Check out the Summer Newsletter (July & August) for updates, and we look forward to the Summer Lite Sundays in August. This August, the Unitarian Hall will be open for connection and discussion on Sundays between 11:00am and 1:00pm. Each Sunday is hosted by volunteers who will unlock the door, put on the kettle and … Continue reading June 26th was the last Sunday service before the summer break
With Music by Nico Rhodes The Flower Ceremony, sometimes referred to as Flower Communion is an annual ritual that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. Originally created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Capek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Maya Capek, Norbert’s widow. In this … Continue reading Flower Ceremony
With Josh Holloway, Patrick Courtin and the Fabulous Fufonics Human creativity has married melody to word and sometimes the result has changed our world. From the very personal middle of the night song that spoke directly to our broken heart, to the anthem that united a population. Each of us can think of a dozen … Continue reading Songs that Changed our World
This month our theme is ‘Singing and the Art of Communion’. There is no denying that music stirs the heart and elevates the spirit. Singing though, requires active participation. Which is why singing is communal. Yet, nothing feels less communal than being a non-singer is a community of singers. Everyone is having a wonderful time … Continue reading Confessions of a Non-Singer
Growing Opportunities Farm Community Coop (GO) grows food on two farms in the City of Nanaimo – Five Acres and Cline Agri-Health Centre. Growing Opportunities trains and employs people with challenges and barriers at the farms and produces thousands of pounds of fresh produce every year, which is distributed to low income individuals, families and agencies which … Continue reading Growing Opportunities – Inclusion, Nutrition and Building Community Resilience
May 22 is International Day for Biological Diversity and Goth Day, and if there is a connection between the two, it must lay in the creative expression of nature in all her many splendid forms. The next day is Victoria Day and World Turtle Day, which I imagine connects the slow and consistent reign of … Continue reading The Merry Days of May
10am PDT local time, access through Zoom This restorative service will be an immersive experience centred around a reflection on breath and appreciation. ‘Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor,’ says Thich Nhat Hanh in Stepping into Freedom: Rules of Monastic Practice for Novices. Together, we will pause to … Continue reading Canadian Unitarian National Service: The Breath that Sustains Us
During World War II, with most German men conscripted into the army, Nazi Germany created one of the largest forced labor systems in history – over 20 million people. Some were concentration camp inmates, some were prisoners of war, and some were civilian workers from occupied countries. Deborah’s mother was one of these civilian workers. Debbie … Continue reading Comfort Food
The art of hospitality and food are folded together with respect and open-heartedness. These are qualities that we share when we welcome guests into our homes and when we welcome friends into membership. Let our table be filled with dishes of resilience, flavoured with hope. Let us celebrate that all we require for our sustenance is … Continue reading Welcome to our Table
In this talk, I’ll explore some of the factors that limit our ability to face the reality of climate change, talk about some of the work we are doing in the school district, and how we can move past this veiled state of limbo that we seem to be in. Dr. Jessica Stanley is a … Continue reading Facing the Reality of Climate Change
