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.

Chalice Choir in Bellingham

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Notes by Leslie Hill, Pictures by Keith Wilkinson

On Sunday, February 24, 2019, Choir Director Donna Brown and twenty members of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver’s Chalice Choir met at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship at the invitation of BUF’s choir director, Kevin Allen-Schmid. During the service we sang ‘I Dreamed of Rain’ and with the BUF choir sang ‘One Day’, an anthem to peace. In the afternoon we attended an Interfaith Coalition Music Festival. We joined choirs from eleven other faith communities, from Jewish to Catholic, Methodist to Muslim. The UCV Chalice Choir’s reprise of ‘I Dreamed of Rain’ was sandwiched between singers from the Unity Spiritual Center and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Interfaith Coalition Music Festival was raising money to help house the homeless in Bellingham. After every group had sung, we had a rousing sing-along with the audience, a brief and stirring address by Rev. Seth Thomas of St. James Presbyterian Church and concluded with a grand massed choir plus audience finale of ‘One Day’, featuring solos in Hebrew and Arabic.

It was an inspiring musical day and with any luck the UCV congregation will notice an additional spiritual shine on the faces of the Chalice Choir the next time we sing.

Massed choir and guests, First Congregational Church, Bellingham, WA

Chalice Choir on deck

Market Green, Fairhaven, WA

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Sanctuary

“It’s happening @ BUF”

Whisk away to a relaxing June weekend!

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Camp Sasamat is 45 minutes away from UCV set on acres of forest at Sasamat Lake in Port Moody.
Come for an afternoon float, campfire sing-a-long, choral workshop, trail walk or fellowship by the water. All meals provided. Accommodations include accessible cabins and showers. All ages welcome and many bring friends and family.
This year’s choral workshop will be led by Kathryn Nicholson (music director for the Helena Choir).
Gabriella Harvey, Jazzfly Video Productions
www.jazzfly.com
Our guest speaker will be Gabi Harvey with a talk entitled:  “Tale of a South American Traveller: A Happy Journey of Exploration”.
https://tricitieschamber.com/ambassador-gabriella-harvey/
Jazzfly Video Productions
www.jazzfly.com
May 31 – June 2, 2019
Sponsored by Beacon Unitarian Church

Solidarity with Christchurch

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Dear UCV members and friends:

Most of us know by now that there was a deadly assault on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.  We cannot imagine the grief and loss.  I feel devastated and angry.

I urge all of us to think, with gratitude, of the relative peace and safety we enjoy gathering and worshipping together.  May we also be mindful that Muslim children, men and women are our sisters and brothers.  An attack on them at worship for Friday prayers, is very much an attack on us and all people of good will who value a diverse and free society.

I attended Friday prayers at the Jamia Mosque on 8th Avenue to witness and extend our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Rev. Steven Epperson

There will be a prayer vigil tonight, Friday, March 15th, 7:30 pm at the Al-Jamia Mosque in Vancouver. All UU’s are encouraged to participate in solidarity and support.

From the Canadian Unitarian Council

The world weeps with the news of senseless violence and death, and hold in our hearts the victims and families of the New Zealand mosque shooting. Violence of this kind fueled by hatred and fear cannot be allowed to exist. We choose to respond with love and refuse to respond with more violence.

In the face of our grief, we pledge ourselves anew to act with compassion. Holding true to the inherent worth and dignity of each being, we are moved to respond with kindness and empathy when faced with ignorance and bigotry.

Unitarians will show up beside our Muslim colleagues and siblings. We embrace expressions of religion which champion inclusion and cooperation among all faiths. We will continue to work towards a world where our interdependence is manifested through love and justice.

To demonstrate solidarity and support, we encourage UUs across Canada to participate in vigils in their local communities.

– From the CUC Board President and Vice President, CUC Executive Director and the UU Ministers of Canada

Book Bash March 24th 9:00 am to 2:00 pm

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The UCV Book Bash is coming up on Sunday March 24th from 9 am to 2 pm.

