Tag: All My Relations

UCV’s denominational affairs, update – 16 April 2023

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Draft 2023 CUC Resolutions – UCV Members were invited to comment on the draft resolutions and action plans that CUC prepared for approval at the 19 May 2023 Annual General Meeting in Ottawa. Comments were invited in the following areas:

    1. Goals and strategic priorities
    2. Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery
    3. CUC Bylaw revisions
    4. 2023-24 Budget

What UCV members said is summarized anonymously CUC Proposed Resolutions Feedback from UCV – Rev for web 2023-04-17

[38 UCV members provided feedback. The summary is 14 pages and includes 8 charts showing distribution of support for various parts of the resolutions.]

Many (but not all) past CUC resolutions from 1969 to 2022 are available as pdf documents here.

Next steps in congregational discussions with CUC

  1. CUC staff and board members review and discuss feedback from up to 41 member congregations.
  2. CUC staff and board revise the resolutions and action plans or affirm them in their original form.
  3. CUC sends revised/reaffirmed resolutions back to member congregations for final review.
  4. UCV members review and discuss the revised/reaffirmed resolutions. UCV is planning an evening Forum in on 3 May 2023 at 7 pm via zoom, open to all members and friends to discuss the final versions of the resolutions and to brief UCV delegates about the AGM.

UCV’s delegates for the CUC AGM

COV Storm Sewer Cover, design by Nigel Dembicki
  1. Each congregational Board appoints members to represent their congregation at the CUC AGM. Delegate numbers are proportional to congregational size. With 277 members and associate members, UCV is entitled to 6 delegates this year. For many years, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver have had the three largest memberships in Canada. By recent count there were 43 CUC member congregations.
  2. Some boards give direction to their delegates regarding how they wish them to vote. For example, some delegate groups split their support for resolutions based on the level of support amongst their members. Others ask delegates to vote according to their conscience, or in a manner that they believe will be in the best interests of the congregation or the national movement.
  3. The UCV Denominational Affairs Committee orients UCV delegates by discussing with them the history and implications of the resolutions and action plans and the technical side of voting if participating by zoom.
  4. At the AGM, any official delegate may speak to and vote on the resolutions. Non-delegates may attend but may only speak at the meeting by invitation of the Chairperson. The AGM is scheduled from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM Pacific, Wed 19 May 2023. See Canada Time Zone Map here. *All UCV Members are welcome to zoom in to the CUC AGM but must register in advance.
  5. After resolutions are passed (or defeated), CUC staff and volunteers begin/continue to work on implementing them (or not) and will report on their progress at the 2024 AGM.

Meanwhile, what else is happening nationally and internationally in the U*U world?

The Leadership and Design Team for International U/U Collaboration has been working to establish processes and a new organization to support the former Unitarian Partner Church Council and the work of the former International Council of Unitarian Universalists. The goal of the Leadership & Design Team is “to create an organizational framework for a new international Unitarian, Unitarian Universalist, and Free Church organization.” More about changes for the Partner Church Council here.

Kiersten Moore, UCV Director of Lifetime Faith Development and current CUC Secretary posted this on the CUC Leaders Google Group recently:

“There has been a lot of discernment and conversation happening around international U/U connections–I have only peripherally paid attention to what is going on, but I understand that the international relationships and work is valued and ongoing while in transformation. The UUA has, over the years, been accused of imposing its perspective and view on international UUs, being paternalistic in partner church relationships, and acting unilaterally as if they are themselves an international organization. I have heard a desire to be more intentional and collaborative from my conversations with people in UUA leadership with the goal of responsible relationship building.

I’m sure mistakes are made, such as the intern transition that Bruce Knotts mentions. The UUA staffing structure looks huge compared to the CUC, but they are still stretched for the number of members and breadth of regions that they serve. Institutions are unwieldy, but I hope we can all remember that they are made up of individual people and leaders bear the brunt of people’s dissatisfaction and frustrations. Let’s be compassionate and curious in our interactions.”

Some National & International Unitarian Connections

Name URL
Australian & New Zealand Unitarian Universalist Association (ANZUUA) ANZUUA.org
British General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches Unitarian.org.uk
Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) CUC.CA
Church of the Larger Fellowship (a UUA congregation without walls) CLF link
Flaming Chalice International (A Canadian charity active in Burundi) FCI link
International Association for Religious Freedom IARF.net
International UU organizations around the world (31 links courtesy of UUA) UUs abroad
Leadership and Design Team for International U/U Collaboration (new in 2022) LADT link
North American Unitarian Association (new in 2023) naunitarians.org
One America Movement (Maryland, USA, non-denominational, newish) OAM link
Sociocracy for All (Domain-based consensus decision-making) SOFA link
UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (Phil Lind Initiative) UBC PLI
Ukraine – In solidarity with (UUA International Office) UUkraine
Unitarian Congregations of Greater Toronto (UCGT) UCGT.ca
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) (Based in Boston) UUA.org
UU World – The magazine for Unitarian Universalists (published by the UUA) UUWorld.org

 

…Metis, Canadian Blood Services, Infinity…
Intersections of Spirit
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City of Vancouver Sanitary Sewer design by Andrew Dexel,
Storm Sewer design by Nigel Dembicki,
photos by Keith Wilkinson.
More COV sewer design info here. 

