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.

Multigen Documentary History Club

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  • Mary Bennett

Like many in the congregation I’ve been a big fan of the Encountering Our Ancestors worship services that Rev. Steven Epperson researched, wrote and directed over many years.

It was a very rich experience for me to research Dr. Sheilah Thompson’s “life and times” and share in the 2020 service.

Ever since Steven announced his retirement I’ve wanted to get a group together to continue learning together about our Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian-Universalist ancestors and to carry on this tradition. This offering was a unique one from Steven who was a historian, as well as a minister and was adept at writing scripts. If we happened to get a minister who wanted to be involved, well, that would be great, but imho unlikely.

There are many options for how the “performance” part would be presented in future–in collaboration with the minister and worship service.  The research, writing and learning would be put to good use whatever form is decided on for the sharing with the congregation.

Steven gifted us with his significant and substantial work and it may be that over time, we would find the resources to organize, copy-edit, publish his work, perhaps with additional materials by UCV members and youth. Perhaps even to video-record performances to share with other UUs and congregations.

I envision us meeting (whether in person, video conference or just an email exchange) monthly over the coming year. We would start out very organically by sharing our interests and being very flexible about participation and contributions. For instance, some people may be interested in the role of being cast as a performer to deliver a script written by someone else; others may be interested in doing research. Many possible roles are possible.

Even though other than the actors, Steven did all the rest himself, I think we need a team. As an educator and lifelong learner I also want to make it explicit that a key outcome is the learning along the way. While the focus of the Encountering our Ancestors service might provide a goal, I believe there will be many conversations along the way that will be rich within themselves.

Does this sound interesting to you or your family or Coming of Age pair?

For now I am “calling the circle” as a first step in creating a UU Multigen History Club.

Note the Coming of Age journal includes lists of Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian Universalist ancestors. We could start exploring that list and seeing how many of those people already have a script created by Steven.

We might as part of a video-conference do readings to share with each other. Costumes and wigs encouraged but not required.

I’m hoping we can continue the discussion on a SLACK workspace.

Here’s a link to a questionnaire on our Breeze database to gauge interest.

(coming)

Or just send me an email telling me more about your interest: why you’re interested and, if you know already, what aspects of creation are likely t be the focus of your contributions.

Here’s a link about documentary theatre, that you may find of interest.

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

Our Moral Priorities

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Support COVID Relief in NE India – a Faithify Crowd Source Initiative.

This is an initiative sponsored by the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women.

More details below…

The current COVID-19 pandemic and the on-going global climate crisis may leave us a bit bewildered about where and how to act in a constructive way. What should our priorities be? Like each of us, I eventually find a way forward that suits my character,  temperament, and pocketbook. Socially, spiritually, and economically, I find ways to support: a) my family, b) my friends, c) my religious community d) other creatures, e) my neighbourhood, f) my city, g) my province, h) my country, i) my planet, j) myself – not necessarily in that order! Within each of these I look for ways, large or small, in which I can contribute, ways suited to my gifts. And in this manner, it seems to me, each one of us maps out our unique ethical path.

There are times when many of us need to be headed in roughly the same direction on critical issues if we are to make a helpful contribution to our own well-being and that of our planet. One of those directions, I believe, is toward climate justice. There are many specific paths within this direction that a person can follow, but we need to head generally the same way as others and be supportive of each other in order to get there. I can’t think of anyone in our Unitarian community who isn’t doing something to move in this direction toward climate justice.

A more urgent issue is provision of global relief to help people cope successfully with COVID-19. Refugees fleeing from wars, oligarchies, and disastrous climate changes also need help. While governments and charitable organizations help, how do we, as individuals, pick from amongst the many options for helping?

Following are descriptions and links to a few programs related to the global Unitarian Universalist community that are addressing these needs. Perhaps you can find something in the short list below that appeals to your spirit and character to which you can contribute money or service immediately.

Some primary options for giving

COVID-19 Relief

  1. Donate to UCV by texting 1 778 771 1707 and adding a note to direct your donation to:

Burundi Partner Church COVID-19 Relief Fund

**Directions for giving by text are outlined at the end of this posting.

You can also give to this fund electronically, or by mailing a cheque to the UCV Office.
For directions for electronic giving as well as pledging options, go to the UCV Website and click on Give near the top right hand side of the page which will take you to our Giving Page.

  1. Donate through a crowd source initiative in support of COVID relief for Unitarians in NE India. Go to the following link and follow the instructions:

Support COVID Relief in NE India – a Faithify Crowd Source Initiative.

