Registration is open for the first LGBTQ+ centred Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education for senior high youth--ages 16-18 (grades 11/12) hosted by the Unitarian Church of Vancouver. The class meets 5-7pm one Monday a month plus three Saturday evenings. This class series will centre the LGBTQ+ experience, but registration is open to all youth ages 16-18. The program begins on October 24.
Contact Laura with questions.
Our Grocery Receipt Program is a way for our church to convert grocery receipts into “free money” for the church. Since 1999, this program has earned over $8,000 for the church! Here’s how it works:
Congregants who shop at City Market at Park Royal and IGA Dundarave save their cash register receipts, and place them in the folder on the bulletin board in the stairwell.
Tom Fullerton picks up the receipts, sorts them by store, and adds up the totals.
When he collects $5,000 worth of receipts, he mails them to the store.
The store gives us $25 or $50 gift cards for each bundle of $5,000 in receipts.
Tom exchanges the gift cards for cash with people in the congregation who shop at those stores.
If you shop at City Market at Park Royal or IGA Dundarave, please save your cash register receipts and put them in the folder at the top of the stairs.
Fire Tenders is a small group ministry that we are offering November through February of 2022. Since the program is already underway, registration is closed. But those who are looking for small group activities are encouraged to learn more about our Soul Matters program.
Catherine Strickland’s introduction to Nonviolent Communication course is full for the November-December 2022 session, but you can add your name to the waitlist for the next session (which will likely be offered in early 2023).
Our community is struggling with conflict and divisions that have arisen over the last couple of years. Members have experienced hurt and even trauma that has not been repaired or addressed. We are all wanting to build an inclusive space where everyone who wants to be here feels welcome. And yet, we lack the skills and practices, as individuals and a collective, to repair the harm we have caused, heal from the hurt we have experienced and rebuild the trust that has been lost.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a skill, a practice and a consciousness that supports us to navigate conflict, repair relationships and speak our truth in ways that uphold our values as Unitarian Universalists.
This is being offered as a fundraiser for NSUC on a gift economy basis. To learn more about the gift economy and how it works, check out Necessary Trouble Collective’s description here.
Our JEDI Team invites you to this FREE (or by donation) workshop, but pre-registration is required. Please email sam@samdarling.com to register.
This in-person workshop with Sam Darling explores rupture and repair and how confident self-expression nurtures radical inclusion.
Community is built on connection and trust. We may think that connection will be threatened by ruptures to it, ruptures we must prevent as leaders. However, in the dynamic space of rupture real connection is made possible – because of the essential work of repair. Being trauma-informed in our leadership enables communities to face the hard work of justice and care and what it takes to welcome, not avoid, rupture.
This workshop is for those who want to be empowered in their communities in embracing truth-telling, healing wrongs, and building environments of safety and reconnection. Participants will learn how to use their inherent gifts as creative and heart-centered individuals to make spaces that are welcoming and whole.
Please email Sam if you’d like to attend the January 15th session (1-4pm in the Sanctuary).
Facilitator
Sam Darling was born in France and raised by a notable family of artists and doctors, and she traveled the world shadowing her mother's opera career. When they settled in New York City Sam embarked on her own theatrical career as a teen. Sam switched to a career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles on award-winning film and television programs all through her twenties. Sam switched gears again in her thirties to work as a science communicator for a large university in New Zealand. She traveled the planet with her own progeny and eventually settled in Canada in 2014. She has a Bachelor of Science (high honors) from Emerson College (1996), a Certificate in Adult Education from UFV (2023), and a lifetime of experience with a wide range of cultures.
Sam is secular and evidence based but leaves the possibility of magic in what happens when heart-centered people influence the world and each other. She wants to empower you to make a difference.
Mark Mayall, a Member of the North Shore Unitarian Church for 40 years, passed away on October 2, 2022. His Celebration of Life will be held at NSUC at 2pm on Saturday, November 12th with a small reception following in the Fireside Room.
Remaining session:
7pm on December 7th
on the theme of “Purpose”
For NSUC folks who may be wishing for a little extra spiritual and/or aesthetic sustenance, four Wednesday evenings (7-8:15 PM) will be offered in our church sanctuary, hosted by one of our long-standing women's groups. Each gathering will focus on one of the following themes: how to live with depth, meaning, purpose and gratitude. These themes will be expanded through simple readings and music. As well, participants are always welcome to share an anecdote, poem etc. of their own related to the topic.
Everyone is welcome. Contact Kathryn Nicholson if you need a ride or have questions.
Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote eightPrinciples, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities.
The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Our new Congregational Life Team has wonderful events planned for this year. We’re looking forward to opportunities to play together and enjoy one another’s company. Our first Congregational Life event will be in October.
If you have ideas or feedback for the Congregational Life Team, please contact Laura McNaughton, our Director of Congregational Life.
WONDERDOME
The Wonderdome is an area in the Sanctuary for anyone who needs to keep a little bit busy during the service. If playing with pop-it fidgets, colouring, drawing, knitting or crochet will help you focus, you’re welcome to the resources in the Wonderdome. Feel free to take what you need to your seat or hang out near the Wonderdome. Please just bring it back after service or Spirit Zones.
