Category: Community

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

UCV’s Chinese Name 溫哥華 尋道會

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Silent knowledge – the spirit is enlightened of itself
Contemplate the void: this world exceeds stillness.
 – Han Shan

At the end of Asian Heritage month this issue of the National News section of the UCV website takes a look at a 2014-2016 initiative to welcome members of the Chinese community to the Vancouver Unitarian community.

溫哥華 尋道會, Vancouver Xundaohui, Seekers of the Way, was formally adopted by Vancouver Unitarians as the Chinese name for the congregation in 2015. The work was initiated a year earlier by long-time UCV members and also included translations of UU principles, sources, and history into traditional and simplified Chinese scripts for pamphlets, creation of a Chinese language UCV webpage, and external signage in Chinese at most UCV site entrances at 49th and Oak. The initiative was intended to help welcome to UCV the 15% of the Metro Vancouver population who report speaking Chinese.

UCV borrowed the name 尋道會 from the Hong Kong Unitarian Universalist Community. We were told it had been suggested there by a Chinese Christian Minister who was also an advocate for gay rights. Currently Vancouver and Hong Kong appear to be the only UU congregations who have adopted this Chinese name. UCV suggested to the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) that the name 尋道會, Xundaohui, Seekers of the Way, be recommended as the official Chinese name for Unitarian Universalists but to date no action has been taken by the ICUU.

Read or download a pdf transcript of the worship service held in January 2016 from the UCV History Wall. The homily tells in more detail the story of why and how UCV chose its Chinese name. You can also listen to an audio of the homily by Lily Ha and Keith Wilkinson. If you have trouble accessing the printed homily from these links, email Keith for a copy.

Another neighbourhood remembrance for Asian Heritage Month – 

The Masumi Mitsui Greenway

The City of Vancouver is trying to establish greenways that are no more than a 25-minute walk or a 10-minute bike ride from every city residence. There are three Greenways quite close to the UCV site at 49th and Oak, and one of these is named after a Japanese Canadian WW1 veteran, Masumi Mitsui, who also became a fighter against the oppression of Japanese Canadians during WW2.

Masumi Mitsui Greenway – runs West to East along 59th Avenue from Angus Drive to Argyle Drive. East of Argyle Drive, the route follows a number of local streets as it works its way to Vivian Street and Burnaby’s Central Park.  At its West end it nearly connects with the Arbutus Greenway.

Arbutus Greenway – follow Arbutus Street and West Boulevard South from 5th Avenue and Fir St near Granville Island to SW Marine Drive near the Fraser River.

Ridgeway Greenway – runs West to East from 8th Ave and Alma St diagonally to 37th Ave, then East to Nanaimo St, South to 45 Ave, and East to Boundary Road and Central Park in Burnaby.

Ontario Greenway – runs North to South from False Creek to 59th Ave

 

BIPOC contributions to Vancouver’s Public Art – In 2014 as part of its annual Service Auction, UCV volunteers led several tours of Vancouver Public Art installations. The tours included BIPOC works by Kelly Cannell, Alan Hung Chung, Jim Hart, Susan Point, Bill Reid, Henry Tsang, Jun Ren, Jen Weih, and the Komagata Maru memorial in downtown Vancouver. Maybe we can resume these and similar explorations after COVID-19 is under control!

 

The National News section of the UCV website usually provides stories about what is happening in other Canadian Unitarian Universalist communities, at the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), and in the global UU movement.  For more information about those see these websites:
CUC       British Unitarians            UUA

 

Gender and Theatre – Join an Interactive Panel Discussion

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Watch Mairy Beam’s provocative and enlightening play What Difference Does it Make?  available now on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQU6WT6Igs8  and join us for a Play Discussion moderated by our own Rev Lara Cowtan on Saturday June 12 at 7:00 pm. ucv.im/gsa

What Difference Does It Make?  Minutes before Carmelle’s best friend arrives for a visit from Toronto, Lucy comes out as non-binary. A day later they’re all trapped together isolating from Covid 19. In this hotbed of needs and limitations the characters play out their destinies against the backdrop of a city in virtual lockdown. A sensitive and illuminating portrayal of a person in transition, a partner struggling to adjust and a broken-hearted houseguest inadvertently making things worse.

