Our Fall newsletter (covering September, October, and November) is now available to view! Locate it HERE, or pick up a printout from the foyer table.
First Aid & CPR Class: October 28th
We're offering several First Aid & CPR classes on October 28th, starting at 9:30am in the Fireside Room. There are 3 different price points and ending times depending on the certification you want:
- Renewal of CPR/AED only ($45+GST, 9:30am - 12:30pm). You must be able to prove that you have prior CPR/AED certification.
- CPR/AED for first timers or those who want a full refresher ($65+GST, 9:30am - 3:30pm).
- Emergency First Aid with CPR/AED ($90+GST, 9:30am - 5:30pm). This class covers the skills needed to recognize, prevent, and respond to circulation emergencies for babies, children, and adults. It includes airway & breathing emergencies, stroke, heart attack, TIA, bandaging, and the prevention of disease transmission. Full CPR and AED training are also included.
If you'd like to attend, please fill out the registration form HERE. Payment will be due later (as the time gets closer). Contact Janni in the Church Office (604-926-1621 or info@northshoreunitarians.ca) for more information.
Living Extraordinary: October 4th, 7pm
Living extraordinary means living your gift. Having a message and speaking it. Your art, gift or talent comes from a place of power and certainty. To live extraordinary means you are on a journey of self exploration and your purpose in life is to continuously explore and deepen your truth. Living Extraordinary is an event where local heroes share what they have learned on their journeys of greatness, and inspire you to embark on your own. Speakers provide touching, thought-provoking messages that are the catalyst for conversations, shifts in perspective and ah–has.
All are invited to this FundFest event on Wednesday, October 4th. Tickets are $25 (all proceeds go to NSUC). Registration and more info HERE, or contact Janni in the church office for details and payment.
Wounded Words
Navigating the Minefield of Religious Vocabulary
with Rev. Marcus
God. Worship. Prayer. Sin. Feeling uncomfortable yet? How about Salvation, Soul, Faith or even Church?
We live in a world where religion shows up in the headlines more often associated with violence than peace. Many of us have painful childhood memories associated with religion, or have chosen to make a break with the traditions of our families over important values. Many of us, especially my cohort of urban Millennials, are probably more likely to regularly hear spiritual talk at a commercial yoga studio than in a religious community.
So what do these “wounded words” really mean? Where did they come from and how did their meaning develop over time? What happened to wound them so deeply for so many of our ears? And why do people continue to use them and what meaning does the progressive theology of our tradition make of them?
This series will be held the first Sunday of each month, October-June, in the Sanctuary from 12:30-2:00pm. We’ll take one word each month and explore its history and meaning in our culture and in our lives. Drop-in for one session, come when you can, or join me for the whole series—no registration required. Looking forward to having this conversation with you!
Small Group Ministries
One of the greatest gifts of community is being known and seen. One opportunity to connect more deeply in the North Shore Unitarian Community is through joining a small group. This Fall we will begin small groups centered around the theme that we focus on each month during Sunday Services. These small groups will gather at the church or in people's’ home once a month for intentional sharing and reflection. Each month, participants will receive a packet of materials on the monthly theme and are invited to try a “spiritual exercise.” These exercises are accessible and do-able for atheist, agnostics and theists alike — and certainly the discussion is richer with a wider range of perspectives and experiences.
This year our church offers a small group ministry drawn from Soul Matters resources, a sharing circle of hundred of Unitarian Universalist congregations. You can learn more about the Soul Matters approach HERE. The content will align with our monthly Sunday service themes, but perhaps more important is the process. Rooted in the Quaker teacher Parker Palmer’s model of “Circles of Trust,” deep listening and quiet companionship make space for supporting one another as we listen to sources of wisdom within and without.
If you would like to participate in a Soul Matters group, please click HERE or contact Janni in the church office.
If you are drawn to facilitating or co-facilitating a group, please get in touch with Rev. Marcus and plan to come to church Tuesday, September 26th 7-9pm for a facilitator training and orientation. The success of these small groups depends greatly on the commitment of facilitators, so please consider stepping into leadership in this vital ministry! There will be plenty of support along the way, including a monthly group for the facilitators that will be led by Rev. Marcus.
Walk for Reconciliation: Sunday, Sept. 24th
Join us on Sunday, September 24th at 9:30am the 2017 Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver. The Walk for Reconciliation is a positive movement to build better relationships among Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. Now is the time to transform and renew relationships among Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. The act of walking and sharing our stories joins us in a commitment to create a new way forward for reconciliation. All are invited and welcome to join in the support the spirit of ‘Namwayut - We are all one.
The Walk follows a 2km route from Cambie and Georgia Streets to Strathcona Park. Rev. Emily will be attending, along with other UU ministers from the area. All Unitarians attending are invited to meet at the Playhouse stage door on Cambie at Dunsmuir. More info HERE.
Note: There will also be a regular Sunday service happening during this time at North Shore Unitarian Church, with Rev. Marcus preaching. We hope you will attend where you feel drawn to connect on this special Sunday morning!
Children's Choirs starting in September
Children and youth between the ages of 8 and 13 are invited to participate in our fun and vibrant choral program with Music Director Alison Nixon. The focus is on developing healthy singing techniques in a joyful and creative environment.
Two choirs will be forming: Vivace (ages 8-10) and Allegra (ages 11-13). More info HERE or in the Church Office!
Contact the Church Office for more information, or to make an appointment at your voice placement interview: 604-926-1621 or info@northshoreunitarians.ca.
