Each year we begin in September with Water Communion, a ritual shared by Unitarian Universalist congregations around the world. We had hoped to gather in person for the first time in 6 months, but threatening thunder storms means that we will have to wait another week for an outside gathering (fingers crossed). For our online water communion, you are invited to bring water that is meaningful to you for our ritual - water of strength and courage, resilience and endurance, peace and renewal, play and joy, connection and love and beyond. All are welcome as we celebrate and connect together through the crests and troughs of life's many waters.
Play is incredibly important for kids in their well-being and development. It is no less important for adults, too! This week we'll explore the power and meaning and fun of play in our lives. We'll also honour the fathers among us - many of whom know a thing or two about play.
Flower Communion is a unique UU tradition celebrated in spring in many congregations across the world. Usually we all bring a flower to share and to make a bouquet celebrating beauty, community, and diversity. While we can't make a bouquet in one vase this year, we will make one together on Zoom - please bring a flower to share. In poetry, music, and song, we'll offer care and blessings to one another to sustain us on the journey, 'til we meet again. Guest musician Joe Jencks will be sharing his music ministry in this special service.
As the current pandemic stretches on, maintaining spiritual and emotional wellness can be a challenge. The Blommes will share findings from contemporary positive psychology research to provoke us as individuals - and as a congregation - to engage in habits of thought and behaviour which foster wellness and enhance resilience.
This week we'll explore our third source, "Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life." As UUs, we value wisdom from many traditions. Some of us focus on one in particular as we deepen our own spiritual journey. Today we'll explore what "wisdom" means in a variety of world religions, and what that means for us as UUs as we seek wisdom in other religious traditions.
In our search for purpose and meaning, we yearn for the answers to our questions about why things happen and how they will play out. These answers are often only revealed one step at a time and our responsibility is to discern that next step. This Sunday, join Nicole as she shares how she has come to discern the direction of her call to ministry as a military chaplain.
From 12:30pm to 2:00pm Join in this national Unitarian Universalist online service with people from across Canada. Hear words, music, and stories from UU ministers, musicians, and DREs from across the country as we worship together. Rev. Norm Horofker from the Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax, with his ministerial colleagues, will lead a worship service for Canadians across the country and worldwide. All welcome!
Please join us on Zoom: https://bit.ly/UUSundayService Please Note Time Change from our regular Sunday service. In the midst of the ordinary and extraordinary challenges of life, some of us are called to be caregivers, some of us need care, and most of us will be both givers and receivers of care to different degrees at some time in our lives. Caregiving, like motherhood, is complex and multifaceted. Caregiving can be as gruelling as it can be meaningful, and can sometimes require more of us than we think we can give. What can we learn about ourselves, others, and the world through acts of caring?
Breathe in… breathe out. It’s hard sometimes to just keep doing this most simple act when we’re struggling with an ever-present sense of overwhelm and uncertainty. When we don’t know what's coming next, we gulp that oxygen and hold it in, not sure when we’ll get to take another breath. How, amidst everything that is going on at the moment, do we keep breathing in peace, and breathing out love, together?
Where do we seek truth as Unitarians? This week we'll explore our second source, "Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love." Sometimes this is easy and we all agree which words and deeds are meaningful examples. Sometimes people's wisdom is obscured through superficial differences or very real imperfections that make it hard for us to hear their message. And sometimes it is the follow through that is hardest - to really allow others' words and lives to challenge us to step out of our own ways of seeing and doing things. Today we'll explore the power of learning from others' experiences.
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