Category: Community

Community social gatherirngs; mens and womens groups; covenant groups, neighbourhood groups and news from the communications, membership and care and concern committees.

May Days – Take a staycation this weekend at UCV

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Celebrate May Days – Keep this list!

UCV has many celebrations lined up to celebrate the coming of the May! You can plan a staycation and hang out at our campus for most of the weekend! And the weather report has changed from 60% chance of rain to “sunny”. (May the 4th be with us indeed!)

  • Fri. May 3 – 6:30 pm – Potluck and Film Screening “She’s a Boy I Knew” – all welcome. (sponsor: UCV Genders & Sexualities Alliance)
  • Sat. May 4 – 1-5 pm World Labyrinth Day & Jane’s Walk Vancouver – Walk as One at One – painting/colouring the plants on the labyrinth (pastels, crayons and paper provided).
    • Tara Bonham plays her harp on the labyrinth at 2:30 pm
    • Wish Tree and Flower Crowns 4 – 5:30 pm
  • Sat. May 4 – 5 – 8 pm Messy Church potluck dinner
  • Sun. May 5 – 10:30-11 and 12-12:30 pm Maypole dancing before and after the service in the courtyard
  • Sun. May 5 – 12 – 1:30 pm Mexican Taco lunch by Environment and Refugee committees
  • Sun. May 5 – 2 – 3:30 pm Maypole dancing with instruction
  • Sun. May 5 7:30 pm – Donna’s Favorites Choir Concert $20 or pwyc
  • Tues. May 7 – 6 pm Beltane/May Day Earth Spirit Circle – Make flower garlands with Mairy Beam
  • Tues. May 7 – 7-9 pm Maypole Dancing with the Circle Dance group, coordinated by Mary Bennett

All events are on the web with additional details. http://vancouverunitarians.ca/eventlist

New UCV Compassionate Communication Circles start in June for 2019 – 2020

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Do you want to deepen the practice of compassion in your life and in your world?

Consider the following upcoming opportunities: UCV’s Compassionate Communication Circles. Due to popular demand, there will be two UCV Compassionate Communication Circles in the Family Room starting in June.  Those who participated in the 2018 group found it to be very insightful. *See what some participants said about it (below).

The UCV Compassionate Communication Circle sessions will provide you with an opportunity to connect with each other and to support one another in practising compassionate communication.  We will follow the curriculum of the Compassion Course Online.

How do I join the UCV Compassionate Communication Circles?

First, you must register for the Compassion Course Online (which originates in New York).  It begins June 19th, 2019 and continues to June 2020.  Register here or get more information at  Compassion Course Online.  Note that registration closes June 2019. The cost is minimal.

The Compassion Course Online –  several UCVers have participated in the last few years, and many are signing up again. You will receive weekly emails covering concepts, anecdotes, and practices of compassionate communication. It is generously offered by New York City Nonviolent Communication’s Thom Bond and it has a huge international following. 

Second, you then register for one of our two UCV Compassionate Communication Circles by contacting either Sheila Resels at sresels@gmail.com or Cindy Cashin at cindy_returns@yahoo.com by June 14th.  Please do so as soon as possible as space is limited.  Note that our first session is on Sunday, June 23rd, in the Fireside Room from 9:30-10:55 am (all future sessions will be held 9:30 – 11:55am and 12:30-2pm).
 
When/where do the two Circles meet?
There will be two groups who will meet monthly on the 4th Sunday of the month in the Family Room (in the Administration Building).
One group will meet from 9:30 – 10:55 am.  The other group will meet from 12:30-2:00 pm.  
Registration is required.  You must select only one group. 
Note: The first session ONLY (for both groups) will meet on June 23rd at 9:30-10:55 in the Fireside Room. There will be no 12:30-2pm group meeting for the first session.
 
What Participants In This Year’s UCV Compassion Circle Are Saying:
 
“UCV’s Compassion Circle was born in 2017 in response to enthusiasm of several UCVers taking the online course. Lynn Armstrong coordinated the Circle’s creation and came up with the name. The Compassion Circle is an intimate space for learning together, shifting how we listen and respond to others, and how we communicate with ourselves. It’s a special gathering! “
“The Compassion Course and Nonviolent Communication has had a profound impact on me. It is so subtle, yet such a powerful paradigm shift that it changes everything. It has taught me to look deeper in all those difficult communication situations to find the gold that transforms “us and them”  to “we”,  and in so doing it brings such powerful lessons of love and peace.”
“I could never have imagined this online course and the practice sessions provided at UCV could have had such a profound impact on my worldview.  It has brought me clarity and a greater understanding of my (and others’) needs.  I’m signing up again and look forward to another year of self-discovery.”
“This year has been my introduction to the concepts & practice of compassionate communication. Already I have seen a positive difference in the way I interpret & respond to events and people. I’m signing up again for next year, so that I can go deeper.”

