Two Special Guests April 6th

On Sunday, April 6th, we’re welcoming two special guests to our 10:30am service: Randy Burke and Luke Wallace.

RANDY BURKE

When COVID struck in 2020, ecotourism in BC was facing total shut down. In our April 6th service, we’ll hear a first-person account of a pivot that salvaged biomes and livelihoods at the same time: the Marine Debris Removal Initiative. Longtime NSUC member Randy Burke, owner of Bluewater Adventures, will tell us the story of the expeditions, featuring action shots of crew hauling debris from beaches to barges.

Randy is a Bluewater Captain. He has taken thousands of guests on memorable adventures along the BC and Alaska coast over 20 years. See his full bio.

Luke Wallace

Kicking off Earth Month for us will be guest musician Luke Wallace, a local composer whose songs lift up the message of people acting together for the planet.

Luke is a dynamic force in the world of folk music, using his talent as a songwriter, speaker, and choral arranger to champion environmental causes and inspire positive change. Hailing from the Coast Salish Territory known as Vancouver, Canada, Luke has been on a decade-long journey of touring, recording, and organizing for the betterment of people and the planet. See his full bio.

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

Scheduled Breeze Maintenance: 7-9 PM Thursday, March 27th

Breeze is doing a scheduled maintenance upgrade on Thursday, March 27th from 7-9pm Pacific Time. Breeze will not work while this 2-hour upgrade is underway, but will be back in service and better than ever after the upgrades are complete.

Here’s what to expect during maintenance:

  • You will not be able to access your Breeze account

  • Emails and/or text messages scheduled to send during the maintenance window will send after completion

  • Online Giving will not process, and attempts will result in an error

This outage will include updates to Breeze that will enhance the reliability and performance going forward.

(If you are a contributing congregant and would like access to Breeze, please reach out to Janni in the Main Office. Janni will confirm by phone that you are really you [not a scammer], and can then set you up with Breeze access).

WANTED: Your Stories of the Supernatural

Last year, Alison Nixon (our Music Director) did a service called "The gift of Atheism" where we celebrated life from an atheist/ agnostic perspective. I would like to do a future service that embraces people’s mystical or supernatural experiences.

If you have had a “Spiritually Transformative" experience of any kind, in any context, Alison would love to hear about it! Please reach out to her by phone (778-688-2912) or email (alisonnixon@hotmail.com). Once she has a group of several people, she will likely have a Zoom meeting or meet after church to share our stories and our learnings. Some of these stories and learnings will then be incorporated into the service.

Movie Night - ARRIVAL (2016)

Join the North Shore Unitarians* for Movie Night: Friday, March 28th. Doors open at 6:45, film starts at 7:15pm.

The featured film, “Arrival” (2016) was directed by Canadian Denis Villeneuve. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, it's categorized as Sci-Fi Mystery and Thriller Drama; running time is 1 hr 56 min.

Quote from review on Rogerebert.com: "a movie designed to simultaneously challenge viewers, move them and get them talking".

Plot summary on website Rotten Tomatoes (critics' rating 94%): “Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind."

Light refreshments provided (including popcorn), with beer and wine for sale.

Tickets are $20 at the door (or you can buy them ahead of time from Andrea Fast). Proceeds go to NSU.

See the Trailer.

Questions: contact Andrea (andreafast@shaw.ca) at 604-910-2847.

* Address for North Shore Unitarians: 370 Mathers Avenue in West Vancouver.

Garden Work Party rescheduled for March 29th, 9:30am - 2:30pm

Rescheduled for Sat. March 29th
(weather permitting)
9:30am — 2:30pm

We are asking for a minimum of four sturdy workers to place soil on our new garden. We also need two workers to rake the soil as it is placed, and volunteers to help with beverage and lunch service (as coffee, tea and lunch will be available for our workers).

Please dress for the weather and bring these tools if possible.

  • Your own coffee mug plus:

  • Gloves

  • Knee pads

  • Clippers

  • Lawn rakes

  • Spades (pointed shovel)

  • A wheel barrow, if possible.

Please RSVP by Thursday at noon to both Brian and Jean as we need a count for the tea, snacks, and sandwiches:

Guitar Interest Group - continuing every other week with Kerry Burke

The Guitar Interest Group is continuing every other week with Kerry Burke as the leader. Upcoming dates:

  • March 11th & 25th

  • April 8th

  • May 6 & 20th

The Guitar Interest Group meets at 7pm in the Sanctuary. All skill levels welcome — and you don’t even have to have a guitar to participate!

Contact Kerry Burke if you have questions.

The March 11th session will feature CANADIAN songs, including:

  • Early Morning Rain in C-Gordon Lightfoot

  • Four Strong Winds in G-Ian Tyson

  • Both Sides Now in G-Joni Mitchell

  • Long May She Run in D-Neil Young

  • Anthem in C- Leonard Cohen

  • Angel in C- Sarah McLachlan

  • Bird on a Wire in A-Leonard Cohen

  • My Heart Will Go On in E- sung by Celine Dion

  • Hallelujah in G-Leonard Cohen

Watch this space for upcoming themes at future sessions.

March 8th meeting of the Metro Vancouver Climate Sharing Circle

10am Sat. March 8th via Zoom

At the March 8th Climate Sharing Circle, Teresa Morton (of Beacon Unitarian) will lead a discussion regarding 2 short articles (linked below) regarding how our decisions about agriculture policy and dietary choices affect climate change. 

Get the Zoom link from our March 7th eBulletin, or from Marcia Stephenson.

Marie Bensley's Celebration of Life: 2pm Sat. March 8th at NSUC

You’re invited to attend Marie Bensley’s Celebration of Life at 2pm on Sat. March 8th in the NSUC Sanctuary.

With sadness, we announce the passing of Phyllis Marie Bensley (nee Smith) at Lion’s Gate Hospital, Thursday, February 20th, 2025. Survived by her loving husband Jim of 67 years, sons Doug (Linda) and Tom, and daughter Linda, grandchildren Jennifer, David, Marley, Hayden, Chase and Angus, great granddaughter Layla, sisters Lois (Duncan deceased), Colleen (Nelson) and sister-in-law Betty (John deceased) and their families.

Born in Lloydminster, Sask., Marie grew up in Chilliwack, then trained as a nurse at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. Raising their family, Jim & Marie lived in North Vancouver for over 65 years.

She was a person of many interests and always interested in those around her, especially her patients during her nursing career (of which Jim was one!). Gardening was a special love and for several years she was President of the BC Council of Garden Clubs. She was a loyal and active member of the Royal Columbian Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae. Always a willing volunteer within her Unitarian church community, or canvassing her neighbourhood for worthy causes, a best friend said of her, ”she has a heart of gold”.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to a charity of your choice, in memory of Marie, would be greatly appreciated.