The poet Denise Levertov writes, “But we have only begun to love the earth.” In this service, to honour Earth Day, Rev. Shawn Gauthier, of the Vancouver Unitarians, will invite us to reflect on what a deep and enduring love of the earth really requires of us. Rev. Shawn Gauthier is the newly settled … Continue reading To Truly Love the Earth
That we live in unprecedented times is a refrain we often hear too often these days. All the ways of living and being in the world have fallen away. As we begin to make our way forward into who knows what, how is it that we can love ourselves, our congregations, and our communities into … Continue reading Who Do We Choose To Be?
Always acts of generosity contributes to both the giver and receiver. Can we cultivate this value to reciprocity rather than indebtedness.
From tree canopy to stormwater management, there are countless benefits to integrating the environment into our cities. Greening cities comprises practices ranging from halting biodiversity loss to reforesting land within the city to reducing GHG emissions through transportation. There’s a lot to talk about, and Strong Towns Nanaimo is excited to speak about the ways … Continue reading Strong Towns – Greening Cities
In The Left Hand of Darkness, the writer Ursula K Legion wrote, “To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.” So many religious and spiritual communities are struggling in these days, and so often their struggle is with unanswerable questions, or … Continue reading Do Not Answer Them
Our monthly theme of transformation invites a perspective on change that may alter our engagement with it. We know change happens, it is a consequence of living, can we embrace it instead of resisting it?
Our bodies gain information from and engage with the human and non-human world, in ways our conscious mind is often unaware of. Let’s explore how developing a deeper relationship with our bodies’ wisdom can support us in navigating challenging transitions. Arran Morton currently lives in Victoria, BC – though he is from Scotland and came … Continue reading In Times of Great Change, What Can the Wisdom of Our Bodies Offer Us?
Parker Palmer, author, philosopher and Quaker, speaks of the idea of witnessing the wild animal of your soul, only by sitting still, quietly, together in the woods, in hopes of sneaking a peak at our shy souls. He articulates that when we do this in the company of others we can be changed. What transformations … Continue reading Awakening to the Stillness
“Love is our doctrine,” were the first words of the covenant I grew up with as a Unitarian Universalist. Repeated week by week, I’ve probably said some version of the Griswold Williams covenant a couple of thousand times in my life. But what does it mean, to name love our doctrine? And what kind of … Continue reading Love is Our Doctrine
In this era, with Google always at our fingertips, how often do you say, “I don’t know?” How comfortable is it for you to stay in that space of ‘not knowing?’ What about the concept of humility – is that a good thing, a bad thing? Perhaps it depends on the context. Both not knowing … Continue reading I Don’t Know
