Category: Recent News

The monthly e-newsletter selects about 5 news posts with this category. Priorities are news relevant to a wide number of people and especially of interest to visitors or new folk.

Registration open for in-person services

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Sign up for our Dec. 5 service in the Sanctuary: https://vancouver.breezechms.com/form/SundayServiceDec12

For all information on registration for Sunday services: ucv.im/register 

Note that mask wearing and proof-of-vaccination is required to attend Sunday services. For more information on the UCV’s Board COVID safety decisions and protocols, visit this page.

Due to limited capacity in the Sanctuary, registration is required to attend in-person weekly Sunday service. Registration opens at 1 p.m. Sundays for the next week’s service. All services will remain fully accessible online at ucv.im/live. We will continue to offer hybrid online/in-person services.

For more information on our return to in-person services, and questions and answers about COVID safety, visit this page.

Register NOW for Paganism 101 – sessions start October 25

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There are spaces now available for Paganism 101 – with sessions starting Oct. 25. Sign up now to reserve your spot!

Register now for Paganism 101: https://ucv.im/Paganism101

About Paganism 101

Paganism 101 is a 10-session curriculum created by Louise Bunn, a member of our congregation. Louise is offering this 10-session course starting October 25 on sliding scale of $25 to $75 for all 10 sessions.

Today’s Pagans revere the Earth and all its creatures. We see all life as interconnected, and we strive to attune ourselves to the cycles of nature. Our practices are rooted in a belief in immanence – the concept of divinity residing within.

The many modern pagans who have found a home in the Unitarian community are grounding our work in the rational structure, the intellectual balance, and the humanist core values that have descended to us from the Enlightenment. We’re working to develop a religiosity that is entirely compatible with, and complementary to, modern Unitarian rationality.

Paganism 101 is an experiential curriculum that will enable participants to conduct Pagan rituals on their own as independent practitioners. It introduces the practices, beliefs, and history of Modern Pagan spirituality, a nature-based worldview that is deeply rooted in Western Esoteric traditions. It is an active and powerful way to engage with Unitarianism’s Sixth Source — Spiritual Teachings of  Earth-centred Traditions that Celebrate the Sacred Circle of Life and Instruct us to Live in Harmony with the Rhythms of Nature.

New program available: Anti-Racist Foundations

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Leonie Smith and Catherine Strickland will co-host an 8-week series, Anti-Racist Foundations. This program is for UCV members and friends interested in building their capacity and skills as antiracists. The series will focus on the skills of racial self-awareness, identifying and attending to impact, communicating about difficult topics, and empathy and self-empathy practices.

The series will run from the week of Oct. 21 through December. *Update: the first four sessions starting Oct. 21 will be available on Zoom only.

Four of the eight sessions will be led by Leonie Smith, an antiracism trainer certified in Nonviolent Communication. These sessions will focus on learning. The remaining four sessions will be hosted by Catherine Strickland and will focus on practice and integrating the learning. The sessions will start at 7p.m. and last for 90 minutes. The sessions will be accessible both in person at UCV and online using the OWL camera and other AV equipment. We wish to acknowledge the generous support of the R&A Koerner Foundation Fund in making this program possible.

Registration is limited, so sign up today: https://ucv.im/AntiRacismWorkshops

 

About the Facilitator

P. Leonie Smith has worked in frontline and senior management positions in non-profit organizations. She has almost 20 years experience training, coaching, and in mediation. In particular, she focuses on surfacing the practical implementation of principles of nonviolence, including care, connection, and shared understanding in service to collective work.

Putting faith in action for the climate

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Catherine Hembling was among those arrested last week, as part of large-scale non violent civil disobedience attempting to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX).

Catherine is a retired teacher and a long-time member of the Vancouver Unitarians. Our environment team here at UCV is proud to organizing with multi-faith communities to act on climate and in support of Indigenous land defenders.

Explaining her willingness to face arrests, she said, “As a person of conscience, I cannot allow thousands of trees to be cut down for such a short-sighted project. We are in a climate emergency and a mass extinction event. Along with our allies around the world, we call on our leaders to listen to science, follow their commitments and rise to the task imposed on humanity. Put a moratorium on all new fossil fuel infrastructure, as per the International Energy Agency. And put a moratorium on cutting down mature trees and intact forest.”

The TMX pipeline is partially completed and there are currently land defence actions in a number of locations. Catherine’s arrest took place near the ongoing treesit in the Brunette River Conservation Area, which sits on the path of the planned expansion to the existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline.

Join the People’s EcoChallenge October 6 – 27

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👫🌎 welcome

The People’s Ecochallenge is a 21-day challenge to take action for a better shared future. From October 6 – October 27, 2021, you commit to trying and doing new things. Fun actions encourage new habits. Small steps lead to big change. Together, we build a sustainable world and a healthy planet.

The People’s Ecochallenge gamifies behavior change and makes your impacts measurable! Think about and act on proven soutions through 100+ actions across nine categories.