From the audience: 

  • “Up until I saw this play I didn’t get how significant and important and fundamental the journey to non-binary is.”
  • “captivating, touching, challenging, humorous, sad and informative”
  • “this play is a gem”
  • “true and raw”
  • “I have some thinking to do  . . . “

What Difference Does It Make? was originally produced by Toronto’s Haven Theatre, in February 2021.

This event is coordinated by UCV’s Genders and Sexualities Alliance as part of UCV’s recertification as a Welcoming Congregation.

Registration appreciated but not required:

https://ucv-gender-theatre.eventbrite.ca

Search the website for “gsa” for other information and events.

Our GSA meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:30pm.

All genders and sexualities welcome, even cis-straight.  Email gsa@vancouverunitarians.ca for the zoom link and agenda.

 

Time to Spill the Beans

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It’s time for the Mystery Pals to reveal their true identity.

We had hoped to be able to have an event at UCV and considered zoom, but…  have decided to just invite you all to do one last letter or email “spilling the beans” – sharing your true identity and expressing (we hope) an intention to meet on zoom or in person at some point in future.

Indeed some congregations consider the mystery pal program a year-long event. We know that some of you have found some things in common and we’d love to think it’s just the start of something rather than the end.

We’d like to share some of the stories. From “eavesdropping” on emails or hearing things, we know there’s some fun connections that have been made. Could you send us 150-200 words – or pictures even better – about how the program went for you?

Zoom Coffee Hour Hosts Needed

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Ms. Brown and Mr. Smith (their real names) need your assistance.
When a few of us put “coffee hour” on zoom mid March 2020, we had no idea it would be for 14 months and counting.
Summer is coming and two of the 4-person team aren’t available.
In any event, Donna and John and Erin and Nan have done a year of hosting and it’s time to pass the flame. Can YOU carry this flame?
We’re looking for 4 volunteers, each person to take responsibility for one coffee hour per month. Coaching and training and support available. You need to have access to zoom through a computer so you can set up the breakout rooms and be willing to sign in about 10-15 minutes before the service ends to set up the breakout rooms and welcome people when they arrive.
You get to say “hello” to everyone as they arrive, so a good chance to meet people–a little like serving coffee in the before times. You’ll always have a co-host, and once everyone is sorted into their groups, you can either join a breakout room yourself or leave our virtual Hewett Hall.
Perks: If you’re using zoom for other reasons, you’ll learn a lot about how to use it more effectively and how to help less experienced people get where they want to go. You get to hang out with Mr. Smith and/or Ms. Brown–two of the nicest people in our entire congregation.

Asian Heritage Month Resource List

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A list of resources for Asian Heritage Month suggested by the UCV BIPOC Caucus

UCV Friday Night Films during Asian Heritage Month

Friday Night Films 7-8pm, May 2021

Training workshop

hollaback! Bystander Intervention (free, one hour)

Books and Writers

Recommended by Meena:

Recommended by Cynthia:

  • The Diary of Dukesang Wong: A voice from Gold Mountain, the only known first person account by a Chinese worker on the construction of the CPR. Edited by David McIlwraith, diary translated by granddaughter Wanda Joy Hoe. 2020
  • Bird Tracks in the Air, 2021.By Profs Jan Walls and Yvonne Walls, renowned scholars of Chinese language and literature. The book is composed of the translated poems of revered poet and political reformer Wang Anshi, whose was committed to compassion and social justice ( a comparative study with Unitarian 7 principles). Virtual book launch with both authors

Recommended by Megumi:

Recommended by Glenn:

  • A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry. This is my favourite novel about India and one of my favourite novels by living writers
  • The God of Small Things and My Seditious Heart, Arundhati Roy. The second book is Roy’s recently published collection of nonfiction
  • Imaginary Homelands, Salman Rushdie. Though it is not exclusively about South Asia, I really enjoyed this collection of essays and journals
  • Running in the Family, Michael Ondaatje. This is a memoir about O’s family’s life in Sri Lanka. I found it to contain his most charming writing

Articles

  • Keeping Love Close, The New York Times — Beautiful article and photographs of Asian love in a time of hate. Asian and Asian-American photographers show what love looks like

Video suggestions

Music

Asian Canadian community organizations fighting for social justice and equality

Cultural and Historical societies

Arts and Culture resources

Asian Heritage Month: image of Vietnamese blue dragon

Vietnamese Blue Dragon by Goran tek-en
CC By SA 4.0

Update from the Refugee Committee

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The refugee committee has been busy submitting applications to fill the 50 allocations we have been allocated (one allocation/one person).