This is an initiative sponsored by the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women.

Other UCV Crisis Support Initiatives

(Give by text, electronically, or by cheque to UCV)

Sheilah Thompson Refugee Fund
(Used by the UCV Refugee Committee as backup where needed for specific groups of refugees)

Refugee Funds for a particular family/group
(Used by the UCV Refugee Committee to support specific refugee groups or families. UCV is currently supporting 3 such groups: Al Humaid, Issa and Rosa, & Mohammed Ali Alian.)

Green Fund
(Allocated by the Board in consultation with the UCV Environment Team to support specific environmental initiatives, some related to improving UCV’s carbon footprint, and some directed to the larger community.)

Emergency Relief Fund
(Directed by the UCV Board in consultation with selected committees for global relief work.)

Support for CUC initiatives via UCV

CUC Sharing Our Faith Fund
(Money contributed each year from across Canada to help selected congregations offer special programs for which they apply. UCV has been a beneficiary of this fund in recent years.)

To give to UCV by text, enter 1 778 771 1707 on your smartphone

If it’s your first time donating by text, you’ll be given a link and asked to supply your payment method (credit card, debit card, or bank account) and details about that. This payment source will then be linked with your phone number.

Then simply text the amount you’d like to give to this number. For example:

Text       [ Give $5 ]

This will send $5.00 immediately to the UCV open collection.

Once you’ve donated, you’ll receive a text confirming that your donation has been received successfully. You’ll also be given the option to cancel the donation if you’ve made an error.

You can also direct text donations to specific UCV funds. To do this, text the amount followed by a short description of where you want the money to be directed. For example:

Text       [ Give $5 to Burundi COVID-19 Relief ]

This will direct $5 immediately to the UCV Burundi Partner Church COVID-19 Relief Fund.

All of your text donations will be combined with any other donations you have made to UCV and will be reported to you at the end of the year for income tax purposes as Charitable Donations.

 

CUC Leaders Roundtables

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4th Saturdays, monthly, 9 AM Pacific time

Report on the CUC Leaders Roundtable of 26 Sep 2020:

Seven UUs from Halifax, Huronia, Niagara, Lakehead, Calgary and Vancouver participated. We discussed space rental as a revenue source, rental rates, human resource consultants, staff reductions and expansions, zoom AGM procedures, zoom dinners, zoom charades, outside Hallowe’en costume parades, and a forthcoming (date TBA) CUC Webinar on Hybrid Services (some people in the sanctuary, others at home).

 

 

 

Next roundtables:

Saturday, October 31, 9:00 a.m. PT | 10:00 a.m. MT | 11 :00 a.m. CT | 12:00 p.m. ET | 1:00 p.m. AT

Saturday, November 28, 9:00 a.m. PT | 10:00 a.m. MT | 11 :00 a.m. CT | 12:00 p.m. ET | 1:00 p.m. AT

Congregational leaders from across Canada are invited to gather monthly to share ideas and insights with each other and CUC staff. Our conversations will explore different topics with the goal of supporting our congregations and each other as we navigate the post-pandemic world with resiliency and grace.

Online via Zoom: https://bit.ly/2EUMhsD

For on-going national UU news, subscribe to the CUC News

CUC also hosts online events including regional gatherings, discussions, round tables and webinars. Find out about upcoming events and gatherings in the CUC events calendar.

Reassessing Canadian Foreign Policy

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Reassessing Canadian Foreign Policy

Our UCV Board approved a motion that Vancouver Unitarians become a signatory to a national campaign calling for a fundamental reassessment of Canadian foreign policy. Our federal government is widely criticized for it’s continuing support for controversial mining companies, indifference to International treaties, anti-Palestinian positions, climate policies and militarism. And, this may be why Canada lost two consecutive efforts to gain a seat on the UN Security Council. Big thanks to the Environment Team for bringing this motion to the Board.
 
Here is a link to the campaign where you may sign on as an individual. And here is more information about the campaign for endorsers.

Sign your name to support this campaign:

Endorser Guide:

Starting Point: Small Circle Ministries

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Starting this October, UCV is excited to be launching into weekly
online Starting Point small circle ministries.

We’ll follow along with the themes and stories Rev. Cowtan will be
using in her weekly sermons and bring new life to both UU theology and
history. This is a great chance to reintroduce yourself to your fellow
UU members. All members & visitors are welcome!

Weekly sessions will begin in the first week of October. Please use the form below to let us know if you’d like to join!

