Come to church prepared to tell a story, read a poem, or sing a song to share some of the significant moments that you have encountered in 2015. These could be personal, public, cultural, or fictional highlights that have touched you this year. Or choose to participate by just listening!
Winter is a time of reflection, a time to consider the past year and make plans for the future. Our theme for this year’s Winter Solstice is Reflection, and for this evening's gathering we will engage in personal reflection. We will also reflect our own inner light to the world and hold a mirror so that others might see more clearly their own light of goodness and spirit.
Rev. Lori Kyle joined the UUCD family as our congregation's spiritual leader in October 2014. Following her recent successful interview with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee in Boston, Lori was ordained at Toronto First on June 14, 2015. Lori is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Canada in 2009 with her family. Currently she resides in eastern Toronto with her fiancée Margaret, her children Maddie and Nathan, and their yellow lab Sally. In Unitarian Universalism, a primary source of wisdom is “direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.” Does this mean that, in effect, we “write” our own sacred scripture? What is the seat of “authority” when it comes to religious insight? How might we all discover a personal “Good Book” that leads to wisdom?
Lynn Harrison was ordained on Sunday, November 22nd, so is our newest UU minister. Lynn has been very active in the community of Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation. A singer-songwriter in the Canadian folk music tradition, Lynn has composed numerous songs and hymns inspired by Unitarian values, which she shares in worship services and gatherings of all kinds. Lynn welcomes the opportunity to strengthen and support the CUC through the nominating committee, while working with her Canadian Unitarian colleagues. Many of us find our way to our UUism by way of a Christian beginning, and many of us have wounds from our Christian past. Such wounding can at times limit our openness and appreciation of the religion from which UUism emerged. This Sunday we will take a candid look at our wounds, and consider a path toward healing.
Rev. Lori Kyle joined the UUCD family as our congregation's spiritual leader in October 2014. Following her recent successful interview with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee in Boston, Lori was ordained at Toronto First on June 14, 2015. Lori is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Canada in 2009 with her family. Currently she resides in eastern Toronto with her fiancée Margaret, her children Maddie and Nathan, and their yellow lab Sally. The complete sermon can be read below: Direct experience in one's understanding of the spiritual aspect of our lives can begin very early. Such is the case with my own story. Finding our way is a very individualistic approach. My journey is not anyone else's but may have value as we each try to dig deeper into what it is we believe and think in our own life experience...
The irreverent Ric Jones received a Master’s from Oklahoma State University focusing on crosscultural communication. In May 2012, Ric received a Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, Illinois. Ric is a certified Healthy Congregation/Organizational facilitator and has completed both the basic and advanced clinics in Emotional Process in Family Systems. His educational background helps to provide a framework to continue to support corporate executives and congregational leadership focused on transformational change, stress management and how family of origin and social locations impact the person and the organization. If you are an ‘outside of the box’ leader, you will enjoy the “ministry” that Ric provides from his own independent perspective. In our culture we are taught to strive for success, which often includes material gain. On this Stewardship Sunday we will explore the idea of being rich, how it is manifested in our lives, and specifically how it is embodied in our connection to UUCD.
Rev. Lori Kyle joined the UUCD family as our congregation's spiritual leader in October 2014. Following her recent successful interview with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee in Boston, Lori was ordained at Toronto First on June 14, 2015. Lori is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Canada in 2009 with her family. Currently she resides in eastern Toronto with her fiancée Margaret, her children Maddie and Nathan, and their yellow lab Sally. The complete sermon can be read below: In Unitarian Universalism, a primary source of wisdom is “direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.” Does this mean that, in effect, we “write” our own sacred scripture? What is the seat of “authority” when it comes to religious insight? How might we all discover a personal “Good Book” that leads to wisdom?
The complete sermon can be read below: Remembrance Day is generally associated with celebrating the sacrifices of those made in military wartime. On this day we will remember them as well as others who have made similar sacrifices in the name of justice, and in doing so could have the direct experience of upholding life.
Rev. Lori Kyle joined the UUCD family as our congregation's spiritual leader in October 2014. Following her recent successful interview with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee in Boston, Lori was ordained at Toronto First on June 14, 2015. Lori is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Canada in 2009 with her family. Currently she resides in eastern Toronto with her fiancée Margaret, her children Maddie and Nathan, and their yellow lab Sally. The complete sermon can be read below: As many traditions celebrate All Saints Day we reflect on those who have gone before. How does our faith call us to lament and to engagement with the transitions of life?
Christopher Wulff is a seminarian at Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto, preparing for ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister. In addition to his being an OWL (Our Whole Lives) teacher and a Lay Chaplain with his congregation, he runs a small web development firm for community non-profits and teaches in the Journalism degree program at Humber College. Listen to the sermon here or the complete sermon can be read below: With reference to Cheryl’s May sermon entitled “Religion: What’s God Got to do With It?”, while religion without a transcendent source of direction could possibly offer the best option for the future of humanity, what about, in the words of Parker Palmer the “human quest for connectedness with something larger and much more trust-worthy than our egos, with our own selves, with one another, with the worlds of history and nature, with the invisible winds of the spirit, and with the mystery of being alive? What is it, after all, that draws us to religion?
The complete sermon can be read below: |
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