Category: Community

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

What’s in a Name?

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On January 19th the What Do We Call Ourselves? (WDWCO?) Task Force led a Discussion Circle Forum in the Fireside Room. 44 congregants attended.

They were invited to address the questions:  Do you want to change the name – The Unitarian Church of Vancouver? If yes, to what?  If no, reasons for not wanting to change the name.

Rev. Steven Epperson, who attended, later commented that participants were respectful and thoughtful.  Which is just the way we Unitarians are as we contemplate our past identity and consider our future one.

UCV Directory of Small Groups and Committees

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UCV Directory of Small Groups and Committees

Wanting to get involved with a group but not sure what’s available?  Our newly updated Directory will help you navigate our complex Unitarian community. You can find hard copies on the Welcome Tables or in the office.

If you’d like an electronic version, please contact Sheila at sresels@gmail.com

Membership Development Workshop – Let’s get together

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Coming up for all members of the Membership Development team at UCV

Saturday, March 28 – open to active membership committee teams including:

  • New to Vancouver Unitarians workshop coordinators
  • Greeters and Welcome Table volunteers
  • Connect and Engage team including Sermon Discussion table facilitators
  • Membership records, retention, renewal and recruitment team members
  • Membership committee chair and board liaison
  • Communications team liaison
  • Sunday Coffee servers

Agenda

1:30 – 2 pm

  • -set up – coffee/tea and snacks available

2 – 5 pm workshop:

Introductions

  • Was there a “turning point” when you decided to join UCV? How long was that from when you first started attending?

How do the teams all work together

  • What are your challenges and pleasures?
  • What staff/caretaker roles are helpful for your team?
  • Suggestions for making things easier for members and volunteers – what would you ask of others? what do you see that could be smoothed out?

Volunteer recruitment and support

  • How do you typically recruit more volunteers? Does your team need additional volunteers?
  • Some brainstorming around how to recruit
  • What works? what doesn’t?

Volunteer Status

There are approximately 20 on each of these three teams: New to VU/welcome table; greeters; coffee servers. There are about 6 on the relatively newer Connect & Engage team (who set up the sermon discussion table and support neighbourhood groups etc.) Some people do double duty. The “member retention” team has never been fully staffed nor the “member records” team. To some degree the role of “member recruitment” is handled by our communications systems.

The member experience

Mapping the visitor to member and beyond journey

– what was your journey from discovery to involvement?

What do you see with first timers?

  • What do they already know? What do they need? Do you notice clues that they might stick around?
  • Given how busy Sunday morning is, how can we best help people get connected?

5:30 – 6:30 pm – potluck dinner

  • kitchen and fireside room – You’re encouraged to sit with folks from a different team

7 – 8:30 pm

Membership Development

  • considering UUA/CUC ideas for membership growth.

Ministerial (and other) Transitions

Information about ministerial transition – what’s in our future for next 2 to 3 years?

  • what questions are you getting? on ministerial transition, possible redevelopment and name change?
  • What questions/concerns do you expect?
  • brainstorm responses

Registration form:

https://vancouver.breezechms.com/form/membershipworkshop

 

Resources you may find of interest

https://www.uua.org/growth

http://growinguu.blogs.uua.org/

https://www.uua.org/interconnections

https://www.uua.org/careers/ministers/transitions

 

Soul Matters Themes and Opportunities

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You can join other Unitarians on either the first Tuesday 7:30pm (ucv.im/neighbourhoods) or the 3rd Friday at 3pm (ucv.im/wung) for those who live west of Main.

Mary Bennett is coordinating both of these groups, and we expect more groups will be formed. UCV is offering Facilitator training through the Soul Matters organization for anyone interested in sharing a leadership role.

The format for the groups Mary facilitates goes like this:

5 minutes – light a chalice / read a poem

15 minutes – brief check-in related to the theme

25 minutes – groups of 3 in breakout rooms. The facilitator ensures everyone gets a chance to talk and, as much as possible, helps the group complete within the time frame.  Each participant chooses a question from the packet (or makes up or adapts their own question related to the theme). The other two participants respond and then the Asker responds and chooses the person to ask the next question.