Einstein quote cited in April 14 service (Religious Naturalism, Take Two)

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The quote – on the illusion of feeling separate from the whole – is reproduced in the prepared text (PDF) for Religious Naturalism, Take Two. This document is still available at the literature stall after Sunday service. When it no longer is, remember that a lit stall volunteer can always help you with tracking down a past sermon.

More than a year ago, UU Mystics board member Bryce Haymond expressed doubt on the authenticity of the quote in a March 2018 post on his blog. See that post for the quote in full and then scroll down for an update – with sources – that verifies it after all.

The above is a lit stall post. In the bulleted list below are the three latest posts with that tag.

If you haven’t read it already, see the post about lit stall posts for more.
Questions or comments? Please email them. Thank you.

Why I Love Transit

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Why do I love transit?
by Mary Lage

single quote

It all goes back to my little red wagon and the joy of my body being powered by a force other than my own. With the wind in my hair I watched the world go by with a singular focus as my father pulled my weight with ease. When I board a bus or the skytrain I feel that wonder; the power of the wheel, the forward momentum, the ease of movement. I am a spectator of the world

Sometimes I read or listen to music while riding. I have even been known to wear a headlamp for long rides at night in order to read in the dim light of the bus. If I am with someone we have the freedom to talk without interruptions. Often the conversation turns to long-term plans and ideas, the discussion of the journey of our lives paralleling the journey of the bus.

Sometimes I meditate or stare out the window catching a glimpse of Hollyburn Peaks, a bank of blooming cherry trees or a red-tailed hawk on a telephone pole. Sometimes I watch and listen to fellow passengers as I relish the diversity of cultures represented or the amazing ease of entry for wheelchairs and strollers on our kneeling bus.

Little kids love transit. When my own kids were small it was a time for asking questions, playing games and singing songs. Talking with other passengers seems natural with small children

I have witnessed many small acts of kindness on transit like the Chinese grandma offering a banana to a hijab-clad mom to quiet her crying son, or an Asian man offering me his seat: “Not because you are old but because you are hot!” he joked. A friend tells me that once a bus driver got all the riders to sing happy birthday when he found out it was her birthday.

Some of the interactions are disturbing, of course, but I have a special transit radar that alerts me when things are brewing. I move to another section of the bus or another car on the skytrain when I sense something amiss. Or I sit and bear witness to a slice of life I would never encounter in a car.

What I am not doing on transit is:

  • Burning as many fossil fuels
  • Negotiating traffic jams
  • Enduring the persistent semi-conscious knowledge that at any moment I could kill someone or be killed by a hurling hunk of metal of which I am in control

I prefer the ease and sleek beauty of transit as I relinquish control and enjoy the ride in my enlarged red wagon which I share with a diverse community of people.

So if I say I am taking transit, please don’t offer me a ride. I have a car and could use it if needs be as I do when lack of time and energy dictate. Allow me my first choice: Transit.

Forest Bathing in Pacific Spirit Park

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Several of us in the Westside Unitarian Neighbourhood Group are embarking on “forest bathing” in Pacific Spirit Park. If you’d like to know when we’re going for a walk (probably 1-2 hours), let Mary know and she’ll send you a note when we have a time set (usually weekdays during the day, late morning or early afternoon.) We meet at 16th and Discovery and go from there. We sometimes go for a coffee or lunch together. Some of us bring walking poles.

Here’s an excerpt from a post from David Suzuki: https://davidsuzuki.org/story/nature-calms-the-brain-and-heals-the-body/

In Japan, scientists found people spending time in nature — shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing” — inhale “beneficial bacteria, plant-derived essential oils and negatively-charged ions” which interact with gut bacteria to strengthen the body’s immune system and improve both mental and physical health.

More information about the park. 

 

Recognition of new members

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Sunday April 14, 2019 we will welcome our newest members into the congregation during the Sunday service.  We are so glad to be on the road together as part of the Unitarian family!  Congratulations and warmest welcome.

Directory of small groups, committees, and teams

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updated 2019-04-24 … this post now looks like the legacy post it is: here for the record and to direct you to the post about small group posts, a post updated with each new edition of the directory

The featured image shows the cover of the March [2019] edition of the directory, announced in March [2019]. The latest edition is available in hard copy at the welcome table. Click here if for some reason you want to read the March directory online instead of the latest edition. For more on the latest edition, see below.

