Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

The story of our CUUC congregation can be told in many voices. Today’s talk looks at the role Capital has played in the life of one its member families.

Terry is a volunteer regional organizer for Dogwood Initiative and has a long history of activism dating back to the 60s. After retiring as a VP academic of an Ontario college, she spent two weeks in the tar-sands in 2013 and came back a changed woman. As a cancer survivor and volunteer, she also feels a sense of urgency. 　It’s not easy to be hopeful these days, but Terry draws on her Christian roots, Buddhist meditation practice, science/cosmology, and her relationships with people to sustain her.　 She’ll share her personal story and why she loves to organize local citizens to take back decision-making power over their land, air, and water.

Leila works and publishes on sustainability, attachment to place and how we think and feel about them. In this talk, she will examine how our well-being is linked to our sense of comfort with the place we are in. Leila has a PhD in Environmental Psychology from UVIC.

A Meditation On Liberal Religion and a Call to an Ecological Consciousness A sermon by UU minister James Ishmael Ford.

Join us in a unique Unitarian celebration of spring and community. (Please bring a flower, one found by the roadside or on a boulevard.)

Our survival depends on integrating our feelings, intuition, and rational mind with love and respect of the natural world. This service lays out practical steps to deepen our personal connections with the world outside and within. In a later service, Re-enchanting the Collective, we plan to look at how our congregation and similar groups can provide the support the community needs as we approach more difficult times. The service will be offered by Ben Dolf, a member of the congregation.

Drawing on our first source – Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder…　Rosemary will explore with us some of the teachings and writings of mystics through the ages. These could include Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, Etty Hillesum or Mary Oliver. The mystics have been a special area of interest and study for Rosemary this past semester at the Vancouver School of Theology.

Aging and Spirituality – Does church attendance, or having a spiritual side without attending public services, contribute to longevity?  If a congregation of 40 people has two centenarians and half a dozen people aged 90+, would that prove anything?  Peter will describe recent published research, and give examples.  Today is Elsie Farr’s 100th birthday!

Gloria Steinem (2012 Humanist of the Year) considers ‘Religion vs Spirituality’ in this homily read by D L Seaborn.

What are you afraid of?　 How do you manage your fear?　 When have you been ‘courageous?’　 What would it mean to you to engage in courage as a spiritual practice?

According to sociologist Penny Edgell Becker, there are different types of congregations. Family congregations. Social action congregations. We’ll look at the characteristics of each of Edgell Becker’s four types, why we might be drawn to them, and the challenges they face.