We have good news from one of our sponsored young people who has completed his accountant training, started working in his field, is getting married soon and will be a father in the fall. His sponsorship ended in November 2020.

The more recent arrivals are doing well.

The arrivals are still rare due to COVID and depend on the overseas offices ability to process applications, ability to interview, to do security checks which are usually extensive, to have a medical assessment and to have flights available and allowed to depart and land in Canada.

We have much more demands for sponsorship than we have allocations which is quite heartbreaking as so many are in unsafe and dire situations, including children.

We are very grateful for the support we get and the donations that allow us to bring refugees to safety. We could not do what we do otherwise.

A reminder that private sponsors are required to support the sponsored for one year with monthly allowance plus start up costs (furniture, bathroom needs, kitchen wares etc…).

Please contact the refugee committee if you have any questions

May is Asian Heritage Month

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In recognition of May being Asian Heritage Month, the newly-formed UCV BIPOC Caucus will be hosting a series of weekly Friday Film Night events.
A list of relevant resources can be found here.

A brief history of four major Asian communities in Canada:

The earliest Chinese settlers arrived on the shore of Canada’s west coast to help build a trading post for beaver pelts in 1788. Now there are 1.8 million people reported being of Chinese origin.

Japanese first recorded arrival was 1877. They worked mostly in fishing, farming and logging industries. The 2016 census reported 121,485 people of Japanese origin.

South Asians came mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Their first recorded arrival was 1903. They worked almost exclusively in the lumber industry. 1, 963,330 Canadians reported South Asian origins in the 2016 census.

Filipinos first reported arrival in Canada was 1965. Most came in the 70’s. Many work in health and are care providers. 837,130 people reported being of Filipino ethnic origin in the 2016 Census.

More information on Asian Canadian history. Excerpts from “The Canadian Encyclopedia” (Maybe just post the links?): 

– The first Chinese people to settle in Canada were 50 artisans who accompanied Captain John Meares in 1788 to help build a trading post and encourage trade in sea otter pelts between Guangzhou, China, and Nootka Sound, British Columbia. Chinese Canadians are one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. In the 2016 census, 1.8 million people reported being of Chinese origin. Despite their importance to the Canadian economy, including the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), many European Canadians were historically hostile to Chinese immigration. A prohibitive head tax restricted Chinese immigration to Canada from 1885 to 1923. From 1923 to 1947, the Chinese were excluded altogether from immigrating to Canada. (By Anthony B. Chan)

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-canadians

– The first generation of Japanese immigrants, called Issei, arrived between 1877 and 1928, and the second after 1967. The 2016 census reported 121,485 people of Japanese origin in Canada, or 0.35 per cent of the Canadian population. The first generations of Japanese Canadians were denied the full rights of citizens, such as the right to vote in provincial and federal elections and to work in certain industries. During the Second World War, the federal government interned and dispossessed over 20,000 Japanese Canadians. (By Anne Sunshara)

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-canadians

South Asians trace their origins to South Asia, which encompasses India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Most South Asian Canadians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from these countries, but immigrants from South Asian communities established during British colonial times also include those from East and South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji and Mauritius. Others come from Britain, the US and Europe. In the 2016 census, 1, 963,330 Canadians reported South Asian origins. (By Norman Buchignani)

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/south-asians

– Immigration to Canada from the Philippines is relatively recent: it began in the 1970s. In the 2016 Census, 837,130 people reported being of Filipino ethnic origin. Filipino Canadians thus constitute the largest group of Southeast Asian Canadians (By Eleanor R. Laquian)

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/filipinos

May 2021 Message from Board President

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Dear Unitarian Friends,

Happy Asian Heritage Month! I encourage you all to visit the Alliance For Arts and Culture website to find out about resources and upcoming events for those looking to learn about and celebrate the legacy of Asian Canadians both past and present.