Some Options for Action

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Reversing the climate crisis

Study these resources and then choose some to act on:

Project Drawdown – Climate Solutions by Sector

“Project Drawdown’s mission is to help the world reach “drawdown”—the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.”

82 Partial Solutions

All We Can Save Project  – a feminist initiative

   “Our mission: To nurture a welcoming, connected, and leaderful climate community, rooted in the work and wisdom of women, to grow a life-giving future.”

Discussion circles

Emotional and mental health support

 

Photo: Sky smoky from forest fires near Osoyoos, BC, summer 2018.

 

 

 

Dismantling racism

In British Columbia:

Donate to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society

In Canada:

  1. Ask the CUC Board and Staff to describe the work that is being planned  to advance the strategic priorities approved by delegates at the 8 May 2021 AGM in these four areas of social justice:
    – Truth, Healing and Reconciliation
    – Dismantling racism
    – Climate justice
    – Refugee support
  1. Encourage the CUC to continue to implement its 2020 strategic priorities, notably
    – Advance social justice initiatives, including truth, healing, and reconciliation amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples
  1. Ask the CUC to invest more resources in support of anti-racist work.

Photo: Sculpture by Virgil Smoker Marchand at the Desert Cultural Centre in Osoyoos, BC. 2018

Some Options for Action

•

Reversing the climate crisis

Study these resources and then choose some to act on:

Project Drawdown – Climate Solutions by Sector

“Project Drawdown’s mission is to help the world reach “drawdown”—the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.”

82 Partial Solutions

All We Can Save Project  – a feminist initiative

   “Our mission: To nurture a welcoming, connected, and leaderful climate community, rooted in the work and wisdom of women, to grow a life-giving future.”

Discussion circles

Emotional and mental health support

 

Photo: Sky smoky from forest fires near Osoyoos, BC, summer 2018.

 

 

 

Dismantling racism

In British Columbia:

Donate to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society

In Canada:

  1. Ask the CUC Board and Staff to describe the work that is being planned  to advance the strategic priorities approved by delegates at the 8 May 2021 AGM in these four areas of social justice:
    – Truth, Healing and Reconciliation
    – Dismantling racism
    – Climate justice
    – Refugee support
  1. Encourage the CUC to continue to implement its 2020 strategic priorities, notably
    – Advance social justice initiatives, including truth, healing, and reconciliation amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples
  1. Ask the CUC to invest more resources in support of anti-racist work.

Photo: Sculpture by Virgil Smoker Marchand at the Desert Cultural Centre in Osoyoos, BC. 2018

Playlist: All My Relations

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All My Relations, Religious Naturalism
and The Heart of a Faith for the
21st Century

UCV Podcasts

All My Relations

1

All My Relations
by Aline LaFlamme
April 17, 2019

2

Living Within the Interdependent Web
by Martha Saunders
August 4, 2019

3

Religious Naturalism
by Rev. Steven Epperson
March 24, 2019

4

Religious Naturalism: Take Two
by Rev. Steven Epperson
March 24, 2019

Speakers Bios

Aline Laflamme
Her name means the light (Aline) and the flame (LaFlamme.) She also carries the name Many Buffalo Running. Aline is a grandmother and Metis from Alberta. Among her many gifts she leads a drumming circle called Daughters of the Drum

Martha Saunders
joined UCV in the fall of 2018. She taught religious studies and women’s studies for many years at Concordia University, Montreal, and at the University of Toronto, specializing in religious and environmental ethics

Rev. Steven Epperson
was parish minister of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver for 19 years, retiring in 2020. Prior to entering professional ministry, Steven worked as a university professor in the history of religions, and as a museum curator

all my relations: photo of Aline Laflamme

Aline Laflamme

Martha Saunders

all my relations: photo of Reverend Doctor Steven Epperson

Rev Steven Epperson

UCV Statement of Solidarity with the Mi’kmaq

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In accordance with the commitment in our Territorial Acknowledgement to shifting the colonial default, the Board has ratified Tamiko Suzuki’s eloquent letter to the Prime Minister voicing UCV’s pledge of solidarity with the  Mi’kmaq fishers in Nova Scotia fighting for their treaty rights and urging the Federal government to actively support these rights. The letter also denounces both the racist violence by non-Indigenous rioters and the hands-off stance of the RCMP.

UCV Statement of Solidarity with the Mi’kmaq:

The Unitarian Church of Vancouver pledges solidarity with the  Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia, who are fighting for their treaty protected right to catch and sell fish for a moderate livelihood. This right was written in the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760/61, and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada with the Marshall decision in 1999. We urge the Federal Government to actively support this treaty right.

We denounce both the racist violence  by non-Indigenous rioters and the hands-off stance of the RCMP. We strongly urge the RCMP to protect Mi’kmaq communities from any further mob violence or personal threats. 