10 minutes – closing comment from each person

5 minutes – a closing poem and extinguishing the chalice

2 minute – farewell and bio break

The space remains open for anyone who wants to stay for social chat. If someone has a particular topic they can ask to have a breakout room set up. Those staying on can take a 2-minute break to get refreshments or otherwise deal with bodily needs: stretch etc.

Breakout room facilitators currently are: Mairy Beam (East Van); Mary Lage (Burnaby and Beyond); Paula Vander/Mary Bennett (Westside)

To make it accessible we’ve set an overall limit of one hour. Individuals may form groups that meet at an agreed upon time for a longer period of time. (Some people said they’d prefer an hour and a half).

We will set up 6 break-out rooms, some according to location and others for individual choice. As we make the rooms for people to choose themselves, after there are 3 people in a group, please choose one of the extra groups. If you can’t see the breakout room option, you may need to install or upgrade your zoom app. The host will move you to your preferred room after others have left the main session.

  1. Westside
  2. East Van
  3. Burnaby and Beyond
  4. 5. 6. – Could be for a particular age, interest or team group or just “meet some new people”.

To find these events and others with details and to add to your calendar, go to: http://vancouverunitarians.ca/community/connecting/

UCV has adopted the “Soul Matters” sharing circle subscription which will be used as a resource to guide our small groups and worship over the coming year:

From their website:
The Soul Matters small group approach was developed at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester New York. The idea for a Sharing Circle arose in 2006 when the co-senior ministers, Reverends Scott Tayler and Kaaren Anderson, reached out to a small group of colleagues to explore deeper collaborative relationships. What began as an effort to share materials among colleagues became a means to connect congregations from around the country and world. Today around 1/5 of all UU congregations in the United States and Canada (and a few more in other parts of the world!) participate in this web of interdependence.

To learn more about this unique approach and how it will be used to connect us in group discussion and worship, visit the soul matters website https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com/our-approach.html

 

 

What’s in a Name? Next forum January 19

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The What Do We Call Ourselves task force (WDWCO) was created by the Board in 2018 to examine whether we should change our name from the Unitarian Church of Vancouver to a name without “church.” To carry out its mission, WDWCO would like to provide ways for all members and friends (adherents) of UCV to hear, understand, and contribute to the discussions around what name best suits our congregation. Although as UCV members, we might differ on the name question, we believe we share similar values and goals for our beloved community. We are confident that we can come to shared understanding and a path forward.

We offer the following viewpoints (heard during informal discussions among some UCV members) as a starting point for discussion. If your viewpoint isn’t represented here, we’d like to know what it is. We want input and will be seeking it at the Forum on January 19th.

I want to retain our current name because:
Our name Unitarian Church of Vancouverhonours our 500-year history as a Church. For me, the UnitarianChurchof today has an expanded meaning that is inclusive of all ethical beliefs. It demonstrates how a Church can be a progressive religious community.

The name “Church” speaks to our spiritual roots and provides a sense of continuity and comfort. Some of us may have left the church of our upbringing, but we have not severed our connection with spirituality.

The name Unitarian Churchhas gravitas and promotes respect. Having originated as a branch of Christianity, we are identified as a religious community and we belong at the table of multi-faith gatherings. As well, our identity as a Church invites media inquiries seeking “religious perspectives” on pressing moral issues.

The Unitarian Church has led and continues to lead progressive religious change. Such progress can be inspiring to other religious communities.

I want to change our name because:
I am uncomfortable with the word Church, finding it restrictive as a name for our spiritual home and community. A church is by definition a Christianentity, which is not a spiritual fit with those members and friends who do not identify as Christian. “Church” discourages many potential attendees who have negative associations with Christian denominations, along with those whose heritage is in non-Christian cultures, those who identify as Pagans or secular Humanists, and those who resist any labelling of their views. And a more welcoming name could appeal to those who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious” , individuals who may be seeking an inclusive spiritual community free of dogma.