Speaking of learning, our Decolonizing Practices Workshop for staff, board and membership was a ground breaking first step on a long, fulsome journey for this organization. In the months ahead and throughout next year, there will be more anti-racist and anti-oppression engagement so stay tuned!

As you know, the Board recently approved a new Organizational Design that will clarify lines of communication and accountability for everyone. It also frees up the Board to become a more Strategic Board as opposed to a Liason Board. The most significant difference is that the job of the Board – to further the mission and vision of the congregation – will now be their top priority. Management oversight of day to day operations will be the responsibility of a small body made up of Board and staff. Our fabulous new Congregational Administrator along with HR is in the process of hiring our new Membership Outreach Coordinator. This role was created as part of our new org design as well.

Speaking of things a Strategic Board does, we created a UCV Task Force for Sanctuary Upgrades and hired two professionals in technical theatre to work with them who will ensure that this massive task is done well, on time, and within budget. The upgrades to our sound and lighting systems and chairs replacing pews will make our Sanctuary more flexible and thus inclusive to diverse spiritual practices (walking meditation, circle dance), artistic expression (jazz/choral groups, cabaret fundraisers, writers festival venue,) and wheelchair accessibility.

The Board recently refreshed and strengthened our commitment to our Covenant of Healthy Relations and adopted a new policy around disruptive behaviour. Please take a moment to read the Covenant below and remember to be kind. Covid has taken a toll on everyone, and we must remember to breathe and think before we act.

Finally, I would just like to reiterate how in awe I am of our membership and the energy and commitment we continue to exert toward furthering our values and principles. From lovingly tended gardens on our campus to refugees being sponsored to wild salmon being defended in partnership with First Nations, Vancouver Unitarians can and are changing the world, helping to transform it into a more compassionate and equitable one. Meaningful action creates hope. So stay actively engaged, fellow Unitarians, and take care. We will gather in person again soon.

In hope and faith,

Diane

Covenant of Healthy Relations
This is a covenant to guide how we behave towards each other and to groups and individuals within the congregation. The objective is to enhance a safe climate that is courteous, friendly, supportive, respectful of others, open and honest.
Because I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of each person, I will endeavour to:
1. Be compassionate and supportive in my relationships with others, assume their best intentions and be curious rather than judgmental.
2. Communicate with active listening and consideration. Explain concerns to the person directly and share differences respectfully. Focus on the current problem – not the person.
3. Balance being open to new ideas with respect for our traditions.
4. Be attentive to our community’s needs, generous with my talents and careful with the church’s resources.
5. Keep the big picture in mind, be patient with myself and others and stay engaged in the process of change; participate in the decision-making and respect the decisions that are made.
6. Discuss conflicts in our church in a way that respects the privacy and dignity of those involved.
7. Recognize and praise others and myself for the work we do in the church and be forgiving when we make mistakes.
8. Support, in a constructive way, the work of the minister, staff and congregants.
9. Deepen our connections by getting to know and understand people of all ages and points of view within the congregation.
10. Nurture my own spiritual needs in this community and support others in their search for truth and meaning.

 

April 2021 Update from the Board of Trustees

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Dear Unitarian Friends,

With the blossoming of spring comes hope, light, and a sense of comfort born from Mother Natures faithfulness to us. To top off this seasonal levity, here is some good news from your diligent Board of Trustees.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee and members of the Executive Board continue to work hard on the Sanctuary Upgrades; a Forum will be scheduled soon so please stay tuned.

After soliciting input from the congregation via email, phone and forum, the Board approved the new Organizational Design that was recommended by one of the Ministerial Transition Team task forces, and it is being implemented with some tweaks and adjustments. This design streamlines and clarifies lines of accountability and underscores a collaborative, communicative working environment. It also means that we are going to hire a Membership/Outreach Coordinator to help build our membership and engage with the wider community.

The Board also engaged the congregation via email, phone and forum in a conversation about extending the Interim Ministerial time an extra year. After considering all of the feedback, the Board has decided to extend our Interim Ministerial time an extra year.

Finally, the Decolonizing Practices Workshop is full! Looking forward to seeing everyone who signed up for it on Saturday April 24 from 10 – 3; zoom link to come.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at president@vancouverunitarians.ca

Happy spring,
Diane.