Come and have a look at gently used books in all genres priced from $1 to $5

Proceeds go to the church.

 

Volunteers are needed for short shifts during the setup: Friday March 22nd 12-5, and Saturday March 23 10-5.  Lunch will be provided for volunteers on Saturday.

Volunteers are also needed for the sale on Sunday from 9-4

Contact David if you can volunteer:  davidfbuchanan@gmail.com

 

Happy International Women’s Day

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We are celebrating International Women’s Day with several one-off events as well as the recent launch of two monthly women’s groups.

And a new website page where you can find out about news and events that relate to women’s groups and women’s issues. http://vancouverunitarians.ca/community/small-groups/womens-groups/

From Sheila Resels

Women’s Groups – A Promising Beginning

Last Monday evening we had the first session of our *Wednesday Evening Women’s Group”. Twelve folks are registered. Ten attended. We met in the Fireside room. A welcoming crackling fireplace greeted us all. As it was our first meeting, I was curious to see who these women were? Some I had briefly met.  The bulk I didn’t know. When we did our round of introductions I learned we came from all walks of life. A teacher, a creative consultant, a journalist, a food specialist, a publisher…to name but a few. An inter-generational group that ranged from 26 to 78 years of age.  Each of us with a fascinating past. As I got a glimpse into these lives I wondered about the stories yet to discover.
We all had one thing in common. We were interested in connecting with one another,  in discovering ways to empower women, to discuss current women’s issues and, above all, to support one another.
Although our gathering consisted of determining ground rules, selecting topics and other logistics, the most fascinating parts were the individual stories, the enthusiasm in the air and the sense of possibility for this journey we were embarking upon. Together.
One of our participants, Naomi, summed it up well when she said, “Truly, it is through shared experiences and stories that we grow, reflect and expand who we are. In life and in the context of this group we all shift through life through our interactions with others and thus we assume many roles that include: teachers, mentors, students and leaders.”
A second Women’s Group will have their first meeting this Friday afternoon. It too has 12 registered women (the maximum). What a privilege to meet yet another group of women. To explore, discover and play with.
To be continued…
Sheila
*The Women’s Groups were born out of a discussion group that took place at the 4th Annual Women’s Gathering. Two women’s groups are well underway. A list being created for a third group. Contact Sheila at sresels@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.

For further Unitarian Women’s Events:

Pledging Ahead! Why Do We Do It?

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Most Unitarian Universalist congregations/communities/churches rely on pledges from members and friends to help them plan the year ahead. Ultimately, it’s donations, rentals, investment earnings, and bequests that pay for all of our costs, but pledging helps the board to predict revenue and to plan expenses for the year ahead, adding or subtracting services depending upon our predictable overall revenue. Donations in the form of honoured pledges is UCV’s biggest source of support, so please help your board and congregation by pledging generously. Your 2019 Canvass Committee asks you to prepare now for pledging during April!

Please watch for the Pledge Packets that will be distributed in mid-March by email to members and friends with an email address on file, and by slow mail to everyone else.

Or…donate online now! All your gifts are appreciated!

In faith,

Your UCV Canvass Committee (Cathy, Eleanor, John, Keith, Lynn)

Mystery Pals – They’re Back!

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Make a Friend at Church

Back after an amazing 2018 launch: create connections across generations!

The mystery only lasts a little while, but the friendship can be much longer.

Sign-up to be a Pal to someone older or younger than yourself—we would love to have everyone involved and will match any pair from different generations (roughly 20 years apart). To facilitate anonymity, each pair will be identified by a Canadian Civil Rights Activist  with a corresponding “mailbox” envelope in the Hewett Centre Hall.

Celebrate May 5th after the service with a Mystery Reveal Party.