I believe that with an alternative name we will remain an influential member of multifaith communities. For example, one of the largest Unitarian communities in Canada, The First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, (no “Church” in their name), is well-respected in the National Capital Region, and has good relations with near and far-flung Christian and non-Christian faith communities alike.

34 of the 47 Unitarian congregations in Canada call themselves something other than a Church.

I am undecided because:
I haven’t thought much about this and I don’t have enough information. I look forward to participating in our community’s thoughtful consideration and discussion of all the input. I want to understand the beliefs and opinions of others. I hope I’ll then be better able to make a decision.

I will support whatever decision is made:
I trust our community will thoughtfully consider all input and make the best decision for the greater good.

I am reluctant to get involved…
To the reluctant, we encourage you to consider that in our community, all views count. We invite your careful listening and input as the discussions proceed. We want an environment where you feel comfortable to contribute your voice.

We strive to make ourdecision process inclusive, caring, informed, and democratic. What we choose to call ourselves is our identity.It matters.

Please share your views, come to the Forum on January 19th. Questions in the meantime?
Email us at: sresels@gmail.com

 

Support Sole Food Street Farms

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The Outreach Opportunities Fund recipient for October to January will be Sole Food. During the past seven years, Sole Food Street Farms―now North America’s largest urban farm project―has transformed acres of vacant and contaminated urban land in Vancouver into street farms that grow artisan-quality fruits and vegetables.  It has empowered dozens of individuals with limited resources and addiction and chronic mental health problems by providing jobs, training, and community support.

Visit their website here https://solefoodfarms.com/

The Buddha on friendship and the spiritual life

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Ananda [AH-nuhn-duh], a cousin of the Buddha and among the first of his followers, had a reputation for attending all his talks and accurately remembering all he said. Except once.

Ananda must have skipped the talk about friendship. One day, to clarify a point he was unsure about, he turned to the Buddha and asked if it was true that friendship is half of the spiritual life.

“Not so, Ananda,” said the Buddha, “friendship is the whole of the spiritual life.” (!?)

 

notes and links

photo by Briana Tozour on Unsplash

parenthetical DuckDuckGo bang commands (!?) link to search results for terms they follow

ananda (!di) / “perfect bliss”

A bang command for UCV on DuckDuckGo

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There are some good reasons for using the DuckDuckGo search engine and even for making it the default search engine on your browser so you can just type search terms right into the location bar (address bar) at the top of your screen.

This post goes into just one reason: the bang command. If you click on that link and then scroll down, you can see why bang commands are useful.

The bang commands in this post link to their results so you don’t have to type them into your browser to try them out. Just click on them.

!ucv principles for kids / for grownups too (see link in item found)
!ucv small groups / where everyone has a voice and is heard
!ucv vision statement / !g “… exactly what it says on the tin”

Those examples used the new bang command !ucv
/ (given nothing to search for on a website, a bang command displays the home page)

Even if you don’t make DuckDuckGo the default search engine on your browser, you can maybe still use it in the browser search box. This is usually to the right of the location bar (address bar) at the top of your screen, as it is in Firefox.  Click on the dropdown symbol – if there is one in the search box – and select a miniature version of the featured image in this post after you have typed the search term.

Here are some other bang commands worth knowing:

!yt Vancouver Unitarians / YouTube

!gb “Singing the Living Tradition” / Google Books

!gr “Singing the Living Tradition” / Goodreads

!b becoming a Unitarian site:cuc.ca / Bing

!i Vancouver Unitarians  / images

!m Unitarian Church of Vancouver, 949 West 49th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2T1  / map

!ucv technology / drop-in sessions, first Sundays, for help with any or all of the above

Please spread the word. Send people this copy-paste of the title of the post with its embedded link:

A bang command for UCV on DuckDuckGo

Thank you.

Come and meet Margot Adler while the veil is still thin

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Every year, Rev. Steven Epperson writes scripts for our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors to address us from the other side. UCV members then enter to the opening bars of the Twilight Zone and address our congregation, someimes with a challenge. Among the four “guests from the past” this year will be Wiccan priestess and UU Margot Adler, author of Drawing Down the Moon.