Our September Outreach Recipient is KWI AWT STELMEXW
Each month, we select a charitable organization to raise funds for during our Sunday morning collection. Half of all Outreach/Inreach collections during September will be donated to KWI AWT STELMEXW, a nonprofit Squamish arts and education organization. Learn more about them HERE.
Acting Against Racism: Strategies for Moving Forward
Have recent national and international events made you feel uncertain or helpless about what you can do to prevent racist or discriminatory behaviour on the North Shore?
Racism is not new and neither is Islamophobia, but police-reported hate crimes have recently increased in Canada, leaving many of us wondering how we can avoid being victims or bystanders.
This forum on September 14th at Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver aims to connect people in our community and share strategies and actions we can take together and individually. Sunera Thobani will be the Keynote Speaker. More info HERE.
Join Rev. Emily and other members of the Social Action Team at NSUC to continue the momentum of resiliency and hope as active participants who see building an inclusive North Shore as a top priority.
Tickets are free but please RSVP to 604-973-0457 or www.nsiip.ca/acting-against-racism
Step Up, Step Back
In Unitarian Universalist youth groups and conferences, there is a phrase often repeated, almost always a part of the community covenant: “Step up, step back.” The phrase is both an observation of the habits that emerge in groups, and an invitation to change. Generally, some people are more likely to step up to take on the work and the leadership and others are more likely to hang back and follow.
“Step up, step back” means just that – it is the dance we do in community of stepping forward to take space and stepping back to make space. While we all need to do both at times, healthy community encourages everyone to practice stepping out of our defaults. Those of us who default to the sidelines need to step up for our own growth and health, and for the growth and health of the whole. And sometimes we who are likely to take the center stage need to step back for our own wellbeing, and perhaps even more importantly, so there is room for others to step up.
This phenomenon of participation is described in management fields as the Pareto Principle. Many refer to it as the 80/20 rule: 20% of the people in an organization often do 80% of the work.
Step-up-step-back is an essential tool for maintaining balance and wholeness in a community over time. When 20% of people are doing the majority of the work, it is not because these people are inherently better organized or more responsible (although this is often how our puritanically-rooted work-focused culture may explain it). The 80% of people not doing the work are not lazy or self-centered. This distortion happens because there is often a lack of clear understanding in how leadership (and responsibility) is passed on. The most important role long-time leaders play in the life of the congregation is to create meaningful and joyful ways for newer people to move more and more towards the center. It is not just the responsibility of new people to come forward, it is also the responsibility of leaders to step back.
Sometimes, there needs to be space — a pause in programing or events — so that what is waiting to be born can step forward.
As we enter the summertime, we invite you to experiment with this concept: step up and step back. Marcus preached this past month about the challenge, and the importance of saying no. When we say no, it allows us to say yes to what really matters, what really brings us alive. Discerning what is really important to you and what brings you alive takes time. It may require quiet reflection; it may require a conversation with a trusted friend you don’t speak with very often.
In July, the congregation will not be holding Sunday services, so we invite you to use this time as a Sabbath. A Sabbath is an ancient religious practice in which we stop our normal routines of life and make space in our schedules as well as emotionally and spiritually, to listen deeply. A Sabbath means time set aside from professional work, and also from household work (tasks such as laundry, cooking, cleaning). In some traditions, people do not use electricity during a Sabbath, or even walk further than a certain distance. This summer we invite you to join us in a Common Practice and a Common Read:
A Common Practice
We invite you this summer to create a Sabbath that is meaningful to you. Your Sabbath need not be a particular day of the week or last any particular amount of time. No particular rules or restrictions are necessary for your Sabbath. What’s important is to give yourself a chance to slow down, to reconnect with yourself and what you love, and to open to what emerges in this precious fallow time.
In our experience, wonderful creativity, generative thinking and fresh perspectives often emerge from intentional rest. And if all that happens is you take a few deep, deep breathes, that is a “productive” Sabbath in itself.
Some possible ideas for how to have a Sabbath:
· Go outside. Get in the sunshine. Take your kids, or grandkids. Or take an elderly friend or family member. Focus on moving at their pace.
· Go offline. Set your cell phone and computer down for 24 hours, or 72 hours, or a week, if you can!
· Go on a solo adventure. Make some time, even an afternoon, to just be alone. Don’t plan to do any specific activities or tasks, just wander and see what draws your eye, your attention, your heart.
Try a weekly Sabbath. Assign one day each week and plan to get absolutely nothing done, not even chores around the house.
In August or September, let us know how it goes. We’d love to hear from you!
We recognize doing nothing can be particularly challenging for some people — ourselves included. Please stretch a little and try a Sabbath, in some form, however brief.
A Common Read
If you are looking for something “to do,” we recommend reading Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller. This book explores the Jewish tradition of Sabbath with a wide lens, using inspiration from Buddhist, Christian and secular sources to share how the wisdom of Sabbath spans across traditions and cultures. You can purchase it from Amazon by clicking HERE.
For those interested in church leadership, we also recommend Erik Walker Wikstrom’s book, Serving with Grace. This is a short but profound read about how the concepts of Sabbath apply to church life.
If you are interested in reading this book, please let our Church Administrator Janni (in the Church Office) know by July 14th. If there is enough interest, we will make a bulk order of this book and offer copies for purchase in August.
You can also order individual copies of this book (including an ebook version) for $12 from the UUA HERE.
by Revs. Emily & Marcus Hartlief