Wild Salmon Rallies and Street Theatre — Sept 2020

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Contact the Enviro Team | Join the Enviro Email Group

wild salmon rally outside the offices of the DFO

Above: Rally and street theatre outside the offices of the DFO in downtown Vancouver calling for an end to fish farms in the Discovery Islands

From the constituency office of MP Terry Beech, to a Wild Salmon Die-in at the DFO, the Wild Salmon Action Team joined one hundred and one BC First Nations calling for the removal of fish farms from the Discovery Islands

(more…)

CUC National Voice Statement, February 2020

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The recent RCMP raids of Wet’suwet’en land defenders in northwestern British Columbia has provoked widespread rallies, blockades and protests, world-wide media coverage, public statements by First Nations, politicians, industry, labour, and the public.  In view of these developments, we think it timely and important to restate the initial position taken by the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) on January 10, 2019:

CUC Pledges Solidarity with ​Wet’suwet’en

The Canadian Unitarian Council has joined thousands of organizations and individuals pledging solidarity with the ​Wet’suwet’en​ Hereditary Chiefs, who are blocking the development of a Coastal GasLink pipeline on their traditional territories in northwestern British Columbia:

  1. WE COMMEND the courage and vision of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and their community of activists.
  2. WE ARE WATCHING across the province, country and internationally.
  3. WE DENOUNCE any attempt by Coastal GasLink Pipeline, the federal government, provincial government or RCMP to interfere in the rights of the Wet’suwet’en to occupy, manage or maintain their lands.
  4. WE URGE that any and all actions taken by the federal and provincial government, industry, and policing agencies must be consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Anuk Nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en laws) and collective Title.
  5. WE PLEDGE support to the frontline land defenders and affirm the collective hereditary governance of the Wet’suwet’en who are enforcing Wet’suwet’en laws on their unceded lands.

Obviously, the situation has continued to evolve since last year. We recognise this is a complex matter and many of us bring strong opinions and passionate voices to the conversation—given our Unitarian Universalist principles and history, that is how it should be. We recognise, as well, quoting the Afro-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, that “if there is no struggle, there is no progress” for “power concedes nothing without a demand.”

While we reaffirm the January 10, 2019 CUC Statement pledging solidarity with Wet’suwet’en, we urge Canadian Unitarian Universalists to reflect on how we live our faith and convictions when interests and constituencies are polarized.  We urge each other to live our principles.  May our actions be guided by respect for each other’s dignity, by compassion and empathy, by the voice of conscience and reason, by a desire for justice and equity, and by a deep respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

We urge Canadian Unitarian Universalists to read and become familiar with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—our nation is a signatory to this Declaration; many of its articles clarify and promote the work of reconciliation and de-colonialisation which we dare hope is still alive in Canada today and will be for generations to come.

64 Red Dresses — Art Installation by Doreen Manuel

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Above: Red Dresses to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women

Honour the Women Project

At the Stop Trans Mountain Pipeline rally at Creekside Park on June 9, 2019, Doreen Manuel, Secwepemc Nation film maker, and sister of the late Chief Arthur Manuel, announced that she is collecting red dresses (the symbol of missing and murdered Indigenous women) for her “Honour the Women project”. She will hang red dresses along the route of the pipeline in Secwepemc Territory both as an art installation and as a reminder to all who the victims are.

Thank you to all who contributed red dresses and cash! A total of 64 red dresses were collected from UCV members or purchased from thrift stores using donations by UCV members.

These dresses were delivered to the BC Union of Indian Chiefs and will be hung along the Trans Mountain pipeline route in Secwepemc territory.

This red dress collection drive at UCV  was sponsored by the Social Justice Committee and supported by the Environment Team and other individuals.

The recently released report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls states that there is a correlation between resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women and girls. Work camps/man camps built for resource extraction projects are implicated in higher rates of violence against Indigenous women at the camps and neighbouring communities.


For more information about this project, please contact Doreen Manuel at: honourthewomen@gmail.com

Bill C-262 rally supported by UCV members

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Bill C-262: An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The Canadian Unitarian Council was a co-sponsor of the pass Bill C-262 rally on Saturday, April 6th. Representatives of all 4 Greater Vancouver Unitarian congregations spoke including Leslie Kemp from UCV.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called Canada to adopt and implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Bill C-262 will ensure that Canada’s laws are in harmony with the Declaration.

Please sign this online petition to urge the Senate to pass this bill without delay.

Get RADICAL With The Environment Team

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With breathtaking cinematography, The RADICALS is a documentary film that follows four snowboarders and surfers driven to become social and environmental stewards through their connection with the environments in which they play.

At least 80 people braved our snowy Vancouver weather on Friday, Feb. 15 to come watch the incredible movie “The Radicals” – where environmentalism meets action sports. — The event introduced the audience to members of a new generation of activists in British Columbia.

The filmmaker and some of those involved in the film provided commentary and answered questions. Over $1200 was contributed to the three Indigenous groups featured in the film.

Another successful event from the Environment Team!