Staff Announcement from HR Committee

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Aurora Eyolsfson, who has been the UCV Church Administrator for the past 3 years, has left our employment. During her time with us, Aurora brought to light how little UCV has been charging for rent of our spaces compared to both other churches and the going market rental rates. She also took care of finding a much better provider for our extended health benefits in terms of price and services. She advocated for fair pay for both caretakers and RE childcare and teachers.

We are grateful to Aurora for her time and service with UCV, and wish her all the best for her future. The Transition Team is working with the staff and leadership to review the various roles and structures of UCV’s ongoing staffing needs to plan for the future. In the short term, we ask for the patience and support of members as changes in our office may impact response time for administrative requests. We are blessed with amazing and motivated staff.

Outreach Opportunities Fund: Treehouse

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The Outreach Opportunities Fund recipient for the September 2020 -January 2021 period is The Treehouse Vancouver Child and Youth Advocacy Centre which has formed a multi-disciplinary team to intervene in and prevent child abuse and violence. The team comprises staff from VPD and three child and youth care agencies.
Its’ programs and services build networks and community support systems that promote safe and sustainable environments for children, youth and their families. A critical goal of the centre is to raise awareness of child abuse in Vancouver.

More about our financial support for organizations

Coming of Age Orientation night – One mentor’s perspective

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To This I Give My Heart: Coming of Age Orientation

One mentor’s perspective

by Mary Bennett

Seven mentors and seven youth (mentees) gathered in Hewett Centre on Sunday, September 20th, most in person and another 4 via zoom, to begin a year-long journey of getting to know each other. Olivia Hall, youth coordinator, and Kiersten Moore, DRE, facilitated an evening of games and conversations, some one-on-one and some in the whole group. The photo shows us playing “All my friends and neighbours…”

We had a couple of introductory exercises, the first included: what pet would you have if you could have any pet at all (including imaginary ones). Responses included elephants, monkeys, octopuses as well as dogs and cats and one person said, “No thanks. I don’t want a pet.”  

Then we paired off with our partner and were asked to come up with the one thing we would choose if we got to name something to help save humanity. I expect other pairs had the same kind of free-ranging conversation that my partner and I had. The final results were intriguing: phytoplankton; the internet, Steven Spielberg’s computer, fresh air…  What would you choose? Get ready for the zombie apocalypse now in case you’re asked.. 

Each pair will meet on their own once a month. As well as having a bit of fun together, our mission is to  work through the Coming of Age journals* we were given. 

When asked to share what we hoped to get from the program, there were responses of friendship and learning. After the broad concepts, one mentor said,  I just want to get to know my mentee better. The mentee beamed. 

While leaving the hall, a friend said to me: “Who’s the mentor and who’s the mentee? These young folx are so interesting and interested, the hardest part for us adults may be to keep up.”

For myself, I see my role as being a bridge between our religion and this one young person. I’m looking forward to exploring our history especially as my mentee is interested in history. 

Often the young people write their own Credo (statement of belief) and may present to the congregation. If my mentee chooses to do this, I can be a coach and/or cheerleader. Speaking to the congregation, I believe, is an honour and a challenge, an opportunity I have personally appreciated very much and grown from.

Next month, there might be a post by another participant, or a pair, from this program so you can have a glimpse about how it evolves.

 

Participate in Water Communion

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How to Participate in Water Communion, September 13th, 2020

Due to Covid-19 safety concerns the worship service can only be attended online, yet we may all still participate in our Water Communion. This year, recognizing the deep complexities we are all facing, you are invited to share what you have been grieving, the sorrows and losses experienced in these past 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

There are three different ways to participate in the Water Ceremony ahead of time, please pick the one that suits you best:

  1. Drop off a physical jar of water and written words to be shared at the table outside by the blue admin office door—before September 13th.
    Please 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.
  2. Submit written words online through our secure form ucv.im/water. Your words of grief and/or joy will be spoken aloud by Rev. Lara Cowtan as she and Diane Brown pour collected waters into our communion bowl.
  3. Submit a video online at ucv.im/greetings of yourself pouring water. (You may record directly at the website or upload your video file.)
    Please introduce yourself and share either a grief/sorrow or a joy/celebration while you pour water from a container into a bowl.
    If you want to share both a grief and a joy, please submit two separate videos as these will be distinct parts of the worship.

We will also use the YouTube chat at the beginning of the service on Sunday the 13th to gather any last-minute words to share for the Communion.