.womensmarchcanada.com/
    Women’s March Global https://womensmarchglobal.org/

    We Are an Inclusive Community

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    Our congregation includes and values members who identify as

    • lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, asexual, queer, straight
    • many different ages, genders, ethnicities, abilities
    • single, married, common-law, divorced
    • having various roles within a diversity of family structures
    • Pagan, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Agnostic, Humanist, Atheist

     

    and intersecting combinations

    creating a diverse community of

    unique individuals with shared values

    Click here to download our Genders and Sexualities Alliance Brochure