The reflections of UU minister, Rev. Joshua Mason Pawelek, a UU minister from Connecticut, looking at positive psychology to determine if is a cheesy scam, or if it has some merit.  Whichever side he falls on, Pawelek offers some lively insights.

David is a charter member of the UUCD and currently serves on the Worship Committee as well as providing music at many of our Sunday Services.  He has worked as a social worker for 30 years.  Most of his career has been at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.  This facility was previously known as Whitby Mental Health Centre and Whitby Psychiatric Hospital.

The Worship Committee will lead a service on aspirations and resolves for the new year.  The service will include a short homily by Peter Lauricella, reflections, and music.  What are your resolves for the new year?  As part of the service, you will be invited to share and explore your personal or community goals and hopes for 2013.

Sustainability is a concept for living and consuming that is all about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. What does sustainability look like for us here in Durham?  James will provide a snapshot of what is being done, what is contemplated and how we might all contribute.

James Garland is a Civil Engineer and life long UU.  Active in the UUCD, he also serves on the board of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.  His engineering career has included planning, design and construction of all types of municipal infrastructure.  He is currently project manager for the road work component of the Region of Durham’s new “Pulse” bus rapid transit service, planned for deployment along Highway 2 from Toronto to downtown Oshawa.

Join us as we welcome the New Year, contemplate what we resolve to do better in 2012 and say farewell to those regrets and errors that are holding us back. 
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In Fire Communion, we write on slips of flash paper those things that no longer serve us and we symbolically release or let them go by burning them in the fire.  White stones are an opportunity to set a new intention (something we would like to develop in ourselves, e.g., more patience) for the coming year.  People note their intention with a word or two written on the stone and often keep the stone in a prominent place as a reminder of what they would like to accomplish.  This inter-generational service appeals to many different ages.  This is what we did last year.  Details may change, but the theme remains!