Ecochallenge is free to join and everyone is welcome. Join an existing team, create a new one, or join the global Community team. Join us! We’re excited you’re here.

from Mary Bennett

Teresa Morton formerly of UCV and for a long time at Beacon Unitarian, created a team just at Beacon last year and this year she invites any Metro Van Unitarian to join.

I (Mary) just joined and looked around the site. It’s pretty easy to pick off some “I already do this” and make yourself feel good…  It even allows you to create your own goal.
Here’s the link if you’d like to join. I get points if you join.
Our team is MetroVan Unitarians
Password is  2021Unis! (yes include the exclamation mark!)

Vancouver Unitarians mark UN International Day of Peace

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On Tuesday, Sept. 21, members of the Vancouver Unitarians marked the United Nations International Day of Peace by waving signs on the corner of Oak and 49th Avenue. The Noon hour traffic was noisier than usual, responding to our request for “honks for peace.” Organized by members of the social justice team, this action was honouring a long tradition of Unitarian Universalist involvement in the peace movement and in supporting initiatives of the United Nations.

 

Women’s Memoir Writing Series

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24 Women attended this series and several smaller groups have been formed as a result.

Our Lives as Stories

Maybe you would like to commit to paper (or your laptop) a few of the stories knocking around inside you. Maybe you’re seeking a new way to deepen your understanding of yourself and your connection with others. Or maybe you’ve been longing to write your memoir. Whichever is the case, this series of workshops could get you started.

Session 1: Finding Stories. (Gathering the Sensory and Emotive Details)

Session 2: The Craft and Building Blocks of Stories.  (Writing the Scene(s))

Session 3: From Draft to Polished. (Giving and Receiving Feedback)

⦁ The three two-hour workshops will be spaced a month apart providing lots of time in between for other activities.
⦁ For the first two sessions, the whole group (up to twenty participants) will meet for instruction and guided exercises. Sharing time will involve breakout rooms of five or six, and everyone will be invited to share a portion of their work with Maggie by email if they wish.
⦁ The third workshop will happen in 3 sessions, with up to six gathering each time, to share their work and give and receive guided feedback.

FREE to UCV members
$100 registration fee for non-members

Bio

Maggie de Vries is the author of eleven books including the Governor General Literary Award nominated Missing Sarah: A Memoir of Loss and teen novel, Rabbit Ears, winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize. Maggie’s TEDxSFU talk The Red Umbrella: Sex Work, Stigma and the Law has been viewed more than forty-thousand times. Hooker Monologues, a collaborative production Maggie co-produced, co-wrote and performed in, staged six sold-out shows at Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Centre in 2016.

Maggie was children’s book editor at Orca Book Publishers for seven years and a substitute teacher in Surrey for five. In 2005 and 2012, she was the inaugural writer in residence at VPL and UNBC respectively. For some years now, she has been a Lecturer in UBC’s Creative Writing Program, and a Martha-Beck-certified Life Coach who mentors writers, runs workshops, leads writing retreats and offers creative writing courses in her Ladysmith, Vancouver Island community and beyond.

She is in the process of reconnecting with UCV, where she was married in 1995 and attended more and more regularly from 1999 until she moved away from the city in 2017.

www.maggiedevries.com

Dates: May 8, May 29 (2 – 4 pm)
and

June 19/20 The last class is meant to be divided into three groups for workshopping, with Maggie present for each one. People will sign up for one of these slots: Saturday: 9:30 to 11:30, 12:30 to 2:30 or 3 to 5 or Sunday: 12:30 to 2:30 or 3 to 5.

Supported by the Vancouver Unitarian Women’s Retreat Fund.

Registration fees and donations will be used to replenish the fund for future events.

Testimonials

Insightful, hardworking, thoughtful and encouraging, Maggie provided the literary expertise to solve the structural and editorial issues that plagued early drafts of my memoir.  Coincidently, she identified areas where I struggled to probe and encouraged me to explore, improve and flourish.  She helped me to dig deeper and write better. Maggie is terrific!

Renée Hetherington, MBA, PhD
Writer, Scientist and Businesswoman
British Columbia, Canada
February, 2021

Maggie de Vries runs a humdinger of a writing retreat. In an island setting, I was so deeply comforted by the schedule she set for us—one I could decide not to partake of at any moment should the writing bug o’er take me or should I simply need a walk in the woods—that I was inspired to fully involve myself in the opportunities. I was encouraged to share my writing, something I’m truly not used to doing, and I found it thrilling; that shell remains open, well after the retreat, and I’m delighted to feel the change.
Maggie took care of each of us by combining inviting reflection and prompt-driven writing sessions, literary focus, and guided workshops with lots of individually spent time too: free writing in our separate (stunningly beautiful) spots and one-to-one sessions with Maggie.  These check-ins allowed us to look wide to see the larger project and then to perceive the minute detail of scene writing and character perspective.
All that Maggie engaged us in over the 3-day retreat stays with me, weeks later, because I heard myself articulate a deep desire to do this. I said it in a safe and supportive environment; that baby step feels giant to me now. And Maggie helped us envision each of our books in the mess of journals and papers, in the engagement and the intention of the writer. I see these things now. I am showing up for this part of myself.
Thanks, Maggie, for knowing the world of writing so thoroughly and letting us in on its mysteries and delights.

