Sunday, April 23rd: Soup & Youth Fundraising event

Sunday April 23 is Soup day! Please come chow down on soup following the service on Sunday, April 23rd. Proceeds will help send NSUC youth to the national Con (CanUUdle) in Ottawa at the end of May. Anyone wishing to contribute a soup, please don’t be shy.

A second youth fundraising activity will happen on this same day. Did you know that young women in the developing world walk, on average, 6km a day to bring water back to the village? To better understand how that feels, our two Ottawa-bound youth (and two advisors) will each walk 6km carrying five gallons of water on their heads (or possibly on their backs). You can pledge a few shekels to this effort too if you wish.

There’ll be an announcement at the beginning of the service as the water-walkers set out, and we’ll send around a basket.

Thanks in advance.

~ Bruce Grierson, Youth Advisor

Guest speaker in the pulpit March 19th: Dr. Hussein Janmohamed, PhD

You’re invited to join us at 10:30am on Sunday, March 19th for a special service titled “Building Cultural Bridges Through Music” with Dr. Hussein Janmohamed, PhD.

Hussein is an accomplished musician, conductor and educator.  He is convinced that creative musical collaboration can help us tap into our “transcendent common humanity”, and at the same time discover the beauty of our own identity.  Hussein will sing one of his own compositions with the choir.   A Q&A Spirit Zone with Hussein will follow. 

Come early to the service for some Irish music by our own Paul Sungaila, Angela Delaney and Alison Nixon.  Cultural fusion!

There will be no broadcast of this service on YouTube — so please join us in person for this special service.

See the Order of Service HERE (you may have to scroll down to see it).

(Note that this service will not be recorded or available on YouTube — so please join us in person).

Braiding Sweetgrass reading group with UCV

Do you want to live our 7th principle more deeply?  Do you wish to deepen your spiritual connection to the Earth? 

You’re invited to join members of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver (UCV) for their spring session of Sacred Earth - Wellspring Reads. During this course participants will read, meditate and share our reflections on Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beautiful book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.  A total of six sessions will be held on the 1st and 3rd Monday evenings of March, April, and May, 7:00-8:30 PM on Zoom. This will be facilitated by Martha Saunders of Vancouver Unitarians.  Register HERE.

REGISTER

Sacred Earth is the first program in “UU Wellspring Reads,” six-session programs that provide foundational experience that are dear to Unitarian Universalists’ hearts.
We will find awe and wonder as we explore the beauty and simplicity of nature, and we will learn to explore and care for our spirits to sustain us in climate justice work.

Sacred Earth combines the wisdom of indigenous understandings of reciprocity with the sacred earth, and with spiritual practices that connect our spirit to nature. The experiences, reflections and discussions strive to engage participants deeply in the web of life and your Unitarian Universalist faith.

The work will be personal. As participants move through the reflections and practices, you may all find spiritual healing by creating a more intimate relationship with the natural world.
The sessions, two books, readings and spiritual practices are the core of the Sacred Earth experience.

Cara Elrod's Retirement Celebration: May 13th

Cara is retiring in June, but her retirement celebration will be held on Saturday, May 13th, 5-8 pm in the Fireside Room.

Join us for a potluck dinner to celebrate Cara Elrod's many years of service to the church. Please bring a potluck item with an ingredient list if possible. 

We will honour Cara's service by sharing photos of and letters about her time with the church. If you would like to write a letter celebrating some of your wonderful memories with Cara or have a photo to copy or share, please connect with Tricia at triciajaneedgar@gmail.com.

RSVP

Please RSVP HERE so we know how many people to expect.

Turkey Earthquake Relief

Our JEDI Team suggests two ways to help support those impacted by the recent earthquakes in Turkey:

  1. Make a Financial Donation to the Canadian Red Cross to help earthquake victims in Syria & Turkey. Or you can donate to the International Rescue Committee, but note that they are a US organization so donations to them are not tax deductible in Canada.

  2. Bring donations of new or almost new clean blankets, sleeping bags, tents and other camping gear.  (Clothing is no longer being accepted). Leave them in the bins provided in the foyer. Over the next few weeks, the JEDI Team will deliver them to the warehouse in Burnaby where these donations are being collected by the Turkish Canadian Society and UBC Turkish Student Association for transport to Turkey.

Nominating Committee Seeks Board Members

A new Board of Trustees is elected each year at the Church's Annual General Meeting. The next AGM is due to be held in May 2023.

Your Nominating Committee would like Members to think ahead about whether they might like to be on the Board after the AGM.

Serving on the Board of Trustees supports the life of the Church, and contributes to our community. There will be vacant positions for 1-year and 2-year terms.

The Nominating Committee welcomes Members to nominate themselves, or to suggest names of other Members to be considered. Nominations are also invited as a potential Member of the Nominating Committee.

All suggestions are welcomed, and will be received in confidence. Please contact any of us to nominate a candidate.

~ Nominating Committee: Michael Watson Jacky Coates Ryan Guenther

Winter Office Hours

Our office is generally open Monday through Thursday from 7am to 2pm. Please phone first (604-926-1621) before coming to visit us on a Friday since our Church Administrator works from home most Fridays.

You can reach staff via email on their work days:

  • Rev. Ron Phares (our Minister) welcomes you to reach out to schedule a visit.  Text him at 604-999-3690 or email him at rev.phares@northshoreunitarians.ca. 

  • Janni Kretlow (our Church Administrator) usually works in the Church Office Monday through Thursday. She works from home most Fridays. Her hours most days are 7am to 2pm most days.

  • Alison Nixon (our Music Director) is at the church most Thursday afternoons/evenings.

  • Contact Janni if you have questions for our Financial Administrator, Anna.