At our Congregational Meeting on January 28, 2018, our members approved the 2018 budget, which included donating 100% of our Sunday morning offering plate to the monthly Outreach charity, unless otherwise indicated on the offering envelope. This is a change from how we've been doing it these past few years (where unless otherwise marked we split the offering plate 50-50 between our church and the monthly Outreach charity).
Earlier this afternoon, congregants were sent an important memo (read it HERE) regarding Darwin's proposed redevelopment of the Winter Club property, which would include our new church building. We urge everyone to visit www.NSWCLands.ca to learn more and take the ONLINE SURVEY as soon as possible to express your views. And please ask others to do so, as well. Survey results will influence how the District responds to Darwin's proposal. The survey closes February 16th, so please act now!
Each month, we raise funds for a different non-profit organization whose mission is in line with our principles. We call this “Outreach”. Unless otherwise noted, half of each month’s offering plate collections are given to the Outreach Recipient for that month.
During the 2017 year, we collected the following amounts for our Outreach recipients:
January: $1,075 for the Paul Sugar Palliative Support Foundation.
February: $1,399 for the WISH Drop-in Centre
March: 100% of donations ($3,441) to our Partner Church in Hungary
April: $1294 to the Unitarian Service Committee Canada
May: $852 to McLaren Housing Society
June: $604 to the North Shore Women's Centre
July: (No church services)
August: $562 to Child Haven International
September: $803 to Kwi Awt Stelmexw
October: $1,196 to Sheway
November: $917 to the North Shore Lookout Shelter
December: 100% of donations ($3,275) went to our Minister's Discretionary Fund
On rare occasions, church services and events may be cancelled due to extremely snowy conditions, loss of electricity, or other emergency situations. When this happens on a Sunday morning, the decision will be made prior to 8:00 am.
Our number one concern is for the safety of our congregants. We recognize that there are many factors that determine the safety of driving in inclement weather. Therefore, it is not possible for us to have a “one size fits all” recommendation when it comes to emergency situations and inclement weather. We leave it up to individuals to determine whether or not they feel safe coming to church considering road conditions and other factors.
On rare occasions, church may be cancelled due to inclement weather, power outages, or for other reasons deemed necessary at the time. When this happens, church events scheduled on that day will also be cancelled. We will use several methods to notify the congregation of church closures, including:
1. Posting a message on the Home Page of our website.
2. Posting a message on our Blog.
3. Sending out a mass email to the members and friends who are on our eBulletin email list (if you don't receive our eBulletins but would like to, please notify our office so we can include you).
4. Changing the message on our phone’s answering machine to announce the closure.
5. Encouraging “word of mouth” communications. Although we have no official “phone tree” in place, we encourage members and friends to communicate with each other via phone about closures, especially those who may not have online or email access to the information.
Church events other than Sunday Services may be cancelled due to inclement weather conditions at the determination of the event leader. It is generally the responsibility of the event leader to communicate the cancellation with the participants.
The Winter newsletter is ready to view! Click HERE to see it online, download, or print it. (Printed copies are also available on the foyer table).
This edition features a front-page article about our proposed new site, and other exciting news and events happening at NSUC.
This year the NSUC will provide Christmas Hampers for two families and a senior. We need donations and volunteers. Please bring the following items to the church and place them in the bins provided in the foyer:
CASH to purchase grocery gift cards.
VOLUNTEERS to purchase gift from the wish lists.
WRAPPING PAPER.
FUN ITEMS to add into the hampers like chocolates, tea/coffee, decorations, candles.
SPECIFIC GIFTS from their wish lists. (New items only, please!)
We must deliver the hampers on December 14th, so will need donations to be at church by Sunday December 10th so we can assemble the packages. A volunteer from the Social Responsibility Team, will collect money for grocery cards and names of people who can volunteer to buy gifts. Please contact the Church Office if you can help (604-926-1621 or info@northshoreunitarians.ca).
Click Below to see the wish lists:
Small groups gather each month to discuss the monthly theme using materials from the Soul Matters sharing circle, a resource over 150 Unitarian congregations in Canada, the UK and the US contribute to and use for service preparation and small group ministry.
New Soul Matters groups are forming at North Shore Unitarian Church. To be added to an upcoming group, contact Rev. Marcus or the Church Office.
Want to learn more about Soul Matters? Check out their website at https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com.
On Sunday, November 19th, we will host our annual Christmas Gift-Making Workshop downstairs at the church from 2-5 pm. Children over 5 years of age will have the opportunity to make gifts for their friends and family. There will be 10-12 craft tables each set up with 2 adults or youth who will show the children how to make each project. The cost of each craft ranges from 25 cents to $3 and is designed to cover the expense of materials only. Admission is a toonie and includes hot apple cider and goodies. We hope you can join us, enticed by the aroma of apple and cinnamon and the sounds of soft winter music. I personally love seeing the children’s faces when they have created something special and feel the satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful gift for a loved one.
Thankfully, we have a core of adults who don’t want to miss helping with this event, but we need more volunteers. To volunteer or learn more about it, call Lynn at 604-926-1621.
Three of our Unitarian Principles call us to serve social justice in all our actions:
This study group will explore the dynamics of power and privilege and how they impede true and lasting social justice. We will use the lens of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to remove our blinders about the privilege we hold and how it prevents us from realizing our Unitarian principles. Then drawing on our collective knowledge, we will explore the lessons from various social justice movements to identify what we can do to create the change we want to see in the world.
This study group will be facilitated by Cathy Strickland and Athene Lohan. The group will meet the first and third Friday evenings of every month from 7:30 until 9 pm at the church. The first session will be held on Friday, October 20th and the group will continue until May. There will be an information session for those interested on Sunday, September 17th at 12:30 in RS305 after church.
Please RSVP to Cathy Strickland if you plan on attending any or all of these sessions: cstrickland@shaw.ca.