Jane Slemon
Retreat Participant
UCV Member
November, 2019

 

Maggie’s experience as an author and writing coach has given me the courage to finally write my memoir. Her guidance has helped me see more clearly how to structure my book, stay true to my purpose, and tell a story that will engage the reader.  I know I couldn’t do this without her expertise and dedicated commitment to my project. Thank you, Maggie

Jeri Ross, MPH
Licensed Health Educator & Entrepreneur
Author of See You in the Sky: A Memoir of Prison, Possibility and Peace
Santa Cruz, California
June, 2018

 

 

 

Pagan Group Fall News

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The days are noticeably shorter and after the heat dome in the summer, many of us are welcoming the autumn days that bring a cooler, but still warm, temperature outside. As a gardener, I am grateful for the harvest that is still coming. There are herbs for drying or crafts in the UCV Earth Spirituality herb garden.

The UCV pagan group is approximately 40 people in total. We connect with each other through an email list by sharing information and invitations.  We encourage everyone to take initiative by sharing their knowledge and energy.

Our group plans to host two “public rituals” – celebrations for the sabbats (for example winter and summer solstice) that we will invite anyone in the community to attend.

We are also now coordinating small groups using the covenant group model. If you’re interested, fill out this form:

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

These groups will

  • meet approximately monthly
  • share leadership and responsibilities for the group
  • once a year do a service project for the wider community
  • determine their own topics and schedule for meetings
  • once formed with 6-10 members will usually remain a closed group for a year

See more about covenant groups here. 

 

There are two upcoming sabbats (sun celebrations). If you want to plan a solitary or small group celebration with friends you’ll find lots of suggestions online for decorating your home, planning activities and readings.

Mabon – Autumn Equinox

This celebrates the second of three harvest periods. It’s a time of balance.

Samhain – Hallowe’en

This is the new year for pagans and when the veil is thinnest between the living and the dead.

UCV honours this time with a special worship service, Encountering Our Ancestors, and creating an Ancestors Shrine. 

 

If you want to know the exact day and time of solstices, equinoxes and moon phases, we recommend this website: timeanddate.com

 

Family Picnic and Water Communion: UCV weekend events Sept. 11-12th

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Family Picnic – Saturday, Sept. 11 6pm-8pm

It’s time to gather together – outdoors only for now! Join us Saturday, Sept. 11 for a “Bring your own picnic dinner”! We’ll have outdoor tables, ping pong (outdoors), large form bubbles, sidewalk art and games. Easy to serve desserts and drinks will be provided. Any indoor space use (bathrooms/kitchen) requires a mask.

If you’re coming in for the Family Picnic, you can also drop off your water for this year’s Water Communion…

Let us know if you’re planning to come to UCV campus Sept. 11: https://vancouver.breezechms.com/form/FamilyPicnicSeptember2021

 

Water Communion

Due to the pandemic, this special service can again only be attended online, yet we are again making special efforts so that all can participate in our Water Communion. This year, you are invited to share what you have been grieving, the sorrows and losses experienced in these past 18 months of uncertainty, isolation, and disruption. Your words will be read as waters are poured to mingle our shared sorrows, and then also what you would like to share of new joys and celebrations. Words and waters of sorrows and loss as well as hope and renewal will flow together in meaningful ritual.

Rev. Lara Cowtan
Interim Minister, Unitarian Church of Vancouver

We want you to be included in this year’s Water Ceremony! Please feel free to share what you have been grieving in the past six months of isolation and disruption, and what joys and celebrations are lifting your hope or renewing your spirit. There are a couple of ways to participate in the Water Ceremony ahead of time this year, and please pick the one that suits you best:

  1. Drop off a physical jar of water and written words to be shared under the Portico outside the Sanctuary on Saturday, Sept. 11 between 3p.m. and 6p.m. If you wish to share your message on video, membership outreach coordinator Derrick O’Keefe will be on site to video record messages to be included in the Sept. 12 online service.
  2. Submit written words online to moc@vancouverunitarians.ca with “Water Communion” in the subject line. Your words of grief and/or joy will be spoken aloud during the Sept. 12 service as we pour collected waters into our communion bowl.

 

OWL is Back!

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We are excited to announce a new offering of the Our Whole Lives sexuality education for grades 8 &9 (ages 12-14). Because this class can only be held in person and students come from many different areas of metro Vancouver, we are requiring that all students be age 12 or older and fully vaccinated by the start of class (October 3rd). We will require masks indoors until they are no longer recommended by BC public health.

This is a comprehensive, school-year long program led by trained volunteers and staff. You can read more about this award winning curriculum on our website, check out the dates for this year’s class, and REGISTER HERE.