Born: April 16, 1946, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Died: July 28, 2014, New York, New York, United States

Here’s information about the service.

Here’s a wikipedia entry about Margot Adler.

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

It says:

Adler was a Wiccan priestess, an elder in the Covenant of the Goddess,[1] and she also participated in the Unitarian Universalist faith community.[1]

Here’s some background on her UU involvements

http://uudb.org/articles/margotadler.html

Some selected excerpts:

She was a member of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, a member of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS), and a frequent speaker at national and regional Unitarian Universalist events.

Beacon Press published an expanded edition of Drawing Down the Moon in 1986. The next year Adler was a keynote speaker at the annual Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) General Assembly (GA). A continental organization, the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) was formed and was granted affiliate status with the UUA in 1988. Adler was a member of CUUPS and served on the board. She joined the All Souls congregation in New York City in 1992 and participated in the activities of its Women’s Alliance. She would speak at numerous Unitarian Universalist affiliated events over the next twenty years.

Adler saw Paganism as the spiritual side of feminism which rejected the hierarchy of monotheism. She thought monotheism was “imperialism in religion.” In 2005 Adler spoke at the annual Southwest Unitarian Universalist Women’s Conference in Houston, Texas. There was still some resistance in Unitarian Universalist women’s circles toward the Pagan movement despite the fact that “Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions” had been named the sixth source of our Unitarian Universalist Living Tradition. In her talk, Adler explained how much pagan spirituality and ritual had contributed to Unitarian Universalist worship; from croning and water ceremonies, to walking the labyrinth, spiral dances, drumming, and—perhaps most importantly for Margot—chanting, a practice she often introduced at women’s gatherings.

Adler presented her theories about vampires to the Second International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women in October 2012 in Marosvásárhely, Romania. In her keynote speech, Adler compared America’s twenty-first century fascination with vampires to that experienced in Great Britain at the close of the nineteenth century when Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, had been published. She theorized that the two cultures were similar in experiencing the end of empire and perhaps also sharing a view of themselves as evil; the British sucking the blood from colonies while America was sucking oil through powerful multinational corporations. She published Out for Blood in 2013, and Vampires Are Us: Understanding Our Love Affair with the Immortal Dark Side the following year.

In 2013 Adler placed books from her parent’s collections into the “Margot Adler Collection” at the Adler Graduate School in Richfield, Minnesota. Alfred Adler’s papers were donated to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Transcripts and audio copies of some of Margot Adler radio broadcasts can be found at justicetalking.org, pacificaradioarchives.org, hourwolf.com, npr.org, and YouTube.

And here’s something I didn’t know:

Her father was a psychiatrist who helped continue the work of his father, the distinguished Viennese psychiatrist Alfred Adler, who was first an ally and later an ideological adversary of Freud.

Huff Post article after her death.

Margot Adler Memorial Page on Facebook

New York Times article on her death:

 

CUUPS Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/CUUPS.org/

 

UU World Article

Why I am a UU Pagan

http://www.spelcastor.org/cuups/margot.htm

 

 

What Do We Call Ourselves? Forum

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Missed the “What Do We Call Ourselves?” Oct. 20th Forum?

Read All About it.

If you missed the October 20th Forum on “What Do We Call Ourselves?” (WDWCO?) you can find the agenda and presentations below. Twenty-three people attended. Pasted below are the WDWCO? (draft) Terms of Reference.

1.WELCOME (Sheila Resels)

“Welcome to the “What do we call ourselves?” Task Force Forum.

So who are we?  My name is Sheila Resels.  I am one of co-chairs of the Task Force, along with my co-chair Eva Allan.  Members include Leonie Armstrong, (past chairperson), Jeannie Corsi, John Smith, Fouad Hafiz and advisors Mary Bennett, Steven Epperson, Keith Wilkinson and Tamiko Suzuki.

What is this Task Force?

The Task Force was approved by the Board 2 years. ago.  It was originally called the “Name Change Task Force”.  (more…)