Flower Communion & Awards Ceremony on Sunday, June 26th

Each year, we celebrate Flower Communion — usually as our final service of the church year. At this special service, congregants are invited to bring a flower or two to contribute to a bouquet on our chancel table (artistically arranged by Diane Noble). During the service, congregants will come forward to select a different flower to take home.

In our Flower Communion service on June 26th, we’ll also present the Mary Segal Award and Service Awards for outstanding volunteers this year.

We hope you’ll join us for this special service!

AGM is Sunday, May 29th in person AND by Zoom

Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday, May 29th at 12:15pm. Fully vaccinated people may join us in the Sanctuary with masks on. Zoom is also an option for Members who prefer participating from home. (If you’re joining by Zoom, please sign in between 11:45 and 12:05pm using the link provided in your Notice Packet).

Church Members were mailed or emailed Notice Packets on Wednesday, May 18th, and re-emailed on Friday, May 27th. It can also be found in the password-protected Member area of our website. A few printed copies of the Notice Packet will be available in one of the racks on the foyer table.

Although anyone may attend the in-person meeting, only Members who meet Bylaw requirements may vote at the meeting.

A Special Message from the Minister about this Sunday

This Sunday (May 22nd) is a very special one! We are making an effort to reconnect with all those wonderful kids, now grown up, who have come through NSUC's R.E. program over the years. We know some are near and yet not here! So we've reached out with an invitation and, to add some steak to our sizzle, we've hired a food truck to provide meals after the Spirit Zone.

Mr. Bannock will be here to provide us with Indigenous-inspired deliciousness! The meal will be free for all. But donations are warmly welcome. It is our intention that no guest, returning or otherwise, pay at all.

What can you do to help welcome folks home? Well, first of all, show up. Be your beautiful, welcoming, curious, participatory, Bannock-loving self! Another task might be to reach out to any not-near-retirement age folks you know and invite them. People feel welcome and are more likely to connect when they see people that look and feel like themselves. So this is an opportunity to take advantage of that.

If this is successful, it might prove a model to reach out to other specific demographics. But in the short term, it's just a good time to have some fun, celebrate our gifts, express our gratitude, and take pleasure in what our congregation brings to the world while we welcome home those who we helped bring up.

See you Sunday!

Intergenerational Choir: Coming to Spirit Zones Starting May 15th

Intergenerational Choir: Joining our voices, and celebrating all stages of life!
Alison will be offering a series of three intergenerational choir practices in Spirit Zones the last 3 Sundays in May. We will sing and make music with our voices, rhythm instruments, guitar, and ukulele. All are welcome! So join us in Spirit Zones on May 15th, 22nd and 29th. We’ll bring our wonderful music to the service on June 5th. Contact Alison with questions.

Invitation To Spiritually Surprise Yourself

What is easier to become than a medium, less time intensive than a minister, but just as spiritually expansive and thrilling?

Becoming the next Lay Chaplain of North Shore Unitarians! If you've been searching for your next life adventure then Rites of Passage work may be the surprising answer you didn't think to look for.

Weddings, memorials, and the odd baby blessing, are just some of the beautiful containers and rituals you'll be privileged to create. But the inner spiritual journey you will take as you learn this art is far beyond just officiating ceremonies.

Before you think "Oh no, there's no way I could do that!", just hold that thought and investigate this opportunity further by contacting either Barb Moore or Lindsay Hindle. Lindsay wrote: "Serving as your Lay Chaplain for the last 7 years has been more rewarding than I could ever imagine. But it's time for me to move on and pass the stole on."

Not only will you receive excellent training from the CUC Lay Chaplaincy program, but there are many retired Lay Chaplains around to guide you and a network you can be part of.

Be brave and take the leap, you may just spiritually surprise yourself!

To learn more about becoming a Lay Chaplain, please contact Barb Moore or Lindsay Hindle or Janni in the Church Office.

Grocery Receipt Program

City Market at Park Royal and IGA Dundarave participate in our Grocery Receipt Program.  For each $5,000 worth of receipts we collect, they give us gift cards that Nora Coates converts into donations to the church. Since 1999, this program has earned over $8,000 for the church!  

If you shop at these stores, put your receipts on the bulletin board in the stairwell.  It results in “free money” for the church!