This is a small groups post. Be sure to read the post about small groups posts – it is kept up to date: unlike this one it always links to a copy of the latest edition of the directory and features an image of its cover.

updated 2019-04-24 … this post now looks like the legacy post it is: here for the record and to direct you to the post about small group posts, a post updated with each new edition of the directory

Did you know that our office assistant is a busy graphic designer?

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UCV’S very own office assistant, Marcus Hynes, will be exhibiting a selection of his illustration and graphic design works alongside 30 other visual artists, musicians, makeup artists, fashion designers, etc. as part of an upcoming interdisciplinary art show, Raw Artists: Impact, on Sunday, April 14, from 5 pm onward at Celebrities on Davie Street.

http://heymarcus.ca/?portfolio=you-are-the-universe

Each participating artist is tasked with selling 20 tickets, which can be purchased online or from Marcus directly. (He’s in the office Monday – Thursday 9:30 to 2:30 pm).
Tickets are $20 each. Prints and posters will be available at the show. Your support would be very sincerely appreciated!

For more information at Marcus’ work, please visit http://www.heymarcus.ca.

Marcus recently designed covers for The Growler magazine.

Don’t miss Marcus’ workshop at UCV on Saturday, May 25 1 – 4 pm on creating posters, flyers and brochures.

We’ll use the free software program Open Office Writer. If you want to use your own word processing or publishing program, that’s OK too, but the demonstrations and prepared templates will be provided in OpenOffice.

This workshop is open to UCV members who are on committees who sponsor events.

Must preregister. Click the workshop link above or send email to Mary.

Recently Marcus worked with Steven to take Steven’s research from interviewing the UU Ministers of Canada and put into a 16-page booklet. You can download here.

What-We-Wish-People-Knew-About-Unitarian-Universalism

 

Intergenerational Dinner a Success!

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Above: Food prep for the Intergen gathering in March 2019

Over 70 participants and volunteers had a great time at last Friday’s  March 15 Intergen gathering.

The evening started with a delicious dinner of appetizers, vegan curry, minestrone soup, spinach salad, organic bread, and  a table’s worth of desserts.

Thanks UBC Sprouts-Community Eats for your donation of produce! A big thanks to the volunteers from the Environment Team and Love Soup who planned and cooked the dinner, and cleaned up.

Dinner over, our stomachs full, we were eager to hear what the evening’s program would bring and we weren’t disappointed.

Vivian Davidson emceed the evening.

  • Tamiko Suzuki explained to the non-Unitarians in the audience about Unitarians having a long history of being loving  **** -disturbers.
  • Quoc Nguyen from Leadnow, spoke of the mental health benefits of volunteering in these uncertain times.
  • Dr. Dave Steele of EarthSave spoke with passion and emotion about animal cruelty in industrial farming.
  • Dr Tara Cullis, president of the David Suzuki Foundation, spoke of the campaigns with First Nations in the Amazon and up the coast of BC fighting to save their lands from dams, and logging.
  • Lorimer Shenher, writer and ex-member of the Vancouver Police Department, touched on racism, sexism, and mental health in his time working on the Missing Women portfolio in the DTES.

Above: Discussion circle with Tara Cullis

Above: Discussion circle with Lorimer Shenher

After they gave their 15 minute ‘elevator speeches’, the guest speakers spread out in Hewett Hall and the audience was invited to go sit at one of their circles to listen, ask questions or share stories. They could get up and check out another circle whenever they want which kept the energy level high.

The photos taken of these circles all show people deep in thought or listening intently but there really was movement between the circles.

The speakers said they wished they too could have been able to sit in on the other discussion circles as the topics were so varied and fascinating!

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The event wrapped up with a group of Sto’lo and Haida guests who sang a few songs to close out the evening
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Guests were urged to take home some of the produce that hadn’t been used for the dinner; a head of broccoli, a bunch of bananas, or whatever was left in the boxes as a parting gift!

Grow community as well as a garden

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Nina Rashleigh, grandmother to Owen, mother and mother-in-law to former DREs Jen and Morgan, has a message for anyone at UCV who would love to grow vegetables and flowers but doesn’t have access to a garden. She writes:

I have a good size garden in Kerrisdale which I would love to share. You get 2 or 3 plots of land for your use ( 2 plots are 7 x 5 feet each, one of which is in shade in the morning, 1 plot is 2.5 x 9 feet). In return I hope to have help with watering my garden in the summer.

Please email Nina or phone her at (604) 263-9997 if you’d like to know more.

note: the featured image is from a post by Mary Bennett about smaller plots on the north side of Hewett Centre