(more…)

Volunteer Reporters for Refugee Committee and Visual Arts

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UCV REPORTERS NEEDED – REFUGEE COMMITTEE AND VISUAL ARTS

The communications committee is looking for “reporters” (one or two) to write up news, collect/take photos and post on the website updates for the Refugee Committee and the Visual Arts committee.
This would involve talking with committee news, writing up an article, sending to the committee for any additions or corrections, asking for photos, taking some (with permission of course) or finding images online to illustrate the content. For the arts committee, the article could be in the style of a review and ideally interviewing and photographing that month’s artist. (You do not need to attend meetings but of course you could.) Most if not all of this work could be done from home with a phone and computer. You would need to take the Feb. 23 workshop on how to post an article to the website. Apply to communications@vancouverunitarians.ca

Canadian Unitarians on Wikipedia

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During March some of our members are learning to edit wikipedia and searching for relevant pages where Canadian Unitarian and Universalist women may be under-reported or nonexistent.

We are starting with a seminar with an an experienced wikipedia editor, on March 2 4-5pm before Messy Church. Please note there is no age restriction for wikipedia editors so our youth might be interested in coming early and becoming an editor.

We will check to see if women mentioned in the Concise Portraits and Invisible Influence books have pages. If so, we may find additional information or corrections to make. If not, we can consider whether to propose a page. We will learn about the rather stringent requirements for this.

We can also look over this page and see what we might add:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unitarians,_Universalists,_and_Unitarian_Universalists

Wikipedia notes: This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Here’s another resource to check out: https://www.thoughtco.com/unitarian-and-universalist-women-3530635

March 3 – At the monthly CompuTech session, Galen and John will help you sign up as a wikipedia editor.

During the month, we’ll compare notes on a google document about our findings and by the end of March decide how to proceed.

With the renewed interest in women’s groups in our congregation, we are setting up various ways to celebrate International Women’s Day this year and hope these projects will become a tradition.

Along the way we’ll likely find other wikipedia references to Unitarians we’d like to have changed or added.

Join me for this adventure?

Some things we (and other Unitarians) might consider:

Unitarianism is not listed on this Religion Portal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents/Portals#Religion_and_belief_systems

Where would you put us?

Unitarian Church of Vancouver Wiki Page

Our UCV page had been deleted. It’s been restored. Let’s update it and do what would be necessary to ensure it won’t be removed again

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

Canadian Unitarian Council

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

There’s a note that says: This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources.

 

 

Labyrinths – An Invitation from Steven

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From Steven Epperson’s sermon on February 17th.

There are two labyrinths on this property. An encounter with them may go something like this: We’re walking along Fremlin Street or taking a short cut through the courtyard out there. Occupied with random everyday thoughts, our attention is diverted by a strange, mazy pattern laid out on the lawn or on the pavers in the courtyard.

There’s an opening into the design, an entrance, and we see that a path ensues. With its twisting turns, a glance tells us that a person can’t walk through it quickly. What to do? Flee and continue on our way; or stop, slow our pace, step inside and follow the path?
There’s something about that entrance—like an invitation to cross a threshold from the ordinary into a different kind of space and time. We sense this as soon as we’ve taken a few steps into the labyrinth. We become aware of our body moving with non-linear deliberateness.
As we tread, step-by-step, the flotsam, flux and cares of random musings and feelings may give way to a concentrated, affective thoughtfulness. And it may come to pass, it’s not guaranteed, that as we wind our way toward the heart of the maze, the maze enters our heart.
For thousands of years, we’ve been laying out labyrinths as symbolic roads of pilgrimage toward…what? There are various answers to that question. But the way I see it, the intent of walking the winding path is to take us out of the everydayness of our lives in order to deliver us to a realm of insight—a place of understanding hidden truths about ourselves and the times and places in which we live. Such is the latent power of a labyrinth.

  • Please do come and walk our labyrinths any time. They’re relatively small so it can take just a few minutes of your time and might inspire others to take time as well.